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PRINCETpN,,N.  J.    *  ^ 


Presented  by  Mrs.  Sanford  H.  Smith. 


I 

Sectu  ■/.' 
Number 


SCO 


>v  • 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/historyofreignOOrobe 


I 

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r.K. 
■ 


Harper's  Edition,  witk  Copperplate  Engravings. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REIGN 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V. 


WITH    A    VIEW    OF    THE 

PROGRESS  OF  SOCIETY  IN  EUROPE, 

FROM    THE 

SUBVERSION    OF    THE    ROMAN    EMPIRE,    TO    THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE 
SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 


v/ 

BY  WILLIAM  ROBERTSON,  D.D. 

PRINCIPAL    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    EDINBURGH,    ETC.    ETC. 


COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 


PRhVTED  BY  J.  ,$■  J.  JMRPER,  82  CLIFF-STREET 

SOLD  BY  E.  DUYCKINCK,  COLLINS  AND  HANNAY,  COLLINS  AND  CO.,  G.  AND  C.  CARVILL, 

O.  A.  ROORBACH,  W.  B.  GILLEY,  AND  E.  BLISS  ; PHILADELPHIA,  CAREY,  LEA,  AND 

CAREY,    TOWAR    AND    HOGAN,    AND     JOHN    GRIGG  ; BOSTON,    RICHARDSON    AND 

LORD,    AND    MILLIARD,    GRAY,    AND    CO.; — BALTIMORE,  F.  LUCAS,  JR. 

1829. 


TO 


THE    KING. 


SIR, 

I  presume  to  lay  before  Your  Majesty  the  History  of  a  Period 
which,  if  the  abilities  of  the  Writer  were  equal  to  the  dignity  of  the 
subject,  would  not  be  unworthy  the  attention  of  a  Monarch  who  is  no 
less  a  Judge  than  a  Patron  of  Literary  Merit. 

History  claims  it  as  her  prerogative  to  offer  instruction  to  Kings, 
as  well  as  to  their  People.  What  reflections  the  reign  of  the  Em- 
peror Charles  V.  may  suggest  to  Your  Majesty  it  becomes  not  me 
to  conjecture.  But  your  subjects  cannot  observe  the  various  calami- 
ties which  that  Monarch's  ambition  to  be  distinguished  as  a  Conqueror 
brought  upon  his  dominions,  without  recollecting  the  felicity  of  their 
own  times,  and  looking  up  with  gratitude  to  their  Sovereign,  who 
during  the  fervour  of  youth,  and  amidst  the  career  of  victory,  pos- 
sessed such  self-command,  and  maturity  of  judgment,  as  to  set  bounds 
to  his  own  triumphs,  and  prefer  the  blessings  of  peace  to  the  splendour 
of  military  glory. 

Posterity  will  not  only  celebrate  the  wisdom  of  Your  Majesty's 
choice,  but  will  enumerate  the  many  virtues  which  render  Your  Reio-n 
conspicuous  for  a  sacred  regard  to  all  the  duties  incumbent  on  the 
Sovereign  of  a  Free  People. 

It  is  our  happiness  to  feel  the  influence  of  these  Virtues  ;  and  to 
live  under  the  dominion  of  a  Prince,  who  delights  more  in  promoting 
the  Public  Welfare  than  in  receiving  the  just  Praise  of  his  Royal 
beneficence. 

I  am,  Sir, 

Your  Majesty's 

Most  faithful  Subject 

And  most  dutiful  Servant, 

WILLIAM  ROBERTSON. 


preface/ 


No  period  in  the  history  of  one's  own  country  can  be  considered  as 
altogether  uninteresting.  Such  transactions  as  tend  to  illustrate  the  pro- 
gress of  its  constitution,  laws,  or  manners,  merit  the  utmost  attention.  Even 
remote  and  minute  events  are  objects  of  a  curiosity,  which,  being  natural 
to  the  human  mind,  the  gratification  of  it  is  attended  with  pleasure. 

But  with  respect  to  the  history  of  foreign  States,  we  must  set  other 
bounds  to  our  desire  of  information.  The  universal  progress  of  science, 
during  the  two  last  centuries,  the  art  of  printing,  and  other  obvious  causes, 
have  filled  Europe  with  such  a  multiplicity  of  histories,  and  with  such 
vast  collections  of  historical  materials,  that  the  term  of  human  life  is  too 
short  for  the  study  or  even  the  perusal  of  them.  It  is  necessary,  then,  not 
only  for  those  who  are  called  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  nations,  but  for  such 
as  inquire  and  reason  concerning  them,  to  remain  satisfied  with  a  general 
knowledge  of  distant  events,  and  to  confine  their  study  of  history  in  detail 
chiefly  to  that  period,  in  which  the  several  States  of  Europe  having  become 
intimately  connected,  the  operations  of  one  power  are  so  felt  by  all,  as  to 
influence  their  councils,  and  to  regulate  their  measures. 

Some  boundary,  then,  ought  to  be  fixed  in  order  to  separate  these 
periods.  An  era  should  be  pointed  out,  prior  to  which  each  country,  little 
connected  with  those  around  it,  may  trace  its  own  history  apart ;  after 
which,  transactions  of  every  considerable  nation  in  Europe  become  inte- 
resting and  instructive  to  all.  With  this  intention  I  undertook  to  write  the 
history  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  It  was  during  his  administration  that 
the  powers  of  Europe  were  formed  into  one  great  political  system,  in  which 
each  took  a  station,  wherein  it  has  since  remained  with  less  variation,  than 
could  have  been  expected  after  the  shocks  occasioned  by  so  many  internal 
revolutions,  and  so  many  foreign  wars.  The  great  events  which  happened 
then  have  not  hitherto  spent  their  force.  The  political  principles  and 
maxims,  then  established,  still  continue  to  operate.  The  ideas  concerning 
the  balance  of  power,  then  introduced  or  rendered  general,  still  influence 
the  councils  of  nations. 

The  age  of  Charles  V.  may  therefore  be  considered  as  the  period  at 
which  the  political  state  of  Europe  began  to  assume  a  new  form.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  render  my  account  of  it,  an  introduction  to  the  history  of 
Europe  subsequent  to  his  reign.  While  his  numerous  biographers  describe 
his  personal  qualities  and  actions ;  while  the  historians  of  different  countries 
relate  occurrences  the  consequences  of  which  were  local  or  transient,  it 
hath  been  my  purpose  to  record  only  those  great  transactions  in  hi*  reign, 
the  effects  of  which  were  universal,  or  continue  to  be  permanent. 

As  my  readers  could  derive  little  instruction  from  such  a  history  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  without  some  information  concerning  the  state  of 
Europe  previous  to  the  sixteenth  century,  my  desire  of  supplying  this  has 
produced  a  preliminary  volume,  in  which  I  have  attempted  to  point  out 
and  to  explain  the  great  causes  and  events,  to  whose  operation  all  the 
improvements  in  the  political  state  of  Europe,  from  the  subversion  of  the 
Roman  Empire  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  must  be  ascribed. 
I  have  exhibited  a  view  of  the  progress  of  society  in  Europe,  not  only  with 
respect  to  interior  government,  laws,  and  manners,  but  with  respect  to  the 
command  of  the  national  force  requisite  in  foreign  operations  :  and  I  have 


v,  PREFACE. 

described  the  political  constitution  of  the  principal  states  in  Europe  at  the 
time  when  Charles  V.  began  his  reign. 

In  this  part  of  my  work  I  have  been  led  into  several  critical  disquisitions', 
which  belong  more  properly  to  the  province  of  the  lawyer  or  antiquary, 
than  to  that  of  the  historian.  These  I  have  placed  at  the  end  of  the  history, 
under  the  title  of  Proofs  and  Illustrations.  Many  of  my  readers  will,  pro- 
bably, give  little  attention  to  such  researches.  To  some  they  may,  per- 
haps, appear  the  most  curious  and  interesting  part  of  the  work.  I  have 
carefully  pointed  out  the  sources  from  which  I  have  derived  information, 
and  have  cited  the  writers  on  whose  authority  I  rely,  with  a  minute  exact- 
ness, which  might  appear  to  border  upon  ostentation,  if  it  were  possible 
to  be  vain  of  having  read  books,  many  of  which  nothing  but  the  duty  of 
examining  with  accuracy  whatever  I  laid  before  the  Public,  would  have 
induced  me  to  open.  As  my  inquiries  conducted  me  often  into  paths 
which  were  obscure  or  little  frequented,  such  constant  references  to  the 
authors  who  have  been  my  guides,  were  not  only  necessary  for  authen- 
ticating the  facts  which  are  the  foundations  of  my  reasonings,  but  may  be 
useful  in  pointing  out  the  way  to  such  as  shall  hereafter  hold  the  same 
course,  and  in  enabling  them  to  carry  on  their  researches  with  greater 
facility  and  success. 

Every  intelligent  reader  will  observe  one  omission  in  my  work,  the 
reason  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  explain.  I  have  given  no  account  of  the 
conquests  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  or  of  the  establishment  of  the  Spanish  colo- 
nies in  the  continent  and  islands  of  America.  The  history  of  these  events 
I  originally  intended  to  have  related  at  considerable  length.  But  upon  a 
nearer  and  more  attentive  consideration  of  this  part  of  my  plan,  I  found  that 
the  discovery  of  the  new  world  ;  the  state  of  society  among  its  ancient 
inhabitants  ;  their  character,  manners,  and  arts  ;  the  genius  of  the  Europears 
settlements  in  its  various  provinces,  together  with  the  influence  of  these 
upon  the  systems  of  policy,  or  commerce  of  Europe,  were  subjects  so 
splendid  and  important,  that  a  superficial  view  of  them  could  afford  little 
satisfaction  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  treat  of  them  as  extensively  as  they 
merited,  must  produce  an  episode,  disproportionate  to  the  principal  work. 
I  have  therefore  reserved  these  for  a  separate  history ;  which,  it  the  per- 
formance now  offered  to  the  Public  shall  receive  its  approbation,  I  purpose 
to  undertake. 

Though,  by  omitting  such  considerable  but  detached  articles  it)  the  reign 
of  Charles  V.  I  have  circumscribed  my  narration  within  more  narrow 
limits,  I  am  yet  persuaded,  from  this  view  of  the  intention  and  nature  of 
the  work  which  I  thought  it  necessary  to  lay  before  my  readers,  that  the 
plan  must  still  appear  to  them  too  extensive,  and  the  undertaking  too 
arduous.  I  have  often  felt  them  to  be  so.  But  my  conviction  of  the  utility 
of  such  a  history  prompted  me  to  persevere.  With  what  success  I  have 
executed  it,  the  Public  must  now  judge.  I  wait,  not  without  solicitude, 
for  its  decision  ;  to  which  I  shall  submit  with  a  respectful  silence. 


A 

VIEW 

OF    THE 

PROGRESS  OF  SOCIETY  IN  EUROPE,  &c. 


SECTION  I. 


View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe,  with  respect  to  interior  Govsm~ 
ment,  Laws,  and  Manners. 

Two  great  revolutions  have  happened  in  the  political  state,  and  in  the 
manners  of  the  European  nations.  The  first  was  occasioned  by  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Roman  power ;  the  second  by  the  subversion  of  it.  When 
the  spirit  of  conquest  led  the  armies  of  Rome  beyond  the  Alps,  they  found 
all  the  countries  which  they  invaded,  inhabited  by  people  whom  they 
denominated  barbarians,  but  who  were  nevertheless  brave  and  independent. 
These  defended  their  ancient  possessions  with  obstinate  valour.  It  was  by 
the  superiority  of  their  discipline,  rather  than  that  of  their  courage,  that  the 
Romans  gained  any  advantage  over  them.  A  single  battle  did  not,  as 
among  the  effeminate  inhabitants  of  Asia,  decide  the  fate  of  a  state.  The 
vanquished  people  resumed  their  arms  with  fresh  spirit,  and  their  undis- 
ciplined valour,  animated  by  the  love  of  liberty,  supplied  the  want  of 
conduct  as  well  as  of  union.  During  those  long  and  fierce  struggles  for 
dominion  or  independence,  the  countries  of  Europe  were  successively  laid 
waste,  a  great  part  of  their  inhabitants  perished  in  the  field,  many  were 
carried  into  slavery,  and  a  feeble  remnant,  incapable  of  further  resistance, 
submitted  to  the  Roman  power. 

The  Romans  having  thus  desolated  Europe,  set  themselves  to  civilize  it. 
The  form  of  government  which  they  established  in  the  conquered  pro- 
vinces, though  severe,  was  regular,  and  preserved  public  tranquillity.  As 
a  consolation  for  the  loss  of  liberty,  they  communicated  their  arts,  sciences, 
language,  and  manners,  to  their  new  subjects.  Europe  began  to  breathe, 
and  to  recover  strength  after  the  calamities  which  it  had  undergone  ;  agri- 
culture was  encouraged ;  population  increased  ;  the  ruined  cities  were 
rebuilt ;  new  towns  were  founded ;  an  appearance  of  prosperity  suc- 
ceeded, and  repaired,  in  some  degree,  the  havoc  of  war. 

This  state,  however,  was  far  from  being  happy  or  favourable  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  human  mind.  The  vanquished  nations  were  disarmed 
by  their  conquerors,  and  overawed  by  soldiers  kept  in  pay  to  restrain  them. 
They  were  given  up  as  a  prey  to  rapacious  governors,  who  plundered  them 
with  impunity  ;  and  were  drained  of  their  wealth  by  exorbitant  taxes, 
levied  with  so  little  attention  to  the  situation  of  the  provinces,  that  the 
impositions  were  often  increased  in  proportion  to  their  inability  to  support 
them.  They  were  deprived  of  their  most  enterprising  citizens,  who 
resorted  to  a  distant  capital  in  quest  of  preferment,  or  of  riches  ;  and  were 
accustomed  in  all  their  actions  to  look  up  to  a  superior,  and  tamely  to 
receive  bis  commands.     Under  so  many  depressing;  circumstances,  it  was 


p  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

hardly  possible  that  they  could  retain  vigour  or  generosity  of  mind.  The 
martial  and  independent  spirit,  which  had  distinguished  their  ancestors, 
became,  in  a  great  measure,  extinct  among  all  the  people  subjected  to  the 
Roman  yoke ;  they  lost  not  only  the  habit,  but  even  the  capacity  of  de- 
ciding for  themselves,  or  of  acting  from  the  impulse  of  their  own  minds ; 
and  the  dominions  of  the  Romans,  like  that  of  all  great  empires,  degraded 
and  debased  the  human  species  [l]. 

A  society  in  such  a  state  could  not  subsist  long.  There  were  defects  in 
the  Roman  government,  even  in  its  most  perfect  form,  which  threatened 
its  dissolution.  Time  ripened  these  original  seeds  of  corruption,  and  gave 
birth  to  many  new  disorders.  A  constitution,  unsound  and  worn  out,  must 
have  fallen  into  pieces  of  itself,  without  any  external  shock.  The  violent 
irruption  of  the  Goths,  Vandals,  Huns,  and  other  barbarians,  hastened  this 
event,  and  precipitated  the  downfall  of  the  empire.  New  nations  seemed 
to  arise  and  to  rush  from  unknown  regions,  in  order  to  take  vengeance  on 
the  Romans  for  the  calamities  which  they  had  inflicted  on  mankind. 
These  fierce  tribes  either  inhabited  the  various  provinces  in  Germany 
which  had  never  been  subdued  by  the  Romans,  or  were  scattered  over 
those  vast  countries  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and  north-west  of  Asia,  which 
are  now  occupied  by  the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  the  Poles,  the  subjects  of  the 
Russian  empire,  and  the  Tartars.  Their  condition  and  transactions,  pre- 
vious to  their  invasion  of  the  empire,  are  but  little  known.  Almost  all  our 
information  with  respect  to  these  is  derived  from  the  Romans  ;  and  as  they 
did  not  penetrate  far  into  countries,  which  were  at  that  time  uncultivated 
and  uninviting,  the  accounts  of  their  original  state  given  by  the  Roman 
historians  are  extremely  imperfect.  The  rude  inhabitants  themselves, 
destitute  of  science  as  well  as  of  records,  and  without  leisure  or  curiosity 
to  inquire  into  remote  events,  retained,  perhaps,  some  indistinct  memory 
of  recent  occurrences ;  but  beyond  these,  all  was  buried  in  oblivion,  or 
involved  in  darkness  and  in  fable  [2]. 

The  prodigious  swarms  which  poured  in  upon  the  empire  from  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century  to  the  final  extinction  of  the  Roman  power, 
have  given  rise  to  an  opinion  that  the  countries  whence  they  issued  were 
crowded  with  inhabitants ;  and  various  theories  have  been  formed  to 
account  for  such  an  extraordinary  degree  of  population  as  hath  produced 
these  countries  the  appellation  of  The  Storehouse  of  Nations.  But  if  we 
consider,  that  the  countries  possessed  by  the  people  who  invaded  the 
empire  were  of  vast  extent ;  that  a  great  part  of  these  was  covered  with 
woods  and  marshes  ;  that  some  of  the  most  considerable  of  the  barbarous 
nations  subsisted  entirely  by  hunting  Or  pasturage,  in  both  which  states  of 
society  large  tracts  of  land  are  required  for  maintaining  a  few  inhabitants  ; 
and  that  all  of  them  were  strangers  to  the  arts  and  industry,  without  which 
population  cannot  increase  to  any  great  degree,  we  must  conclude,  that 
these  countries  could  not  be  so  populous  in  ancient  times  as  they  are  in  the 
present,  when  they  still  continue  to  be  less  peopled  than  any  other  part  of 
Europe  or  of  Asia. 

But  the  same  circumstances  that  prevented  the  barbarous  nations  from 
becoming  populous,  contributed  to  inspire,  or  to  strengthen,  the  martial 
spirit  by  which  they  were  distinguished.  Inured  by  the  rigour  of  their 
climate,  or  the  poverty  of  their  soil,  to  hardships  which  rendered  their 
bodies  firm,  and  their  minds  vigorous ;  accustomed  to  a  course  of  life  which 
Avas  a  continual  preparation  for  action ;  and  disdaining  every  occupation 
but  that  of  war  or  of  hunting;  they  undertook,  and  prosecuted  their 
military  enterprises  with  an  ardour  and  impetuosity  of  which  men  softened 
by  the  refinements  of  more  polished  times  can  scarcely  form  any  idea  [3]. 

Their  first  inroads  into  the  empire  proceeded  rather  from  the  love  of 
plunder  than  from  the  desire  of  new  settlements.  Roused  to  arms  by 
some  enterprising  or  popular  leader,  they  sallied  out  of  their  forests  :  broke 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  9 

IB  upon  the  frontier  provinces  with  irresistible  violence ;  put  all  who 
opposed  them  to  the  sword ;  carried  off  the  most  valuable  effects  of  the 
inhabitants ;  dragged  along  multitudes  of  captives  in  chains ;  wasted  all 
before  them  with  fire  or  sword ;  and  returned  in  triumph  to  their  wilds 
and  fastnesses.  Their  success,  together  with  the  accounts  which  they  gave 
of  the  unknown  conveniences  and  luxuries  that  abounded  in  countries  better 
cultivated,  or  blessed  with  a  milder  climate  than  their  own,  excited  new 
adventurers,  and  exposed  the  frontier  to  new  devastations. 

When  nothing  was  left  to  plunder  in  the  adjacent  provinces,  ravaged  by- 
frequent  excursions,  they  marched  farther  from  home,  and  finding  it  difficult, 
or  dangerous  to  return,  they  began  to  settle  in  the  countries  which  they 
had  subdued.  The  sudden  and  short  excursions  in  quest  of  booty  which 
had  alarmed  and  disquieted  the  empire,  ceased  ;  a  more  dreadful  calamity 
impended.  Great  bodies  of  armed  men,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
and  slaves  and  flocks,  issued  forth,  like  regular  colonies,  in  quest  of  new 
settlements.  People  who  had  no  cities,  and  seldom  any  fixed  habitation, 
were  so  little  attached  to  their  native  soil,  that  they  migrated  without 
reluctance  from  one  place  to  another.  New  adventurers  followed  them. 
The  lands  which  they  deserted  were  occupied  by  more  remote  tribes  of 
barbarians.  These,  in  their  turn,  pushed  forward  into  more  fertile  countries, 
and,  like  a  torrent  continually  increasing,  rolled  on,  and  swept  every  thing 
before  them.  In  less  than  two  centuries  from  their  first  eruption,  barbarians 
of  various  names  and  lineage  plundered  and  took  possession  of  Thrace, 
Pannonia,  Gaul,  Spain,  Africa,  and  at  last  of  Italy,  and  Rome  itself.  The 
vast  fabric  of  the  Roman  power,  which  it  had  been  the  work  of  ages  to 
perfect,  was  in  that  short  period  overturned  from  the  foundation. 

Many  concurring  causes  prepared  the  way  for  this  great  revolution,  and 
ensured  success  to  the  nations  which  invaded  the  empire.  The  Roman 
commonwealth  had  conquered  the  world  by  the  wisdom  of  its  civil  maxims, 
and  the  rigour  of  its  military  discipline.  But,  under  the  emperors,  the 
former  were  forgotten  or  despised,  and  the  latter  were  gradually  relaxed. 
The  armies  of  the  empire  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  bore  scarcely  any 
resemblance  to  those  invincible  legions  which  had  been  victorious  wherever 
they  marched.  Instead  of  freemen,  who  voluntarily  took  arms  from  the 
love  of  glory,  or  of  their  country,  provincials  and  barbarians  were  bribed 
or  forced  into  service.  These  were  too  feeble,  or  too  proud  to  submit  to 
the  fatigue  of  military  duty.  They  even  complained  of  the  weight  of 
their  defensive  armour  as  intolerable,  and  laid  it  aside.  Infantry,  from 
which  the  armies  of  ancient  Rome  derived  their  vigour  and  stability,  fell 
into  contempt ;  the  effeminate  and  undisciplined  soldiers  of  later  times 
could  hardly  be  brought  to  venture  into  the  field  but  on  horseback.  These 
wretched  troops,  however,  were  the  only  guardians  of  the  empire.  The 
jealousy  of  despotism  had  deprived  the  people  of  the  use  of  arms ;  and 
subjects,  oppressed  and  rendered  incapable  of  defending  themselves,  had 
neither  spirt  nor  inclination  to  resist  their  invaders,  from  whom  they  had 
little  to  fear,  because  their  condition  could  hardly  be  rendered  more  un- 
happy. At  the  same  time  that  the  martial  spirit  became  extinct,  the 
revenues  of  the  empire  gradually  diminished.  The  taste  for  the  luxuries 
of  the  East  increased  to  such  a  pitch  in  the  Imperial  court,  that  great  sums 
were  carrie  1  into  India,  from  which,  in  the  channel  of  commerce,  money 
never  returns.  By  the  large  subsidies  paid  to  the  barbarous  nations,  a  still 
greater  quantity  of  specie  was  withdrawn  from  circulation.  The  frontier 
provinces,  wasted  by  frequent  incursions,  became  unable  to  pay  the  cus- 
tomary tribute,  and  the  wealth  of  the  world,  which  had  long  centred  in 
the  capital  of  the  empire,  ceased  to  flow  thither  in  the  same  abundance, 
or  was  diverted  into  other  channels.  The  limits  of  the  empire  continued 
to  be  as  extensive  as  ever,  while  the  spirit  requisite  for  its  defence  declined, 
and   its  resources  were  exhausted.      A  vast  body,  laneruid.  and  .almost 

Vol.  II— 2 


10  A  VIEW  OF   THE  [Sect.  I. 

unahimated,  became  incapable  of  any  effort  to  save  itself,  and  was  easily 
overpowered.  The  emperors,  who  had  the  absolute  direction  of  this 
disordered  system,  sunk  in  the  softness  of  Eastern  luxury,  shut  up  within 
the  walls  of  a  palace,  ignorant  of  war,  unacquainted  with  affairs,  and 
governed  entirely  by  women  and  eunuchs,  or  by  ministers  equally  effemi- 
nate, trembled  at  the  approach  of  danger,  and,  under  circumstances  which 
called  for  the  utmost  vigour  in  council  as  well  as  in  action,  discovered  all 
the  impotent  irresolution  of  fear  and  of  folly. 

In  every  respect  the  condition  of  the  barbarous  nations  was  the  reverse 
of  that  of  the  Romans.  Among  the  former,  the  martial  spirit  was  in  full 
vigour ;  their  leaders  were  hardy  and  enterprising  ;  the  arts  which  had 
enervated  the  Romans  were  unknown  ;  and  such  was  the  nature  of  their 
military  institutions,  that  they  brought  forces  into  the  field  without  any 
trouble,  and  supported  them  at  little  expense.  The  mercenary  and 
effeminate  troops  stationed  on  the  frontier,  astonished  at  their  fierceness, 
cither  fled  at  their  approach,  or  were  routed  on  the  first  onset.  The  feeble 
expedient  to  which  the  emperors  had  recourse,  of  taking  large  bodies  of 
the  barbarians  into  pay,  and  of  employing  them  to  repel  new  invaders, 
instead  of  retarding,  hastened  the  destruction  of  the  empire.  These  mer- 
cenaries soon  turned  their  arms  against  their  masters,  aitd  with  greater 
advantage  than  ever,  for,  by  serving  in  the  Roman  armies,  they  had  acquired 
all  the  discipline,  or  skill  in  war,  which  the  Romans  still  retained  ;  and, 
upon  adding  these  to  their  native  ferocity,  they  became  altogether  irre- 
sistible. 

But  though,  from  these  and  many  other  causes,  the  progress  and  con- 
quests of  the  nations  which  overran  the  empire  became  so  extremely 
rapid,  they  were  accompanied  with  horrible  devastations,  and  an  incredible 
destruction  of  the  human  species.  Civilized  nations,  which  take  arms 
upon  cool  reflection,  from  motives  of  policy  or  prudence,  with  a  view  to 
guard  against  some  distant  danger,  or  to  prevent  some  remote  contingency, 
carry  on  their  hostilities  with  so  little  rancour  or  animosity,  that  war  among 
them  is  disarmed  of  half  its  terrors.  Barbarians  are  strangers  to  such 
refinements.  They  rush  into  War  with  impetuosity,  and  prosecute  it  with 
violence.  Their  sole  object  is  to  make  their  enemies  feel  the  weight  of 
their  vengeance  ;  nor  does  their  rage  subside  until  it  be  satiated  with 
inflicting  on  them  every  possible  calamity.  It  is  with  such  a  spirit  that 
the  savage  tribes  in  America  carry  on  their  petty  wars.  It  was  with  the 
same  spirit  that  the  more  powerful  and  no  less  fierce  barbarians  in  the  north 
of  Europe,  .and  of  Asia,  fell  upon  the  Roman  empire. 

Wherever  they  marched,  their  route  was  marked  with  blood.  They 
ravaged  or  destroyed  all  around  them.  They  made  no  distinction  between 
what  was  sacred  and  what  was  profane.  They  respected  no  age,  or  sex, 
or  rank.  What  escaped  the  fury  of  the  first  inundation,  perished  in  those. 
which  followed  it.  The  most  fertile  and  populous  provinces  were  con- 
verted into  deserts,  in  which  were  scattered  the  ruins  of  villages  and  cities, 
that  afforded  shelter  to  a  few  miserable  inhabitants  whom  chance  had 
preserved,  or  the  sword  of  the  enemy,  wearied  with  destroying,  had 
spared.  The  conquerors  who  first  settled  in  the  countries  which  they  had 
wasted,  were  expelled  or  exterminated  by  new  invaders,  who.  coming 
from  regions  farther  removed  from  the  civilized  parts  of  the  world,  were 
still  more  fierce  and  rapacious.  This  brought  fresh  calamities  upon  man- 
kind, which  did  not  cease  until  the  north,  by  pouring  forth  successive 
swarms,  was  drained  of  people,  and  could  no  longer  furnish  instruments 
of  destruction.  Famine  and  pestilence,  which  always  march  in  the  train 
of  war,  when  it  ravages  with  such  inconsiderate  cruelty,  raged  in  very 
part  of  Europe,  and  completed  its  sufferings.  If  a  man  were  called  to  fix 
upon  the  period  in  the  history  of  the  world,  during  which  the  condition  ot 
the  human  race  was   most   calamitous   and   afflicted,  he  would>  without 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  11 

hesitation,  name  that  which  elapsed  from  the  death  of  Theodosius  the 
Great,  to  the  establishment  of  the  Lombards  in  Italy.*  The  contemporary 
authors,  who  beheld  that  scene  of  desolation,  labour  and  are  at  a  loss  for 
expressions  to  describe  the  horror  of  it.  The  Scourge  of  God,  the  Destroyer 
of  Nations,  are  the  dreadful  epithets  by  which  they  distinguish  the  most 
noted  of  the  barbarous  leaders  ;  and  they  compare  the  ruin  which  they 
had  brought  on  the  world,  to  the  havoc  occasioned  by  earthquakes,  con- 
flagrations, or  deluges,  the  most  formidable  and  fatal  calamities  which  the 
imagination  of  man  can  conceive. 

But  no  expressions  can  convey  so  perfect  an  idea  of  the  destructive 
progress  of  the  barbarians  as  that  which  must  strike  an  attentive  observer 
when  he  contemplates  the  total  change  which  he  will  discover  in  the  state 
of  Europe,  after  it  began  to  recover  some  degree  of  tranquillity,  towards 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century.  The  Saxons  were  by  that  time  masters  of 
the  southern  and  more  fertile  provinces  of  Britain  ;  the  Franks  of  Gaul ; 
the  Huns  of  Pannonia  ;  the  Goths  of  Spain  ;  the  Goths  and  Lombards  of 
Italy  and  the  adjacent  provinces.  Very  faint  vestiges  of  the  Roman 
policy,  jurisprudence,  arts,  or  literature  remained.  New  forms  of  govern- 
ment, new  laws,  new  manners,  new  dresses,  new  languages,  and  new  names 
of  men  and  countries,  were  every  where  introduced.  To  make  a  great 
or  sudden  alteration  with  respect  to  any  of  these,  unless  where  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  a  country  have  been  almost  totally  exterminated,  has  proved 
an  undertaking  beyond  the  power  of  the  greatest  conquerors  [4].  The 
great  change  which  the  settlement  of  the  barbarous  nations  occasioned  in 
the  state  ot  Europe,  may  therefore  be  considered  as  a  more  decisive  proof 
than  even  the  testimony  of  contemporary  historians,  of  the  destructive 
violence  with  which  these  invaders  carried  on  their  conquests,  and  of  the 
havoc  which  they  had  made  from  one  extremity  of  this  quarter  of  the 
globe  to  the  other  [5]. 

In  the  obscurity  ot  the  chaos  occasioned  by  this  general  wreck  of  nations,  we 
must  search  for  the  seeds  of  order,  and  endeavour  to  discover  the  first  rudi- 
ments of  the  policy  and  laws  now  established  in  Europe.  To  this  source  the 
historians  of  its  different  kingdoms  have  attempted,  though  with  less  attention 
and  industry  than  the  importance  of  the  inquiry  merits,  to  trace  back  the 
institutions  and  customs  peculiar  to  their  countrymen.  It  is  not  my  province 
to  give  a  minute  detail  of  the  progress  of  government  and  manners  in  each 
particular  nation,  whose  transactions  are  the  object  of  the  following  history. 
But,  in  order  to  exhibit  a  just  view  of  the  state  of  Europe  at  the  opening 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  is  necessary  to  look  back,  and  to  contemplate 
the  condition  of  the  northern  nations  upon  their  first  settlement  in  those 
countries  which  they  occupied.  It  is  necessary  to  mark  the  great  steps 
by  which  they  advanced' from  barbarism  to  refinement,  and  to  point  out 
those  general  principles  and  events  which,  by  their  uniform  as  well  as 
extensive  operation,  conducted  all  of  them  to  that  degree  of  improvement 
in  policy  and  in  manners  which  they  had  attained  at  the  period  when 
Charles  V.  began  his  reign. 

When  nations  subject  to  despotic  government  make  conquests,  these 
serve  only  to  extend  the  dominion  and  the  power  of  their  master.  But 
jinnies  composed  of  freemen  conquer  for  themselves,  not  for  their  leaders. 
The  people  who  overturned  the  Roman  empire,  and  settled  in  its  various 
provinces,  were  of  the  latter  class.  Not  only  the  different  nations  that 
issued  from  the  north  of  Europe,  which  has  always  been  considered  as  the 
state  of  liberty,  but  the  Huns  and  Alans  who  inhabited  part  of  those 
countries,  which  have  been  marked  out  as  the  peculiar  region  of  servitude,! 
enjoyed  freedom  and  independence  in  such  a  high  degree  as  seems  to  be 

*  Theodosius  died  A.  D.  305,  the  reign  of  Alboinus  in  Lombardy  began  A.  I).  571 :  eo  that  thl* 
period  wae  170  years.  .t  De  I'Esprit  des  Loix,  liv.  J7.  rh.  ". 


12  A    VIEW   OF   THE  [Sect.  T. 

scarcely  compatible  with  a  state  of  social  union,  or  with  the  subordination 
necessary  to  maintain  it.  They  followed  the  chieftain  who  led  them  forth 
in  quest  of  new  settlements,  not  by  constraint,  but  from  choice  ;  not  as 
soldiers  whom  he  could  order  to  march,  but  as  volunteers  who  offered  to 
accompany  him  [6].  They  considered  their  conquests  as  a  common  pro- 
perty, in  which  all  had  a  title  to  share,  as  all  had  contributed  to  acquire 
them  [7].  In  what  manner  or  by  what  principles,  they  divided  among 
them  the  lands  which  they  seized  we  cannot  now  determine  with  any 
certainty.  There  is  no  nation  in  Europe  whose  records  reach  back  to  this 
remote  period ;  and  there  is  little  information  to  be  got  from  the  uninstructive 
and  meagre  chronicles  compiled  by  writers  ignorant  of  the  true  end,  and 
unacquainted  with  the  proper  objects  of  history. 

This  new  division  of  property,  however,  together  with  the  maxims  and 
manners  to  which  it  gave  rise,  gradually  introduced  a  species  of  govern- 
ment formerly  unknown.  This-  singular  institution  is  now  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  Feudal  System;  and  though  the  barbarous  nations 
which  framed  it,  settled  in  their  new  territories  at  different  times,  came 
from  different  countries,  spoke  various  languages,  and  were  under  the 
command  of  separate  leaders,  the  feudal  policy  and  laws  were  established, 
with  little  variation,  in  every  kingdom  of  Europe.  This  amazing  uniformity 
had  induced  some  authors*  to  believe  that  all  these  nations,  notwithstand- 
ing so  many  apparent  circumstances  of  distinction,  were  originally  the 
same  people.  But  it  may  be  ascribed  with  greater  probability,  to  the 
similar  state  of  society  and  of  manners  t")  which  they  were  accustomed  in 
their  native  countries,  and  to  the  similar  situation  in  which  they  found 
themselves  on  taking  possession  of  (heir  new  domains. 

As  the  conquerors  of  Europe  had  their  acquisitions  to  maintain,  not  only 
against  such  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  as  they  had  spared,  but  against  the 
more  formidable  inroads  of  new  invaders,  self-defence  was  their  chief 
care,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  object  of  their  first  institutions  and 
policy.  Instead  of  those  loose  associations,  which,  though  they  scarcely 
diminished  their  personal  independence,  had  been  sufficient  for  their  secu- 
rity while  they  remained  in  their  original  countries,  they  saw  the  necessity 
of  uniting  in  more  close  confederacy,  and  of  relinquishing  some  of  their 
private  rights  in  order  to  attain  public  safety.  Every  freeman,  upon  receiv- 
ing a  portion  of  the  lands  which  were  divided,  bound  himself  to  appear  in 
arms  against  the  enemies  of  the  community.  This  military  service  was 
the  condition  upon  which  he  received  and  held  his  lands ;  and  as  they 
were  exempted  from. every  other  burden,  that  tenure,  among  a  warlike 
people,  was  deemed  both  easy  and  honourable.  The  king  or  general  who 
led  them  to  conquest,  continuing  still  to  be  the  head  of  the  colony,  had,  of 
course,  the  largest  portion  allotted  to  him.  Having  thus  acquired  the  means 
of  rewarding  past  services,  as  well  as  of  gaining  new  adherents,  he  par- 
celled out  his  lands  with  this  view,  binding  those  on  whom  they  were 
bestowed  to  resort  to  his  standard  with  a  number  of  men  in  proportion  to 
the  extent  of  the  territory  which  they  received,  and  to  bear  arms  in  his 
defence.  His  chief  officers  imitated  the  example  of  the  sovereign,  and,  in 
distributing  portions  of  their  lands  among  their  dependents,  annexed  the 
same  condition  to  the  grant.  Thus  a  feudal  kingdom  resembled  a  military 
establishment,  rather  than  a  civil  institution.  The  victorious  army,  can- 
toned out  in  the  country  which  it  had  seized,  continued  ranged  under  its 
proper  officers,  and  subordinate  to  military  command.  The  names  of  a 
soldier  and  of  a  freeman  were  synonymous.!  Every  proprietor  of  land, 
girt  with  a  sword,  was  ready  to  march  at  the  summons  of  his  superior,  and 
lo  take  the  field  against  the  common  enemy. 

*  Procop.  de  Bello  Vandal,  ap.  Script.  Byz.  edit.  Ven.  vol.  i.  p.  345.  t  Du  Cange  Glossar. 
voo.  Jttiles. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  13 

Bat  though  the  feudal  policy  seems  to  be  so  admirably  calculated  for 
defence  against  the  assaults  of  any  foreign  power,  its  provisions  for  the 
interior  order  and  tranquillity  of  society  were  .extremely  defective.  The 
principles  of  disorder  and  corruption  are  discernible  in  that  constitution 
under  its  best  and  most  perfect  form.  They  soon  unfolded  themselves, 
and,  spreading  with  rapidity  through  every  part  of  the  system,  produced 
the  most  fatal  effects.  The  bond  oi  political  union  was  extremely  feeble  ; 
the  sources  of  anarchy  were  innumerable.  The  monarchical  and  aristo- 
cratical  parts  of  the  constitution,  having  no  intermediate  power  to  balance 
them,  were  perpetually  at  variance,  and  justling  with  each  other.  The 
powerful  vassals  of  the  crown  soon  extorted  a  confirmation  for  life  of  those 
grants  of  land,  which  being  at  first  purely  gratuitous,  had  been  bestowed 
only  during  pleasure.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  they  prevailed  to  have  them 
converted  into  hereditary  possessions.  One  step  more  completed  their 
usurpations,  and  rendered  them  unalienable  [8],  With  an  ambition  no  less 
enterprising,  and  more  preposterous,  they  appropriated  to  themselves  titles 
of  honour,  as  well  as  offices  of  power  or  trust.  These  personal  marks  of 
distinction,  which  the  public  admiration  bestows  on  illustrious  merit,  or 
which  the  public  confidence  confers  on  extraordinary  abilities,  were 
annexed  to  certain  families,  and  transmitted  like  fiefs,  from  father  to  son. 
by  hereditary  right.  The  crown  vassals  having  thus  secured  the  posses- 
sion of  their  lands  and  dignities,  the  nature  of  the  feudal  institutions,  which 
though  founded  on  subordination  verged  to  independence,  led  them  to  new, 
and  still  more  dangerous  encroachments  on  the  prerogatives  of  the  sove- 
reign. They  obtained  the  power  of  supreme  jurisdiction,  both  civil  and 
criminal,  within  their  own  territories  ;  the  right  of  coining  money ;  together 
with  the  privilege  of  carrying  on  war  against  their  private  enemies,  in 
their  own  name,  and  by  their  own  authority.  The  ideas  of  political  sub- 
jection were  almost  entirely  lost,  and  frequently  scarce  any  appearance  of 
feudal  subordination  remained.  Nobles  who  had  acquired  such  enormous 
power,  scorned  to  consider  themselves  as  subjects.  They  aspired  openly 
at  being  independent :  the  bonds  which  connected  the  principal  members 
of  the  constitution  with  the  crown,  were  dissolved.  A  kingdom,  consider- 
able in  name  and  in  extent,  was  broken  into  as  many  separate  principalities 
as  it  contained  powerful  barons.  A  thousand  causes  of  jealousy  and  dis- 
cord subsisted  among  them,  and  gave  rise  to  as  many  wars.  Every  coun- 
try in  Europe,  wasted  or  kept  in  continual  alarm  during  these  endless  con- 
tests, was  filled  with  castles  and  places  of  strength  erected  for  the  security 
of  the  inhabitants  ;  not  against  foreign  force,  but  against  internal  hostilities. 
A  universal  anarchy,  destructive,  in  a  great  measure,  of  all  the  advantages 
which  men  expect  to  derive  from  society,  prevailed.  The  people,  the 
most  numerous  as  well  as  the  most  useful  part  of  the  community,  were 
either  reduced  to  a  state  of  actual  servitude,  or  treated  with  the  same  inso- 
lence and  rigour  as  if  they  had  been  degraded  into  that  wretched  condi- 
tion [9j.  The  king,  stripped  of  almost  every  prerogative,  and  without 
authority  to  enact  or  to  execute  salutary  laws,  could  neither  protect  the 
innocent,  nor  punish  the  guilty.  The  nobles,  superior  to  all  restraint, 
harassed  each  other  with  perpetual  wars,  oppressed  their  fellow-subjects, 
and  humbled  or  insulted  their  sovereign.  To  crown  all,  time  gradually 
fixed,  and  rendered  venerable  this  pernicious  system,  which  violence  had 
established. 

Such  was  the  6tate  of  Europe  with  respect  to  the  interior  administration 
of  government  from  the  seventh  to  the  eleventh  century.  All  the  external 
operations  of  its  various  states,  during  this  period,  were  of  course  extremely 
feeble.  A  kingdom  dismembered,  and  torn  with  dissension,  without  an}' 
common  interest  to  rouse,  or  any  common  head  to  conduct  its  force,  was 
incapable  of  acting  with  vigour.  Almost  all  the  wars  in  Europe,  during 
the  ages  which  I  have  mentioned,  were  trifling,  indecisive,  and  productive 


14  A  VIEW   OF   THE  (S*xt.  I. 

of  no  considerable  event.  They  resembled  the  short  incursions  of  pirates 
or  banditti,  rather  than  the  steady  operations  of  a  regular  army.  Every 
baron,  at  tire  head  of  his  vassals,  carried  on  some  petty  enterprise,  to  which 
he  was  prompted  by  his  own  ambition  or  revenge.  The  state  itself,  des- 
titute of  union,  either  remained  altogether  inactive,  or  if  it  attempted  to 
make  any  effort,  that  served  only  to  discover  its  impotence.  The  superior 
genius  of  Charlemagne,  it  is  true,  united  all  these  disjointed  and  discordant 
members,  and  forming  them  again  into  one  body,  restored  to  government 
that  degree  of  activity  which  distinguishes  his  reign,  and  renders  the  trans- 
actions of  it,  objects  not  only  of  attention  but  of  admiration  to  more  en- 
lightened times.  But  this  state  of  union  and  vigour,  not  being  natural  to 
the  feudal  government,  was  of  short  duration.  Immediately  upon  his 
death,  the  spirit  which  animated  and  sustained  the  vast  system  which  he 
had  established,  being  withdrawn,  it  broke  into  pieces.  All  the  calamities 
which  flow  from  anarchy  and  discord,  returning  with  additional  force, 
afflicted  the  different  kingdoms  into  which  his  empire  was  split.  From 
that  time  to  the  eleventh  century,  a  succession  of  uninteresting  events ;  a 
series  of  wars,  the  motives  as  well  as  the  consequences  of  which  were 
unimportant,  fill  and  deform  the  annals  of  all  the  nations  in  Europe. 

To  these  pernicious  effects  of  the  feudal  anarchy  may  be  added  its  fatal 
influence  on  the  character  and  improvement  of  the  human  mind.  If  men 
do  not  enjoy  the  protection  of  regular  government,  together  with  the 
expectation  of  personal  security,  which  naturally  flows  from  it,  they  never 
attempt  to  make  progress  in  science,  nor  aim  at  attaining  refinement  in 
taste  or  in  manners.  That  period  of  turbulence,  oppression,  and  rapine, 
which  I  have  described,  was  ill  suited  to  favour  improvement  in  any  of 
these.  In  less  than  a  century  after  the  barbarous  nations  settled  in 'their 
new  conquests,  almost  all  the  effects  of  the  knowledge  and  civility,  which 
the  Romans  had  spread  through  Europe,  disappeared.  Not  only  the  arts 
of  elegance,  which  minister  to  luxury,  and  are  supported  by  it,  but  many 
of  the  useful  arts,  without  which  life  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  com- 
fortable, were  neglected  or  lost.  Literature,  science,  taste,  were  word.-, 
little  in  use  during  the  ages  which  we  are  contemplating ;  or,  if  they  occur 
at  any  time,  eminence  in  them  is  ascribed  to  persons  and  productions  so 
contemptible,  that  it  appears  their  true  import  was  little  understood.  Per- 
sons of  the  highest  rank,  and  in  the  most  eminent  stations,  could  not  read 
or  write.  Many  of  the  clergy  did  not  understand  the  breviary  which  they 
were  obliged  daily  to  recite  ;  some  of  them  could  scarcely  read  it  [lOj. 
The  memory  of  past  transactions  was,  in  a  great  degree,  lost,  or  preserved 
in  annals  filled  with  trifling  events,  or  legendary  tales.  Even  the  codes  of 
laws,  published  by  the  several  nations  which  established  themselves  in  the 
different  countries  of  Europe,  fell  into  disuse,  while,  in  their  place,  cus- 
toms, vague  and  capricious,  were  substituted.  The  human  mind,  neglected, 
uncultivated,  and  depressed,  continued  in  the  most  profound  ignorance. 
Europe,  during  four  centuries,  produced  few  authors  who  merit  to  be  read, 
either  on  account  of  the  elegance  of  their  composition,  or  the  justness  and 
novelty  of  their  sentiments.  ■  There  are  few  inventions,  useful  or  orna- 
mental to  society,  of  which  that  long  period  can  boast. 

Even  the  Christian  religion,  though  its  precepts  arc  delivered,  and  it1; 
institutions  are  fixed  in  scripture,  with  a  precision  which  should  have  ex- 
empted them  from  being  misinterpreted  or  corrupted,  degenerated,  during 
those  ages  of  darkness,  into  an  illiberal  superstition.  The  barbarous 
nations,  when  converted  to  Christianity,  changed  the  object,  not  the  spirit 
of  their  religious  worship.  They  endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  favour  ot 
the  true  God  by  means  not  unlike  to  those  with  which  they  had  employed 
in  order  to  appease  their  false  deities.  Instead  of  aspiring  to  sanctity  and 
virtue,  which  alone  can  render  men  acceptable  to  the  great  Author  of 
order  and  of  excellence,  they  imagined  that  they  satisfied  every  obligation 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  15 

.ot*  duty  by  a  scrupulous  observance  of  external  ceremonies  [ill.  Reli- 
gion, according  to  their  conception  of  it,  comprehended  nothing  else  ;  and 
the  rites  by  which  they  persuaded  themselves  that  they  should  gain  the 
favour  of  Heaven,  were  of  such  a  nature  as  might  have  been  expected 
from  the  rude  ideas  of  the  ages  which  devised  and  introduced  them. 
They  were  either  so  unmeaning  as  to  be  altogether  unworthy  of  the  Being 
to  whose  honour  they  were  consecrated  ;  or  so  absurd  as  to  be  a  disgrace 
to  reason  and  humanity  [12].  Charlemagne  in  France,  and  Alfred  the 
Great  in  England,  endeavoured  to  dispel  this  darkness,  and  gave  their  sub- 
jects a  short  glimpse  of  light  and  knowledge.  But  the  ignorance  of  the. 
age  was  too  powerful  for  their  efforts  and  institutions.  The  darkness 
returned,  and  settled  over  Europe,  more  thick  and  heavy  than  before. 

As  the  inhabitants  of  Europe,  during  these  centuries,  were  strangers  to 
the  arts  which  embellished  a  polished  age,  they  were  destitute  of  the 
virtues  which  abound  among  people  who  continue  in  a  simple  state. 
Force  of  mind,  a  sense  of  personal  dignity,  gallantry  in  enterprise,  invin- 
cible perseverance  in  execution,  contempt  ot  danger  and  death,  are  the 
characteristic  virtues  of  uncivilized  nations.  But  these  are  all  the  offspring 
of  equality  and  independence,  both  which  the  feudal  institutions  had 
destroyed.  The  spirit  of  domination  corrupted  the  nobles  ;  the  yoke  of 
servitude  depressed  the  people ;  the  generous  sentiments  inspired  by  a 
sense  of  equality  were  extinguished,  and  hardly  any  thing  remained  to  be 
a  check  on  ferocity  and  violence.  Human  society  is  in  its  most  corrupted 
state,  at  that  period  when  men  have  lost  their  original  independence  and 
simplicity  of  manners,  but  have  not  attained  that  degree  of  refinement 
which  introduces  a  sense  of  decorum  and  of  propriety  in  conduct,  as  a 
restraint  on  those  passions  which  lead  to  heinous  crimes.  Accordingly,  a 
greater  number  of  those  atrocious  actions,  which  fill  the  mind  of  man  with 
astonishment  and  horror,  occur  in  the  history  of  the  centuries  under  review, 
than  in  that  of  any  period  of  the  same  extent  in  the  annals  of  Europe. 
If  we  open  the  history  of  Gregory  of  Tours,  or  of  any  contemporary 
author,  we  meet  with  a  series  of  deeds  of  cruelty,  perfidy,  and  revenge, 
so  wild  and  enormous  as  almost  to  exceed  belief. 

But,  according  to  the  observation  of  an  elegant  and  profound  historian,* 
there  is  an  ultimate  point  of  depression,  as  well  as  of  exaltation,  from 
which  human  affairs  naturally  return  in  a  contrary  progress,  and  beyond 
which  they  never  pass  either  in  their  advancement  or  decline.  When 
defects,  either  in  the  form  or  in  the  administration  of  government,  occasion 
such  disorders  in  society  as  are  excessive  and  intolerable,  it  becomes  the 
common  interest  to  discover  and  to  apply  such  remedies  as  will  most 
effectually  remove  them.  Slight  inconveniences  may  be  long  overlooked 
or  endured ;  but  when  abuses  grow  to  a  certain  pitch,  the  society  must 
go  to  ruin,  or  must  attempt  to  reform  them.  The  disorders  in  the  feudal 
system,  together  with  the  corruption  of  taste  and  manners  consequent  upon 
these,  which  had  gone  on  increasing  during  a  long  course  of  years,  seemed 
to  have  attained  their  utmost  point  of  excess  towards  the  close  of  the 
eleventh  century.  From  that  era,  we'  may  date  the  return  of  government 
and  manners  in  a  contrary  direction,  and  can  trace  a  succession  of  causes 
and  events  which  contributed,  some  with  a  nearer  and  more  conspicuous, 
others  with  a  more  remote  and  less  perceptible  influence,  to  abolish  con- 
fusion and  barbarism,  and  to  introduce  order,  regularity,  and  refinement. 

In  pointing  out  and  explaining  these  causes  and  events,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  observe  the  order  of  time  with  a  chronological  accuracy  ;  it  is  of  more 
importance  to  keep  in  view  their  mutual  connection  and  dependence,  and 
to  show  how  the  operation  of  one  event,  or  one  cause,  prepared  the  way 
for  another,  and  augmented  its  influence.     We  have  hitherto  been  contem- 

*  Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  ii.  p.  441 


16  A    VIEW   OF    THE  [Sect.  I. 

plating  the  progress  of  that  darkness,  which  spread  over  Europe,  from  its 
first  approach,  to  the  period  of  greatest  obscuration ;  a  more  pleasant 
exercise  begins  here  ;  to  observe  the  first  dawnings  of  returning  light,  to 
mark  the  various  accessions  by  which  it  gradually  increased  and  advanced 
towards  the  full  splendour  of  day. 

1.  The  Crusades,  or  expeditions  in  order  to  rescue  the  Holy  Land  out 
of  the  hands  of  infidels,  seem  to  be  the  first  event  that  roused  Europe  from 
the  lethargy  in  which  it  had  been  long  sunk,  and  that  tended  to  introduce 
any  considerable  change  in  government  or  in  manners.  It  is  natural  to  the 
human  mind  to  view  those  places  which  have  been  distinguished  by  being 
the  residence  of  any  illustrious  personage,  or  the  scene  of  any  great  trans 
action,  with  some  degree  of  delight  and  veneration.  To  this  principle 
must  be  ascribed  the  superstitious  devotion  with  which  Christians,  from 
the  earliest  ages  of  the  church,  were  accustomed  to  visit  that  country 
which  the  Almighty  had  selected  as  the  inheritance  of  his  favourite  people, 
and  in  which  the  Son  of  God  had  accomplished  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind. As  this  distant  pilgrimage  could  not  be  performed  without  consi- 
derable expense,  fatigue,  and  danger,  it  appeared  the  more  meritorious,  and 
came  to  be  considered  as  an  expiation  for  almost  every  crime.  An  opinion 
which  spread  with  rapidity  over  Europe  about  the  close  of  the  tenth  and 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  which  gained  universal  credit, 
wonderfully  augmented  the  number  of  credulous  pilgrims,  and  increased 
the  ardour  with  which  they  undertook  this  useless  voyage.  The  thousand 
years,  mentioned  by  St.  John,*  were  supposed  to  be  accomplished,  and 
the  end  of  the  world  to  be  at  hand.  A  general  consternation  seized  man- 
kind :  many  relinquished  their  possessions ;  and,  abandoning  their  friends 
and  families,  hurried  with  precipitation  to  the  Holy  Land,  where  they 
imagined  that  Christ  would  quickly  appear  to  judge  the  world.  | 

While  Palestine  continued  subject  to  the  Caliphs,  they  had  encouraged 
the  resort  of  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  considered  this  as  a  beneficial 
species  of  commerce,  which  brought  into  their  dominions  gold  and 
silver,  and  carried  nothing  out  of  them  but  relics  and  consecrated  trinkets. 
But  the  Turks  having  conquered  Syria  about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century,  pilgrims  were  exposed  to  outrages  of  every  kind  from  these 
fierce  barbarians.|  This  change  happening  precisely  at  the  juncture 
when  the  panic  terror,  which  I  have  mentioned,  rendered  pilgrimages  most 
frequent,  filled  Europe  with  alarm  and  indignation.  Every  person  who 
returned  from  Palestine  related  the  dangers  which  he  had  encountered,  in 
visiting  the"  holy  city,  and  described  with  exaggeration  the  cruelty  and 
vexations  of  the  Turks. 

When  the  minds  of  men  were  thus  prepared,  the  zeal  of  a  fanatical 
monk,  who  conceived  the  idea  of  leading  all  the  forces  of  Christendom 
against  the  infidels,  and  of  driving  them  out  of  the  Holy  Land  by  violence, 
was  sufficient  to  give  a  beginning  to  that  wild  enterprise.  Peter  the 
hermit,  for  that  was  the  name  of  this  martial  apostle,  ran  from  province  to 
province  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hand,  exciting  princes  and  people  to  this 
Holy  War,  and  wherever  he  came  kindled  the  same  enthusiastic  ardour 
for  it  with  which  he  himself  was  animated.  The  council  of  Placentia, 
where  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  persons  were  assembled,  pronounced 
the  scheme  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  immediate  inspiration  of  heaven. 
In  the  council  of  Clermont,  still  more  numerous,  as  soon  as  the  measure 
was  proposed,  all  cried  out  with  one  voice,  "It  is  the  will  of  God. " 
Persons  of  all  ranks  catched  the  contagion ;  not  only  the  gallant  nobles  of 
that  age,  with  their  martial  followers,  whom  we  may  suppose  apt  to  be 

*  Revel,  xx.  2,  3,  4.  t  Chronic.  Will.  Godelli  ap.  Bouquet  Rccueil  des  Hisloriens  de  France. 

tarn,  x.  p.  202.  Vita  Abbonis,  ibid.  p.  332.  Chronic.  S.  Pantaleonis  ap.  Eccard.  Corp.  Script! 
uiedii  eevi,  vol.  i.  p.  909.  Annalisla  Saxo,  ibid.  576.  %  Jo.  Dan.  Scboepflini  desacriaGallonun 
in  orienlcm  expeditiotlibus,  p.  4.     Argent.  1726.  4to. 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  17 

allured  by  the  boldness  of  a  romantic  enterprise,  but  men  in  the  more 
humble  and  pacific  stations  of  life;  ecclesiastics  of  every  order,  and  even 
women  and  children,  engaged  with  emulation  in  an  undertaking:,  which  was 
deemed  sacred  and  meritorious.  If  we  may  believe  the  concurring  testi- 
mony of  contemporary  authors,  six  millions  of  persons  assumed  the  cross,* 
which  was  the  badge  that  distinguished  such  as  devoted  themselves  to 
this  holy  warfare.  All  Europe,  says  the  Princess  Anna  Comnena,  torn  up 
from  the  foundation,  seemed  ready  to  precipitate  itself  in  one  united  body 
upon  Asia.j  Nor  did  the  fumes  of  this  enthusiastic  zeal  evaporate  at 
once  ;  the  frenzy  was  as  lasting  as  it  was  extravagant.  During  two  cen- 
turies, Europe  seems  to  have  had  no  object  but  to  recover,  or  keep  posses- 
sion of,  the  Holy  Land ;  and  through  that  period  vast  armies  continued 
to  march  thither  [l3j. 

The  first  efforts  of  valour,  animated  by  enthusiasm,  were  irresistible : 
part  of  the  Lesser  Asia,  all  Syria  and  Palestine,  were  wrested  from  the 
infidels  ;  the  banner  of  the  cross  was  displayed  on  Mount  Sion  ;  Constan- 
tinople, the  capital  of  the  Christian  empire  in  the  East,  was  afterwards 
seized  by  a  body  of  those  adventurers,  who  had  taken  arms  against  the 
Mahometans  ;  and  an  earl  of  Flanders,  and  his  descendants,  kept  possession 
of  the  imperial  throne  during  half  a  century.  But  though  the  first  im- 
pression of  the  Crusaders  was  so  unexpected  that  they  made  their  conquests 
with  great  ease,  they  found  infinite  difficulty  in  preserving  them.  Esta- 
blishments so  distant  from  Europe,  surrounded  by  warlike  nations  animated 
with  fanatical  zeal  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  the  Crusaders  themselves, 
were  perpetually  in  danger  of  being  overturned.  Before  the  expiration 
of  the  thirteenth  century  [1291],  the  Christians  were  driven  out  of  all  their 
Asiatic  possessions,  in  acquiring  of  which  incredible  numbers  of  men  had 
perished,  and  immense  sums  of  money  had  been  wasted.  The  only  com- 
mon enterprise  in  which  the  European  nations  ever  engaged,  and  which 
they  all  undertook  with  equal  ardour,  remains  a  singular  monument  of 
human  folly. 

But  from  these  expeditions,  extravagant  as  they  were,  beneficial  conse- 
quences followed,  which  had  neither  been  foreseen  nor  expected.  In 
their  progress  towards  the  Holy  Land,  the  followers  of  the  cross  marched 
through  countries  better  cultivated,  and  more  civilized  than  their  own. 
Their  first  rendezvous  was  commonly  in  Italy,  in  which  Venice,  Genoa. 
Pisa,  and  other  cities,  had  begun  to  apply  themselves  to  commerce,  and 
had  made  considerable  advances  towards  wealth  as  well  as  refinement. 
They  embarked  there,  and,  landing  in  Dalmatia,  pursued  their  route  by 
land  to  Constantinople.  Though  the  military  spirit  had  been  long  extinct 
in  the  eastern  Empire,  and  a  despotism  of  the  worst  species  had  annihilated 
almost  every  public  virtue,  yet  Constantinople,  having  never  felt  the 
destructive  rage  of  the  barbarous  nations,  was  the  greatest,  as  well  as  the 
most  beautiful  city  in  Europe,  and  the  only  one  in  which  there  remained 
any  image  of  the  ancient  elegance  in  manners  and  arts.  The  naval  power 
of  the  eastern  Empire  was  considerable.  Manufactures  of  the  most 
curious  fabric  were  carried  on  in  its  dominions.  Constantinople  was  the 
chief  mart  in  Europe,  for  the  commodities  of  the  East  Indies.  Although 
the  Saracens  and  Turks  had  torn  from  the  Empire  many  of  its  richest 
provinces,  and  had  reduced  it  within  veiy  narrow  bounds,  yet  great  wealth 
flowed  into  the  capital  from  these  various  sources,  which  not  only  cherished 
such  a  taste  for  magnificence,  but  kept  alive  such  a  relish  for  the  sciences, 
as  appears  considerable,  when  compared  with  what  was  known  in  other 
parts  of  Europe.  Even  in  Asia,  the  Europeans,  who  had  assumed  the 
cross,  found  the  remains  of  the  knowledge  and  arts  which  the  example  and 

•  Fulcherius  Camotensis  3p.  Bonzarsii  Gi'sta  Dfii  per  TjaiKOS.  m!  I  [1*7  e<!il   Han.  1611 
'  Alexias  lib.  x.  ap.  Bvz.  *rript.  vol   Xi.  p  9   "• 

Vol.  n.--. 


18  A    VIEW    OF   THE  [bECT.  I. 

encouragement  of  the  Caliphs  had  diffused  through  their  empire.  Although 
the  attention  of  the  historians  of  the  Crusades  was  fixed  on  other  objects 
than  the  state  of  society  and  manners  among  the  nations  which  they 
invaded,  although  most  of  them  had  neither  taste  nor  discernment  enough 
to  describe  these,  they  relate,  however,  such  signal  acts  of  humanity  and 
generosity  in  the  conduct  of  Saladin,  as  well  as  some  other  leaders  of  the 
Mahometans,  as  give  us  a  very  high  idea  of  their  manners.  It  was  not 
possible  for  the  Crusaders  to  travel  through  so  many  countries,  and  to  behold 
the  various  customs  and  institutions,  without  acquiring  information  and  im- 
provement. Their  views  enlarged  ;  their  prejudices  wore  off;  new  ideas 
crowded  into  their  minds ;  and  they  must  have  been  sensible,  on  many 
occasions,  of  the  rusticity  of  their  own  manners,  when  compared  with 
those  of  a  more  polished  people.  These  impressions  were  not  so  slight 
as  to  be  effaced  upon  their  return  to  their  native  countries.  A  close  inter- 
course subsisted  between  the  east  and  west  during  two  centuries  ;  new 
armies  were  continually  marching  from  Europe  to  Asia,  while  former 
adventurers  returned  home  and  imported  many  of  the  customs  to  which 
they  had  been  familiarized  by  a  long  residence  abroad.  Accordingly, 
we  discover,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Crusades,  greater 
splendour  in  the  courts  of  princes,  greater  pomp  in  public  ceremonies,  a 
more  refined  taste  in  pleasures  and  amusements,  together  with  a  more 
romantic  spirit  of  enterprise  spreading  gradually  over  Europe  ;  and  to 
these  wild  expeditions,  the  effect  of  superstition  or  folly,  we  owe  the  first 
gleams  of  light  which  tended  to  dispel  barbarism  and  ignorance. 

But  these  beneficial  consequences  of  the  Crusades  took  place  slowly  ; 
their  influence  upon  the  state  of  property,  and  consequently  of  power,  in 
the  different  kingdoms  of  Europe,  was  more  immediate  as  well  as  dis- 
cernible. The  nobles  who  assumed  the  cross,  and  bound  themselves  to 
march  to  the  Holy  Land,  soon  perceived  that  great  sums  were  necessary 
towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  such  a  distant  expedition,  and  enabling 
them  to  appear  with  suitable  dignity  at  the  head  of  their  vassals.  But  the 
genius  of  the  feudal  system  was  averse  to  the  imposition  of  extraordinary 
taxes  ;  and  subjects  in  that  age  were  unaccustomed  to  pay  them.  No 
expedient  remained  for  levying  the  sums  requisite,  but  the  sale  of  their 
possessions.  As  men  were  inflamed  with  romantic  expectations  of  the 
splendid  conquests  which  they  hoped  to  make  in  Asia,  and  possessed  with 
such  zeal  for  recovering  the  Holy  Land  as  swallowed  up  every  other  pas- 
sion, they  relinquished  their  ancient  inheritances  without  any  reluctance, 
and  for  prices  far  below  their  value,  that  they  might  sally  forth  as  adven- 
turers in  quest  of  new  settlements  in  unknown  countries.  The  monarchs  of 
the  great  kingdoms  in  the  west,  none  of  whom  had  engaged  in  the  first 
Crusade,  eagerly  seized  this  opportunity  of  annexing  considerable  terri- 
tories to  their  crowns  at  small  expense.*  Besides  this,  several  great  barons, 
who  perished  in  the  Holy  War,  having  left  no  heirs,  their  fiefs  reverted  of 
course  to  their  respective  sovereigns ;  and  by  these  accessions  of  property, 
as  well  as  power  taken  from  the  one  scale  and  thrown  into  the  other,  the 
regal  authority  rose  in  proportion  as  that  of  the  aristocracy  declined.  The 
absence,  too,  of  many  potent  vassals,  accustomed  to  control  and  give  law 
to  their  sovereigns,  afforded  them  an  opportunity  of  extending  their  pre- 
rogative, and  of  acquiring  a  degree  of  weight  in  the  constitution  which 
they  did  not  formerly  possess.  To  these  circumstances  we  may  add,  that 
as  all  who  assumed  the  cross  were  taken  under  the  immediate  protection 
of  the  church,  and  its  heaviest  anathemas  were  denounced  against  such  as 
should  disquiet  or  annoy  those  who  had  devoted  themselves  to  this  service  ; 
the  private  quarrels  and  hostilities  which  banished  tranquillity  from  a 
ieudal  kingdom,  were  suspended  or  extinguished;  a  more  general  and 

*  Willi,  in,     Malmsfeur.    Guibert    Abbas  ap.  Bonjare  vo\. 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  19 

steady  administration  of  justice  began  to  be  introduced,  and  some  advances 
were  made  towards  the  establishment  of  regular  government  in  the  several 
kingdoms  of  Europe*  [14J. 

The  commercial  effects  of  the  Crusades  were  not  less  considerable  than 
those  which  I  have  already  mentioned.  The  first  armies  under  the  stand- 
ard of  the  cross,  which  Peter  the  hermit  and  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  led 
through  Germany  and  Hungary  to  Constantinople,  suffered  so  much  by  the 
length  of  the  march,  as  well  as  by  the  fierceness  of  the  barbarous  people 
who  inhabited  those  countries,  that  it  deterred  others  from  taking  the  same 
route  ;  and  rather  than  encounter  so  many  dangers  they  chose  to  go  by 
sea.  Venice,  Genoa,  and  Pisa  furnished  the  transports  on  which  they 
embarked.  The  sum  which  these  cities  received  merely  for  freight  from 
such  numerous  armies  was  immense.!  This,  however,  Was  but  a  small 
part  of  what  they  gained  by  the  expeditions  to  the  Holy  Land  ;  the  Cru- 
saders contracted  with  them  for  military  stores  and  provisions  ;  their  fleets 
kept  on  the  coast  as  the  armies  advanced  by  land  ;  and  supplying  them 
with  whatever  was  wanting,  engrossed  all  the  profits  of  a  branch  of  com- 
merce which,  in  every  age,  has  been  extremely  lucrative.  The  success 
which  attended  the  arms  of  the  Crusaders  was  productive  of  advantages 
still  more  permanent.  There  are  charters  yet  extant,  containing  grants 
to  the  Venetians,  Pisans,  and  Genoese  of  the  most  extensive  immunities  in 
the  several  settlements  which  the  Christians  made  in  Asia.  All  the  com- 
modities which  they  imported  or  exported  are  thereby  exempted  from 
every  imposition  ;  the  property  of  entire  suburbs  in  some  of  the  maritime 
towns,  and  of  large  streets  in  others,  is  vested  in  them;  and  all  questions, 
arising  among  persons  settled  within  their  precincts,  or  who  traded  under 
their  protection,  are  appointed  to  be  tried  by  their  own  laws,  and  by  judges 
of  their  own  appointment.];  When  the  Crusaders  seized  Constantinople, 
and  placed  one  of  their  own  leaders  on  the  imperial  throne,  the  Italian 
States  were  likewise  gainers  by  that  event.  The  Venetians,  who  had 
planned  the  enterprise,  and  took  a  considerable  part  in  carrying  it  into 
execution,  did  not  neglect  to  secure  to  themselves  the  chiet  advantages 
redounding  from  its  success.  They  made  themselves  masters  of  part  of 
the  ancient  Peloponnesus  in  Greece,  together  with  some  of  the  most  fertile 
islands  in  the  Archipelago.  Many  valuable  branches  of  the  commerce, 
which  formerly  centred  in  Constantinople,  were  transferred  to  Venice, 
Genoa,  or  Pisa.  Thus  a  succession  of  events,  occasioned  by  the  Holy 
War,  opened  various  sources,  from  which  wealth  flowed  in  such  abundance 
into  these  cities,§  as  enabled  them,  in  concurrence  with  another  institution^ 
which  shall  be  immediately  mentioned,  to  secure  their  own  liberty  and 
independence. 

II.  The  institution  to  which  I  alluded  was  the  forming  of  cities  into 
communities,  corporations,  or  bodies  politic,  and  granting  them  the  privi- 
lege of  municipal  jurisdiction,  which  contributed  more,  perhaps,  than  any 
other  cause,  to  introduce  regular  government,  police,  and  arts,  and  to  diffuse 
them  over  Europe.  The  feudal  government  had  degenerated  into  a  system 
of  oppression.  The  usurpations  of  the  nobles  were  become  unbounded 
and  intolerable  ;  they  had  reduced  the  great  body  of  the  people  into  a  state 
of  actual  servitude  :  the  condition  of  those  dignified  with  the.  name  of  tree- 
men,  was  often  little  preferable  to  that  of  the  other.  Nor  was  such 
oppression  the  portion  of  those  alone  who  dwelt  in  the  country,  and  were 
employed  in  cultivating  the  estate  of  their  master.  Cities  and  villages 
found  it  necessary  to  hold  of  some  great  lord,  on  whom  they  might  depend 
for  protection,  and  became  no  less  subject  to  his  arbitrary  jurisdiction. 

*  Dn  Gauge  Glossar.  vor.  Cruce  sigrtatvs.  Guil.  Abbas  ap.  Bongars  V'i'-  i.  480.  4i?9. 
1  Muratori  Anliquil.  Italic,  medii  nevi,  vol.  ii.  903.  %  lb.  'J'K>,  &r.  .        §  Vilkluu<louinHi3U 

do.  Constant,  sous  I'Empercur  Francois,  105,  &c 


2G  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

The  inhabitants  were  deprived  of  those  rights,  which,  in  social  life,  aro> 
deemed  most  natural  and  inalienable.  They  could  not  dispose  of  the 
effects  which  their  own  industry  had  acquired,  either  by  a  latter  will,  or  by 
any  deed  executed  during  their  life.*  They  had  no  right  to  appoint  guar- 
dians for  their  children  during  their  minority.  They  were  not  permitted  to 
marry  without  purchasing  the  consent  of  the  lord  on  whom  they  depended.! 
If  once  they  had  commenced  a  law-suit,  they  durst  not  terminate  it  by  an 
accommodation,  because  that  would  have  deprived  the  lord,  in  whose  court 
they  pleaded,  of  the  perquisites  due  to  him  on  passing  sentence.!  Services 
of  various  kinds,  no  less  disgraceful  than  oppressive,  were  exacted  from 
them  without  mercy  or  moderation.  The  spirit  of  industry  was  checked 
in  some  cities  by  absurd  regulations,  and  in  others  by  unreasonable  exac- 
tions ;  nor  would  the  narrow  and  oppressive  maxims  of  a  military  aris- 
tocracy have  permitted  it  ever  to  rise  to  any  degree  of  height  or  vigour.  § 

But  as  soon  as  the  cities  of  Italy  began  to  turn  their  attention  towards 
commerce,  and  to  conceive  some  idea  of  the  advantages  which  they  might 
derive  from  it,  they  became  impatient  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  their  insolent 
lords,  and  to  establish  among  themselves  such  a  free  and  equalgovernment, 
as  would  render  property  secure,  and  industry  flourishing.  The  German 
emperors,  especially  those  of  the  Franconian  and  Suabian  lines,  as  the  seat 
of  their  government  was  far  distant  from  Italy,  possessed  a  feeble  and 
imperfect  jurisdiction  in  that  country.  Their  perpetual  quarrels,  either, 
with  the  popes  or  with  their  own  turbulent  vassals,  diverted  their  attention 
from  the  interior  police  of  Italy,  and  gave  constant  employment  to  their 
arms.  These  circumstances  encouraged  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the 
Italian  cities,  towards  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  to  assume  new 
privileges,  to  unite  together  more  closely,  and  to  form  themselves  into 
bodies  politic  under  the  government  of  laws  established  by  common  con- 
sent.H  The  rights  which  many  cities  acquired  by  bold  or  fortunate  usur- 
pations, others  purchased  from  the  emperors,  who  deemed  themselves 
gainers  when  they  received  large  sums  for  immunities  which  they  were 
no  longer  able  to  withhold  -u  and  some  cities  obtained  them  gratuitously, 
from  the  generosity  or  facility  of  the  princes  on  whom  they  depended. 
The  great  increase  of  wealth  which  the  Crusades  brought  into  Italy  occa- 
sioned a  new  kind  of  fermentation  and  activity  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  excited  such  a  general  passion  for  liberty  and  independence,  that, 
before  the  conclusion  of  the  last  Crusade,  all  the  considerable  cities  in  that 
country  had  either  purchased  or  had  extorted  large  immunities  from  the 
emperors  [15]. 

This  innovation  was  not  long  known  in  Italy  before  it  made  its  way  into 
France.  Louis  le  Gros,  in  order  to  create  some  power  that  might  counter- 
balance those  potent  vassals  who  controlled,  or  gave  law  to  the  crown, 
first  adopted  the  plan  of  conferring  new  privileges  on  the  towns  situated 
within  his  own  domain.  These  privileges  were  called  charters  of  commu- 
nity, by  which  he  enfranchised  the  inhabitants,  abolished  all  marks  of  ser- 
vitude, and  formed  them  into  corporations  or  bodies  politic,  to  be  governed 
by  a  council  and  magistrates  of  their  own  nomination.  These  magistrates 
had  the  right  of  administering  justice  within  their  own  precincts,  of  levy- 
ing taxes,  of  embodying  and  training  to  arms  the  militia  of  the  town,  which 
took  the  field  when  required  by  the  sovereign,  under  the  command  of 
officers  appointed  by  the  community.  The  great  barons  imitated  the  exam- 
ple of  their  monarch,  and  granted  like  immunities  to  the  towns  within 
their  territories.  They  had  wasted  such  great  sums  in  their  expeditions  to 
the  Holy  Land,  that  they  were  eager  to  lay  hold  on  this  new  expedient 

*  Dacherii  Spicele?;.  torn.  xi.  374,  375.  edit,  in  4to.  Onlonances  des  Rois  dr  France,  torn.  iii. 
204.     No.  2.  6.  t  Ordonances  des  Rois  de  France,  torn.  i.  p.  22,  toin.  iii.  90S.    No.  1.     Murat. 

Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  iv.  p.  20.  Daclier.  Spicel.  vol.  xi.  325.  341.  %  Dacl.er.  Spicel.  vol.  ix.  162. 

$  M.  l\\bWMablwobservat,  snjrl'hist.  rteFranoe,  torn,  ii  p. 2. 96.    II  Wurat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  iv.  p.  5. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  SI 

for  raising-  money,  by  the  sale  of  those  charters  of  liberty.  Though  the 
institution  of  communities  was  as  repugnant  to  their  maxims  of  policy,  as 
it  was  adverse  to  their  power,  they  disregarded  remote  consequences,  in 
order  to  obtain  present  relief.  In  less  than  two  centuries,  servitude  was 
abolished  in  most  of  the  towns  in  France,  and  they  became  free  corpora- 
tions, instead  of  dependent  villages,  without  jurisdiction  or  privileges  [16]. 
Much  about  the  same  period,  the  great  cities  in  Germany  began  to  acquire 
like  immunities,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  their  present  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence [17].  The  practice  spread  quickly  over  Europe,  and  was 
adopted  in  Spain,  England,  Scotland,  and  all  the  other  feudal  king- 
doms [18]. 

The  good  effects  of  this  new  institution  were  immediately  felt,  and  its 
influence  on  government  as  well  as  manners  was  no  less  extensive  than 
talutary.  A  great  body  of  the  people  was  released  from  servitude,  and 
from  all  the  arbitrary  and  grievous  impositions  to  which  that  wretched 
condition  had  subjected  them.  Towns,  upon  acquiring  the  right  of  com- 
munity, became  so  many  little  republics,  governed  by  known  and  equal 
laws.  Liberty  was  deemed  such  an  essential  and  characteristic  part  in 
their  constitution,  that  if  any  slave  took  refuge  in  one  of  them,  and  resided 
there  during  a  year  without  being  claimed,  he  was  instantly  declared  a 
freeman,  and  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  community.* 

As  one  part  of  the  people  owed  their  liberty  to  the  erection  of  commu- 
nities, another  was  indebted  to  them  for  their  security.  Such  had  been 
the  state  of  Europe  during  several  centuries,  tliat  self-preservation  obliged 
every  man  to  court  the  patronage  of  some  powerful  baron,  and  in  times  of 
danger  his  castle  was  the  place  to  which  all  resorted  for  safety.  But  towns 
surrounded  with  walls,  whose  inhabitants  were  regularly  trained  to  arms, 
and  bound  by  interest,  as  well  as  by  the  most  solemn  engagements,  reci- 
procally to  defend  each  other,  afforded  a  more  commodious  and  secure 
retreat.  The  nobles  began  to  be  considered  as  of  less  importance  when 
they  ceased  to  be  the  sole  guardians  to  whom  the  people  could  look  up  for 
protection  against  violence. 

If  the  nobility  suffered  some  diminution  of  their  credit  and  power  by  the 
privileges  granted  to  the  cities,  the  crown  acquired  an  increase  of  both. 
As  there  were  no  regular  troops  kept  on  foot  in  any  of  the  feudal  king- 
doms, the  monarch  could  bring  no  army  into  the  field,  but  what  was  com- 
posed of  soldiers  furnished  by  the  crown  vassals,  always  jealous  of  the 
regal  authority ;  nor  had  he  any  funds  for  carrying  on  the  public  service 
but  such  as  they  granted  him  with  a  very  sparing  hand.  But  when  the 
members  of  communities  were  permitted  to  bear  arms,  and  were  trained 
to  the  use  of  them,  this  in  some  degree  supplied  the  first  defect,  and  gave 
the  crown  the  command  of  a  body  of  men,  independent  of  its  great  vas- 
sals. The  attachment  of  the  cities  to  their  sovereigns,  whom  they  respected 
as  the  first  authors  of  their  liberties,  and  whom  they  were  obliged  to 
court  as  the  protectors  of  their  immunities  against  the  domineering  spirit 
of  the  nobles,  contributed  somewhat  towards  removing  the  second  evil,  as. 
on  many  occasions,  it  procured  the  crown  supplies  of  money,  which  added 
new  force  to  government.! 

The  acquisition  of  liberty  made  such  a  happy  change  in  the  condition 
of  all  the  members  of  communities,  as  roused  them  from  that  inaction  into 
which  they  had  been  sunk  by  the  wretchedness  of  their  former  state. 
The  spirit  of  industry  revived.  Commerce  became  an  object  of  attention, 
and  began  to  flourish.  Population  increased.  Independence  was  estab- 
lished ;  and  wealth  flowed  into  cities  which  had  long  been  the  seat  of 
poverty  and  oppression.     Wealth  was  accompanied  by  its  usual  attendants, 

*  Statut.  Humberti  Bellojoci  Dacher.  Spirel.  vol.  ix.  KB.  1S5.  Charta  Comit.  Forens.  ibid-  103 
*  Ordon   dosRois  de  France,  loin.  i.  GO?.  '8.V  torn,  ii   318.  402. 


gg  A    \  IEW   OF  THE  [SfiCT.  !. 

ostentation  and  luxury  ;  and  though  the  former  was  forma!  and  cumber- 
some,  and  the  latter  inelegant,  they  led  gradually  to  greater  refinement  in 
manners,  and  in  the  habits  of  life.  Together  with  this  improvement  in 
manners,  a  more  regular  species  of  government  and  police  was  introduced. 
As  cities  grew  to  be  more  populous,  and  the  occasions  of  intercourse  among 
men  increased,  statutes  and  regulations  multiplied  of  course,  and  all  became 
sensible  that  their  common  safety  depended  on  observing  them  with  exact- 
ness, and  on  punishing  such  as  violated  them,  with  promptitude  and  rigour- 
Laws  and  subordination,  as  well  as  polished  manners,  taking  their  rise  in 
cities,  diffused  themselves  insensibly  through  the  rest  of  the  society. 

III.  The  inhabitants  of  cities,  having  obtained  personal  freedom  and 
municipal  jurisdiction,  soon  acquired  civil  liberty  and  political  power.  It 
was  a  fundamental  principle  in  the  feudal  system  of  policy,  that  no  free- 
man could  be  subjected  to  new  laws  or  taxes  unless  by  his  own  consent. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  vassals  of  every  baron  were  called  to  his  court, 
in  which  they  established,  by  mutual  consent,  such  regulations  as  they 
deemed  most  beneficial  to  their  6mall  society,  and  granted  their  superiors 
such  supplies  of  money,  as  were  proportioned  to  their  abilities,  or  to  his 
wants.  The  barons  themselves,  conformably  to  the  same  maxim,  Avere 
admitted  into  the  supreme  assembly  of  the  nation,  and  concurred  with  the 
sovereign  in  enacting  laws,  or  in  imposing  taxes.  As  the  superior  lord, 
according  to  the  original  plan  of  feudal  policy,  retained  the  direct  property 
of  those  lands  which  he  granted,  in  temporary  possession,  to  his  vassals  : 
the  law,  even  after  fiefs  became  hereditary,  still  supposed  this  original 
practice  to  subsist.  The  great  council  of  each  nation,  whether  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  a  Parliament,  a  Diet,  the  Cortes,  or  the  States- 
general,  was  composed  entirely  of  such  barons,  and  dignified  ecclesiastics, 
as  held  immediately  of  the  crown.  Towns,  whether  situated  within  the 
royal  domain,  or  on  the  lands  of  a  subject,  depended  originally  for  protec- 
tion on  the  lord  of  whom  they  held.  They  had  no  legal  name,  no  politi- 
cal existence,  which  could  entitle  them  to  be  admitted  into  the  legislative 
assembly,  or  could  give  them  any  authority  there.  But  as  soon  as  they 
xvere  enfranchised,  and  formad  into  bodies  corporate,  they  became  legal 
and  independent  members  of  the  constitution,  and  acquired  all  the  rights 
essential  to  freemen.  Among  these,  the  most  valuable  was,  the  privilege 
of  a  decisive  voice  in  enacting  public  laws,  and  granting  national  subsi- 
dies. It  was  natural  for  cities,  accustomed  to  a  form  of  municipal  govern- 
ment, according  to  which  no  regulation  could  be  established  within  the 
community,  and  no  money  could  be  raised  but  by  their  own  consent,  to 
claim  this  privilege.  The  wealth,  the  power,  and  consideration,  which 
they  acquired  on  recovering  their  liberty,  added  weight  to  their  claim ; 
and  favourable  events  happened,  or  fortunate  conjunctures  occurred,  in  the 
different  kingdoms  of  Europe,  which  facilitated  their  obtaining  possession 
of  this  important  right.  In  England,  one  of  the  first  countries  in  which  the 
representatives  of  boroughs  were  admitted  into  the  great  council  of  the 
nation,  the  barons  who  took  arms  against  Henry  III.  [A.  D.  1265]  sum- 
moned them  to  attend  parliament,  in  order  to  add  greater  popularity  to 
their  party,  and  to  strengthen  the  barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  regal 
power.  In  France,  Philip  the  Fair,  a  monarch  no  less  sagacious  than  enter- 
prising, considered  them  as  instruments  which  might  be  employed  with 
equal  advantage  to  extend  the  royal  prerogative,  to  counterbalance  the 
exorbitant  power  of  the  nobles,  and  to  facilitate  the  imposition  of  new 
taxes.  With  these  views,  he  introduced  the  deputies  of  such  towns  as 
were  formed  into  communities,  into  the  States-general  of  the  nation.*  In 
the  empire,  the  wealth  and  immunities  of  the  imperial  cities  placed  them 
on  a  level  with  the  most  considerable  members  of  the  Germanic  body. 

*  Pasquler  Recljerclies  de  !a  Frr.iiee.  p.  81.  edit.  Par.  1033. 


STATE   OF  EUROPE.  23 

Conscious  of  their  own  power  and  dignity,  they  pretended  to  the  privilege 
of  forming-  a  separate  bench  in  the  diet  [A.  D.  1293]  ;  and  made  good 
their  pretensions.* 

But  in  what  way  soever  the  representatives  of  cities  first  gained  a  place 
in  the  legislature,  that  event  had  great  influence  on  the  form  and  genius  of 
government.  It  tempered  the  rigour  of  aristocratical  oppression  with  a 
proper  mixture  of  popular  liberty  :  it  secured  to  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  who  had  iormerly  no  representatives,  active  and  powerful  guar- 
dians of  their  rights  and  privileges  :  it  established  an  intermediate  power 
between  the  king  and  the  nobles,  to  which  each  had  recourse  alternately, 
and  which  at  some  times  opposed  the  usurpations  of  the  former,  on  other 
occasions  checked  the  encroachments  of  the  latter.  As  soon  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  communities  gained  any  degree  of  credit  and  influence  in  the 
legislature,  the  spirit  of  laws  became  different  from  what  it  had  formerly 
been ;  it  flowed  from  new  principles  ;  it  was  directed  towards  new 
objects ;  equality,  order,  the  public  good,  and  the  redress  of  grievances, 
were  phrases  and  ideas  brought  into  use,  and  which  grew  to  be  familiar 
in  the  statutes  and  jurisprudence  of  the  European  nations.  Almost  all  the 
efforts  in  favour  ot  liberty  in  every  country  of  Europe,  have  been  made 
by  this  new  power  in  the  legislature.  In  proportion  as  it  rose  to  consider- 
ation and  influence,  the  severity  of  the  aristocratical  spirit  decreased  ; 
and  the  privileges  of  the  people  became  gradually  more  extensive,  as 
the  ancient  and  exorbitant  jurisdiction  of  the  nobles  was  abridged  [19]. 

IV.  The  inhabitants  of  towns  having  been  declared  free  by  the  charters 
of  communities,  that  part  of  the  people  which  resided  in  the  country,  and 
was  employed  in  agriculture,  began  to  recover  liberty  by  enfranchisement. 
During  the  rigour  of  feudal  government,  as  hath  been  already  observed,  the 
great  Dody  ot  the  lower  people  was  reduced  to  servitude.  They  were 
slaves  fixed  to  the  soil  which  they  cultivated,  and  together  with  it  were 
transferred  from  one  proprietor  to  another,  by  sale,  or  by  conveyance.  The 
spirit  of  feudal  policy  did  not  favour  the  enfranchisement  of  that  order  of 
men.  It  was  an  established  maxim,  that  no  vassal  could  legally  diminish 
the  value  of  a  fief,  to  the  detriment  of  the  lord  from  whom  he  had  received 
it.  In  consequence  of  this,  manumission  by  the  authority  of  the  imme- 
diate master  was  not  valid ;  and  unless  it  was  confirmed  by  the  superior 
lord  of  whom  he  held,  slaves  belonging  to  the  fief  did  not  acquire  a  com- 
plete right  to  their  liberty.  Thus  it  became  necessary  to  ascend  through 
all  the  gradations  of  feudal  holding  to  the  king,  the  lord  paramount.!  A 
form  of  procedure  so  tedious  and  troublesome,  discouraged  the  practice  of 
manumission.  Domestic  or  personal  slaves  often  obtained  liberty  from  the 
humanity  or  beneficence  of  their  masters,  to  whom  they  belonged  in  ab- 
solute property.  The  condition  of  slaves  fixed  to  the  soil,  was  much  more 
unalterable. 

But  the  freedom  and  independence  which  one  part  of  the  people  had 
obtained  by  the  institution  of  communities,  inspired  the  other  with  the 
most  ardent  desire  of  acquiring  the  same  privileges ;  and  their  superiors, 
sensible  of  the  various  advantages  which  they  had  derived  from  their 
former  concessions  to  their  dependents,  were  less  unwilling  to  gratify  them 
by  the  grant  of  new  immunities.  The  enfranchisement  of  slaves  became 
more  frequent ;  and  the  monarchs  of  France,  prompted  by  necessity  no 
less  than  by  their  inclination  to  reduce  the  power  of  the  nobles,  endeavoured 
to  render  it  general  [A.  D.  1315  and  1318].  Louis  X.  and  Philip  the  Long 
issued  ordinances,  declaring,  "  That  as  all  men  were  by  nature  freeborn, 
and  as  their  kingdom  was  called  the  kingdom  of  Franks,  they  determined 
that  it  should  be  so  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name  ;  therefore  they  appointed 

*  Pfessel  Abrege  de  l'histoire  et  droit  d'Allemagne.  p.  408  451.  t  Eetabliwemens  de  St.  Louis, 
liv.  ii.  ch.  34.    Ordon.  torn.  i.  283.  not.  (a). 


24  A  V  1 E  VV   OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

that  enfranchisements  should  be  granted  throughout  the  whole  kingdom, 
upon  just  and  reasonable  conditions."*  These  edicts  were  carried  into 
immediate  execution  within  the  royal  domain.  The  example  of  their 
sovereigns,  together  with  the  expectation  of  considerable  sums  which  they 
might  raise  by  this  expedient,  led  many  of  the  nobles  to  set  their  dependents 
at  liberty  ;  and  servitude  was  gradually  abolished  in  almost  every  province 
of  the  kingdom  [20].  In  Italy,  the  establishment  of  republican  govern- 
ment in  their  great  cities,  the  genius  and  maxims  of  which  were  extremely 
different  from  those  of  the  feudal  policy,  together  with  the  ideas  of  equality, 
which  the  progress  of  commerce  had  rendered  familiar,  gradually  intro- 
duced the  practice  of  enfranchising  the  ancient  predial  slaves.  In  some 
provinces  of  Germany,  the  persons  who  had  been  subject  to  this  species  of 
bondage  were  released  ;  in  others,  the  rigour  of  their  state  was  mitigated. 
In  England,  as  the  spirit  of  liberty  gained  ground,  the  very  name  and  idea 
of  personal  servitude,  without  any  formal  interposition  of  the  legislature 
to  prohibit  it,  was  totally  banished. 

The  effects  of  such  a  remarkable  change  in  the  condition  of  so  great  a 
part  of  the  people,  could  not  fail  of  being  considerable  and  extensive. 
The  husbandman,  master  of  his  own  industry,  and  secure  of  reaping  for 
himself  the  fruits  of  his  labour,  became  the  farmer  of  the  same  fields 
where  he  had  formerly  been  compelled  to  toil  for  the  benefit  of  another. 
The  odious  names  of  master  and  of  slave,  the  most  mortifying  and  de- 
pressing of  all  distinctions  to  human  nature,  were  abolished.  New  pros- 
pects opened,  and  new  incitements  to  ingenuity  and  enterprise  presented 
themselves  to  those  who  were  emancipated.  The  expectation  of  bettering 
their  fortune,  as  well  as  that  of  raising  themselves  to  a  more  honourable 
condition,  concurred  in  calling  forth  their  activity  and  genius ;  and  a 
numerous  class  of  men,  who  formerly  had  no  political  existence,  and  were 
employed  merely  as  instruments  of  labour,  became  useful  citizens,  and 
contributed  towards  augmenting  the  force  or  riches  of  the  society-which 
adopted  them  as  members. 

V .  The  various  expedients  which  were  employed  in  order  to  introduce 
a  more  regular,  equal,  and  vigorous  administration  of  justice,  contributed 
greatly  towards  the  improvement  of  society.  What  were  the  particular 
modes  of  dispensing  justice,  in  their  several  countries,  among  the  various 
barbarous  nations,  which  overran  the  Roman  Empire,  and  took  possession 
of  its  different  provinces,  cannot  now  be  determined  with  certainty.  We 
may  conclude,  from  the  form  of  government  established  among  them,  as 
well  as  from  their  ideas  concerning  the  nature  of  society,  that  the  authority 
of  the  magistrate  was  extremely  limited,  and  the  independence  of  indi- 
viduals proportionally  great.  History  and  records,  as  far  as  these  reach 
back,  justify  this  conclusion,  and  represent  the  ideas  and  exercise  of 
justice  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  as  little  different  from  those  which 
must  take  place  in  the  most  simple  state  of  civil  life.  To  maintain  the 
order  and  tranquillity  of  society  by  the  regular  execution  of  known  laws  ; 
to  inflict  vengeance  on  crimes  destructive  of  the  peace  and  safety  of 
individuals,  by  a  prosecution  carried  on  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  community ;  to  consider  the  punishment  of  criminals  as  a  public 
example  to  deter  others  from  violating  the  laws  ;  were  objects  of  govern- 
ment little  understood  in  theory,  and  less  regarded  in  practice.  The  ma- 
gistrate could  hardly  be  said  to  hold  the  sword  of  justice  ;  it  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  private  persons.  Resentment  was  almost  the  sole  motive  for 
prosecuting  crimes ;  and  to  gratify  that  passion,  was  considered  as  the 
chief  end  in  punishing  them.  He  who  suffered  the  wrong,  was  the  only 
person  who  had  a  right  to  pursue  the  aggressor,  and  to  exact  or  remit  the 
punishment.     From  a  system  of  judicial  procedure,  so  crude  and  defective, 

*  Ordnn   torn.  i.  p  583,  CofS 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  ^ 

that  it  seems  to  be  scarcely  compatible  with  the  subsistence  of  civil 
society,  disorder  and  anarchy  flowed.  Superstition  concurred  with  this 
ignorance  concerning  the  nature  of  government,  in  obstructing  the  adminis 
tration  of  justice,  or  in  rendering  it  capricious  and  unequal.  To  provide 
remedies  for  these  evils,  so  as  to  give  a  more  regular  course  to  justice,  was, 
during  several  centuries,  one  great  object  of  political  wisdom.  The 
regulations  for  this  purpose  may  be  reduced  to  three  general  heads :  To 
explain  these,  and  to  point  out  the  manner  in  which  they  operated,  is  an 
important  article  in  the  history  of  society  among  the  nations  of  Europe. 

1.  The  first  considerable  step  towards  establishing  an  equal  administration 
of  justice,  was  the  abolishment  of  the  right  which  individuals  claimed  of 
waging  war  with  each  other,  in  their  own  name,  and  by  their  own  au- 
thority. To  repel  injuries,  and  to  revenge  wrongs,  is  no  less  natural  to 
man,  than  to  cultivate  friendship  ;  and  while  society  remains  in  its  most 
simple  state,  the  former  is  considered  as  a  personal  right  no  less  alienable 
than  the  latter.  Nor  do  men  in  this  situation  deem  that  they  have  a  title 
to  redress  their  own  wrongs  alone  ;  they  are  touched  with  the  injuries  done 
to  those  with  whom  they  are  connected,  or  in  whose  honour  they  are 
interested,  and  are  no  less  prompt  to  avenge  them.  The  savage,  how 
imperfectly  soever  he  may  comprehend  the  principles  of  political  union, 
feels  warmly  the  sentiments  of  social  affection,  and  the  obligations  arising 
from  the  ties  of  blood.  On  the  appearance  of  an  injury  or  affront  offered 
to  his  family  or  tribe,  he  kindles  into  rage,  and  pursues  the  authors  of  it 
with  the  keenest  resentment.  He  considers  it  as  cowardly  to  expect 
redress  from  any  arm  but  his  own,  and  as  infamous  to  give  up  to  another 
the  right  of  determining  what  reparation  he  should  accept,  or  with  what 
vengeance  he  should  rest  satisfied. 

The  maxims  and  practice  of  all  uncivilized  nations,  with  respect  to  the 
prosecution  and  punishment  of  offenders,  particularly  those  of  the  ancient 
Germans,  and  other  barbarians  who  invaded  the  Roman  Empire,  are  per- 
fectly conformable  to  these  ideas.*  While  they  retained  their  native  sim- 
plicity of  manners,  and  continued  to  be  divided  into  small  tribes  or  societies, 
the  defects  in  this  imperfect  system  of  criminal  jurisprudence  (if  it  merits 
that  name)  were  less  sensibly  felt.  When  they  came  to  settle  in  the  ex- 
tensive provinces  which  they  had  conquered,  and  to  form  themselves  into 
great  monarchies ;  when  new  objects  of  ambition  presenting  themselves, 
increased  both  the  number  and  the  violence  of  their  dissensions  ;  they  ought 
to  have  adopted  new  maxims  concerning  the  redress  of  injuries,  and  to 
have  regulated,  by  general  and  equal  laws,  that  which  they  formerly  left 
to  be  directed  by  the  caprice  of  private  passion.  But  fierce  and  haughty 
chieftains,  accustomed  to  avenge  themselves  on  such  as  had  injured  them, 
did  not  think  of  relinquishing  a  right  which  they  considered  as  a  privilege 
of  their  order,  and  a  mark  of  their  independence.  Laws  enforced  by  the 
authority  of  princes  and  magistrates,  who  possessed  little  power,  com- 
manded no  great  degree  of  reverence.  The  administration  of  justice  among 
rude  illiterate  people,  was  not  so  accurate,  or  decisive,  or  uniform,  as  to 
induce  men  to  submit  implicitly  to  its  determinations.  Every  offended 
baron  buckled  on  his  armour,  and  sought  redress  at  the  head  of  his  vassals. 
His  adversary  met  him  in  like  hostile  array.  Neither  of  them  appealed 
to  impotent  laws,  which  could  afford  them  no  protection.  Neither  of 
them  would  submit  points,  in  which  their  honour  and  their  passions  were 
warmly  interested,  to  the  slow  determination  of  a  judicial  inquiry.  Both 
trusted  to  their  swords  for  the  decision  of  the  contest.  The  kindred  and 
dependents  of  the  aggressor,  as  well  as  of  the  defender,  were  involved  in 
the  quarrel.     They  nad  not  even  the  liberty  of  remaining  neutral.     Such 

*  Tacit,  de  Mor.  Gorman,  rap.  21'.  Vett.  Patrrc.  lib.  ii.  c.  IIS. 
Vol..  IT.— 4 


26  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

as  refused  to  act  in  concert  with  the  party  to  which  they  belonged,  were 
not  only  exposed  to  infamy,  but  subjected  to  legal  penalties. 

The  different  kingdoms  of  Europe  were  torn  and  afflicted,  during  several 
centuries,  by  intestine  wars,  excited  by  private  animosities,  and  carried  on 
with  all  the  rage  natural  to  men  of  fierce  manners,  and  of  violent  passions. 
The  estate  of  every  baron  was  a  kind  of  independent  territory,  disjoined 
from  those  around  it,  and  the  hostilities  betiveen  them  seldom  ceased.  The 
evil  became  so  inveterate  and  deep-rooted,  that  the  form  and  laws  of 
private  war  were  ascertained,  and  regulations  concerning  it  made  a  part 
in  the  system  of  jurisprudence,*  in  the  same  manner  as  if  this  practice 
had  been  founded  in  some  natural  right  of  humanity,  or  in  the  original 
constitution  of  civil  society. 

So  great  was  the  disorder,  and  such  the  calamities,  which  these  perpetual 
hostilities  occasioned,  that  various  efforts  were   made  to  wrest  from  the 
nobles  this  pernicious  privilege.     It  was  the  interest  of  every  sovereign  to 
abolish  a  practice  which  almost  annihilated  his  authority.     Charlemagne 
prohibited  it  by  an  express  law,  as  an  invention  of  the  devil  to  destroy  the 
order  and  happiness  of  society  ;t  but  the  reign  of  one  monarch,  however 
vigorous  and  active,  was  too  short  to  extirpate  a   custom  so  firmly  esta- 
blished.    Instead  of  enforcing  this  prohibition,  his  feeble  successors  durst 
venture  on  nothing  more  than  to  apply  palliatives.     They  declared  it  un- 
lawful for  any  person  to  commence  war  until  he  had  sent  a  formal  defiance 
to  the  kindred  and  dependants  of  his  adversary  ;  they  ordained  that,  after 
the  commission  of  the  trespass  or  crime  which  gave  rise  to  a  private  war, 
forty  days  must  elapse  before  the  person  injured  should  attack  the  vassals 
of  his  adversary  ;  they  enjoined  all  persons  to  suspend  their  private  animo- 
sities, and  to  cease  from  hostilities,  when  the  king  was  engaged  in  any  war 
against  the  enemies  of  the  nation..    The  church  co-operated  with  the  civil 
magistrate,  and  interposed  its  authority  in  order  to  extirpate  a  practice  so 
repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity.     Various  councils  issued  decrees, 
prohibiting  all    private  wars ;    and  denounced    the  heaviest  anathemas 
against  such  as  should  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  society,  by  claiming  or 
exercising  that  barbarous  right.     The  aid  of  religion  was  called  in  to 
combat  and  subdue  the  ferocity  of  the  times.     The  Almighty  was  said  to 
have  manifested,  by  visions  and  revelations  to  different  persons,  his  disap- 
probation of  that  spirit  of  revenge,  which  armed  one  part  of  his  creatures 
against  the  other.     Men  were  required,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  sheathe 
their  swords,  and  to  remember  the  sacred  ties  which  united  them  as 
Christians,and  as  members  of  the  same  society.     But  this  junction  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authority,  though  strengthened  by  every  thing  most  apt 
to  alarm  and  to  overawe  the  credulous  spirit  of  those  ages,  produced  no 
other  effect  than  some  temporary  suspensions  of  hostilities,  and  a  cessation 
from  war  on  certain  days  and  seasons  consecrated  to  the  more  solemn  acts 
of  devotion.     The  nobles  continued  to  assert  this  dangerous  privilege  ; 
they  refused  to  obey  some  of  the  laws  calculated  to  annul  and  circumscribe 
it ;  they  eluded  others  ;  they  petitioned  ;  they  remonstrated  ;  they  strug- 
gled for  the  right  of  private  war  as  the  highest  and   most  honourable 
distinction  of  their  order.     Even  so  late  as  the  fourteenth  century,  we  find 
the  nobles,  in  several  provinces  of  France,  contending  for  their  ancient 
method  of  terminating  their  differences  by  the  sword,  in  preference  to  that 
of  submitting  them  to  the  decision  of  any  judge.     The  final  abolition 
of  this  practice  in  that  kingdom,  and  the  other  countries  in  which  it  pre- 
vailed, is  not  to  be  ascribed  so  much  to  the  force  of  statutes  and  decrees, 
as  to  the  gradual  increase  of  the  royal  authority,  and  to  the  imperceptible 

*  Beaumanoir  Cnustumrs  de  Beauvoisis,  ch.  59.  ct  !<>s  notes  de  Thnumassiere.  p.  447.      f  Capi- 
tal. A.  I).  801.    Edit.  Balus.  vol.  i.  p.  371. 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  27 

progress  of  jusler  sentiments  concerning  government,  order,  and  public 
security  [21], 

2.  The  prohibition  of  the  form  of  trial  by  judicial  combat,  was  another 
considerable  step  towards  the  introduction  ot  such  regular  government,  as 
secured  public  order  and  private  tranquillity.  As  the  right  of  private  war 
left  many  of  the  quarrels  among  individuals  to  be  decided,  like  those  be- 
tween nations,  by  arms;  the  form  of  trial  by  judicial  combat,  which  was 
established  in  every  countiy  of  Europe,  banished  equity  from  courts  of 
justice,  and  rendered  chance  or  force  the  arbiter  of  their  determinations. 
In  civilized  nations,  all  transactions  of  any  importance  are  concluded  in 
writing.  The  exhibition  of  the  deed  or  instrument  is  full  evidence  of  the 
fact,  and  ascertains  with  precision  what  each  party  has  stipulated  to  per- 
form. But  among  a  rude  people,  when  the  arts  of  reading  and  writing 
were  such  uncommon  attainments,  that  to  be  master  of  either  entitled  a 
person  to  the  appellation  of  a  clerk  or  learned  man,  scarcely  any  thing; 
was  committed  to  writing  but  treaties  between  princes,  their  grants  and 
charters  to  their  subjects,  or  such  transactions  between  private  parties  as 
were  of  extraordinary  consequence,  or  had  an  extensive  effect.  The 
greater  part  of  affairs  in  common  life  and  business  were  carried  on  by 
verbal  contracts  or  promises.  This,  in  many  civil  questions,  not  only  made 
it  difficult  to  bring  proof  sufficient  to  establish  any  claim,  but  encouraged 
falsehood  and  fraud,  by  rendering  them  extremely  easy.  Even  in  criminal 
cases,  where  a  particular  fact  must  be  ascertained,  or  an  accusation  must 
be  disproved,  the  nature  and  effect  of  legal  evidence  were  little  under- 
stood by  barbarous  nations.  To  define  with  accuracy  that  species  of 
evidence  which  a  court  had  reason  to  expect ;  to  determine  when  it  ought 
to  insist  on  positive  proof,  and  when  it  should  be  satisfied  with  a  proof 
from  circumstances ;  to  compare  the  testimony  of  discordant  witnesses, 
and  to  fix  the  degree  of  credit  due  to  each  ;  were  discussions  too  intricate 
and  subtile  for  the  jurisprudence  of  ignorant  ages.  In  order  to  avoid 
encumbering  themselves  with  these,  a  more  simple  form  of  procedure  was 
introduced  into  courts  as  well  civil  as  criminal.  In  all  cases  where  the 
notoriety  of  the  fact  did  not  furnish  the  clearest  and  most  direct  evidence, 
the  person  accused,  or  he  against  whom  an  action  was  brought,  was  called 
legally,  or  offered  voluntarily,  to  purge  himself  by  oath ;  and  upon  his 
declaring  his  innocence,  he  was  instantly  acquitted.*  This  absurd  practice 
effectually  screened  guilt  and  fraud  from  detection  and  punishment,  by 
rendering  the  temptation  to  perjury  so  powerful,  that  it  was  not  easy  to 
resist  it.  The  pernicious  effects  of  it  were  sensibly  felt  ;  and  in  order  to 
guard  against  them,  the  laws  ordained,  that  oaths  should  be  administered 
with  great  solemnity,  and  accompanied  with  every  circumstance  which 
cou  d  inspire  religious  reverence,  or  superstitious  terror.!  This,  however, 
proved  a  feeble  remedy ;  these  ceremonious  rites  became  familiar,  and 
their  impression  on  the  imagination  gradually  diminished  ;  men  who  could 
venture  to  disregard  truth,  were  not  apt  to  startle  at  the  solemnities  of  an 
oath.  Their  observation  of  this,  put  legislators  upon  devising  a  new  expe- 
dient for  rendering  the  purgation  by  oath  more  certain  and  satisfactory. 
They  required  the  person  accused  to  appear  with  a  certain  number  of 
freemen,  his  neighbours  or  relations,  who  corroborated  the  oath  which  he 
took,  by  swearing  that  they  believed  all  that  he  uttered  to  be  true.  These 
were  called  Compurgators,  and  their  number  varied  according  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  in  dispute,  or  the  nature  of  the  crime  with  which 
a  person  was  charged.j  In  some  cases,  the  concurrence  of  no  less  than 
three  hundred  of  these  auxiliary  witnesses  was  requisite  to  acquit  the 

*  Leg.  Burgund.  tit.  8,  and  45.  Leg.  Aleman.  tit.  89.     Leg.  Baiwar.  tit.  8.  sect.  5.  2,  &x. 
t  Du  Cange  Glossar.  %oc.  Juramcntnm,  vol,  iii.  p.  1607.    Edit.  Benedict.  1  Ibid.  v.  iii. 

p.  15&9. 


28  A   VIEW   OF   THE  [Sect.  I. 

person  accused.*  But  even  this  device  was  found  to  be  ineffectual.  It 
was  a  point  of  honour  with  every  man  in  Europe,  during  several  ages,  not 
to  desert  the  chief  on  whom  he  depended,  and  to  stand  by  those  with 
whom  the  ties  of  blood  connected  him.  Whoever  then  was  bold  enough 
to  violate  the  laws,  was  sure  of  devoted  adherents,  willing  to  abet,  and 
eager  to  serve  him  in  whatever  manner  he  required.  The  formality  of 
calling  compurgators  proved  an  apparent,  not  a  real  security,  against  false- 
hood and  perjury ;  and  the  sentences  of  courts,  while  they  continued  to 
refer  every  point  in  question  to  the  oath  of  the  defendant,  became  so 
flagrantly  iniquitous,  as  excited  universal  indignation  against  this  method 
of  procedure.! 

Sensible  of  these  defects,  but  strangers  to  the  manner  of  correcting 
them,  or  of  introducing  a  more  proper  form,  our  ancestors,  as  an  infallible 
method  of  discovering  truth,  and  of  guarding  against  deception,  appealed 
to  Heaven,  and  referred  every  point  in  dispute  to  be  determined,  as  they 
imagined,  by  the  decisions  of  unerring  wisdom  and  impartial  justice. 
The  person  accused,  in  order  to  prove  his  innocence,  submitted  to  trial,  in 
certain  cases,  either  by  plunging  his  arm  in  boiling  water ;  or  by  lifting  a 
red-hot  iron  with  his  naked  hand;  or  by  walking  barefoot  over  burning 
ploughshares;  or  by  other  experiments  equally  perilous  and  formidable. 
On  other  occasions,  he  challenged  his  accuser  to  fight  him  in  single  combat. 
All  these  various  forms  of  trial  were  conducted  with  many  devout  cere- 
monies ;  the  ministers  of  religion  Avere  employed,  the  Almighty  was  called 
upon  to  interpose  for  the  manifestation  of  guilt,  and  for  the  protection  of 
innocence  ;  and  whoever  escaped  unhurt,  or  came  off  victorious,  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  acquitted  by  the  Judgment  of  God. \ 

Among  all  the  whimsical  and  absurd  institutions  which  owe  their  exist- 
ence to  the  weakness  of  human  reason,  this,  which  submitted  questions  that 
affected  the  property,  the  reputation,  and  the  lives  of  men,  to  the  determi- 
nation of  chance,  or  of  bodily  strength  and  address,  appears  to  be  the  most 
extravagant  and  preposterous.  There  were  circumstances,  however,  which 
led  the  nations  of  Europe  to  consider  this  equivocal  mode  of  deciding  any 
point  in  contest,  as  a  direct  appeal  to  Heaven,  and  a  certain  method  of 
discovering  its  will.  As  men  are  unable  to  comprehend  the  manner  in  which 
the  Almighty  carries  on  the  government  of  the  universe,  by  equal,  fixed, 
and  general  laws,  they  are  apt  to  imagine,  that  in  every  case  which  their 
passions  or  interest  render  important  in  their  own  eyes,  the  Supreme  Ruler 
of  all  ought  visibly  to  display  his  power  in  vindicating  innocence  and  pun- 
ishing guilt.  It  requires  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  science  and  philoso- 
phy to  correct  this  popular  error.  But  the  sentiments  prevalent  in  Europe 
during  the  dark  ages,  instead  of  correcting,  strengthened  it.  Religion,  tor 
several  centuries,  consisted  chiefly  in  believing  the  legendary  history  of 
those  saints  whose  names  crowd  and  disgrace  the  Romish  calendar.  The 
fabulous  tales  concerning  their  miracles,  had  been  declared  authentic  by 
the  bulls  of  popes,  and  the  decrees  of  councils :  they  made  the  great  sub- 
ject of  the  instructions  which  the  clergy  offered  to  the  people,  and  were 
received  by  them  with  implicit  credulity  and  admiration.  By  attending 
to  these,  men  were  accustomed  to  believe  that  the  established  laws  of 
nature  might  be  violated  on  the  most  frivolous  occasions,  and  were  taught 
to  look  rather  for  particular  and  extraordinary  acts  of  power  under  the 
divine  administration,  than  to  contemplate  the  regular  progress  and  execu- 
tion of  a  general  plan.  One  superstition  prepared  the  way  for  another ; 
and  whoever  believed  that  the  Supreme  Being  had  interposed  miraculously 
on  those  trivial  occasions  mentioned  in  legends,  could  not  but  expect  his 

*  Spelman  Glossar.  voc.  Assalh.  Gregor.  Turon.  Hist.  lib.  viii.  c.  9.  t  Leg. 

I.angobard.  lib.  ii.  tit,  55,  sect.  34.  t  Murat.  dissertatio  de  judiciis  Dei  Antiquit.  Ital.  vol. 

iii.  p.  6)?. 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  29 

intervention  in  matters  of  greater  importance,  when  solemnly  referred  to 
his  decision. 

With  this  superstitious  opinion,  the  martial  spirit  of  Europe,  during  the 
middle  ages,  concurred  in  establishing  the  mode  of  trial  by  judicial  combat. 
To  be  ready  to  maintain  with  his  sword  whatever  his  lips  had  uttered, 
was  the  first  maxim  of  honour  with  every  gentleman.  To  assert  their 
own  rights  by  force  of  arms,  to  inflict  vengeance  on  those  who  had  injured 
or  affronted  them,  were  the  distinction  and  pride  of  high-spirited  nobles. 
The  form  of  trial  by  combat  coinciding  with  this  maxim,  flattered  and 
gratified  these  passions.  Every  man  was  the  guardian  of  his  own 
honour,  and  of  his  own  life  ;  the  justice  of  his  cause,  as  well  as  his  future 
reputation,  depended  on  his  own  courage  and  prowess.  This  mode  of 
decision  was  considered,  accordingly,  as  one  of  the  happiest  efforts  of  wise 
policy  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  introduced,  all  the  forms  of  trial  by  fire  or 
water,  and  other  superstitious  experiments,  fell  into  disuse,  or  were  em- 
ployed only  in  controversies  between  persons  of  inferior  rank.  As  it  was 
the  privilege  of  a  gentleman  to  claim  the  trial  by  combat,  it  was  quickly 
authorized  over  all  Europe,  and  received  in  every  country  with  equal 
satisfaction.  Not  only  questions  concerning  uncertain  or  contested  facts, 
but  general  and  abstract  points  in  law,  were  determined  by  the  issue  of  a 
combat ;  and  the  latter  was  deemed  a  method  of  discovering  truth  more 
liberal,  as  well  as  more  satisfactory,  than  that  by  investigation  and  argument. 
Not  only  might  parties,  whose  minds  were  exasperated  by  the  eagerness 
and  the  hostility  of  opposition,  defy  their  antagonists,  and  require  him  to 
make  good  his  charge,  or  to  prove  his  innocence  with  his  sword  ;  but 
witnesses  who  had  no  interest  in  the  issue  of  the  question,  though  called 
to  declare  the  truth  by  laws  which  ought  to  have  afforded  them  protection, 
Avere  equally  exposed  to  the  danger  of  a  challenge,  and  equally  bound  to 
assert  the  veracity  of  their  evidence  by  dint  of  arms.  To  complete  the 
absurdities  of  this  military  jurisprudence,  even  the  character  of  a  judge 
was  not  sacred  from  its  violence.  Any  one  of  the  parties  might  interrupt 
a  judge  when  about  to  deliver  his  opinion;  might  accuse  him  of  iniquity 
and  corruption  in  the  most  reproachful  terms,  and  throwing,  down  the 

fauntlet,  might  challenge  him  to  defend  his  integrity  in  the  field  ;  nor  could 
e,  without  infamy,  refuse  to  accept  the  defiance,  or  decline  to  enter  the 
lists  against  such  an  adversary. 

Thus  the  form  of  trial  by  combat,  like  other  abuses,  spread  gradually, 
and  extended  to  all  persons,  and  almost  to  all  cases.  Ecclesiastics,  women, 
minors,  superannuated  and  infirm  persons,  who  could  not  with  decency  or 
justice  be  compelled  to  take  arms,  or  to  maintain  their  own  cause,  were 
obliged  to  produce  champions,  who  offered  from  affection,  or  were  engaged 
by  rewards,  to  fight  their  battles.  The  solemnities  of  a  judicial  combat 
were  such  as  were  natural  in  an  action,  which  was  considered  both  as  a 
formal  appeal  to  God,  and  as  the  final  decision  of  questions  of  the  highest 
moment.  Every  circumstance  relating  to  them  was  regulated  by  the  edicts 
of  princes,  and  explained  in  the  comments  of  lawyers,  with  a  minute  and 
even  superstitious  accuracy.  Skill  in  these  laws  and  rights  was  frequently 
the  only  science  of  which  warlike  nobles  boasted,  or  which  they  were 
ambitious  to  attain.* 

By  this  barbarous  custom,  the  natural  course  of  proceeding,  both  in  civil 
and  criminal  questions,  was  entirely  perverted.  Force  usurped  the  place  of 
equity  in  courts  of  judicature,  and  justice  was  banished  from  her  proper  man- 
sion. Discernment,  learning,  integrity,  were  qualities  less  necessary  to  a 
j  udge,  than  bodily  strength  and  dexterity  in  the  use  of  arms.  Daring  courage, 
and  superior  vigour  of  address,  were  of  more  moment  towards  securing 

•  See  a  curious  discourse  concerning  the  laws  of  judicial  combat,  by  Thomas  of  Woodstock,  du  k  t 
of  Gloucester,  uncle  to  Richard  II.  in  Spelman'a  Glosaar.  voc.  Campus. 


3 j  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

the  favourable  issue  of  a  suit,  than  the  equity  of  a  cause,  or  the  clearness 
of  the  evidence.  Men,  of  course,  applied  themselves  to  cultivate  the 
talents  which  they  found  to  be  of  greatest  utility.  As  strength  of  body  and 
address  in  arms  were  no  less  requisite  in  those  lists  which  they  were 
obliged  to  enter  in  defence  of  their  private  rights,  than  in  the  held  of 
battle,  where  they  met  the  enemies  of  their  country,  it  became  the  great 
object  of  their  education,  as  well  as  the  chief  employment  of  life,  to 
acquire  these  martial  accomplishments.  The  administration  of  justice, 
instead  of  accustoming  men  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  equity,  or  to  reverence 
the  decisions  of  law,  added  to  the  ferocity  of  their  manners,  and  taught 
them  to  consider  force  as  the  great  arbiter  of  right  and  wrong. 

These  pernicious  effects  of  the  trial  by  combat  were  so  obvious,  that 
they  did  not  altogether  escape  the  view  of  the  unobserving  age  in  which 
it  was  introduced.  The  clergy,  from  the  beginning,  remonstrated  against 
it  as  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  subversive  of  justice 
and  order.*  But  the  maxims  and  passions  which  favoured  it,  had  taken 
such  hold  of  the  minds  of  men,  that  they  disregarded  admonitions  and 
censures,  which,  on  other  occasions,  would  have  struck  them  with  terror. 
The  evil  was  too  great  and  inveterate  to  yield  to  that  remedy,  and  con- 
tinuing to  increase,  the  civil  power  at  length  found  it  necessary  to  inter- 
pose. Conscious,  however,  of  their  own  limited  authority,  monarchs 
proceeded  with  caution,  and  their  first  attempts  to  restrain,  or  to  set  any 
bounds  to  this  practice,  were  extremely  feeble.  One  of  the  earliest 
restrictions  of  this  practice  which  occurs  in  the  history  of  Europe,  is  that 
of  Henry  I.  of  England.  It  extended  no  farther  than  to  prohibit  the  trial 
by  combat  in  questions  concerning  property  of  small  value. f  Louis  VII.  of 
France  imitated  his  example,  and  issued  an  edict  to  the  same  effect.j 
St.  Louis,  whose  ideas  as  a  legislator  were  far  superior  to  those  of  his  age, 
endeavoured  to  introduce  a  more  perfect  jurisprudence,  and  to  substitute 
the  trial  by  evidence,  in  place  of  that  by  combat.  But  his  regulations, 
with  respect  to  this,  were  confined  to  his  own  domains  ;  for  the  great 
vassals  of  the  crown  possessed  such  independent  authority,  and  were  so 
fondly  attached  to  the  ancient -practice,  that  he  had  not  power  to  extend 
it  to  the  whole  kingdom.  Some  barons  voluntarily  adopted  his  regulations. 
The  spirit  of  courts  of  justice  became  averse  to  the  mode  of  decision  by 
combat,  and  discouraged  it  on  every  occasion.  The  nobles,  nevertheless, 
thought  it  so  honourable  to  depend  for  the  security  of  their  lives  and 
fortunes  on  their  own  courage  alone,  and  contended  with  so  much  vehemence 
for  the  preservation  of  this  favourite  privilege  of  their  order,  that  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Louis,  unable  to  oppose,  and  afraid  of  offending  such  powerful 
subjects^  were  obliged  not  only  to  tolerate,  but  to  authorize  the  practice 
which  he  had  attempted  to  abolish. §  In  other  countries  of  Europe,  efforts 
equally  zealous  were  employed  to  maintain  the  established  custom  ;  and 
similar  concessions  were  extorted  from  their  respective  sovereigns.  It 
continued,  however,  to  be  an  object  of  policy  with  every  monarch  of 
abilities  or  vigour  to  ex  .'ode  the  trial  by  combat ;  and  various  edicts  were 
issued  for  this  purpose.  But  the  observation  which  was  made  concerning 
the  right  of  private  war,  is  equally  applicable  to  the  mode  of  trial  under 
review.  No  custom,  how  absurd  soever  it  may  be,  if  it  has  subsisted 
long,  or  derives  its  force  from  the  manners  and  prejudices  of  the  age  in 
which  it  prevails,  was  ever  abolished  by  the  bare  promulgation  of  laws 
and  statutes.  The  sentiments  of  the  people  must  change,  or  some  new 
power,  sufficient  to  counteract  the  prevalent  custom,  must  be  introduced. 
Such  a  change  accordingly  took  place  in  Europe,  as  science  gradually 
increased,  and  society  advanced  towards  more  perfect  order.     In  propor- 

*  Du  CaDge  Glossar.  voc.    I)itellum,  vol.  ii.  p.  1075.  f  Brussel  Usage  lies  Fiefs,  vol.  ti 

p.  9G2.  %  Onion,  tom.  I.  p.  16.  §  IBid.  torn.  i.  p.  338.  390.  435.  , 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  81 

tion  as  the  prerogative  of  princes  extended,  and  came  to  acquire  new 
force,  a  power,  interested  in  suppressing  every  practice  favourable  to  the 
independence  of  the  nobles,  was  introduced.  The  struggle,  nevertheless, 
subsisted  for  several  centuries  ;  sometimes  the  new  regulations  and  ideas 
seemed  to  gain  ground  ;  sometimes  ancient  habits  recurred  :  and  though, 
upon  the  whole,  the  trial  by  combat  went  more  and  more  into  disuse,  yet 
instances  of  it  occur,  as  late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  history  both 
of  France  and  of  England.  In  proportion  as  it  declined,  the  regular 
administration  of  justice  was  restored,  the  proceedings  of  courts  were 
directed  by  known  laws,  the  study  of  these  became  an  object  of  attention 
to  judges,  and  the  people  of  Europe  advanced  fast  towards  civility,  when 
this  great  cause  of  the  ferocity  of  their  manners  was  removed  [22]. 

3.  By  authorizing  the  right  of  appeal  from  the  courts  of  the  barons  to 
those  of  the  king,  and  subjecting  the  decisions  of  the  former  to  the  review 
of  the  latter,  a  new  step,  not  less  considerable  than  those  which  I  have 
already  mentioned,  was  taken  towards  establishing  the  regular,  consistent, 
and  vigorous  administration  of  justice.  Among  all  the  encroachments  of 
the  feudal  nobles  on  the  prerogative  of  their  monarchs,  their  usurping  the 
administration  of  justice  with  supreme  authority,  both  in  civil  and  criminal 
causes,  within  the  precincts  of  their  own  estates,  was  the  most  singular. 
In  other  nations,  subjects  have  contended  with  their  sovereigns,  and  have 
endeavoured  to  extend  their  own  power  and  privileges  ;  but  in  the  history 
of  their  struggles  and  pretensions,  we  discover  nothing  similar  to  this  right 
which  the  feudal  barons  claimed  and  obtained.  It  must  have  been  some- 
thing peculiar  in  their  genius  and  manners  that  suggested  this  idea,  and 
prompted  them  to  insist  on  such  a  claim.  Among  the  rude  people  who 
conquered  the  various  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  established 
new  kingdoms  there,  the  passion  of  resentment,  too  impetuous  to  bear 
control,  was  permitted  to  remain  almost  unrestrained  by  the  authority  of 
laws.  The  person  offended,  as  has  been  observed,  retained  not  only  the 
right  of  prosecuting,  but  of  punishing  his  adversary.  To  him  it  belonged 
to  inflict  such  vengeance  as  satiated  his  rage,  or  to  accept  of  such  satisfac- 
tion as  appeased  it.  But  while  fierce  barbarians  continued  to  be  the  sole 
judges  in  their  own  cause,  their  enmities  were  implacable  and  immortal ; 
they  set  no  bounds  either  to  the  degree  of  their  vengeance,  or  to  the  dura- 
tion of  their  resentment.  The  excesses  which  this  occasioned,  proved  so 
destructive  of  peace  and  order  in  society,  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  devise 
some  remedy.  At  first,  recourse  was  had  to  arbitrators,  who  by  persuasion 
or  entreaty  prevailed  on  the  party  offended  to  accept  of  a  fine  or  composi- 
tion from  the  aggressor,  and  to  drop  all  farther  prosecution.  But  as  sub- 
mission to  persons  who  had  no  legal  or  magisterial  authority  was  altogether 
voluntary,  it  became  necessary  to  establish  judges,  with  power  sufficient 
to  enforce  their  own  decisions.  The  leader  whom  they  were  accustomed 
to  follow  and  to  obey,  whose  courage  they  respected,  and  in  whose  integrity 
they  placed  confidence,  was  the  person  to  whom  a  martial  people  naturally 
committed  this  important  prerogative.  Every  chieftain  was  the  commander 
of  his  tribe  in  war,  and  their  judge  in  peace.  Every  baron  led  his  vassals 
to  the  field,  and  administered  justice  to  them  in  his  hall.  Their  high-spirited 
dependants  would  not  have  recognised  any  other  authority,  or  have  sub- 
mitted to  any  other  jurisdiction.  But  in  times  of  turbulence  and  violence, 
the  exercise  of  this  new  function  was  attended  not  only  with  trouble,  but 
with  danger.  No  person  could  assume  the  character  of  a  judge,  if  he  did 
not  possess  power  sufficient  to  protect  the  one  party  from  the  violence  of 
private  revenge,  and  to  compel  the  other  to  accept  of  such  reparation  as 
he  enjoined.  In  consideration  of  the  extraordinary  efforts  which  this  office 
required,  judges,  besides  the  fine  which  they  appointed  to  be  paid  as  a 
compensation  to  the  person  or  family  who  had  been  injured,  levied  an 
additional  sum  as  a  recompense  for  their  own  labour  :  and  in  all  the  feudal 


32  A  VIE  VV  O  F  T  H  E  [Sect.  I. 

kingdoms  the  latter  was  not  only  as  precisely  ascertained,  but  as  regularly 
exacted,  as  the  former. 

Thus,  by  the  natural  operation  of  circumstances  peculiar  to  the  manners 
or  political  state  of  the  feudal  nations,  separate  and  territorial  jurisdictions 
came  not  only  to  be  established  in  every  kingdom,  but  were  established  in 
such  a  way,  that  the  interest  of  the  barons  concurred  with  their  ambition 
in  maintaining  and  extending  them.  It  was  not  merely  a  point  of  honour 
with  the  feudal  nobles  to  dispense  justice  to  their  vassals  ;  but  from  the 
exercise  of  that  power  arose  one  capital  branch  of  their  revenue  ;  and  the 
emoluments  of  their  courts  were  frequently  the  main  support  of  their  dignity. 
It  was  with  infinite  zeal  that  they  asserted  and  defended  this  high  privi- 
lege of  their  order.  By  this  institution,  however,  every  kingdom  in  Europe 
was  split  into  as  many  separate  principalities  as  it  contained  powertul 
barons.  Their  vassals,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war,  were  hardly  sensible 
of  any  authority,  but  that  of  their  immediate  superior  lord.  They  felt 
themselves  subject  to  no  other  command.  They  were  amenable  to  no 
other  jurisdiction.  The  ties  which  linked  together  these  smaller  confede- 
racies became  close  and  firm  ;  the  bonds  of  public  union  relaxed,  or  were 
dissolved.  The  nobles  strained  their  invention  in  devising  regulations 
which  tended  to  ascertain  and  perpetuate  this  distinction.  In  order  to 
guard  against  any  appearance  of  subordination  in  their  courts  to  those  of 
the  crown,  they  frequently  constrained  their  monarchs  to  prohibit  the  royal 
judges  from  entering  their  territories,  or  from  claiming  any  jurisdiction 
there  ;  and  if,  either  through  mistake,  or  from  the  spirit  of  encroachment, 
any  royai  judge  ventured  to  extend  his  authority  to  the  vassals  of  a  baron, 
they  might  plead  their  right  of  exemption,  and  the  lord  of  whom  they  held 
could  not  only  rescue  them  out  of  his  hands,  but  was  entitled  to  legal 
reparation  for  the  injury  and  affront  offered  to  him.  The  jurisdiction  of 
the  royal  judges  scarcely  reached  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  king's 
demesnes.  Instead  of  a  regular  gradation  of  courts,  all  acknowledging  the 
authority  of  the  same  general  laws,  and  looking  up  to  these  as  the  guides 
of  their  decisions,  there  were  in  every  feudal  kingdom  a  number  of  inde- 
pendent tribunals,  the  procee'dings  of  which  were  directed  by  local  cus- 
toms and  contradictory  forms.  The  collision  of  jurisdiction  among  these 
different  courts  often  retarded  the  execution  of  justice.  The  variety  and 
caprice  of  their  modes  of  procedure  must  have  for  ever  kept  the  adminis- 
tration of  it  from  attaining  any  degree  of  uniformity  or  perfection. 

All  the  monarchs  of  Europe  perceived  these  encroachments  on  their  juris- 
diction, and  bore  them  with  impatience.  But  the  usurpations  of  the  nobles 
were  so  firmly  established,  and  the  danger  of  endeavouring  to  overturn 
them  by  open  force  was  so  manifest,  that  kings  were  obliged  to  remain 
satisfied  with  attempts  to  undermine  them.  Various  expedients  were 
employed  for  this  purpose  ;  each  of  which  merits  attention  as  fiiey  mark 
the  progress  of  law  and  equity  in  the  several  kingdoms  of  Europe.  At  first, 
princes  endeavoured  to  circumscribe  the  jurisdiction  of  the  barons,  by 
contending  that  they  ought  to  take  cognizance  only  of  smaller  offences, 
reserving  those  of  greater  moment,  under  the  appellation  of  Pleas  of  the 
Crown,  and  Royal  Causes,  to  be  tried  in  the  king's  courts.  This,  however, 
affected  only  the  barons  of  inferior  note ;  the  more  powerful  nobles 
scorned  such  a  distinction,  and  not  only  claimed  unlimited  jurisdiction,  but 
obliged  their  sovereigns  to  grant  them  charters,  conveying  or  recognising 
this  privilege  in  the  most  ample  form.     The  attempt,  nevertheless,  was 

f  reductive  of  some  good  consequences,  and  paved  the  way  for  more, 
t  turned  the  attention  of  men  towards  a  jurisdiction  distinct  from  that  ot 
the  baron  whose  vassals  they  were  ;  it  accustomed  them  to  the  pretensions 
of  superiority  which  the  crown  claimed  over  territorial  judges  ;  and  taught 
them,  when  oppressed  by  their  own  superior  lord,  to  look  up  to  their 
sovereign  as  their  protector.  This  facilitated  the  introduction  of  appeals, 
by  whirl)  princes   brought  the  decision*  of  the  boron*''  courts  under  (he 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  33 

review  ol  the  royal  judges.  While  trial  by  combat  subsisted  in  lull  vigour, 
no  point  decided  according  to  that  mode  could  be  drought  under  the  review 
of  another  court.  It  had  been  referred  to  the  judgment  of  God;  the  issue 
of  battle  had  declared  his  will ;  and  it  would  have  been  impious  to  have 
called  in  question  the  equity  of  the  divine  decision.  But  as  soon  as  the 
barbarous  custom  began  to  fall  into  disuse,  princes  encouraged  the  vassals 
of  the  barons  to  sue  for  redress,  by  appealing  to  the  royal  courts.  The 
progress  of  this  practice,  however,  was  slow  and  gradual.  The  first 
instances  of  appeals  were  on  account  of  the  delay  or  refusal  of  justice  in 
the  baron's  court ;  and  as  these  were  countenanced  by  the  ideas  of  sub- 
ordination in  the  feudal  constitution,  the  nobles  allowed  them  to  be  intro- 
duced without  much  opposition.  But  when  these  were  followed  by 
appeals  on  account  of  the  injustice  or  iniquity  of  the  sentence,  the  nobles  then 
began  to  be  sensible,  that  if  this  innovation  became  general,  the  shadow  of 
power  alone  would  remain  in  their  hands,  and  all  real  authority  and  juris- 
diction would  centre  in  those  courts  which  possessed  the  right  of  review. 
They  instantly  took  the  alarm,  remonstrated  against  the  encroachment,  and 
contended  boldly  for  their  ancient  privileges.  But  the  monarchs  in  the 
different  kingdoms  of  Europe  pursued  their  plan  with  steadiness  and  pru- 
dence. Though  forced  to  suspend  their  operations  on  some  occasions,  and 
seemingly  to  yield  when  any  formidable  confederacy  of  their  vassals  united 
against  them,  they  resumed  their  measures  as  soon  as  they  observed  the 
nobles  to  be  remiss  or  feeble,  and  pushed  them  with  vigour.  They 
appointed  the  royal  courts,  which  originally  were  ambulatory,  and  irregular 
with  respect  to  their  times  of  meeting,  to  be  held  in  a  fixed  place,  and  at 
stated  seasons.  They  were  solicitous  to  name  judges  of  more  distinguished 
abilities  than  such  as  usually  presided  in  the  courts  of  the  barons.  They 
added  dignity  to  their  character,  and  splendour  to  their  assemblies.  They 
laboured  to  render  their  forms  regular  and  their  decrees  consistent.  Such 
judicatories  became,  of  course,  the  objects  of  public  confidence  as  well  as 
Veneration.  The  people,  relinquishing  the  partial  tribunals  of  their  lords, 
were  eager  to  bring  every  subject  of  contest  under  the  more  equal  and 
discerning  eye  of  those  whom  their  sovereign  had  chosen  to  give  judgment 
in  his  name.  Thus  kings  became  once  more  the  heads  of  the  community, 
and  the  dispensers  of  justice  to  their  subjects.  The  barons,  in  some  king- 
doms, ceased  to  exercise  their  right  of  jurisdiction,  because  it  sunk  into 
contempt ;  in  others,  it  was  circumscribed  by  such  regulations  as  rendered 
it  innocent,  or  it  was  entirely  abolished  by  express  statutes.  Thus  the 
administration  of  justice  taking  its  rise  from  one  source,  and  following  one 
direction,  held  its  course  in  every  state  with  more  uniformity,  and  with 
greater  force  [23]. 

VI.  The  forms  and  maxims  of  the  canon  law,  which  were  become 
universally  respectable  from  their  authority  in  the  spiritual  courts,  con- 
tributed not  a  little  towards  those  improvements  in  jurisprudence  which  I 
have  enumerated.  If  we  consider  the  canon  law  politically,  and  view  it 
either  as  a  system  framed  on  purpose  to  assist  the  clergy  in  usurping 
powers  and  jurisdiction  no  less  repugnant  to  the  nature  of  their  function, 
than  inconsistent  with  the  order  of  government ;  or  as  the  chief  instru- 
ment in  establishing  the  dominion  of  the  popes,  which  shook  the  throne,  and 
endangered  the  libertiesof  every  kingdom  in  Europe,  we  must  pronounce  it 
one  of  the  most  formidable  engines  ever  formed  against  the  happiness  of  civil 
society.  But  if  we  contemplate  it  merely  as  a  code  of  laws  respecting  the 
rights  and  property  of  individuals,  and  attend  only  to  the  civil  effects  of  its 
decisions  concerning  these,  it  will  appear  in  a  different,  and  a  much  more, 
favourable  light.  In  ages  of  ignorance  and  credulity,  the  ministers  oi  reli- 
gion are  the  objects  of  superstitious  veneration.  When  the  barbarians  who 
overran  the  Roman  Empire  first  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  they  found 
the  clergy  in  possession  of  considerable  power  ;   and  they  naturally  trans- 


31  A   VIEW  OF   THE  [Sect.  L 

ferred  to  those  new  guides  the  profound  submission  and  reverence  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  yield  to  the  priests  of  that  religion  which  they 
had  forsaken.  They  deemed  their  persons  to  be  equally  sacred  with  their 
function ;  and  would  have  considered  it  as  impious  to  subject  them  to  the 
profane  jurisdiction  of  the  laity.  The  clergy  were  not  blind  to  these 
advantages  which  the  weakness  of  mankind  afforded  them.  They  estab- 
lished courts  in  which  every  question  relating  to  their  own  character,  their 
function,  or  their  property,  was  tried.  They  pleaded  and  obtained  an 
almost  total  exemption  from  the  authority  of  civil  judges.  Upon  different 
pretexts,  and  by  a  multiplicity  of  artifices,  they  communicated  this  privilege 
to  so  many  persons,  and  extended  their  jurisdiction  to  such  a  variety  of 
cases,  that  the  greater  part  of  those  affairs  which  gave  rise  to  contest  and 
litigation,  was  drawn  under  the  cognizance  of  the  spiritual  courts. 

But,  in  order  to  dispose  the  laity  to  suffer  these  usurpations  without 
murmur  or  opposition,  it  was  necessary  to  convince  them,  that  the  admi- 
nistration of  justice  would  be  rendered  more  perfect  by  the  establishment 
of  this  new  jurisdiction.  This  was  not  a  difficult  undertaking  at  that 
period,  when  ecclesiastics  carried  on  their  encroachments  with  the  greatest 
success.  That  scanty  portion  of  science  which  served  to  guide  men  in 
the  ages  of  darkness,  was  almost  entirely  engrossed  by  the  clergy.  They 
alone  were  accustomed  to  read,  to  inquire,  and  to  reason.  Whatever 
knowledge  of  ancient  jurisprudence  had  been  preserved,  either  by  tradition, 
or  in  such  books  as  had  escaped  the  destructive  rage  of  barbarians,  was 
possessed  by  them.  Upon  the  maxims  of  that  excellent  system,  they 
founded  a  code  of  laws  consonant  to  the  great  principles  of  equity.  Being 
directed  by  fixed  and  known  rules,  the  forms  of  their  courts  were  ascer- 
tained, and  their  decisions  became  uniform  and  consistent.  Nor  did  they 
want  authority  sufficient  to  enforce  their  sentences.  Excommunication  and 
other  ecclesiastical  censures,  were  punishments  more  formidable  than  any 
that  civil  judges  could  inflict  in  support  of  their  decrees. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  should  become 
such  an  object  of  admiration  and  respect,  that  exemption  from  civil  juris- 
diction was  courted  as  a  privilege,  and  conferred  as  a  reward.  It  is  not 
surprising,  that,  even  to  rude  people,  the  maxims  of  the  canon  law  should 
appear  more  equal  and  just  than  those  of  the  ill-digested  jurisprudence 
which  directed  all  proceedings  in  civil  courts.  According  to  the  latter, 
the  differences  between  contending  barons  were  terminated,  as  in  a  state 
of  nature,  by  the  sword ;  according  to  the  former,  every  matter  was  sub- 
jected to  the  decision  of  laws.  The  one,  by  permitting  judicial  combats, 
left  chance  and  force  to  be  arbiters  of  right  or  wrong,  of  truth  or  falsehood  ; 
the  other  passed  judgment  with  respect  to  these,  by  the  maxims  of  equity, 
and  the  testimony  of  witnesses.  Any  error  or  iniquity  in  a  sentence  pro- 
nounced by  a  baron  to  whom  feudal  jurisdiction  belonged,  was  irremedial, 
because,  originally  it  was  subject  to  the  review  of  no  superior  tribunal  ; 
the  ecclesiastical  law  established  a  regular  gradation  of  courts,  through  all 
which  a  cause  might  be  carried  by  appeal,  until  it  was  determined  by 
that  authority  which  was  held  to  be  supreme  in  the  church.  Thus  the 
genius  and  principles  of  the  canon  law  prepared  men  for  approving  those 
three  great  alterations  in  the  feudal  jurisprudence  which  I  have  mentioned. 
But  it  was  not  with  respect  to  these  points  alone  that  the  canon  law  sug- 
gested improvements  beneficial  to  society.  Many  of  the  regulations,  now 
deemed  the  barriers  of  personal  security,  or  the  safeguards  of  private 
property,  are  contrary  to  the  spirit,  and  repugnant  to  the  maxims  of  the 
civil  jurisprudence  known  in  Europe  during  several  centuries,  and  were 
borrowed  from  the  rules  and  practice  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts.  By 
observing  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  the  decisions  in  these  courts,  men 
began  to  perceive  the  necessity  either  of  deserting  the  martial  tribunals  of 
the  barons,  or  of  attempfinfs  to  reform  them  [24]. 


STATE   OF  EUROPE.  35 

VII.  The  revival  of  the  knowledge  and  study  of  the  Roman  law 
co-operated  with  the  causes  which  I  have  mentioned,  in  introducing  more 
just  and  liheral  ideas  concerning  the  nature  of  government,  and  the  admi- 
nistration of  justice.  Among  the  calamities  which  the  devastations  of  the 
barbarians,  who  broke  in  upon  the  empire,  brought  upon  mankind,  one  ot" 
the  greatest  was  their  overturning  the  system  of  Roman  jurisprudence,  the 
noblest  monument  of  the  wisdom  of  that  great  people,  formed  to  subdue 
and  to  govern  the  world.  The  laws  and  regulations  of  a  civilized  com- 
munity were  altogether  repugnant  to  the  manners  and  ideas  of  these  fierce 
invaders.  They  nad  respect  to  objects  of  which  a  rude  people  had  no 
conception ;  and  were  adapted  to  a  state  of  society  with  which  they  were 
entirely  unacquainted.  For  this  reason,  wherever  they  settled,  the  Roman 
jurisprudence  soon  sunk  into  oblivion,  and  lay  buried  for  some  centuries 
under  the  load  of  those  institutions  which  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  dig- 
nified with  the  name  of  laws.  But  towards  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century,  a  copy  of  Justinian's  Pandects  was  accidentally  discovered  in  Italy 
By  that  time,  the  state  of  society  was  so  far  advanced,  and  the  ideas  of 
men  so  much  enlarged  and  improved  by  the  occurrences  of  several  cen- 
turies, during  which  they  had  continued  in  political  union,  that  they  were 
struck  with  admiration  of  a  system  which  their  ancestors  could  not  com- 
prehend. Though  they  had  not  hitherto  attained  such  a  degree  of  refine- 
ment, as  to -acquire  from  the  ancients  a  relish  for  true  philosophy  or  specu- 
lative science  ;  though  they  were  still  insensible,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the 
beauty  and  elegance  of  classical  composition  ;  they  were  sufficiently  qualified 
to  judge  with  respect  to  the  merit  of  their  system  of  laws,  in  which  the 
many  points  most  interesting  to  mankind  were  settled  with  discernment, 
precision,  and  equity.  All  men  of  letters  studied  this  new  science  with 
eagerness  ;  and  within  a  few  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  Pandects, 
professors  of  civil  law  were  appointed,  who  taught  it  publicly  in  most 
countries  of  Europe. 

The  effects  of  having  such  an  excellent  model  to  study  and  to  imitate 
were  immediately  perceived.  Men,  as  soon  as  they  were  acquainted  with 
fixed  and  general  laws,  perceived  the  advantage  of  them,  and  became 
impatient  to  ascertain  the  principles  and  forms  by  which  judges  should 
regulate  their  decisions.  Such  was  the  ardour  with  which  they  carried  on 
an  undertaking  of  so  great  importance  to  society,  that,  before  the  close  of 
the  twelfth  century,  the  feudal  law  was  reduced  into  a  regular  system  ;  the 
code  of  canon  law  was  enlarged  and  methodised  ;  and  the  loose  uncertain 
customs  of  different  provinces  or  kingdoms  were  collected  and  arranged 
with  an  order  and  accuracy  acquired  from  the  knowledge  of  Roman  juris- 
prudence. In  some  countries  of  Europe  the  Roman  law  was  adopted  as 
subsidiary  to  their  own  municipal  law  ;  and  all  cases  to  which  the  latter  did 
not  extend,  were  decided  according  to  tire  principles  of  the  former.  In 
others,  the  maxims  as  well  as  forms  of  Roman  jurisprudence  mingled  im- 
perceptibly with  the  laws  of  the  country,  and  had  a  powerful,  though  less 
sensible,  influence,  in  improving  and  perfecting  them  [25]. 

These  various  improvements  in  the  system  of  jurisprudence,  and  admi- 
nistration of  justice,  occasioned  a  change  in  manners,  of  great  importance, 
and  of  extensive  effect.  They  gave  rise  to  a  distinction  of  professions  ; 
they  obliged  men  to  cultivate  different  talents,  and  to  aim  at  different 
accomplishments,  in  order  to  qualify  themselves  for  the  various  departments 
and  functions  which  became  necessary  in  society.*  Among  uncivilized 
nations,  there  is  but  one  profession  honourable,  that  of  arms.  All  the 
ingenuity  and  vigour  of  the  human  mind  are  exerted  in  acquiring  military 
skill  or  address.  The  functions  of  peace  are  few  and  simple  ;  and  require 
no  particular  course  of  education  or  of  study,  as  a  preparation  for  dis- 

*  Dr,  Ferguson's  Essay  ou  the  Hietorj  of  CivH-So  Let]    pari  i     sect,  i. 


36  A   VIEW  OF   THE  [Sect.  I. 

charging  (hem.  This  was  the  slate  of  Europe  during  several  centuries. 
Every  gentleman,  born  a  soldier,  scorned  any  other  occupation ;  he  was 
taught  no  science  but  that  of  war;  even  his  exercises  and  pastimes  were 
feats  of  martial  prowess.  Nor  did  the  judicial  character,  which  persons  of 
noble  birth  were  alone  entitled  to  assume,  demand  any  degree  of  knowledge 
beyond  that  which  such  untutored  soldiers  possessed.  To  recollect  a  few 
traditionary  customs  which  time  had  confirmed,  and  rendered  respectable  ; 
to  mark  out  the  lists  of  battle  with  due  formality  ;  to  observe  the  issue  of  the 
combat ;  and  to  pronounce  whether  it  bad  been  conducted  according  to 
the  laws  of  arms  ;  included  every  thing  that  a  baron,  who  acted  as  a  judge, 
found  it  necessary  to  understand. 

But  when  the  forms  of  legal  proceedings  were  fixed,  when  the  rules  of 
decision  were  committed  to  writing,  and  collected  into  a  body,  law  became 
a  science,  the  knowledge  of  which  required  a  regular  course  of  study, 
together  with  long  attention  to  the  practice  of  courts.  Martial  and  illiterate 
nobles  had  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  undertake  a  task  so  laborious, 
as  well  as  so  foreign  from  all  the  occupations  which  they  deemed  enter- 
taining, or  suitable  to  their  rank.  They  gradually  relinquished  their  places 
in  courts  of  justice,  where  their  ignorance  exposed  them  to  contempt. 
They  became  weary  of  attending  to  the  discussion  of  cases,  which  grew 
too  intricate  for  them  to  comprehend.  Not  only  the  judicial  determination 
of  points  which  were  the  subject  of  controversy,  but  the  conduct  of  all 
legal  business  and  transactions,  was  committed  to  persons  trained  by 
previous  study  and  application  to  the  knowledge  of  law.  An  order  of  men, 
to  whom  their  fellow  citizens  had  daily  recourse  for  advice,  and  to  whom 
they  looked  up  for  decision  in  their  most  important  concerns,  naturally 
acquired  consideration  and  influence  in  society.  They  were  advanced  to 
honours  which  had  been  considered  hitherto  as  the  peculiar  rewards  of 
military  virtue.  They  were  intrusted  with  offices  of  the  highest  dignity 
and  most  extensive  power.  Thus,  another  profession  than  that  of  arms 
came  to  be  introduced  among  the  laity,  and  was  reputed  honourable.  The 
functions  of  civil  life  weie  attended  to.  The  talents  requisite  for  dis- 
charging them  were  cultivated.  A  new  road  was  opened  to  wealth  and 
eminence.  The  arts  and  virtues  of  peace  were  placed  in  their  proper 
rank,  and  received  their  due  recompense  [26]. 

VIII.  While  improvements,  so  important  with  respect  to  the  state  of 
society  and  the  administration  of  justice,  gradually  made  progress  in  Europe, 
sentiments  more  liberal  and  generous  had  begun  to  animate  the  nobles. 
These  were  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  chivalry,  which,  though  considered^ 
commonly,  as  a  wild  institution,  the  effect  ol  caprice,  and  the  source  of 
extravagance,  arose  naturally  from  the  state  of  society  at  that  period,  and 
had  a  very  serious  influence  in  refining  the  manners  of  the  European 
nations.  The  feudal  state  was  a  state  of  almost  perpetual  war,  rapine, 
and  anarchy ;  during  which  the  weak  and  unarmed  were  exposed  to 
insults  or  injuries.  The  power  of  the  sovereign  was  too  limited  to  prevent 
these  wrongs  ;  and  the  administration  of  justice  too  feeble  to  redress  them. 
The  most  effectual  protection  against  violence  and  oppression  was  often 
found  to  be  that  which  the  valour  and  generosity  of  private  persons 
afforded.  The  same  spirit  of  enterprise  which  had  prompted  so  many 
gentlemen  to  take  arms  in  defence  ot  the  oppressed  pilgrims  in  Palestine, 
incited  others  to  declare  themselves  the  patrons  and  avengers  of  injured 
innocence  at  home.  When  the  final  reduction  of  the  Holy  Land  under  the 
dominion  of  infidels  put  an  end  to  these  foreign  expeditions,  the  latter  was 
the  only  employment  left  for  the  activity  and  courage  of  adventurers.  To 
check  the  insolence  of  over-grown  oppressors ;  to  rescue  the  helpless 
lrom  captivity  ;  to  protect,  or  to  avenge  women,  orphans,  and  ecclesiastics, 
who  could  not  bear  arms  in  their  own  defence  ;  to  redress  wrongs  and 
remove  grievances  ;  were  deemed  acts  of  the  highest  prowess  and  merit. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  37 

Valour,  humanity, courtesy,  justice,  honour,  weft  the  characteristic  qualities 
of  chivalry.  To  these  were  added  religion,  which  mingled  itself  with 
every  passion  and  institution  during  the  middle  ages,  and  hy  infusing  a 
large  proportion  of  enthusiastic  zeal,  gave  them  such  force,  as  carried  them 
to  romantic  excess.  Men  were  trained  to  knighthood  by  a  long  previous 
discipline ;  they  were  admitted  into  the  order  by  solemnities  no  less  devout 
than  pompous ;  every  person  of  noble  birth  courted  that  honour ;  it  was 
deemed  a  distinction  superior  to  royalty  5  and  monarchs  were  proud  to 
receive  it  from  the  hands  of  private  gentlemen. 

This  singular  institution,  in  which  valour,  gallantry,  and  religiqn,  were 
so  strangely  blended,  was  wonderfully  adapted  to  the  taste  and  genius  of 
martial  nobles ;  and  Hi  effects  were  soon  visible  in  their  manners.  War 
was  carried  on  with  less  ferocity,  when  humanity  came  to  be  deemed  the 
ornament  of  knighthood  no  less  than  courage.  More  gentle  and  polished 
manners  were  introduced,  when  courtesy  was  recommended  as  the  most 
amiable  of  knightly  virtues.  Violence  and  oppression  decreased,  when  it 
was  reckoned  meritorious  to  check  and  to  punish  them.  A  scrupulous 
adherence  to  truth,  with  the  most  religious  attention  to  fulfil  every  engage- 
ment, became  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  a  gentleman,  because 
chivalry  was  regarded  as  the  school  of  honour,  and  inculcated  the  most 
delicate  sensibility  with  respect  to  those  points.  The  admiration  of  these 
qualities,  together  with  the  high  distinctions  and  prerogatives  conferred  on 
knighthood  in  every  part  of  Europe,  inspired  persons  of  noble  birth  on 
some  occasions  with  a  species  of  military  fanaticism,  and  led  them  to  extra- 
vagant enterprises.  But  they  deeply  imprinted  on  their  minds  the  princi- 
ples of  generosity  and  honour.  These  were  strengthened  by  every  thing 
that  can  affect  the  senses  or  touch  the  heart.  The  wild  exploits  of  those 
romantic  knights  who  sallied  forth  in  quest  of  adventures,  are  well  known, 
and  have  been  treated  with  proper  ridicule.  The  political  and  permanent 
effects  of  the  spirit  of  chivalry  have  been  less  observed.  Perhaps,  the 
humanity  which  accompanies  all  the  operations  of  war,  the  refinements  of 
gallantry,  and  the  point  of  honour,  the  three  chief  circumstances  which 
distinguish  modern  from  ancient  manners,  may  be  ascribed  in  a  great  mea- 
sure to  this  institution,  which  has  appeared  whimsical  to  superficial  obser- 
vers, but  by  its  effects  has  proved  of  great  benefit  to  mankind.  The  senti- 
ments which  chivalry  inspired  had  a  wonderful  influence  on  manners  and 
conduct  during  the  twelfth,  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries. 
They  were  so  deeply  rooted,  that  they  continued  to  operate  after  the 
vigour  and  reputation  of  the  institution  itself  began  to  decline.  Some 
considerable  transactions,  recorded  in  the  following  history,  resemble  the 
adventurous  exploits  of  chivalry,  rather  than  the  well-regulated  operations 
of  sound  policy.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  personages,  whose  charac- 
ters will  be  delineated,  were  strongly  tinctured  with  this  romantic  spirit. 
Francis  I.  was  ambitious  to  distinguish  himself  by  all  the  qualities  of  an 
accomplished  knight,  and  endeavoured  to  imitate  the  enterprising  geuius 
of  chivalry  in  war,  as  well  as  its  pomp  and  courtesy  during  peace.  The 
fame  which  the  French  monarch  acquired  by  these  sulendid  actions,  so 
far  dazzled  his  more  temperate  rival,  that  he  departed  on  some  occasions 
from  his  usual  prudence  and  moderation,  and  emulated  Francis  in  deeds  ot 
prowess  or  of  gallantly  [27].  x 

IX.  The  progress  of  science,  and  the  cultivation  of  literature,  had  a 
considerable  effect  in  changing  the  manners  of  the  European  nations,  and 
introducing  that  civility  and  refinement  by  which  they  are  now  distin- 
guished. At  the  time  when  their  empire  was  overturned,  the  Romans, 
though  they  had  lost  that  correct  taste  which  has  rendered  the  productions 
of  their  ancestors  standards  of  excellence,  and  models  of  imitation  for  suc- 
ceeding ages,  still  preserved  their  love  of  letters,  and  cultivated  the  arts 
with  great  ardour.    Rut  rude  barbarians  were  so  far  from  being  struck 


38  A   VIE  W  OF  THE  [Sect.  j. 

with  any  admiration  of  the.se  unknown  accomplishments,  that  they  despised 
them.  They  were  not  arrived  at  that  state  of  society,  when  those  facul- 
ties of  the  human  mind,  which  have  beauty  and  elegance  for  their  objects, 
begin  to  unfold  themselves.  They  were  strangers  to  most  of  those  wants 
and  desires  which  are  the  parents  of  ingenious  invention  ;  and  as  they  did 
not  comprehend  either  the  merit  or  utility  of  the  Roman  arts,  they  destroyed 
the  monuments  of  them,  with  an  industry  not  inferior  to  that  with  which 
their  posterity  have  since  studied  to  preserve  or  to  recover  them.  The 
convulsions  occasioned  by  the  settlement  of  so  many  unpolished  tribes  in 
the  empire  ;  the  frequent  as  well  as  violent  revolutions  in  every  kingdom 
which  they  established  ;  together  with  the  interior  defects  in  the  form  of 
government  which  they  introduced,  banished  security  and  leisure  ;  pre- 
vented the  growth  oi  taste,  or  the  culture  of  science  ;  and  kept  Europe, 
during  several  centuries,  in  that  state  of  ignorance  which  has  been  already 
described.  But  the  events  and  institutions  which  1  have  enumerated,  pro- 
duced great  alterations  in  society.  As  soon  as  their  operation,  in  restoring 
liberty  and  independence  to  one  part  of  the  community,  began  to  be  felt ; 
as  soon  as  they  began  to  communicate  to  all  the  members  of  society,  some 
taste  ot  the  advantages  arising  from  commerce,  from  public  order,  and 
irom  personal  security,  the  human  mind  became  conscious  of  powers  which 
it  did  not  formerly  perceive,  and  fond  of  occupations  or  pursuits  of  which 
it  was  formerly  incapable.  Towards  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century, 
we  discern  the  first  symptoms  of  its  awakening  from  that  lethargy  in  which 
it  had  been  long  sunk,  and  observe  it  turning  with  curiosity  and  attention 
towards  new  objects. 

The  first  literary  efforts,  however,  of  the  European  nations  in  the  middle 
ages,  were  extremely  ill-directed.  Among  nations,  as  well  as  individuals, 
the  powers  of  imagination  attained  some  degree  of  vigour  before  the  intel- 
lectual faculties  are  much  exercised  in  speculative  or  abstract  disquisition. 
Men  are  poets  before  they  are  philosophers.  They  feel  with  sensibility, 
and  describe  with  force,  when  they  have  made  but  little  progress  in  inves- 
tigation or  reasoning.  The  age  of  Homer  and  of  Hesiod  long  preceded 
that  of  Thales  or  of  Socrates.  But,  unhappily  for  literature,  our  ances- 
tors, deviating  from  this  course  which  nature  points  out,  plunged  at  once 
into  the  depths  of  abstruse  and  metaphysical  inquiry.  They  had  been 
converted  to  the  Christian  faith,  soon  after  they  settled  in  their  new  con- 
quests. But  they  did  not  receive  it  pure.  The  presumption  of  men  had 
added  to  the  simple  and  instructive  doctrines  of  Christianity  the  theories 
of  a  vain  philosophy,  that  attempted  to  penetrate  into  mysteries,  and  to 
decide  questions  which  the  limited  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are  un- 
able to  comprehend  or  to  resolve.  These  over-curious  speculations  were 
incorporated  with  the  system  of  religion,  and  came  to  be  considered  as  the 
most  essential  part  of  it.  As  soon,  then,  as  curiosity  prompted  men  to 
inquire  and  to  reason,  these  were  the  subjects  which  first  presented  them- 
selves, and  engaged  their  attention.  The  scholastic  theology,  with  its  infi- 
nite train  of  bold  disquisitions  and  subtile  distinctions  concerning  points 
which  are  not  the  object  of  human  reason,  was  the  first  production  of  the 
spirit  of  inquiry  after  it  began  to  resume  some  degree  of  activity  and  vigour 
in  Europe.  It  was  not,  however,  this  circumstance  alone  that  gave  such  a 
wrong  turn  to  the  minds  of  men,  when  they  began  again  to  exercise  talents 
which  they  had  so  long  neglected.  Most  of  the  persons  who  attempted  to 
revive  literature  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  had  received 
instruction,  or  derived  their  principles  of  science,  from  the  Greeks  in  the 
eastern  empire,  or  from  the  Arabians  in  Spain  and  Africa.  Both  these 
people,  acute  and  inquisitive  to  excess,  had  corrupted  those  sciences  which 
they  cultivated.  The  former  rendered  theology  a  system  of  speculative 
refinement,  or  of  endless  controvers)r.  The  latter  communicated  to  phi- 
losophy a  spirit  of  metaphysical  and  frivolous  subtlety.     Misled  by  these 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  39 

guides,  the  persons  who  first  applied  to  science  were  involved  in  a  maze 
of  intricate  inquiries.  Instead  of  allowing  their  fancy  to  take  its  natural 
range,  and  to  produce  such  works  of  invention  as  might  have  improved 
their  taste,  and  refined  their  sentiments  ;  instead  of  cultivating  those  arts 
which  embellish  human  life,  and  render  it  comfortable  ;  they  were  fettered 
by  authority,  they  were  led  astray  by  example,  and  wasted  the  whole 
force  of  their  genius  in  speculations  as  unavailing  as  they  were  difficult. 

But  fruitless  and  ill-directed  as  these  speculations  were,  their  novelty 
roused,  and  their  boldness  interested  the  human  mind.  The  ardour  with 
which  men  pursued  those  uninviting  studies,  was  astonishing.  Genuine 
philosophy  was  never  cultivated,  in  any  enlightened  age,  with  more  zeal. 
Schools,  upon  the  model  of  those  instituted  by  Charlemagne,  were  opened 
in  every  cathedral,  and  almost  in  every  monastery  of  note.  Colleges  and 
universities  were  erected  and  formed  into  communities  or  corporations, 
governed  by  their  own  laws,  and  invested  with  separate  and  extensive 
jurisdiction  over  their  own  members.  A  regular  course  of  studies  was 
planned.  Privileges  of  great  value  were  conferred  on  masters  and  scho- 
lars. Academical  titles  and  honours  of  various  kinds  were  invented  as  a 
recompense  for  both.  Nor  was  it  in  the  schools  alone  that  superiority  in 
science  led  to  reputation  and  authority ;  it  became  an  object  of  respect  in 
life,  and  advanced  such  as  acquired  it  to  a  rank  of  no  inconsiderable  emi- 
nence. Allured  by  all  these  advantages,  an  incredible  number  of  students 
resorted  to  those  new  seats  of  learning,  and  crowded  with  eagerness  into 
that  new  path  which  was  opened  to  fame  and  distinction. 

But  how  considerable  soever  these  first  efforts  may  appear,  there  was 
one  circumstance  which  prevented  the  effects  of  them  from  being  as  exten- 
sive as  they  naturally  ought  to  have  been.  All  the  languages  in  Europe, 
during  the  period  under  review,  were  barbarous.  They  were  destitute 
of  elegance,  of  force,  and  even  of  perspicuity.  No  attempt  had  been 
hitherto  made  to  improve  or  to  polish  them.  The  Latin  tongue  was  con- 
secrated by  the  church  to  religion.  Custom,  with  authority  scarcely  less 
sacred,  had  appropriated  it  to  literature.  All  the  sciences  cultivated  in  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  were  taught  in  Latin.  All  books  with  re- 
spect to  them  were  written  in  that  language.  It  would  have  been  deemed 
a  degradation  of  any  important  subject,  to  have  treated  of  it  in  a  modern 
language.  This  confined  science  within  a  Very  narrow  circle.  The 
learned  alone  were  admitted  into  the  temple  of  knowledge  ;  the  gate  was 
shut  against  all  others,  who  were  suffered  to  remain  involved  in  their  former 
darkness  and  ignorance. 

But  though  science  was  thus  prevented,  during  several  ages,  from  dif- 
fusing itself  through  society,  and  its  influence  was  much  circumscribed  ; 
the  progress  which  it  made  may  be  mentioned,  nevertheless,  among  the 
great  causes  which  contributed  to  introduce  a  change  of  manners  into 
Europe.  The  ardent,  though  ill-judged  spirit  of  inquiry  which  I  have 
described,  occasioned  a  fermentation  of  mind  that  put  ingenuity  and  inven- 
tion in  motion,  and  gave  them  vigour.  It  led  men  to  a  new  employment 
of  their  faculties,  which  they  found  to  be  agreeable  as  well  as  interesting. 
It  accustomed  them  to  exercises  and  occupations  which  tended  to  soften 
their  manners,  and  to  give  them  some  relish  for  the  gentle  virtues,  peculiar 
to  people  among  whom  science  has  been  cultivated  with  success  [28]. 

X.  The  progress  of  commerce  had  considerable  influence  in  polishing 
the  manners  of  the  European  nations,  and  in  establishing  among  them 
order,  equal  laws,  and  humanity.  The  wants  of  men,  in  the  original  and 
most  simple  state  of  society,  are  so  few,  and  their  desires  so  limited,  that 
they  rest  contented  with  the  natural  productions  of  their  climate  and  soil, 
or  with  what  they  can  add  to  these  by  their  own  rude  industry.  They 
have  no  superfluities  to  dispose  of,  and  few  necessities  that  demand  a 
supply.    Every  little  community  subsisting  on  its  own  domestic  flock,  and 


,„,  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  I. 

satisfied  with  it,  is  either  little  acquainted  with  the  states  around  it,  or  at 
variance  with  them.  Society  and  manners  must  he  considerably  improved, 
and  many  provisions  must  be  made  for  public  order  and  personal  security, 
before  a  liberal  intercourse  can  take  place  between  different  nations.  We 
find,  accordingly,  that  the  first  effect  of  the  settlement  of  the  barbarians  in 
the  Empire,  was  to  divide  those  nations  which  the  Roman  power  had  united. 
Europe  was  broken  into  many  separate  communities.  The  intercourse 
between  these  divided  states,  ceased  almost  entirely  during  several  cen- 
turies. Navigation  was  dangerous  in  seas  infested  by  pirates  ;  nor  could 
strangers  trust  to  a  friendly  reception  in  the  ports  of  uncivilized  nations. 
Even  between  distant  parts  of  the  same  kingdom,  the  communication  was 
rare  and  difficult.  The  lawless  rapine  of  banditti,  together  with  the  avowed 
exactions  of  the  nobles,  scarcely  less  formidable  than  oppressive,  rendered 
a  journey  of  any  length  a  perilous  enterprise.  Fixed  to  the  spot  in  which 
they  resided,  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  lost,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  knowledge  of  remote  regions,  and  were  unacquainted  with 
their  names,  their  situations,  their  climates,  and  their  commodities  [29]. 

Various  causes,  however,  contributed  to  revive  the  spirit  of  commerce, 
and  to  renew,  in  some  degree,  the  intercourse  between  different  nations. 
The  Italians,  by  their  connection  with  Constantinople,  and  other  cities  of 
the  Greek  empire,  had  preserved  in  their  own  country  considerable  relish 
for  the  precious  commodities  and  curious  manufactures  of  the  East.  They 
communicated  some  know  ledge  of  these  to  the  countries  contiguous  to 
Italy.  But  this  commerce  being  extremely  limited,  the  intercourse  which 
it  occasioned  between  different  nations  was  not  considerable.  The  Cru- 
sades, by  leading  multitudes  from  every  corner  of  Europe  into  Asia,  opened 
a  more  extensive  communication  between  the  East  and  West,  which  sub- 
sisted for  two  centuries  ;  and  though  the  object  of  these  expeditions  was 
conquest  and  not  commerce  ;  though  the  issue  of  them  proved  as  unfortu- 
nate, as  the  motives  for  undertaking  them  were  wild  and  enthusiastic  ; 
their  commercial  effects,  as  hath  been  shown,  were  both  beneficial  and 

fermanent.  During  the  continuance  of  the  Crusades,  the  great  cities  in 
taly,  and  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  acquired  liberty,  and  together 
with  it  such  privileges  as  rendered  them  respectable  and  independent 
communities.  Thus,  in  every  stele,  there  was  formed  a  new  order  of 
citizens,  to  whom  commerce  presented  itself  as  their  proper  object,  and 
opened  to  them  a  certain  path  to  wealth  and  consideration.  Soon  after 
live  close. of  the  Holy  War,  the  mariner's  compass  was  invented,  which, 
by  rendering  navigation  more  secure,  encouraged  it  to  become  more  adven- 
turous, facilitated  the  communication  between  remote  nations,  and  brought 
them  nearer  to  each  other. 

The  Italian  States,  during  the  same  period,  established  a  regular  com- 
merce with  the  East  in  the  ports  of  Egypt,  and  drew  from  thence  all  the 
rich  products  of  the  Indies.  They  introduced  into  their  own  territories 
manufactures  of  various  kinds,  and  carried  them  on  with  great  ingenuity 
and  vigour.  They  attempted  new  arts ;  and  transplanted  from  warmer 
climates,  to  which  they  had  been  hitherto  deemed  peculiar,  several  natural 
productions  which  now  furnish  the  materials  of  a  lucrative  and  extended 
commerce.  All  these  commodities,  whether  imported  from  Asia,  or  pro- 
duced by  their  own  skill,  they  disposed  of  to  great  advantage  among  the 
other  people  of  Europe,  who  began  to  acquire  some  taste  for  an  elegance 
in  living  unknown  to  their  ancestors,  or  despised  by  them.  During  the 
twellth  and  thirteenth  centuries  the  commerce  of  Europe  was  almost 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Italians,  more  commonly  known  in  those  ages 
by  the  name  of  Lombards.  Companies  or  societies  of  Lombard  mer- 
chants settled  in  every  different  kingdom.  They  were  taken  under  the 
immediate  protection  of  the  several  governments.  They  enjoyed  extensive 
privileges  and  immunities.     The  operation  of  the  ancient  barbarous  Jaw-; 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  41 

concerning  strangers,  was  suspended  with  respect  to  them.    They  became 
the  carriers,  the  manufacturers,  and  the  bankers  of  all  Europe. 

While  the  Italians,  in  the  South  of  Europe,  were  cultivating  trade  with 
such  industry  and  success,  the  commercial  spirit  awakened  in  the  North 
towards  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  As  the  nations  around  the 
Baltic  were,  at  that  time,  extremely  barbarous,  and  infested  that  sea  with 
their  piracies,  the  cities  of  Lubec  and  Hamburgh,  soon  after  they  began  to 
open  some  trade  with  these  people,  found  it  necessary  to  enter  into  a  league 
ot  mutual  defence.  They  derived  such  advantages  from  this  union,  that 
other  towns  acceded  to  their  confederacy,  and  in  a  short  time,  eighty  of 
the  most  considerable  cities  scattered  through  those  extensive  countries 
which  stretch  from  the  bottom  of  the  Baltic  to  Cologne  on  the  Rhine,  joined 
in  the  famous  Hanseatic  league,  which  became  so  formidable,  that  its 
alliance  was  courted,  and  its  enmity  was  dreaded  by  the  greatest  monarchs. 
The  members  of  this  powerful  association  formed  the  first  systematic  plan 
of  commerce  known  in  the  middle  ages,  and  conducted  it  by  common 
laws  enacted  in  their  general  assemblies.  They  supplied  the  rest  of  Europe 
with  naval  stores,  and  pitched  on  different  towns,  the  most  eminent  of 
which  was  Bruges  in  Flanders,  where  they  established  staples  in  which 
their  commerce  was  regularly  carried  on.  Thither  the  Lombards  brought 
the  productions  of  India,  together  with  the  manufactures  of  Italy,  and 
exchanged  them  for  the  more  bulky,  but  not  less  useful  commodities  of  the 
North.  The  Hanseatic  merchants  disposed  of  the  cargoes  which  they 
received  from  the  Lombards,  in  the  ports  of  the  Baltic,  or  carried  them  up 
the  great  rivers  into  the  interior  parts  of  Germany. 

This  regular  intercourse  opened  between  the  nations  in  the  north  and 
south  of  Europe,  made  them  sensible  of  their  mutual  wants,  and  created 
such  new  and  increasing  demands  for  commodities  of  every  kind,  that  it 
excited  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  a  more  vigorous  spirit 
in  carrying  on  the  two  great  manufactures  of  wool  and  flax,  which  seem  to 
have  been  considerable  in  that  countiy  as  early  as  the  age  of  Charlemagne. 
As  Bruges  became  the  centre  of  communication  between  the  Lombard  and 
Hanseatic  merchants,  the  Flemings  traded  with  both  in  that  city  to  such 
extent  as  well  as  advantage,  as  spread  among  them  a  general  habit  of  in- 
dustry, which  long  rendered  Flanders  and  the  adjacent  provinces  the  most 
opulent,  the  most  populous,  and  best  cultivated  countries  in  Europe. 

Struck  with  the  flourishing  state  of  these  provinces,  of  which  he  discerned 
the  true  cause,  Edward  III.  of  England  endeavoured  to  excite  a  spirit  of 
industry  among  his  own  subjects,  who,  blind  to  the  advantages  of  their 
situation,  and  ignorant  of  the  source  from  which  opulence  was  destined  to 
flow  into  their  country,  were  so  little  attentive  to  their  commercial  interests, 
as  hardly  to  attempt  those  manufactures,  the  materials  of  which  they 
furnished  to  foreigners.  By  alluring  Flemish  artisans  to  settle  in  his 
dominions,  as  well  as  by  many  wise  laws  for  the  encouragement  and 
regulation  of  trade,  Edward  gave  a  beginning  to  the  woollen  manufactures 
of  England,  and  first  turned  the  active  and  enterprising  genius  of  his  people 
towards  those  arts  which  have  raised  the  English  to  the  highest  rank 
among  commercial  nations. 

This  increase  of  commerce,  and  of  intercourse  between  nations,  how 
inconsiderable  soever  it  may  appear  in  respect  of  their  rapid  and  extensive 
progress  during  the  last  and  present  age,  seems  wonderfully  great,  when 
we  compare  it  with  the  state  of  both  in  Europe  previous  to  the  twelfth 
century.  It  did  not  fail  of  producing  great  effects.  Commerce  tends  to 
wear  off  those  prejudices  which  maintain  distinction  and  animosity  between 
nations.  It  soitens  and  polishes  the  manners  of  men.  It  unites  them  by 
one  of  the  strongest  of  all  ties,  the  desire  of  supplying  their  mutual  wants. 
It  disposes  them  to  peace,  by  establishing  in  every  state  an  order  of 
citizens  bound  by  their  interest  k>  be  the  guardians  oi  public  tranquillity. 

Vol.  II. — 6 


42  A  VIEW   OF  THE  [Sect.  II. 

As  soon  as  the  commercial  spirit  acquires  vigour,  and  begins  to  gam  an 
ascendant  in  any  society,  we  discover  a  new  genius  in  its  policy,  its 
alliances,  its  wars,  and  its  negotiations.  Conspicuous  proofs  of  this  occur 
in  the  history  of  the  Italian  states,  of  the  Hanseatic  league,  and  the  cities 
of  the  Netherlands  during  the  period  under  review.  In  proportion  as  com- 
merce made  its  way  into  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  they  succes- 
sively turned  their  attention  to  those  objects,  and  adopted  those  manners, 
which  occupy  and  distinguish  polished  nations  [30]. 


SECTION  IL 


View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe,  with  respect  to  the  Command 
of  the  National  Force  requisite  in  Foreign  Operations. 

Such  are  the  events  and  institutions  which,  by  their  powerful  operation, 
contributed  gradually  to  introduce  regular  government  and  polished  man- 
ners into  the  various  nations  of  Europe.  When  we  survey  the  state  of 
society,  or  the  character  of  individuals,  at  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth 
centuiy,  and  then  turn  back  to  view  the  condition  of  both  at  the  time 
when  the  barbarous  tribes,  which  overturned  the  Roman  power,  completed 
their  settlement  in  their  new  conquests,  the  progress  which  mankind  had 
made  towards  order  and  refinement  will  appear  immense. 

Government,  however,  was  still  far  from  having  attained  that  state,  in 
which  extensive  monarchies  act  with  the  united  vigour  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, or  carry  on  great  undertakings  with  perseverance  and  success. 
Small  tribes  or  communities,  even  in  their  rudest  state,  may  operate  in 
concert,  and  exert  their  utmost  force.  They  are  excited  to  act  not  by  the 
distant  objects  or  the  refined  speculations  which  interest  or  affect  men  in 
polished  societies,  but  by  their  present  feelings.  The  insults  of  an  enemy 
kindle  resentment ;  the  succeSs  of  a  rival  tribe  awakens  emulation  ;  these 
passions  communicate  from  breast  to  breast,  and  all  the  members  of  the 
community,  with  united  ardour,  rush  into  the  field  in  order  to  gratify  their 
revenge,  or  to  acquire  distinction.  But  in  widely  extended  states,  such  as 
the  great  kingdoms  of  Europe  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
where  there  is  little  intercourse  between  the  distant  members  of  the  com- 
munity, and  where  every  great  enterprise  requires  previous  concert  and 
long  preparation,  nothing  can  rouse  and  call  forth  their  united  strength,  but 
the  absolute  command  of  a  despot,  or  the  powerful  influence  of  regular 
policy.  Of  the  former,  the  vast  empires  in  the  East  are  an  example  ;  the 
irresistible  mandate  of  the  sovereign  reaches  the  most  remote  provinces  of 
his  dominions,  and  compels  whatever  number  of  his  subjects  he  is  pleased 
to  summon,  to  follow  his  standard.  The  kingdoms  of  Europe,  in  the  pre- 
sent age,  are  an  instance  of  the  latter  ;  the  prince,  by  the  less  violent,  but 
no  less  effectual  operation  of  laws  and  a  well-regulated  government,  is 
enabled  to  avail  himself  of  the  whole  force  of  his  state,  and  to  employ  it 
in  enterprises  which  require  strenuous  and  persevering  efforts. 

But,  at  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  political  constitution  in 
all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe  was  very  different  from  either  of  these  states 
of  government.  The  several  monarchs,  though  they  had  somewhat  en- 
larged the  boundaries  of  prerogative  by  successful  encroachments  on  the 
immunities  and  privileges  of  the  nobility,  were  possessed  of  an  authority 
extremely  limited.  The  laws  and  interior  police  of  kingdoms,  though 
much  improved  by  the  various  events  and  regulations  which  I  have  enu- 
merated, were  still  feeble  and  imperfect.  In  every  country,  a  numerous 
bodv  of  noble*,  who  continued  to  be  formidable  notwithstanding  the  various 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  43 

expedients  employed  to  depress  them,  watched  all  the  motions  of  their 
sovereign  with  a  jealous  attention,  which  set  bounds  to  his  ambition,  and 
either  prevented  his  forming  schemes  of  extensive  enterprise,  or  obstructed 
the  execution  of  them. 

The  ordinary  revenues  of  every  prince  were  so  extremely  small  as  to 
be  inadequate  to  any  great  undertaking.  He  depended  for  extraordinary 
supplies  on  the  good-will  of  his  subjects,  who  granted  them  often  with  a 
reluctant,  and  always  with  a  sparing  hand. 

As  the  revenues  of  princes  were  inconsiderable,  the  armies  which  they 
could  bring  into  the  field  were  unfit  for  long  and  effectual  service.  Instead 
of  being  able  to  employ  troops  trained  to  skill  in  arms,  and  to  military  sub- 
ordination, by  regular  discipline,  monarchs  were  obliged  to  depend  on  such 
forces  as  their  vassals  conducted  to  their  standard  in  consequence  of  their 
military  tenures.  These,  as  they  were  bound  to  remain  under  arms  only 
for  a  short  time,  could  not  march  far  from  their  usual  place  of  residence, 
and  being  more  attached  to  the  lord  of  whom  they  held,  than  to  the  sove- 
reign whom  they  served,  were  often  as  much  disposed  to  counteract  as  to 
forward  his  schemes.  Nor  were  they,  even  if  they  had  been  more  sub- 
ject to  the  command  of  the  monarch,  proper  instruments  to  carry  into  exe- 
cution any  great  and  arduous  enterprise  The  strength  of  an  army,  formed 
either  for  conquest  or  defence,  lies  in  infantry.  To  the  stability  and  dis- 
cipline of  their  legions,  consisting  chiefly  of  infantry,  the  Romans,  during 
the  times  of  the  republic,  were  indebted  for  their  victories  ;  and  when  their 
descendants,  forgetting  the  institutions  which  had  led  them  to  universal 
dominion,  so  far  altered  their  military  system  as  to  place  their  principal 
confidence  in  a  numerous  cavalry,  the  undisciplined  impetuosity  of  the 
barbarous  nations,  who  fought  mostly  on  foot,  was  sufficient,  as  I  have 
already  observed,  to  overcome  them.  These  nations,  soon  after  they  set- 
tled in  their  new  conquests,  uninstructed  by  the  fatal  error  of  the  Romans, 
relinquished  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  and  converted  the  chief  force 
of  their  armies  into  cavalry.  Among  the  Romans  this  change  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  effeminacy  of  their  troops,  who  could  not  endure  the  fatigues 
of  service,  which  their  more  virtuous  and  hardy  ancestors  had  sustained 
with  ease.  Among  the  people  who  established  the  new  monarchies  into 
which  Europe  was  divided,  this  innovation  in  military  discipline  seems  to 
have  flowed  from  the  pride  of  the  nobles,  who,  scorning  to  mingle  with 
persons  of  inferior  rank,  aimed  at  being  distinguished  from  them  in  the 
field,  as  well  as  during  peace.  The  institution  of  chivalry,  and  the 
frequency  of  tournaments,  in  which  knights,  in  complete  armour,  entered 
the  lists  on  horseback  with  extraordinary  splendour,  displaying  amazing 
address,  force,  and  valour,  brought  cavalry  into  still  greater  esteem. 
The  fondness  for  that  service  increased  to  such  a  degree,  that  during 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  the  armies  of  Europe  were 
composed  almost  entirely  of  cavalry.  No  gentleman  would  appear 
in  the  field  but  on  horseback.  To  serve  in  any  other  manner,  he  would 
have  deemed  derogatory  to  his  rank.  The  cavalry,  by  way  of  distinction, 
was  called  The  Battle,  and  on  it  alone  depended  the  fate  of  every  action. 
The  infantry,  collected  from  the  dregs  and  refuse  of  the  people,  ill  armed 
and  worse  disciplined,  was  almost  of  no  account. 

As  these  circumstances  rendered  the  operations  of  particular  kingdoms 
less  considerable  and  less  vigorous,  so  they  long  kept  the  princes  of  Europe 
from  giving  such  attention  to  the  schemes  and  transactions  of  their  neigh- 
bours, as  might  lead  them  to  form  any  regular  system  of  public  security. 
They  were,  of  consequence,  prevented  from  uniting  in.  confederacy,  or 
from  acting  with  concert,  in  order  to  establish  such  a  distribution  and 
balance  of  power,  as  should  hinder  any  state  from  rising  to  a  superiority, 
which  might  endanger  the  general  liberty  and  independence.  During 
several  centuries,  the  nations  of  Europe  appear  to  have  considered  them 


44  A  VIEW  OF  Till'  [Sect.  II. 

selves  as  separate  societies,  scarcely  connected  together  by  any  common 
interest,  and  little  concerned  in  each  other's  affairs  or  operations.  An  ex- 
tensive commerce  did  not  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  observing  and  pene- 
trating into  the  schemes  of  every  different  state.  They  had  not  ambassa- 
dors residing  constantly  in  every  court  to  watch  and  give  early  intelligence 
of  all  its  motions.  The  expectation  of  remote  advantages,  or  the  prospect 
of  distant  and  contingent  evils,  were  not  sufficient  to  excite  nations  to  take 
arms.  Such  only  as  were  within  the  sphere  of  immediate  danger,  and 
unavoidably  exposed  to  injury  or  insult,  thought  themselves  interested  in 
any  contest,  or  bound  to  take  precautions  for  their  own  safety. 

Whoever  records  the  transactions  of  any  of  the  more  considerable  Euro- 

Fiean  states,  during  the  two  last  centuries,  must  write  the  history  of  Europe, 
ts  various  kingdoms  throughout  that  period,  have  been  formed  into  one 
great  system,  so  closely  united,  that  each  holding  a  determinate  station, 
the  operations  of  one  are  so  felt  by  all,  as  to  influence  their  counsels  and 
regulate  their  measures.  But  previous  to  the  fifteenth  century,  unless 
when  vicinity  of  territory  rendered  the  occasions  of  discord  frequent  and 
unavoidable,  or  when  national  emulation  fomented  or  embittered  the  spirit 
of  hostility,  the  affairs  of  different  countries  are  seldom  interwoven  with 
each  other.  In  each  kingdom  of  Europe  great  events  and  revolutions  hap- 
pened, which  the  other  powers  beheld  with  almost  the  same  indifference 
as  if  they  had  been  uninterested  spectators,  to  whom  the  effect  of  these 
transactions  could  never  extend. 

During  the  violent  struggles  between  France  and  England,  and  notwith- 
standing the  alarming  progress  which  was  made  towards  rendering  one 
prince  the  master  of  both  these  kingdoms,  hardly  one  measure,  which  can 
be  considered  as  the  result  of  a  sagacious  and  prudent  policy,  was  formed 
in  order  to  guard  against  an  event  so  fatal  to  Europe.  The  Dukes  of 
Burgundy  and  Bretagne,  whom  their  situation  would  not  permit  to  remain 
neutral,  engaged,  it  is  true,  in  the  contest ;  but  in  taking  their  part,  they 
seem  rather  to  have  followed  the  impulse  of  their  passions,  than  to  have 
been  guided  by  any  just  discernment  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
themselves  and  the  tranquillity  of  Europe.  The  other  princes,  seemingly 
unaffected  by  the  alternate  successes  of  the  contending  parties,  left  them 
to  decide  the  quarrel  by  themselves,  or  interposed  only  by  feeble  and  inef- 
fectual negotiations. 

Notwithstanding  the  perpetual  hostilities  in  which  the  various  kingdoms 
of  Spain  were  engaged  during  several  centuries,  and  the  successive  occur- 
rences which  visibly  tended  to  unite  that  part  of  the  continent  into  one 
great  monarchy,  the  princes  of  Europe  hardly  took  any  step  from  which 
we  may  conclude  that  they  gave  a  proper  attention  to  that  important  event. 
They  permitted  a  power  to  rise  imperceptibly,  and  to  acquire  strength 
there,  which  soon  became  formidable  to  all  its  neighbours. 

Amidst  the  violent  convulsions  with  which  the  spirit  of  domination  in  the 
see  of  Rome,  and  the  turbulent  ambition  of  the  German  nobles,  agitated 
the  empire,  neither  the  authority  of  the  popes,  seconded  by  all  their  arti- 
fices and  intrigues,  nor  the  solicitations  ot  the  emperors,  could  induce  any 
of  the  powerful  monarchs  of  Europe  to  engage  in  their  quarrel,  or  to  avail 
themselves  of  many  favourable  opportunities  of  interposing  with  effect  and 
advantage. 

This  amazing  inactivity,  during  transactions  so  interesting,  is  not  to  be 
imputed  to  any  incapacity  of  discerning  their  political  consequences. 
The  power  of  judging  with  sagacity,  and  of  acting  with  vigour,  is  the 
portion  of  men  in  every  age.  The  monarchs  who  reigned  in  the  different 
kingdoms  of  Europe  during  several  centuries,  were  not  blind  to  their  par- 
ticular interest,  negligent  of  the  public  safety,  or  strangers  to  the  method 
of  securing  both.  If  they  did  not  adopt  that  salutary  system,  which  teaches 
modern  politicians  to  take  the  alarm  at  the  prospect  of  distant  dangers 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  45 

which  prompts  tiiem  to  check  the  first  encroachments  of  any  lbrmidable 
power,  and  which  renders  each  state  the  guardian,  in  some  degree,  of  the 
rights  and  independence  of  all  its  neighbours,  this  was  owing  entirely  to 
such  imperfections  and  disorders  in  the  civil  government  of  each  country, 
as  made  it  impossible  for  sovereigns  to  act  suitably  to  those  ideas  which 
the  posture  of  affairs,  and  their  own  observation,  must  have  suggested. 

But  during  the  course  of  the  fifteenth  century,  various  events  happened, 
which,  by  giving  princes  more  entire  command  of  the  force  in  their  respec- 
tive dominions,  rendered  their  operations  more  vigorous  and  extensive. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  affairs  of  different  kingdoms  becoming  more 
frequently  as  well  as  more  intimately  connected,  they  were  gradually 
accustomed  to  act  in  concert  and  confederacy,  and  were  insensibly  pre- 
pared for  forming  a  system  of  policy,  in  order  to  establish  or  to  preserve 
such  a  balance  of  power  as  was  most  consistent  with  the  general  security. 
It  was  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  that  the  ideas,  on  which  this 
system  is  founded,  first  came  to  be  fully  understood.  It  was  then,  that  the 
maxims  by  which  it  has  been  uniformly  maintained  since  that  era,  were 
universally  adopted.  On  this  account,  a  view  of  the  causes  and  events 
which  contributed  to  establish  a  plan  of  policy,  more  salutary  and  exten- 
sive than  any  that  has  taken  place  in  the  conduct  of  human  affairs,  is  not 
only  a  necessary  introduction  to  the  following  work,  but  is  a  capital  object 
in  the  history  of  Europe. 

The  first  event  that  occasioned  any  considerable  alteration  in  the 
arrangement  of  affairs  in  Europe,  was  the  annexation  of  the  extensive  ter- 
ritories, which  England  possessed  on  the  continent,  to  the  crown  of  France. 
While  the  English  were  masters  of  several  of  the  most  fertile  and  opulent 
provinces  in  France,  and  a  great  part  of  its  most  martial  inhabitants  was 
bound  to  follow  their  standard,  an  English  monarch  considered  himself 
rather  as  the  rival,  than  as  the  vassal  of  the  sovereign  of  whom  he  held. 
The  kings  of  France,  circumscribed  and  thwarted  in  their  schemes  and 
operations  by  an  adversary  no  less  jealous  than  formidable,  durst  not  enter 
upon  any  enterprise  of  importance  or  cf  difficulty.  The  English  were 
always  at  hand,  ready  to  oppose  them.  They  disputed  even  their  right 
to  their  crown,  and  being  able  to  penetrate,  with  ease,  into  the  heart  of  the 
kingdom,  could  arm  against  them  those  very  hands  which  ought  to  have 
been  employed  in  their  defence.  Timid  counsels  and  feeble  efforts  were 
natural  to  monarchs  in  such  a  situation.  France,  dismembered  and  over- 
awed, could  not  attain  its  proper  station  in  the  system  of  Europe.  But  the 
death  of  Henry  V.  of  England,  happily  for  France,  and  not  unfortunately 
for  his  own  country,  delivered  the  French  from  the  calamity  of  having  a 
foreign  master  seated  on  their  throne.  The  weakness  of  a  long  minority, 
the  dissensions  in  the  English  court,  together  with  the  unsteady  and  languid 
conduct  which  these  occasioned,  afforded  the  French  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity of  recovering  the  territories  which  they  had  lost.  The  native  valour 
of  the  French  nobility  heightened  to  an  enthusiastic  confidence  by  a  sup- 
posed interposition  of  Heaven  in  their  behalf;  conducted  in  the  field  by 
skilful  leaders  ;  and  directed  in  the  cabinet  by  a  prudent  monarch  ;  was 
exerted  with  such  vigour  and  success,  during  this  favourable  juncture,  asr 
not  only  wrested  from  the  English  their  new  conquests,  but  stripped  them 
of  their  ancient  possessions  in  France,  and  reduced  them  within  the  narrow 
precincts  of  Calais,  and  its  petty  territory. 

As  soon  as  so  many  considerable  provinces  were  reunited  to  their 
dominions,  the  kings  of  France,  conscious  of  this  acquisition  of  strength, 
began  to  fonn  bolder  schemes  of  interior  policy,  as  well  as  of  foreign  ope- 
rations. They  immediately  became  formidable  to  their  neighbours,  who 
began  to  fix  their  attention  on  their  measures  and  motions,  the  importance 
of  which  they  fully  perceived.  From  this  era,  France,  possessed  of  the 
advantages  which  it  derives  from  the  situation  and  contiguity  of  its  territories* 


40  A  VIEW   OF   THE  [Sect.  If. 

as  well  as  from  the  number  and  valour  of  its  people,  rose  to  new  influence 
in  Europe,  and  was  the  first  power  in  a  condition  to  give  alarm  to  the 
jealousy  or  fears  of  the  states  around  it. 

Nor  was  France  indebted  for  this  increase  of  importance  merely  to  the 
reunion  of  the  provinces  which  had  been  torn  from  it.  A  circumstance 
attended  the  recovery  of  these,  which,  though  less  considerable,  and  less 
observed,  contributed  not  a  little  to  give  additional  vigour  and  decision  to 
all  the  efforts  of  that  monarchy.  During  the  obstinate  struggles  between 
France  and  England,  all  the  defects  of  the  military  system  under  the  feudal 
government  were  sensibly  felt.  A  war  of  long  continuance  languished, 
when  carried  on  by  troops  bound  and  accustomed  to  keep  the  field  for  a 
short  time.  Armies,  composed  chiefly  of  heavy-armed  cavalry,  were  unfit 
either  for  the  defence  or  the  attack  of  the  many  towns  and  castles,  which 
it  became  necessary  to  guard  or  to  reduce.  In  order  to  obtain  such  per- 
manent and  effective  force,  as  became  requisite  during  these  lengthened 
contests,  the  kings  of  France  took  into  their  pay  considerable  bands  of 
mercenary  soldiers,  levied  sometimes  among  their  own  subjects,  and  some- 
times in  foreign  countries.  But  as  the  feudal  policy  provided  no  sufficient 
hind  for  such  extraordinary  service,  these  adventurers  were  dismissed  at 
the  close  of  every  campaign,  or  upon  any  prospect  of  accommodation ;  and 
having  been  little  accustomed  to  the  restraints  of  discipline,  they  frequently 
turned  their  arms  against  the  country  which  they  had  been  hired  to  defend, 
and  desolated  it  with  cruelty  not  inferior  to  that  of  its  foreign  enemies. 

A  body  of  troops  kept  constantly  on  foot,  and  regularly  trained  to  military 
subordination,  would  have  supplied  what  was  wanting  in  the  feudal  con- 
stitution, and  have  furnished  princes  with  the  means  of  executing  enter- 
prises to  which  they  were  then  unequal.  Such  an  establishment,  however, 
was  so  repugnant  to  the  genius  of  feudal  policy,  and  so  incompatible  with 
the  privileges  and  pretensions  of  the  nobility,  that  during  several  centuries 
no  monarch  was  either  so  bold,  or  so  powerful,  as  to  venture  on  any  step 
towards  introducing  it.  At  last,  Charles  VII.  availing  himself  of  the  repu- 
tation which  he  had  acquired  by  his  successes  against  the  English,  and 
taking  advantage  of  the  impressions  of  terror  which  such  a  formidable 
enemy  had  left  upon  the  minds  of  his  subjects,  executed  that  which  his 
predecessors  durst  not  attempt.  Under  pretence  of  having  always  ready 
a  force  sufficient  to  defend  the  kingdom  against  any  sudden  invasion  of  the 
English,  he,  at  the  time  when  he  disbanded  his  other  troops  [A.  D.  1445], 
retained  under  arms  a  body  of  nine  thousand  cavalry,  and  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand infantry.  He  appropriated  funds  for  the  regular  payment  of  these  ; 
he  stationed  them  in  different  places  of  the  kingdom,  according  to  his 
pleasure  ;  and  appointed  the  officers  who  commanded  and  disciplined  them. 
The  prime  nobility  courted  this  service,  in  which  they  were  taught  to 
depend  on  their  sovereign,  to  execute  his  orders,  and  to  look  up  to  him  as 
the  judge  and  re  warder  of  their  merit.  The  feudal  militia,  composed  of 
the  vassals  whom  the  nobles  could  call  out  to  follow  their  standard,  as  it 
was  in  no  degree  comparable  to  a  body  of  soldiers  regularly  trained  to  war, 
sunk  gradually  in  reputation.  The  strength  of  an  army  was  no  longer 
estimated  solely  by  the  number  of  cavalry  which  served  in  it.  From  the 
time  that  gunpowder  was  invented,  and  the  use  of  cannon  in  the  field 
became  general,  horsemen  cased  in  complete  armour  lost  all  the  advantages 
which  gave  them  the  pre-eminence  over  other  soldiers.  The  helmet, 
the  shield,  and  the  breastplate,  which  resisted  the  arrow  or  the  spear,  no 
longer  afforded  them  security  against  these  new  instruments  of  destruction. 
The  service  of  infantry  rose  again  into  esteem,  and  victories  were  gained, 
and  conquests  made,  chiefly  by  their  efforts.  The  nobles  and  their  mili- 
tary tenants,  though  sometimes  summoned  to  the  field,  according  to  ancient 
form,  were  considered  as  an  incumbrance  upon  the  troops  with  which  thrv 


.STATE   OF   EUROPE.  47 

acted;  and  were  viewed  with  contempt  by  soldiers  accustomed  to  the 
vigorous  and  steady  operations  of  regular  service. 

Thus  the  regulations  of  Charles  VII.,  by  establishing  the  first  standing 
army  known  in  Europe,  occasioned  an  important  revolution  in  its  affairs 
and  policy.  By  taking  from  the  nobles  the  sole  direction  of  the  national 
military  force,  which  had  raised  them  to  such  high  authority  and  import- 
ance, a  deep  wound  was  given  to  the  feudal  aristocracy,  in  that  part  where 
its  power  seemed  to  be  most  complete. 

France,  by  forming  this  body  of  regular  troops  at  a  time  when  there 
was  hardly  a  squadron  or  company  kept  in  constant  pay  in  any  other  part 
of  Europe,  acquired  such  advantages  over  its  neighbours,  either  in  attack 
or  defence,  that  self-preservation  made  it  necessary  for  them  to  imitate  its 
example.  Mercenary  troops  were  introduced  into  all  the  considerable 
kingdoms  on  the  continent.  They  gradually  became  the  only  military 
force  that  was  employed  or  trusted.  "  It  has  long  been  the  chief  object  of 
policy  to  increase  and  to  support  them.  It  has  long  been  the  great  aim  of 
princes  and  ministers  to  discredit  and  to  annihilate  all  other  means  of 
national  activity  or  defence. 

As  the  kings  of  France  got  the  start  of  other  powers  in  establishing  a 
military  force  in  their  dominions,  which  enabled  them  to  carry  on  foreign 
operations  with  more  vigour,  and  to  greater  extent,  so  they  were  the  first 
who  effectually  broke  the  feudal  aristocracy,  and  humbled  the  great  vassals 
of  the  crown,  who  by  their  exorbitant  power  had  long  circumscribed  the 
royal  prerogative  within  very  narrow  limits,  and  had  rendered  all  the 
efforts  of  the  monarchs  of  Europe  inconsiderable.  Many  things  concurred 
to  undermine,  gradually,  the  power  of  the  feudal  aristocracy  in  France. 
The  wealth  and  property  of  the  nobility  were  greatly  impaired  during  the 
long  wars  which  the  kingdom  was  obliged  to  maintain  with  the  English. 
The  extraordinary  zeal  with  which  they  exerted  themselves  in  defence 
of  their  country  against  its  ancient  enemies,  exhausted  entirely  the  for- 
tunes of  some  great  families.  As  almost  every  province  in  the  kingdom 
was,  in  its  turn,  the  seat  of  war,  the  lands  of  others  were  exposed  to  the 
depredations  of  the  enemy,  were  ravaged  by  the  mercenary  troops  which 
their  sovereigns  hired  occasionally,  but  could  not  pay,  or  were  desolated 
with  rage  still  more  destructive,  by  the  peasants,  in  different  insurrections. 
At  the  same  time,  the  necessities  of  government  having  forced  their  kings 
upon  the  desperate  expedient  of  making  great  and  sudden  alterations  in  the 
current  coin  of  the  kingdom,  the  fines,  quit-rents,  and  other  payments  fixed 
by  ancient  custom,  sunk  much  in  value,  and  the  revenues  of  a  fief  were 
reduced  far  below  the  sum  which  it  had  once  yielded.  During  their  con- 
tests with  the  English,  in  which  a  generous  nobility  courted  every  station 
where  danger  appeared,  or  honour  could  be  gained,  many  families  of  note 
became  extinct,  and  their  fiefs  were  reunited  to  the  crown.  Other  fiefs, 
in  a  long  course  of  years,  fell  to  female  heirs,  and  were  divided  among 
them  ;  were  diminished  by  profuse  donations  to  the  church,  or  were  broken 
and  split  by  the  succession  of  remote  collateral  heirs.* 

Encouraged  by  these  manifest  symptoms  of  decline  in  that  body  which 
he  wished  to  depress,  Charles  VII.  during  the  first  interval  of  peace  with 
England,  made  several  efforts  towards  establishing  the  regal  prerogative  on 
the  ruins  of  the  aristocracy.  But  his  obligations  to  the  nobles  were  so 
many,  as  well  as  recent,  and  their  services  in  recovering  the  kingdom  so 
splendid,  as  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  proceed  with  moderation  and 
caution.  Such,  however,  was  the  authority  which  the  crown  had  acquired 
by  the  progress  of  its  arms  against  the  English,  and  so  much  was  the  power 
of  the  nobility  diminished,  that,  without  any  opposition,  he  soon  made 
innovations  of  great  consequence  in  the  constitution.     He  not  only  estab- 

*  Boulainvillicrs  Histoirc  dc  Gouvernement  de  France.  Lcttre  xii 


48  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  II. 

lished  that  formidable  body  of  regular  troops,  which  has  been  mentioned, 
but  he  was  the  first  monarch  of  France,  who,  by  his  royal  edict  [A.  D. 
1440],  without  the  concurrence  of  the  States-general  of  the  kingdom,  levied 
an  extraordinary  subsidy  on  his  *people.  He  prevailed  likewise  with  his 
subjects,  to  render  several  taxes  perpetual,  which  had  formerly  been 
imposed  occasionally  and  exacted  during  a  short  time.  By  means  of  all 
these  innovations,  he  acquired  such  an  increase  of  power,  and  extended  his 
prerogative  so  far  beyond  its  ancient  limits,  that,  from  being  the  most 
dependent  prince  who  had  ever  sat  upon  the  throne  of  France,  he  came  to 
possess,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  reign,  a  degree  of  authority  which 
none  of  his  predecessors  had  enjoyed  for  several  ages.* 

The  plan  of  humbling  the  nobility  which  Charles  began  to  execute,  his 
son  Louis  XI.  carried  on  with  a  bolder  spirit,  and  with  greater  success. 
Louis  was  formed  by  nature  to  be  a  tyrant ;  and  at  whatever  period  he 
had  been  called  to  ascend  the  throne,  his  reign  must  have  abounded  with 
schemes  to  oppress  his  people,  and  to  render  his  own  power  absolute. 
Subtle,  unfeeling,  cruel ;  a  stranger  to  every  principle  of  integrity,  and 
regardless  of  decency,  he  scorned  all  the  restraints  which  a  sense  of  honour, 
or  the  desire  of  fame,  impose  even  upon  ambitious  men.  Sagacious,  at  the 
same  time,  to  discern  what  he  deemed  his  true  interest,  and  influenced  by 
that  alone,  he  was  capable  of  pursuing  it  with  a  persevering  industry,  and  of 
adhering  to  it  with  a  systematic  spirit,  from  which  no  object  could  divert, 
and  no  danger  could  deter  him. 

The  maxims  of  his  administration  were  as  profound  as  they  were  fatal 
to  the  privileges  of  the  nobility.  He  filled  all  the  departments  of  govern- 
ment with  new  men,  and  often  with  persons  whom  he  called  from  the 
lowest  as  well  as  most  despised  functions  of  life,  and  raised  at  pleasure  to 
stations  of  great  power  or  trust.  These  were  his  only  confidents,  whom 
he  consulted  in  forming  his  plans,  and  to  whom  he  committed  the  execu- 
tion of  them  :  while  the  nobles,  accustomed  to  be  the  companions,  the 
favourites,  and  the  ministers  of  their  sovereigns,  were  treated  with  such 
studied  and  mortifying  neglect,  that  if  they  would  not  submit  to  follow 
a  court  in  which  they  appeared  without  any  shadow  of  their  ancient  power, 
they  were  obliged  to  retire  to  their  castles,  where  they  remained  unem- 
ployed and  forgotten.  Not  satisfied  with  having  rendered  the  nobles  of 
less  consideration,  by  taking  out  of  their  hands  the  sole  direction  of  affairs, 
Louis  added  insult  to  neglect ;  and  by  violating  their  most  valuable  privi- 
leges, endeavoured  to  degrade  the  order,  and  to  reduce  the  members  of  it  to 
the  same  level  with  other  subjects.  Persons  of  the  highest  rank  among  them, 
if  so  bold  as  to  oppose  his  schemes,  or  so  unfortunate  as  to  awaken  the 
jealousy  of  his  capricious  temper,  were  persecuted  with  rigour,  from 
trhich  all  who  belonged  to  the  order  of  nobility  had  hitherto  been 
exempted  ;  they  were  tried  by  judges  who  had  no  right  to  take  cognizance 
of  their  actions  ;  and  were  subject  to  torture,  or  condemned  to  an  igno- 
minious death,  without  regard  to  their  birth  or  condition.  The  people. 
accustomed  to  see  the  blood  of  the  most  illustrious  personages  shed  by  the 
hands  of  the  common  executioner,  to  behold  them  shut  up  in  dungeons, 
and  carried  about  in  cages  of  iron,  began  to  view  the  nobility  with  less 
reverence  than  formerly,  and  looked  up  with  terror  to  the  royal  authority, 
which  seemed  to  have  humbled  or  annihilated  every  other  power  in  the 
kingdom. 

At  the  same  time,  Louis,  being  afraid  that  oppression  might  rouse  the 
nobles,  whom  the  rigour  of  his  government  had  intimidated,  or  that  self-pre- 
servation might  at  last  teach  them  to  unite,  dexterously  scattered  among  them 
the  seeds  of  discord;  and  industriously  fomented  those  ancient  animosities 

*  Histoire  de  France  par  Vefly  et  Villaret;  torn  sv.  331,  fee,  389.  torn.  xvi.  324,  Variations  de 
la  Monarchic  Franeoise,  torn.  Hi.  162. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE,  49 

between  the  great  families,  which  the  spirit  of  jealousy  and  emulation, 
natural  to  the  feudal  government,  had  originally  kindled  and  still  kept  alive. 
To  accomplish  this,  all  the  arts  of  intrigue,  all  the  mysteries  and  refine- 
ments of  his  fraudulent  policy  were  employed,  and  with  such  success,  that 
at  a  juncture  which  required  the  most  strenuous  efforts,  as  well  as  the  most 
perfect  union,  the  nobles  never  acted,  except  during  one  short  sally  of 
resentment  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  either  with  vigour  or  in  concert. 

As  he  stripped  the  nobility  of  their  privileges,  he  added  to  the  power 
and  prerogative  of  the  crown.  In  order  to  have  at  command  such  a  body 
of  soldiers  as  might  be  sufficient  to  crush  any  force  that  his  disaffected 
subjects  could  draw  together,  he  not  only  kept  on  foot  the  regular  troops 
which  his  father  had  raised,  but,  besides  augmenting  their  number  con- 
siderably, he  took  into  his  pay  six  thousand  Swiss,  at  that  time  the  best 
disciplined  and  most  formidable  infantry  in  Europe.*  From  the  jealousy 
natural  to  tyrants,  he  confided  in  these  foreign  mercenaries,  as  the  most 
devoted  instruments  of  oppression,  and  the  most  faithful  guardians  of  the 
power  which  he  had  usurped.  That  they  might  be  ready  to  act  on  the 
shortest  warning,  he,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  reign,  kept  a  considera- 
ble body  of  them  encamped  in  one  placet 

Great  funds  were  requisite,  not  only  to  defray  the  expense  of  this  addi- 
tional establishment,  but  to  supply  the  sums  employed  in  the  various 
enterprises  which  the  restless  activity  of  his  genius  prompted  him  to 
undertake.  But  the  prerogative  that  his  father  had  assumed,  of  levying; 
laxes  without  the  concurrence  of  the  States-general,  which  he  was  careful 
not  only  to  retain  but  to  extend,  enabled  him  to  provide  in  some  measure 
for  the  increasing  charges  of  government. 

What  his  prerogative,  enlarged  as  it  was,  could  not  furnish,  his  address 
procured.  He  was  the  first  monarch  in  Europe  who  discovered  the  method 
of  managing  those  great  assemblies,  in  which  the  feudal  policy  had  vested 
the  power  of  granting  subsidies  and  of  imposing  taxes.  He  first  taught 
other  princes  the  fatal  art  of  beginning  their  attack  on  public  liberty,  by 
corrupting  the  source  from  which  it  should  flow.  By  exerting  all  his 
power  and  address  in  influencing  the  election  of  representatives,  by  bribing 
or  overawing  the  members,  and  by  various  changes  which  he  artfully  made 
in  the  form  of  their  deliberations,  Louis  acquired  such  entire  direction  of 
these  assemblies,  that,  from  being  the  vigilant  guardians  of  the  privilege 
and  property  of  the  people,  he  rendered  them  tamely  subservient  towards 
promoting  the  most  odious  measures  of  his  reign.  J  As  no  power  remained 
to  set  bounds  to  his  exactions,  he  not  only  continued  all  the  taxes  imposed 
by  his  father,  but  made  great  additions  to  them,  which  amounted  to  a  sum 
that  appeared  astonishing  to  his  contemporaries.§ 

Nor  was  it  the  power  alone  or  wealth  of  the  crown  that  Louis  increased  ; 
he  extended  its  territories  by  acquisitions  of  various  kinds.  He  got  pos- 
session of  Roussillon  by  purchase  ;  Provence  was  conveyed  to  him  by  the 
will  of  Charles  d'Anjou  ;  and  upon  the  death  of  Charles  the  Bold,  he 
seized  with  a  strong  hand  Burgundy  and  Artois,  which  had  belonged  to 
that  prince.  Thus,  during  the  course  of  a  single  reign,  France  was  formed 
into  one  compact  kingdom,  and  the  steady  unrelenting  policy  of  Louis  XL 
not  only  subdued  the  haughty  spirit  of  the  feudal  nobles?  but  established 
a  species  of  government,  scarely  less  absolute,  or  less  terrible  than  eastern 
despotism. 

But  fatal  as  his  administration  was  to  the  liberties  of  his  subjects,  the 

*  Mem  de  Comines,  torn.  i.  367.  Dan.  Hist,  de  la  Milice  Francoise,  torn.  i.  182.  t  Mem.  d« 
Com.  torn. ..  381.  X  Ibid.  torn.  i.  136.  Chron.  Scandal,  ibid.  torn.  ii.  p.  71.  $  Mem.  de  Com. 
torn.  i.  334.  Charles  VII.  levied  taxes  to  the  amount  of  1,800,00(1  francs ;  Louis  XI.  raised  4,700,000. 
The  former  had  in  pay  9000  cavalry  and  16,000  infantry.  The  latter  augmented  the  caralrv  u< 
i  j. 000,  and  the  infantry  to  35,000.    Mem,  <te  Cominfce.  i.  a^v 

Vol.  II.-" 


SO  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  U. 

authority  which  he  had  acquired,  the  resources  of  which  he  became 
master,  and  his  freedom  from  restraint  in  concerting  his  plans  as  well  as  m 
executing  them,  rendered  his  reign  active  and  enterprising.  Louis  nego- 
tiated in  all  the  courts  of  Europe  ;  he  observed  the  motions  of  all  his 
neighbours  ;  he  engaged,  either  as  principal,  or  as  an  auxiliary,  in  every 
great  transaction ;  nis  resolutions  were  prompt,  his  operations  vigorous ; 
and  upon  every  emergence  he  could  call  forth  into  action  the  whole  force 
of  his  kingdom.  From  the  era  of  his  reign,  the  kings  of  France,  no  longer 
fettered  and  circumscribed  at  home  by  a  jealous  nobility,  have  exerted 
themselves  more  abroad,  have  formed  more  extensive  schemes  of  foreign 
conquests,  and  have  carried  on  war  with  a  spirit  and  vigour  long  unknown 
in  Europe. 

The  example  which  Louis  set  was  too  inviting  not  to  be  imitated  by 
other  princes.  Henry  VII.,  as  soon  as  he  was  seated  on  the  throne  of 
England,  formed  the  plan  of  enlarging  his  own  prerogative,  by  breaking 
the  power  of  the  nobility.  The  circumstances  under  which  he  undertook 
to  execute  it,  were  less  favourable  than  those  which  induced  Charles  VII, 
to  make  the  same  attempt ;  and  the  spirit  with  which  he  conducted  it, 
was  very  different  from  that  of  Louis  XL  Charles,  by  the  success  of  his 
arms  against  the  English,  by  the  merit  of  having  expelled  them  out  of  so 
many  provinces,  had  established  himself  so  firmly  in  the  confidence  of  his 
people,  as  encouraged  him  to  make  bold  encroachments  on  the  ancient 
constitution.  The  daring  genius  of  Louis  broke  through  every  barrier, 
and  endeavoured  to  surmount  or  to  remove  every  obstacle  that  stood  in  his 
way.  But  Henry  held  the  sceptre  by  a  disputed  title  ;  a  popular  faction 
was  ready  every  moment  to  take  arms  against  him  ;  and  after  long  civil 
wars,  during  which  the  nobility  had  often  displayed  their  power  in  creating 
and  deposing  kings,  he  felt  that  the  legal  authority  had  been  so  much 
relaxed,  and  that  he  entered  into  possession  of  a  prerogative  so  much 
abridged,  as  rendered  it  necessary  to  carry  on  his  measures  deliberately, 
and  without  any  violent  exertion.  He  endeavoured  to  undermine  that 
formidable  structure,  which,  he  durst  not  attack  by  open  force.  His 
schemes,  though  cautious  and  slow  in  their  operation,  were  well  concerted, 
and  productive  in  the  end  of  great  effects.  By  his  laws,  permitting  the 
barons  to  break  the  entails  of  their  estates,  and  expose  them  to  sale  ;  by 
his  regulations  to  prevent  the  nobility  from  keeping  in  their  service  those 
numerous  bands  oi  retainers,  which  rendered  them  formidable  and  turbu- 
lent ;  by  favouring  the  rising  power  of  the  commons  ;  by  encouraging 
population,  agriculture,  and  commerce  ;  by  securing  to  his  subjects,  during 
a  long  reign,  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  which  flow  from  the  arts  of 
peace  ;  by  accustoming  them  to  an  administration  of  government,  under 
which  the  laws  were  executed  with  steadiness  and  vigour ;  he  made 
imperceptibly  considerable  alterations  in  the  English  constitution,  and 
transmitted  to  his  successor  authority  so  extensive,  as  rendered  him  one  of 
the  most  absolute  monarchs  in  Europe,  and  capable  of  the  greatest  and 
most  vigorous  efforts. 

In  Spain,  the  union  of  all  its  crowns  by  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  ;  the  glory  that  they  acquired  by  the  conquest  of  Granada,  which 
brought  the  odious  dominion  of  the  Moors  to  a  period ;  the  command  of 
the  great  armies  which  it  had  been  necessary  to  keep  long  on  foot,  in 
order  to  accomplish  this  ;  the  wisdom  and  steadiness  of  their  administration ; 
and  the  address  with  which  they  availed  themselves  of  every  incident  that 
occurred  to  humble  the  nobility,  and  to  extend  their  own  prerogative,  con- 
spired in  raising  these  monarchs  to  such  eminence  and  authority,  as  none 
of  their  predecessors  had  ever  enjoyed.  Though  several  causes,  which 
shall  be  explained  in  another  place,  prevented  their  attaining  the  same 
powers  with  the  kings  of  France  and  England,  and  preserved  the  feud.il 
constitution  longer  entire  in  Spain,  their  great  abilities  supplied  the  defect? 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  5* 

oi  their  prerogative,  and  improved  with  such  dexterity  all  the  advantages 
which  they  possessed,  that  Ferdinand  carried  on  his  foreign  operations, 
which  were  very  extensive,  with  extraordinary  vigour  and  effect. 

While  these  princes  were  thus  enlarging  the  boundaries  of  prerogative, 
and  taking  such  steps  towards  rendering  their  kingdoms  capable  of  acting 
with  union  and  force,  events  occurred,  which  called  them  forth  to  exert 
the  new  powers  which  they  had  acquired.  These  engaged  them  in  such 
a  series  of  enterprises  and  negotiations,  that  the  affairs  of  all  the  considerable 
nations  in  Europe  came  to  be  insensibly  interwoven  with  each  other ;  and 
a  great  political  system  was  gradually  formed,  which  grew  to  be  an  object 
of  universal  attention. 

The  first  event  which  merits  notice,  on  account  of  its  influence,  in  pro- 
ducing this  change  in  the  state  of  Europe,  was  the  marriage  of  the 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold,  the  sole  heiress  of  the  house  of  Burgundy. 
For  some  years  before  her  father's  death,  she  had  been  considered  as  the 
apparent  successor  to  his  territories,  and  Charles  had  made  proposals  of 
marrying  her  to  several  different  princes,  with  a  view  of  alluring  them,  by 
that  offer,  to  favour  the  schemes  which  his  restless  ambition  was  continually 
forming. 

This  rendered  the  alliance  with  her  an  object  of  general  attention  ;  and 
all  the  advantages  of  acquiring  possession  of  her  territories,  the  most 
opulent  at  that  time,  and  the  best  cultivated  of  any  on  this  side  of  the  Alps, 
were  perfectly  understood.  As  soon,  then,  as  the  untimely  death  of  Charles 
opened  the  succession  [A.  D.  1477,  Jan.  5],  the  eyes  of  all  the  princes  in 
Europe  were  turned  towards  Maiy,  and  they  felt  themselves  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  choice  which  she  was  about  to  make  of  the  person  on  whom 
she  would  bestow  that  rich  inheritance. 

Louis  XI.,  from  whose  kingdom  several  of  the  provinces  which  she  pos- 
sessed had  been  dismembered,  and  whose  dominions  stretched  along  the 
frontiers  of  her  territories,  had  every  inducement  to  court  her  alliance. 
He  had,  likewise,  a  good  title  to  expect  the  favourable  reception  of  any 
reasonable  proposition  he  should  make,  with  respect  to  the  disposal  of  a 
princess,  who  was  the  vassal  of  his  crown,  and  descended  from  the  royal 
blood  of  France.  There  were  only  two  propositions,  however,  which  he 
could  make  with  propriety.  The  one  was  the  marriage  of  the  dauphin, 
the  other  that  of  the  count  of  Angouleme,  a  prince  of  the  blood,  with  the 
heiress  of  Burgundy.  By  the  former,  he  would  have  annexed  all  her 
territories  to  his  crown,  and  have  rendered  France  at  once  the  most  re- 
spectable monarchy  in  Europe.  But  the  great  disparity  of  ages  between 
the  two  parties,  Mary  being  twenty  and  the  dauphin  only  eight  years  old; 
the  avowed  resolution  of  the  Flemings,  not  to  choose  a  master  possessed 
of  such  power  as  might  enable  him  to  form  schemes  dangerous  to  their 
liberties ;  together  with  their  dread  of  falling  under  the  odious  and 
oppressive  government  of  Louis,  were  obstacles  in  the  way  of  executing 
this  plan  which  it  was  vain  to  think  of  surmounting.  By  the  latter,  th« 
accomplishment  of  which  might  have  been  attained  with  ease,  Mary  having 
discovered  some  inclination  to  a  match  with  the  count  of  Angouleme,*' 
Louis  would  have  prevented  the  dominions  of  the  house  of  Burgundy  from 
being  conveyed  to  a  rival  power,  and  in  return  for  such  a  splendid  esta- 
blishment for  the  count  of  Angouleme,  he  must  have  obtained,  or  would 
have  extorted  from  him,  concessions  highly  beneficial  to  the  crown  ot 
France.  But  Louis  bad  been  accustomed  so  long  to  the  intricacies  of  a 
crooked  and  insidious  policy,  that  he  could  not  be  satisfied  with  what  was 
obvious  and  simple  ;  and  was  so  fond  of  artifice  and  refinement,  that  he 
came  to  consider  these  rather  as  an  ultimate  object,  than  merely  as  the 
means  of  conducting  affairs.    From  this  principle,  no  less  than  from  his 

*  Mwn.  d«  C'.-miues,  i,  358, 


S8  A   VIEW    OF   THE  |Sect.  II. 

unwillingness  to  aggrandize  any  of  his  own  subjects,  or  from  his  desire  of 
oppressing  the  house  of  Burgundy,  which  he  hated,  he  neglected  the 
course  which  a  prince  less  able  and  artful  would  have  taken,  and  followed 
one  more  suited  to  his  own  genius. 

He  proposed  to  render  himself,  by  force  of  arms,  master  of  those  pro- 
vinces which  Mary  held  of  the  crown  of  France,  and  even  to  push  his 
conquests  into  her  other  territories,  while  he  amused  her  with  insisting 
continually  on  the  impracticable  match  with  the  dauphin.  In  prosecuting 
this  plan,  he  displayed  wonderful  talents  and  industry,. and  exhibited  such 
scenes  of  treachery,  falsehood,  and  cruelty,  as  are  amazing  even  in  the 
history  of  Louis  XI.  Immediately  upon  the  death  of  Charles,  he  put  his 
troops  in  motion,  and  advanced  towards  the  Netherlands.  He  corrupted 
the  leading  men  in  the  provinces  of  Burgundy  and  Artois,  and  seduced 
them  to  desert  their  sovereign.  He  got  admission  into  some  of  the  frontier 
t6w«s  by  bribing  the  governors  ;  the  gates  of  others  were  opened  to  him 
in  consequence  of  his  intrigues  with  the  inhabitants.  He  negotiated  with 
Mary  ;  and,  in  order  to  render  her  odious  to  her  subjects,  he  betrayed  to 
them  her  most  important  secrets.  He  carried  on  a  private  correspondence 
with  the  two  ministers  whom  she  chiefly  trusted,  and  then  communicated 
the  letters  which  he  had  received  from  them  to  the  states  of  Flanders,  who, 
enraged  at  their  perfidy,  brought  them  immediately  to  trial,  tortured  them 
with  extreme  cruelty,  and,  unmoved  by  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  their 
sovereign,  who  knew  and  approved  ot  all  that  the  ministers  had  done, 
they  beheaded  them  in  her  presence.* 

While  Louis,  by  this  conduct,  unworthy  of  a  great  monarch,  was 
securing  the  possession  of  Burgundy,  Artois,  and  the  towns  on  the  Somme, 
the  states  of  Flanders  carried  on  a  negotiation  with  the  Emperor  Frederic 
III.,  and  concluded  a  treaty  of  marriage  between  their  sovereign  and  his 
son  Maximilian,  archduke  of  Austria  [A.  D.  1477].  The  illustrious  birth 
of  that  prince,  as  well  as  the  high  dignity  of  which  he  had  the  prospect, 
rendered  the  alliance  honourable  for  Mary,  while,  from  the  distance  of  his 
hereditary  territories,  and  the  scantiness  of  his  revenues,  his  power  was  so 
inconsiderable,  as  did  not  excite  the  jealousy  or  fear  of  the  Flemings. 

Thus  Louis,  by  the  caprice  of  his  temper,  and  the  excess  of  his  refine- 
ments, put  the  house  of  Austria  in  possession  of  this  noble  inheritance.  By 
this  acquisition,  the  foundation  of  the  future  grandeur  of  Charles  V.  was 
laid ;  and  he  became  master  of  those  territories,  which  enabled  him  to 
carry  on  his  most  formidable  and  decisive  operations  against  France. 
Thus,  too,  the  same  monarch  who  first  united  the  interior  force  of  France 
and  established  it  on  such  a  footing,  as  to  render  it  formidable  to  the  rest 
of  Europe,  contributed,  far  contrary  to  his  intention,  to  raise  up  a  rival 
power,  which,  during  two  centuries,  has  thwarted  the  measures,  opposed 
the  arms,  and  checked  the  progress  of  his  successors. 

The  next  event  of  consequence  in  the  fifteenth  century,  was  the  expe- 
dition of  Charles  VIII.  into  Italy  [A.  D.  1494].  This  occasioned  revolu- 
tions no  less  memorable  ;  produced  alterations,  both  in  the  military  and 
political  system,  which  were  more  immediately  perceived  ;  roused  the 
states  of  Europe  to  bolder  efforts  ;  and  blended  their  affairs  and  interests 
more  closely  together.  The  mild  administration  of  Charles,  a  weak  but 
generous  prince,  seems  to  have  revived  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  French 
nation,  which  the  rigid  despotism  of  Louis  XI.  his  father,  had  depressed 
and  almost  extinguished.  The  ardour  for  military  service,  natural  to  the 
French  nobility,  returned,  and  their  young  monarch  was  impatient  to  dis- 
tinguish his  reign  by  some  splendid  enterprise.  While  he  was  uncertain 
towards  what  quarter  he  should  turn  his  arms,  the  solicitations  and  intrigues 
of  an  Italian  politician,  no  less  infamous  on  account  of  his  crimes,  than 

•  Mem,  de  Cuniihes,  liv.  v.  chap.  15.  p.  30!^  *c 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  53 

eminent  for  his  abilities,  determined  his  choice.  Ludovico  Sforza,  having^ 
formed  the  design  of  deposing  his  nephew  the  duke  of  Milan,  and  of 
placing  himself  on  the  ducal  throne,  was  so  much  afraid  of  a  combination 
of  the  Italian  powers  to  oppose  this  measure,  and  to  support  the  injured 
prince,  with  whom  most  of  them  were  connected  by  blood  or  alliance,  that 
he  saw  the  necessity  of  securing  the  aid  of  some  able  protector.  The 
king  of  France  was  the  person  to  whom  he  applied  ;  and  without  disclosing 
his  own  intentions,  he  laboured  to  prevail  with  him  to  march  into  Italy,  at 
the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  in  order  to  seize  the  crown  of  Naples,  to 
which  Charles  had  pretensions  as  heir  of  the  house  of  Anjou.  The  right 
to  that  kingdom  claimed  by  the  Angevin  family,  had  been  conveyed  to 
Louis  XI.  by  Charles  of  Anjou,  count  of  Maine  and  Provence.  But  that 
sagacious  monarch,  though  he  took  immediate  possession  of  those  territories 
of  which  Charles  was  really  master,  totally  disregarded  his  ideal  title  to  a 
kingdom,  over  which  another  prince  reigned  in  tranquillity  ;  and  uniformly 
declined  involving  himself  in  the  labyrinth  of  Italian  politics.  His  son, 
more  adventurous,  or  more  inconsiderate,  embarked  eagerly  in  this  enter- 
prise ;  and  contemning  all  the  remonstrances  of  his  most  experienced  coun- 
sellors, prepared  to  carry  it  on  with  the  utmost  vigour. 

The  power  which  Charles  possessed  was  so  great,  that  he  reckoned 
himself  equal  to  this  arduous  undertaking.  His  father  had  transmitted  to 
him  such  an  ample  prerogative,  as  gave  him  the  entire  command  of  his 
kingdom.  He  himself  had  added  considerably  to  the  extent  of  his  do- 
minions, by  his  prudent  marriage  with  the  heiress  of  Bretagne,  which 
rendered  him  master  of  that  province,  the  last  of  the  great  fiefs  that 
remained  to  be  annexed  to  the  crown.  He  soon  assembled  forces  which 
he  thought  sufficient ;  and  so  impatient  was  he  to  enter  on  his  career  as  a 
conqueror,  that  sacrificing  what  was  real,  for  what  was  chimerical,  he 
restored  Roussillon  to  Ferdinand,  and  gave  up  part  of  his  father's  acquisitions 
in  Artois  to  Maximilian,  with  a  view  of  inducing  these  princes  not  to 
molest  France,  while  he  was  carrying  on  his  operations  in  Italy. 

But  so  different  were  the  efforts  of  the  states  of  Europe  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  from  those  which  we  shall  behold  in  the  course  of  this  history, 
that  the  army  with  which  Charles  undertook  this  great  enterprise,  did  not 
exceed  twenty  thousand  men.  The  train  of  artillery,  however,  the  ammu- 
nition, and  warlike  stores  of  every  kind  provided  for  its  use,  were  so  con- 
siderable, as  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  immense  apparatus  of  modern 
war.* 

When  the  French  entered  Italy,  they  met  with  nothing  able  to  resist 
them.  The  Italian  powers  having  remained,  during  a  long  period,  undis- 
turbed by  the  invasion  of  any  foreign  enemy,  had  formed  a  system  with 
respect  to  their  affairs,  both  in  peace  and  war,  peculiar  to  themselves. 
In  order  to  adjust  the  interests,  and  balance  the  power  of  the  different 
states  into  which  Italy  was  divided,  they  were  engaged  in  perpetual  and 
endless  negotiations  with  each  other,  which  they  conducted  with  all  the 
subtlety  of  a  refining  and  deceitful  policy.  Their  contests  in  the  field, 
when  they  had  recourse  to  arms,  were  decided  in  mock  battles,  by  innocent 
and  bloodless  victories.  Upon  the  first  appearance  of  the  danger  which 
now  impended,  they  had  recourse  to  the  arts  which  they  had  studied,  and 
employed  their  utmost  skill  in  intrigue  in  order  to  avert  it.  But  this 
proving  ineffectual,  their  bands  of  effeminate  mercenaries,  the  only  military 
force  that  remained  in  the  country,  being  fit  only  for  the  parade  of  service, 
were  terrified  at  the  aspect  of  real  war,  and  shrunk  at  its  approach.  The 
impetuosity  of  the  French  valour  appeared  to  them  irresistible.  Florence, 
Pisa,  and  Rome,  opened  their  gates  as  the  French  army  advanced.  The 
prospect  of  this  dreadful  invasion  struck  one  king  of  Naples  with  such 

*  Mezoray  Uist  torn.  ii.  777 


M  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  II. 

panic  terror,  that  lie  died  (if  we  may  believe  historians)  of  the  fright. 
Another  abdicated  his  throne  from  the  same  pusillanimous  spirit.  A  third 
fled  out  o(  his  dominions,  as  soon  as  the  enemy  appeared  on  the  Neapolitan 
frontiers.  Charles,  after  marching-  thither  from  the  bottom  of  the  Alp?, 
-with  as  much  rapidity,  and  almost  as  little  opposition,  as  if  he  had  been 
on  a  progress  through  his  own  dominions,  took  quiet  possession  of  the 
throne  of  Naples,  and  intimidated  or  gave  law  to  every  power  in  Italy. 

Such  was  the  conclusion  of  an  expedition,  that  must  be  considered  as 
the  first  great  exertion  of  those  new  powers  which  the  princes  of  Europe 
had  acquired,  and  now  began  to  exercise.  Its  effects  were  no  less  con- 
siderable, than  its  success  had  been  astonishing.  The  Italians,  unable  to 
resist  the  impression  of  the  enemy  who  broke  in  upon  them,  permitted  him 
to  hold  on  his  course  undisturbed.  They  quickly  perceived  that  no  single 
power,  which  they  could  rouse  to  action,  was  an  equal  match  for  a  monarch 
who  ruled  over  such  extensive  territories,  and  was  at  the  head  of  such  a 
martial  people  ;  but  that  a  confederacy  might  accomplish  what  the  separate 
members  of  it  durst  not  attempt.  To  this  expedient,  the  only  one  that 
remained  to  deliver  or  to  preserve  them  from  the  yoke,  they  had  recourse. 
While  Charles  inconsiderately  wasted  his  time  at  Naples  in  festivals  and 
triumphs  on  account  of  his  past  successes,  or  was  fondly  dreaming  of  future 
conquests  in  the  East,  to  the  empire  of  which  he  now  aspired,  they  formed 
against  him  a  powerful  combination  of  almost  all  the  Italian  states,  sup- 
ported by  the  emperor  Maximilian,  and  Ferdinand  king  of  Aragon.  The 
union  of  so  many  powers,  who  suspended  or  forgot  all  their  particular 
animosities,  that  they  might  act  in  concert  against  an  enemy  who  had 
become  formidable  to  them  all,  awakened  Charles  from  his  thoughtless 
security.  He  saw  now  no  prospect  of  safety  but  in  returning  to  France. 
An  army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  assembled  by  the  allies,  was  ready 
to  obstruct  his  march  ;  and  though  the  French,  with  a  daring  courage, 
which  more  than  countervailed  their  inferiority  in  number,  broke  through 
that  great  body  and  gained  a  victory,  which  opened  to  their  monarch 
a  safe  passage  into  his  own  territories,  he  was  stripped  of  all  his  conquests 
in  Italy  in  as  short  a  time  as  it  had  taken  to  acquire  them  ;  and  the 
political  system  in  that  country  resumed  the  same  appearance  as  before  his 
invasion. 

The  sudden  and  decisive  effect  of  this  confederacy  seems  to  have 
instructed  the  princes  and  statesmen  of  Italy  as  much  as  the  irruption  of 
the  French  had  disconcerted  and  alarmed  them.  They  had  extended,  on 
this  occasion,  to  the  affairs  of  Europe,  the  maxims  of  that  political  science 
which  had  hitherto  been  applied  only  to  regulate  the  operations  of  the 
petty  states  in  their  own  country.  They  had  discovered  the  method  of 
preventing  any  monarch  from  rising  to  such  a  degree  of  power,  as  was 
inconsistent  with  the  general  liberty ;  and  had  manifested  the  importance 
of  attending  to  that  great  secret  in  modern  policy,  the  preservation  of  a 
proper  distribution  of  power  among  all  the  members  of  the  system  into 
which  the  states  of  Europe  are  formed.  During  all  the  wars  of  which 
Italy  from  that  time  was  the  theatre,  and  amidst  the  hostile  operations 
which  the  imprudence  of  Louis  XII.  and  the  ambition  of  Ferdinand  of 
Aragon,  carried  on  in  that  country,  with  little  interruption,  from  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  to  that  period  at  which  the  subsequent  history 
commences,  the  maintaining  a  proper  balance  of  power  between  the  con- 
tending parties,  became  the  great  object  of  attention  to  the  statesmen  of 
Italy.  Nor  was  the  idea  confined  to  them.  Self-preservation  taught  other 
powers  to  adopt  it.  It  grew  to  be  fashionable  and  universal.  From  this 
era  we  can  trace  the  progress  of  that  intercourse  between  nations,  which  has 
linked  the  powers  of  Europe  so  closely  together;  and  can  discern  the 
operations  of  that  provident  policy,  which,  during  peace,  guards  against 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  55 

remote  and  contingent  dangers ;  and,  in  war,  has  prevented  rapid  and 
destructive  conquests. 

This  was  not  the  only  effect  of  the  operations  which  the  great  powers  of 
Europe  carried  on  in  Italy.  They  contributed  to  render  general  such  a 
change,  as  the  French  had  begun  to  make  in  the  state  of  their  troops  ;  and 
obliged  all  the  princes  who  appeared  on  this  new  theatre  of  action,  to  put 
the  military  force  of  their  kingdoms  on  an  establishment  similar  to  that  of 
France.  When  the  seat  of  war  canoe  to  be  remote  from  the  countries 
which  maintained  the  contest,  the  service  of  the  feudal  vassals  ceased  to 
be  of  any  use  ;  and  the  necessity  of  employing  soldiers  regularly  trained 
to  arms,  and  kept  in  constant  pay,  came  at  once  to  be  evident.  When 
Charles  VIII.  marched  into  Italy,  his  cavalry  was  entirely  composed  of 
those  companies  of  gendarmes,  embodied  by  Charles  VII.  and  continued 
by  Louis  XI.  ;  his  infantry  consisted  partly  of  Swiss,  hired  of  the  Canton?, 
and  partly  of  Gascons,  armed  and  disciplined  after  the  Swiss  model.  To 
these  Louis  XII.  added  a  body  of  Germans,  well  known  in  the  wars  of 
Italy  by  the  name  of  the  Black  Bands.  But  neither  of  these  monarcns 
made  any  account  of  the  feudal  militia,  or  ever  had  recourse  to  that 
military  force  which  they  might  have  commanded,  in  virtue  of  the  ancient 
institutions  in  their  kingdom.  Maximilian  and  Ferdinand,  as  soon  as  they 
began  to  act  in  Italy,  employed  similar  instruments,  and  trusted  the 
execution  of  their  plans  entirely  to  mercenary  troops. 

This  innovation  in  the  military  system  was  quickly  followed  by  another, 
which  the  custom  of  employing  Swiss  in  the  Italian  wars  was  the  occasion 
of  introducing.  The  arms  and  discipline  of  the  Swiss  were  different  from 
those  of  other  European  nations.  During  their  long  and  violent  struggles 
in  defence  of  their  liberties  against  the  house  of  Austria,  whose  armies, 
like  those  of  other  considerable  princes,  consisted  chiefly  of  heavy-armed 
cavalry,  the  Swiss  found  that  their  poverty,  and  the  small  number  of  gen- 
tlemen residing  in  their  country,  at  that  time  barren  and  ill  cultivated,  put 
it  out  of  their  power  to  bring  into  the  field  any  body  of  horse  capable  of 
facing  the  enemy.  Necessity  compelled  them  to  place  all  their  confidence 
in  infantry  ;  and  in  order  to  render  it  capable  of  withstanding  the  shock  of 
cavalry,  they  gave  the  soldiers  breastplates  and  helmets  as  defensive  armour ; 
together  with  long  spears,  halberts,  and  heavy  swords,  as  weapons  of 
offence.  They  formed  them  into  large  battafions  ranged  in  deep  and 
close  array,  so  that  they  could  present  on  every  side  a  formidable  front  to 
the  enemy.*  The  men  at  arms  could  make  no  impression  on  the  solid 
.strength  of  such  a  body.  It  repulsed  the  Austrians  in  all  their  attempts  to 
conquer  Swisserland.  It  broke  the  Burgundian  gendarmerie,  which  was 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  France,  either  in  number  or  reputation  ;  and 
when  first  called  to  act  in  Italy,  it  bore  down,  by  its  irresistible  force,  every 
enemy  that  attempted  to  oppose  it.  These  repeated  proofs  of  the  decisive 
effect  of  infantry,  exhibited  on  such  conspicuous  occasions,  restored  that 
service  to  reputation,  and  gradually  re-established  the  opinion  which  had 
been  long  exploded,  of  its  superior  importance  in  the  operations  of  war. 
But  the  glory  which  the  Swiss  had  acquired,  having  inspired  them  with 
such  high  ideas  of  their  own  prowess  and  consequence  as  frequently  ren- 
dered them  mutinous  and  insolent,  the  princes  who  employed  them  became 
weary  of  depending  on  the  caprice  of  foreign  mercenaries,  and  began  to 
turn  their  attention  towards  the  improvement  of  their  national  infantry. 

The  German  powers,  having  the  command  of  men,  whom  nature  has 
endowed  with  that  steady  courage  and  persevering  strength  which  forms 
them  to  be  soldiers,  soon  modelled  their  troops  in  such  a  manner,  that  they 
vied  with  the  Swiss  both  in  discipline  and  valour 

The  French  monarchs,  though  more  slowly,  and  with  greater  difficulty, 

*  Marhiavel's  Art  of  Wpr.  b.  ii.  chap.  ii.  p.  453: 


56;  A   VIEW   OF   THE  [Sect.  II.   * 

accustomed  the  impetuous  spirit  of  their  people  to  subordination  and 
discipline  ;  and  were  at  such  pains  to  render  their  national  infantry  respect- 
able, that  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Louis  XII.  several  gentlemen  of  high  rank 
had  so  far  abandoned  their  ancient  ideas,  as  to  condescend  to  enter  into  that 
service.* 

The  Spaniards,  whose  situation  made  it  difficult  to  employ  any  other 
than  their  national  troops  in  the  southern  parts  of  Italy,  which  was  the 
chief  scene  of  their  operations  ill  that  country,  not  only  adopted  the  Swiss 
discipline,  but  improved  upon  it,  by  mingling  a  proper  number  of  soldiers, 
armed  with  heavy  muskets,  in  their  battalions  ;  and  thus  formed  that  famous 
body  of  infantry,  which  during  a  century  and  a  half,  was  the  admiration 
and  terror  of  all  Europe.  The  Italian  states  gradually  diminished  the 
number  of  their  cavalry,  and,  in  imitation  of  their  more  powerful  neigh- 
bours, brought  the  strength  of  their  armies  to  consist  in  foot  soldiers. 
From  this  period  the  nations  of  Europe  have  carried  on  war  with  forces 
more  adapted  to  every  species  of  service,  more  capable  of  acting  in  every 
country,  and  better  fitted  both  for  making  conquests,  and  for  preserving 
them. 

As  their  efforts  in  Italy  led  the  people  of  Europe  to  these  improvements 
in  the  art  of  war,  they  gave  them  likewise  the  first  idea  of  the  expense 
with  which  it  is  accompanied  when  extensive  or  of  long  continuance,  and 
accustomed  every  nation  to  the  burden  of  such  impositions  as  are  necessary 
for  supporting  it.  While  the  feudal  policy  subsisted  in  full  vigour,  while 
armies  were  composed  of  military  vassals  called  forth  to  attack  some 
neighbouring  power,  and  to  perform,  in  a  short  campaign,  the  services 
which  they  owed  to  their  sovereign,  the  expense  of  war  was  extremely 
moderate.  A  small  subsidy  enabled  a  prince  to  begin  and  to  finish  his 
greatest  military  operations.  But  when  Italy  became  the  theatre  on  which 
the  powers  of  Europe  contended  for  superiority,  the  preparations  requisite 
for  such  a  distant  expedition,  the  pay  of  armies  kept  constantly  on  foot, 
their  subsistence  in  a  foreign  country,  the  sieges  to  be  undertaken,  and 
the  towns  to  be  defended,  sw'elled  the  charges  of  war  immensely,  and,  by 
creating  demands  unknown  in  less  active  times,  multiplied  taxes  in  every 
kingdom.  The  progress  of  ambition,  however,  was  so  rapid,  and  princes 
extended  their  operations  so  fast,  that  it  was  impossible  at  first  to  establish 
funds  proportional  to  the  increase  of  expense  which  these  occasioned. 
When  Charles  VIII.  invaded  Naples,  the  sums  requisite  for  carrying  on 
that  enterprise  so  far  exceeded  those  which  France  had  been  accustomed 
to  contribute  for  the  support  of  government,  that  before  he  reached  the 
frontiers  of  Italy,  his  treasury  was  exhausted,  and  the  domestic  resources, 
of  which  his  extensive  prerogative  gave  him  the  command,  was  at  an  end. 
As  he  durst  not  venture  to  lay  any  new  imposition  on  his  people,  oppressed 
already  with  the  weight  of  unusual  burdens ;  the  only  expedient  that 
remained  was,  to  borrow  of  the  Genoese  as  much  money  as  might  enable 
him  to  continue  his  march.  But  he  could  not  obtain  a  sufficient  sum, 
without  consenting  to  pay  annually  the  exorbitant  interest  of  forty-two 
lines  for  every  hundred  that  he  received.!  We  may  observe  the  same 
disproportion  between  the  efforts  and  revenues  of  other  princes,  his  con- 
temporaries. From  this  period,  taxes  went  on  increasing  ;  and  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  such  sums  were  levied  in  every  state,  as  would  have 
appeared  enormous  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  gradually 
prepared  the  way  for  the  still  more  exorbitant  exactions  of  modern  times. 

The  last  transaction,  previous  to  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  that  merits 
attention  on  account  of  its  influence  upon  the  state  of  Europe,  is  the  league 
of  Cambray.    To  humble  the  republic  of  Venice,  and  to  divide  its  terri- 

*  Brantomc,  torn.  x.  o.  18.  Mem.  de  Fleuranges,  143.  t  Mem  de  Comines,  lib.  vii.  c. 

5  n.  440. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  57 

rories,  was  the  object  of  all  the  powers  who  united  in  this  confederacy. 
The  civil  constitution  of  Venice,  established  on  a  firm  basis,  had  suffered 
no  considerable  alteration  for  several  centuries  ;  during  which,  the  senate 
conducted  its  affairs  by  maxims  of  policy  no  less  prudent  than  vigorous, 
and  adhered  to  these  with  a  uniform  consistent  spirit,  which  gave  that 
commonwealth  great  advantage  over  other  states,  whose  views  and 
measures  changed  as  often  as  the  form  of  their  government,  or  the  per- 
sons who  administered  it.  By  these  unintermitted  exertions  of  wisdom 
and  valour,  the  Venetians  enlarged  the  dominions  of  their  commonwealth, 
until  it  became  the  most  considerable  power  in  Italy;  while  their  extensive 
commerce,  the  useful  and  curious  manufactures  which  they  carried  on, 
together  with  the  large  share  which  they  had  acquired  of  the  lucrative 
commerce  with  the  East,  rendered  Venice  the  most  opulent  state  in  Europe. 

The  power  of  the  Venetians  was  the  object  of  terror  to  their  Italian 
neighbours.  Their  wealth  was  viewed  with  envy  by  the  greatest 
monarchs,  who  could  not  vie  with  many  of  their  private  citizens  in  the 
magnificence  of  their  buildings,  in  the  richness  of  their  dress  and  furniture, 
or  in  splendour  and  elegance  of  living.*  Julius  II.  whose  ambition  was 
superior,  and  his  abilities  equal  to  those  of  any  pontiff  who  ever  sat  on 
the  papal  throne,  conceived  the  idea  of  this  league  against  the  Venetians, 
and  endeavoured,  by  applying  to  those  passions  which  I  have  mentioned, 
to  persuade  other  princes  to  join  in  it.  By  working  upon  the  fears  of  the 
Italian  powers,  and  upon  the  avarice  of  several  monarchs  beyond  the  Alps, 
he  induced  them,  in  concurrence  with  other  causes,  which  it  is  not  my 
province  to  explain,  to  form  one  of  the  most  powerful  confederacies  that 
Europe  had  ever  beheld,  against  those  haughty  republicans. 

The  emperor,  the  king  of  France,  the  king  of  Aragon,  and  the  pope,  were 

firincipals  in  the  league  of  Cambray,  to  which  almost  all  the  princes  of 
taly  acceded,  the  least  considerable  of  them  hoping  for  some  share  in  the 
spoils  of  a  state  which  they  deemed  to  be  now  devoted  to  destruction. 
The  Venetians  might  have  diverted  this  storm,  or  have  broken  its  force  ; 
but  with  a  presumptuous  rashness,  to  which  there  is  nothing  similar  in  the 
course  of  their  history,  they  waited  its  approach.  The  impetuous  valour 
of  the  French  rendered  ineffectual  all  their  precautions  for  the  safety  of 
the  republic;  and  the  fatal  battle  of  Ghiarraddada  ent  ely  ruined  the 
army,  on  which  they  relied  for  defence.  Julius  seized  all  the  towns  which 
they  held  in  the  ecclesiastical  territories.  Ferdinand  re-annexed  the  towns 
of  which  they  had  got  possession  on  the  coast  of  Calabria,  to  his  Neapo- 
litan dominions.  Maximilian,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  advanced 
towards  Venice  on  the  one  side.  The  French  pushed  their  conquests  on 
the  other.  The  Venetians,  surrounded  by  so  many  enemies,  and  left  with- 
out one  ally,  sunk  from  the  height  of  presumption  to  the  depths  o(  despair ; 
abandoned  all  their  territories  on  the  continent ;  and  shut  themselves  up 
in  their  capital,  as  their  last  refuge,  and  the  only  place  which  they  hoped  to 
preserve. 

This  rapid  success,  however,  proved  fatal  to  the  confederacy.  •  The 
members  of  it,  whose  union  continued  while  they  were  engaged  in  seizing 
their  prey,  began  to  feel  their  ancient  jealousies  and  animosities  revive,  as 
soon  as  they  had  a  prospect  of  dividing  it.  When  the  Venetians  observed 
these  symptoms  of  distrust  and  alienation,  a  ray  of  hope  broke  in  upon 
them ;  the  spirit  natural  to  their  councils  returned  ;  they  resumed  such 
wisdom  and  firmness,  as  made  some  atonement  for  their  former  imprudence 
and  dejection  ;  they  recovered  part  of  the  territory  which  they  had  lost ; 
they  appeased  the  pope  and  Ferdinand  by  well-timed  concessions  in  their 
favour  ;  and  at  length  dissolved  the  confederacy,  which  had  brought  their 
commonwealth  to  the  brink  of  ruin. 

*  Heliani  oratio  apud  GoMa«um  in  polit.    Imperial,  p.  osp. 
Vol.  II. — 8 


58  A   VIEW  OF   THE  LSect.  III. 

Julius,  elated  with  beholding  the  effects  of  a  league  which  he  himself 
had  planned,  and  imagining  that  nothing  was  too  arduous  for  him  to  under- 
take, conceived  the  idea  of  expelling  every  foreign  power  out  of  Italy, 
and  bent  all  the  force  of  his  mind  towards  executing  a  scheme  so  well 
suited  to  his  enterprising  genius.  He  directed  his  first  attack  against  the 
French,  who,  on  many  accounts,  were  more  odious  to  the  Italians,  than  any 
of  the  foreigners  who  had  acquired  dominion  in  their  country.  By  his 
activity  and  address,  he  prevailed  on  most  of  the  powers,  who  hadjoined 
in  the  league  of  Cambray,  to  turn  their  arms  against  the  king  of  France, 
their  former  ally;  and  engaged  Henry  VIII.  who  had  lately  ascended 
the  throne  of  E"ngland,  to  favour  their  operations  by  invading  France. 
Louis  XII.  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  this  formidable  and  unexpected  con- 
federacy with  undaunted  fortitude.  Hostilities  were  carried  on,  during 
several  campaigns,  in  Italy,  on  the  frontiers  of  Spain,  and  in  Picardy,  with 
alternate  success.  Exhausted,  at  length,  by  the  variety  as  well  as  extent 
of  his  operations  ;  unable  to  withstand  a  confederacy  which  brought 
against  him  superior  force,  conducted  with  wisdom  and  acting  with  per- 
severance ;  Louis  found  it  necessary  to  conclude  separate  treaties  of  peace 
with  his  enemies ;  and  the  war  terminated  with  the  loss  of  every  thing 
which  the  French  had  acquired  in  Italy,  except  the  castle  of  Milan,  and  a 
few  inconsiderable  towns  in  that  dutchy. 

The  various  negotiations  carried  on  during  this  busy  period,  and  the 
different  combinations  formed  among  powers  hitherto  little  connected  with 
each  other,  greatly  increased  that  intercourse  among  the  nations  of  Europe, 
which  I  have  mentioned  as  one  effect  of  the  events  in  the  fifteenth  century ; 
while  the  greatness  of  the  object  at  which  different  nations  aimed,  the 
distant  expeditions  which  they  undertook,  as  well  as  the  length  and 
obstinacy  of  the  contest  in  which  they  engaged,  obliged  them  to  exert 
themselves  with  a  vigour  and  perseverance  unknown  in  the  preceding 
ages. 

Those  active  scenes  which  the  following  history  will  exhibit,  as  well  as 
the  variety  and  importance  of  those  transactions  which  distinguish  the 
period  to  which  it  extends,  a"re  not  to  be  ascribed  solely  to  the  ambition, 
to  the  abilities,  or  to  the  rivalship  of  Charles  V.  and  of  Francis  I.  The 
kingdoms  of  Europe  had  arrived  at  such  a  degree  of  improvement  in  the 
internal  administration  of  government,  and  princes  had  acquired  such  com- 
mand of  the  national  force  which  was  to  be  exerted  in  foreign  wars,  that 
they  were  in  a  condition  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  operations,  to  mul- 
tiply their  claims  and  pretensions,  and  to  increase  the  vigour  of  their  efforts. 
Accordingly  the  sixteenth  century  opened  with  the  certain  prospect  of  its 
abounding  in  great  and  interesting  events. 


SECTION  III. 


View  of  the  Political  Constitution  of  the  principal  States  in  Europe,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  sixteenth  Century. 

Having  thus  enumerated  the  principal  causes  and  events,  the  influence 
of  which  was  felt  in  eveiy  part  of  Europe,  and  contributed  either  to 
improve  internal  order  and  police  in  its  various  states,  or  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  their  activity,  by  giving  them  more  entire  command  of  the  force 
with  which  foreign  operations  are  carried  on  ;  nothing  farther  seems  requi- 
site for  preparing  my  readers  to  enter,  with  full  information,  upon  perusing 
the  History  of  Charles  V.  but  to  give  a  view  of  the  political  constitution 
and  form  of  civil  government  in  each  of  the  nations  which  acted  any 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  6S 

considerable  part  during  that  period.  For  as  the  institutions  and  events 
which  I  have  endeavoured  to  illustrate,  formed  the  people  of  Europe  to 
resemble  each  other,  and  conducted  them  from  barbarism  to  refinement,  in 
the  same  path,  and  by  nearly  equal  steps ;  there  were  other  circumstances 
which  occasioned  a  difference  in  their  political  establishments,  and  gave 
rise  to  those  peculiar  modes  of  government,  which  have  produced  such 
variety  in  the  character  and  genius  of  nations. 

It  is  no  less  necessary  to  become  acquainted  with  the  latter,  than  to  have 
contemplated  the  former.  Without  a  distinct  knowledge  of  the  peculiar 
form  and  genius  of  civil  government  in  each  state,  a  great  part  of  its  trans- 
actions must  appear  altogether  mysterious  and  inexplicable.  The  histo- 
rians of  particular  countries,  as  they  seldom  extend  their  views  farther  than 
to  the  amusement  or  instruction  of  their  fellow-citizens,  by  whom  they 
might  presume  that  all  their  domestic  customs  and  institutions  were  per- 
fectly understood,  have  often  neglected  to  descend  into  such  details  with 
respect  to  these,  as  are  sufficient  to  convey  to  foreigners  full  light  and  infor- 
mation concerning  the  occurrences  which  they  relate.  But  a  history, 
which  comprehends  the  transactions  of  so  many  different  countries,  would 
be  extremely  imperfect,  without  a  previous  survey  of  the  constitution  and 
political  state  of  each.  It  is  from  his  knowledge  of  these,  that  the  reader 
must  draw  those  principles,  which  will'enable  him  to  judge  with  discern- 
ment, and  to  decide  with  certainty  concerning  the  conduct  of  nations. 

A  minute  detail,  however,  of  the  peculiar  forms  and  regulations  in  every 
country,  would  lead  to  deductions  of  immeasurable  length.  To  sketch  out 
the  great  lines  which  distinguish  and  characterize  each  government,  is  all 
that  the  nature  of  my  present  work  will  admit  of,  and  all  that  is  necessary 
to  illustrate  the  events  which  it  records. 

At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  political  aspect  of  Italy 
was  extremely  different  from  that  of  any  other  part  of  Europe.  Instead 
of  those  extensive  monarchies,  which  occupied  the  rest  of  the  continent, 
that  delightful  country  was  parcelled  out  among  many  small  states,  each 
of  which  possessed  sovereign  and  independent  jurisdiction.  The  only 
monarchy  in  Italy  was  that  of  Naples.  The  dominion  of  the  popes  was 
of  a  peculiar  species,  to  which  theie  i°  nothing  similar  either  in  ancient  or 
modern  times.  In  Venice,  Florence,  and  Genoa,  a  republican  form  of 
government  was  established.  Milan  was  subject  to  sovereigns,  who  had 
assumed  no  higher  title  than  that  of  dukes. 

The  pope  was  the  first  of  these  powers  in  dignity,  and  not  the  least 
considerable  by  the  extent  of  his  territories.  In  the  primitive  church,  the 
jurisdiction  of  bishops  was  equal  and  co-ordinate.  They  derived,  perhaps, 
some  degree  of  consideration  from  the  dignity  of  the  see  in  which  they 

?>resided.  They  possessed,  however,  no  real  authority  or  pre-eminence, 
>ut  what  they  acquired  by  superior  abilities,  or  superior  sanctity.  As 
Rome  had  so  long  been  the  seat  of  empire,  and  the  capital  of  the  world, 
its  bishops  were  on  that  account  entitled  to  respect  *  they  received  it  ;  but 
during  several  ages  they  received,  and  even  claimed,  nothing  more.  From 
these  humble  beginnings,  they  advanced  with  such  adventurous  and  well- 
directed  ambition,  that  they  established  a  spiritual  dominion  over  the  minds 
and  sentiments  of  men,  to  which  all  Europe  submitted  with  implicit  obe- 
dience. Their  claim  of  universal  jurisdiction,  as  heads  of  the  church  ; 
and  their  pretensions  to  infallibility  in  their  decisions,  as  successors  of  St. 
Peter,  are  as  chimerical,  as  they  are  repugnant  to  the  genius  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  But  on  these  foundations,  the  superstition  and  credulity  of 
mankind  enabled  them  to  erect  an  amazing  superstructure.  In  all  ecclesi- 
astical controversies,  their  decisions  were  received  as  the  infallible  oracles 
of  truth.  Nor  was  the  plenitude  of  their  power  confined  solely  to  what 
was  spiritual ;  they  dethroned  monarchs  ;  disposed  of  crowns  ;  absolved 
subjects  from  the  obedience  due  to  their  sovereigns ;  and  laid  kingdoms 


60  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

under  interdicts.  There  was  not  a  state  in  Europe  which  had  not  been 
disquieted  by  their  ambition.  There  was  not  a  throne  which  they  had  not 
shaken  ;  npr  a  prince  who  did  not  tremble  at  their  power. 

Nothing  was  wanting  to  render  this  empire  absolute,  and  to  establish  it 
on  the  ruins  of  all  civil  authority,  but  that  the  popes  should  have  possessed 
such  a  degree  of  temporal  power,  as  was  sufficient  to  second  and  enforce 
their  spiritual  decrees.  Happily  for  mankind,  at  the  time  when  their  spi- 
ritual jurisdiction  was  most  extensive,  and  most  revered,  their  secuiar  domi- 
nion was  extremely  limited.  They  were  powerful  pontiffs,  formidable  at 
a  distance  ;  but  they  were  petty  princes,  without  any  considerable  domes- 
tic force.  They  had  early  endeavoured,  indeed,  to  acquire  territory  by 
arts  similar  to  those  which  they  had  employed  in  extending  their  spiritual 
jurisdiction.  Under  pretence  ol  a  donation  from  Constantine,  and  of  ano- 
ther from  Charlemagne  or  his  father  Pepin,  they  attempted  to  take  pos- 
session of  some  towns  adjacent  to  Rome.  But  these  donations  were  ficti- 
tious, and  availed  them  little.  The  benefactions,  for  which  they  were 
indebted  to  the  credulity  of  the  Norman  adventurers,  who  conquered 
Naples,  and  to  the  superstition  of  the  Countess  Matilda,  were  real,  and 
added  ample  domains  to  the  Holy  See. 

But  the  power  of  the  popes  did  not  increase  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
of  territory  which  they  had  acquired.  In  the  dominions  annexed  to  the 
Holy  See,  as  well  as  in  those  subject  to  other  princes  in  Italy,  the  sove- 
reign of  a  state  was  far  from  having  the  command  of  the  force  which  it 
contained.  During  the  turbulence  and  confusion  of  the  middle  ages,  the 
powerful  nobility,  or  leaders  of  popular  factions  in  Italy,  had  seized  the 
government  of  different  towns;  and,  after  strengthening  their  fortifications, 
and  taking  a  body  of  mercenaries  into  pay,  they  aspired  at  independence. 
The  territory  which  the  church  had  gained  was  filled  with  petty  lords  of 
this  kind,  who  left  the  pope  hardly  the  shadow  of  domestic  authority. 

As  these  usurpations  almost  annihilated  the  papal  power  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  towns  subject  to  the  church,  the  Roman  barons  frequently  dis- 
puted the  authority  of  the  popes,  even  in  Rome  itself.  In  the  twelfth 
century,  an  opinion  began  to  be  propagated,  "  That  as  the  function  of 
ecclesiastics  was  purely  spiritual,  they  ought  to  possess  no  property,  and 
to  claim  no  temporal  jurisdiction  ;  but,  according  to  the  laudable  example 
of  their  predecessors  in  the  primitive  church,  should  subsist  wholly  upon 
their  tithes,  or  upon  the  voluntary  oblations  of  the  people."*  This 
doctrine  being  addressed  to  men,  who  had  beheld  the  scandalous  man- 
ner in  which  the  avarice  and  ambition  of  the  clergy  had  prompted 
them  to  contend  for  wealth,  and  to  exercise  power,  they  listened  to  it 
with  fond  attention.  The  Roman  barons,  who  had  felt  most  sensibly  the 
rigour  of  ecclesiastical  oppression,  adopted  these  sentiments  with  such 
ardour,  that  they  set  themselves  instantly  to  shake  off  the  yoke.  They 
endeavoured  to  restore  some  image  of  their  ancient  liberty,  by  reviving 
the  institution  of  the  Roman  senate  [A.  D.  1143],  in  which  they  vested 
supreme  authority;  committing  the  executive  power  sometimes  to  one 
chief  senator,  sometimes  to  two,  and  sometimes  to  a  magistrate  dignified 
with  the  name  of  The  Patrician.  The  popes  exerted  themselves  with 
vigour,  in  order  to  check  this  dangerous  encroachment  on  their  jurisdiction. 
One  of  them,  finding  all  his  endeavours  ineffectual)  was  so  much  mortified, 
that  extreme  grief  cut  short  his  days.  Another,  having  ventured  to  attack 
the  senators  at  the  head  of  some  armed  men,  was  mortally  wounded  in  the 
fray.t  During  a  considerable  period,  the  power  of  the  popes,  before 
which  the  greatest  monarchs  in  Europe  trembled,  was  circumscribed  within 
such  narrow  limits  in  their  own  capital,  that  they  durst  hardly  exert  any 
act  of  authority,  without  the  permission  and  concurrence  of  the  senate. 

♦Otto  Frisingensis  deGestis,  Fridcr.  Imp.  lib.  ii.  cap.  10.  t  Otto  Frising.  Chron.  Jib.  vii.  cap. 
27.  31.    Id.  dc  Gcst.  Frid.  lib.  i.  c.  27.    Muratori  Ajinali  d'ltalia.  vo!.  ix-  3»  4"< 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  61 

Encroachments  were  made  upon  the  papal  sovereignty,  not  only  by  the 
usurpations  of  the  Roman  nobility,  but  by  the  mutinous  spirit  of  the  people. 
During  seventy  years  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  popes  fixed  their  resi- 
dence at  Avignon.  The  inhabitants  of  Rome,  accustomed  to  consider 
themselves  as  the  descendants  of  the  people  who  had  conquered  the  world, 
and  had  given  laws  to  it,  were  too  high-spirited  to  submit  with  patience 
to  the  delegated  authority  of  those  persons  to  whom  the  popes  committed 
the  government  of  the  city.  On  many  occasions,  they  opposed  the  execu- 
tion of  the  papal  mandates,  and  on  the  slightest  appearance  of  innovation 
or  oppression,  they  were  ready  to  take  arms  in  defence  of  their  own  immu- 
nities. Towards  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  being  instigated 
by  Nicolas  Rienzo,  a  man  of  low  birth  and  a  seditious  spirit,  but  of  popu- 
lar eloquence,  and  an  enterprising  ambition,  they  drove  all  the  nobility  out 
of  the  city,  established  a  democratical  form  of  government,  elected  Rienzo 
tribune  of  the  people,  and  invested  him  with  extensive  authority.  But 
though  the  frantic  proceedings  of  the  tribune  soon  overturned  this  new- 
system  ;  though  the  government  of  Rome  was  reinstated  in  its  ancient 
form  ;  yet  every  fresh  attack  contributed  to  weaken  the  papal  jurisdiction  : 
and  the  turbulence  of  the  people  concurred  with  the  spirit  of  independence 
among  the  nobility,  in  circumscribing  it  more  and  more.*  Gregory  VII. 
and  other  domineering  pontiffs,  accomplished  those  great  things  which 
rendered  them  so  formidable  to  the  emperors  with  whom  they  contended, 
not  by  the  force  of  their  arms,  or  by  the  extent  of  their  power,  but  by  the 
dread  of  their  spiritual  censures,  and  by  the  effect  of  their  intrigues,  which 
excited  rivals,  and  called  forth  enemies  against  every  prince  whom  they 
wished  to  depress  or  to  destroy. 

Many  attempts  were  made  by  the  popes,  not  only  to  humble  those 
usurpers,  who  lorded  it  over  the  cities  in  the  ecclesiastical  state,  but  to 
break  the  turbulent  spirit  of  the  Roman  people.  These  were  long  unsuc- 
cessful. But  at  last  Alexander  VI.,  with  a  policy  no  less  artful  than  flagi- 
tious, subdued  and  extirpated  most  of  the  great  Koman  barons,  and  ren- 
dered the  popes  masters  of  their  own  dominions.  The  enterprising  ambi- 
tion of  Julius  II.  added  conquests  of  no  inconsiderable  value  to  the  patri- 
mony of  St.  Peter.  Thus  the  popes,  by  degrees,  became  powerful  tem- 
poral princes.  Their  territories,  in  the  age  of  Charles  V.,  were  of  greater 
extent  than  at  present ;  their  country  seems  to  have  been  better  cultivated 
as  well  as  more  populous  ;  and  as  they  drew  large  contributions  from  every 
part  of  Europe,  their  revenues  far  exceeded  those  of  the  neighbouring 
powers,  and  rendered  them  capable  of  more  sudden  and  vigorous  efforts. 

The  genius  of  the  papal  government,  however,  was  better  adapted  to 
the  exercise  of  spiritual  dominion,  than  of  temporal  power.  With  respect 
to  the  former,  all  its  maxims  were  steady  and  invariable.  Every  new 
pontiff  adopted  the  plan  of  his  predecessor.  By  education  and  habit, 
ecclesiastics  were  so  formed,  that  the  character  of  the  individual  was  sunk 
in  that  of  the  profession ;  and  the  passions  of  the  man  were  sacrificed  to 
the  interest  and  honour  of  the  order.  The  hands  which  held  the  reins  of 
administration  might  change  ;  but  the  spirit  which  conducted  them  was 
always  the  same.  While  the  measures  of  other  governments  fluctuated, 
and  the  objects  at  which  they  aimed  varied,  the  church  kept  one  end  in 
view  ;  and  to  this  unrelaxing  constancy  of  pursuit,  it  was  indebted  for  its 
success  in  the  boldest  attempts  ever  made  by  human  ambition. 

But  in  their  civil  administration,  the  popes  followed  no  such  uniform  or 
consistent  plan.  There,  as  in  other  governments,  the  character,  the  passions, 
and  the  interest  of  the  person  who  had  the  supreme  direction  of  affairs, 
occasioned  a  v  ariation  both  in  objects  and  measures.  As  few  prelates  reached 

*  Histoire  Florentine  de  Giov.  Villani,  lib.  xii.  c.  89.  JOt.  ap.  Murat.  Script.  Rerum  Ital.  vol. 
xiii.  Vita  de  Cola  di  Rienzo,  ap.  Muia'.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  iii.  p.  399.  &?.  Hist,  de  Nif.  Rww. 
far  M.  de  Boispreaux.  p.  91.  *c. 


62  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

the  summit  of  ecclesiastical  dignity  until  they  were  far  advanced  in  life,  a 
change  of  masters  was  more  frequent  in  the  papal  dominions  than  inothe? 
states,  and  the  political  system  was,  of  course,  less  stable  and  permanent. 
Every  pope  was  eager  to  make  the  most  of  the  short  period,  during  which 
he  had  the  prospect  of  enjoying  power,  in  order  to  aggrandize  his  own 
family,  and  to  attain  his  private  ends  ;  and  it  was  often  the  first  business  of 
his  successor  to  undo  all  that  he  had  done,  and  to  overturn  what  he  had 
established. 

As  ecclesiastics  were  trained  to  pacific  arts,  and  early  initiated  in  the 
mysteries  of  that  policy  by  which  the  court  of  Rome  extended  or  sup- 
ported its  spiritual  dominion,  the  popes  in  the  conduct  of  their  temporal 
affairs  were  apt  to  follow  the  same  maxims,  and  in  all  their  measures  were 
more  ready  to  employ  the  refinements  of  intrigue,  than  the  force  of  arms. 
It  was  in  the  papal  court  that  address  and  subtlety  in  negotiation  became 
a  science ;  and  during  the  sixteenth  century,  Rome  was  considered  as  the 
school  in  which  it  might  be  best  acquired. 

As  the  decorum  of  their  ecclesiastical  character  prevented  the  popes 
from  placing  themselves  at  the  head  of  their  armies,  or  from  taking  the 
command  in  person  of  the  military  force  in  their  dominions,  they  were 
afraid  to  arm  their  subjects ;  and  in  all  their  operations,  whether  offensive 
or  defensive,  they  trusted  entirely  to  mercenary  troops. 

As  their  power  and  dominions  could  not  descend  to  their  posterity,  the 
popes  were  less  solicitous  than  other  princes  to  form  or  to  encourage  schemes 
of  public  utility  and  improvement.  Their  tenure  was  only  lor  a  short 
life  ;  present  advantage  was  what  they  chiefly  studied  ;  to  squeeze  and  to 
amass,  rather  than  to  meliorate,  was  their  object.  They  erected,  perhaps, 
tome  work  of  ostentation,  to  remain  as  a  monument  of  their  pontificate  ; 
they  found  it  necessary  at  some  times,  to  establish  useful  institutions,  in 
order  to  soothe  and  silence  the  turbulent  populace  of  Rome  ;  but  plans  of 
general  benefit  to  their  subjects,  framed  with  a  view  to  futurity,  w  ere  rarely 
objects  of  attention  in  the  papal  policy.  The  patrimony  of  St.  Peter  was 
worse  governed  than  any  part  of  Europe  ;  and  though  a  generous  pontiff 
might  suspend  for  a  little,  or  counteract  the  effects  of  those  vices  which 
are  peculiar  to  the  administration  of  ecclesiastics ;  the  disease  not  only 
remained  without  remedy,  but  has  gone  on  increasing  from  age  to  age  ; 
and  the  decline  of  the  state  has  kept  pace  with  its-progress. 

One  circumstance,  farther,  concerning  the  papal-'government,  is  so  sin- 
gular, as  to  merit  attention.  As  the  spiritual  supremacy  and  temporal 
power  were  united  in  one  person,  and  uniformly  aided  each  other  in  their 
operations,  they  became  so  blended  together,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
separate  them,  even  in  imagination.  The  potentates,  who  found  it  neces- 
sary to  oppose  the  measures  which  the  popes  pursued  as  temporal  princes, 
could  not  easily  divest  themselves  of  the  reverence  which  they  imagined 
to  be  due  to  them  as  heads  of  the  church,  and  vicars  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
was  with  reluctance  that  they  could  be  brought  to  a  rupture  with  the  head 
of  the  church  ;  they  were  unwilling  to  push  their  operations  against  him 
to  extremity ;  they  listened  eagerly  to  the  first  overtures  of  accommodation, 
and  were  anxious  to  procure  it  almost  upon  any  terms.  Their  conscious- 
ness of  this  encouraged  the  enterprising  pontiffs  who  filled  the  papal  throne 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  engage  in  schemes 
seemingly  the  most  extravagant.  They  trusted,  that  if  their  temporal 
power  was  not  sufficient  to  carry  them  through  with  success,  the  respecr. 
paid  to  their  spiritual  dignity  would  enable  them  to  extricate  themselves 
with  facility  and  with  honour.*    But  when  popes  came  to  take  part  more. 

*  The  manner  in  which  Louis  XII.  of  France  undertook  and  carried  on  war  against  Julius  [T. 
remarkably  illustrates  this  observation.  Louis  solemnly  consulted  the  clergy  of  Franre,  whether  it 
was  lawful  to  take  arms  against  a  pope  who  had  wantonly  kindled  war  in  Europe,  and  whom  nei  ■ 
ther  the  faith  of  treaties,  nor  gratitude  for  favours  received,  nor  the  decorum  of  his  character.  coulft 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  63 

frequently  in  the  contests  among  princes,  and  to  engage  as  principals  or 
auxiliaries  in  every  war  kindled  in  Europe,  this  veneration  for  their  sacred 
character  began  to  abate  ;  and  striking  instances  will  occur  in  the  following 
history  of  its  being  almost  totally  extinct. 

Of  all  the  Italian  powers,  the  republic  of  Venice,  next  to  the  papal  see, 
was  most  connected  with  the  rest  of  Europe.  The  rise  of  that  com- 
monwealth, during,  the  inroads  of  the  Huns  in  the  fifth  century  ;  the 
singular  situation  of  its  capital  in  the  small  isles  of  the  Adriatic  gulf;  and 
the  more  singular  form  of  its  civil  constitution,  are  generally  known.  If 
we  view  the  Venetian  government  as  calculated  for  the  order  of  nobles 
alone,  its  institutions  may  be  pronounced  excellent ;  the  deliberative,  legis- 
lative, and  executive  powers,  are  so  admirably  distributed  and  adjusted, 
that  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  perfect  model  of  political  wisdom.  But  if 
we  consider  it  as  formed  for  a  numerous  body  of  people  subject  to  its 
jurisdiction,  it  will  appear  a  rigid  and  partial  aristocracy,  which  lodges 
a'l  power  in  the  hands  of  a  tew  members  of  the  community,  while  it 
degrades  and  oppresses  the  rest. 

The  spirit  of  government  in  a  commonwealth  of  this  species,  was,  of 
course,  timid  and  jealous.  The  Venetian  nobles  distrusted  their  own  sub- 
jects, and  were  afraid  of  allowing  them  the  use  of  arms.  They  encouraged 
anions;  them  the  arts  of  industry  and  commerce  ;  they  employed  them  in 
manufactures  and  in  navigation,  but  never  admitted  them  into  the  troops, 
which  the  state  kept  in  its  pay.  The  military  force  of  the  republic  con- 
sisted entirely  of  foreign  mercenaries.  The  command  of  these  was  never 
trusted  to  noble  Venetians,  lest  they  should  acquire  such  influence  over 
the  army,  as  might  endanger  the  public  liberty  ;  or  become  accustomed  to 
the  exercise  of  such  power,  as  would  make  them  unwilling  to  return  to  the 
condition  of  private  citizens.  A  soldier  of  fortune  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  armies  of  the  commonwealth ;  and  to  obtain  that  honour,  was  the 
great  object  of  the  Italian  Condottieri,  or  leaders  of  bands,  who  in  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  made  a  trade  of  war,  and  raised  and  hired 
out  soldiers  to  different  states.  But  the  same  suspicious  policy,  which 
induced  the  Venetians  to  employ  these  adventurers,  prevented  their  placing 
entire  confidence  in  them.  Two  noblemen,  appointed  by  the  senate,  ac- 
companied their  army,  when  it  took  the  field,  with  the  appellation  of  Pro- 
veditori,  and,  like  the  field-deputies  of  the  Dutch  republic  in  latter  times, 
observed  all  the  motions  of  the  general,  and  checked  and  controlled  him 
in  all  his  operations. 

A  commonwealth  with  such  civil  and  military  institutions,  was  not 
formed  to  make  conquests.  While  its  subjects  were  disarmed,  and  its 
nobles  excluded  from  military  command,  it  carried  on  its  warlike  enter- 
prises with  great  disadvantage.  This  ought  to  have  taught  the  Venetians 
to  rest  satisfied  with  making  self-preservation  and  the  enjoyment  of  do- 
mestic security,  the  objects  of  their  policy.  But  republics  are  apt  to  be 
seduced  by  the  spirit  of  ambition,  as  well  as  kings.  When  the  Venetians 
so  far  forgot  the  interior  defects  in  their  government  as  to  aim  at  extensive 
conquests,  the  fatal  blow,  which  they  received  in  the  war  excited  by  the 
league  of  Cambray,  convinced  them  of  the  imprudence  and  danger  of 
making  violent  efforts,  in  opposition  to  the  genius  and  tendency  ot  their 
constitution. 

restrain  from  the  most  violent  actions  to  which  the  lust  of  power  prompts  ambitious  princes. 
Though  his  clergy  authorized  the  war,  yet  Anne  of  Bretagne,  his  queen,  entertained  scruples  with 
regard  to  the  lawl illness  of  it.  The  kins  himself,  from  some  superstition  of  the  same  kind,  carriea 
it  on  faintly ;  and,  upon  every  fresh  advantage,  renewed  his  propositions  of  peace.  Mezeray,  Hist, 
de  France,  fol.  edit.  1685,  torn.  i.  852.  I  shall  produce  another  proof  of  this  reverence  for  the  papa! 
character  still  more  striking.  Guiccjardini,  the  most  sagacious,  perhaps,  of  all  modern  historians, 
and  the  boldest  in  painting  the  vices  and  ambition  of  the  popes,  represents  the  death  of  Migliau,  a 
Spanish  officer,  who  was  killed  during  the  siege  of  Naples,  as  a  punishment  inflicted  on  him  br 
Heaven,  on  account  of  his  having  opposed  the  setting  of  Clement  Yli.  at  libertv.  Gi'i<\  Hist"r% 
d'ltalia.    Genev.  1645.  vol  ii.  lib.  IS.  p.  467. 


64  A  VIEW   OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

It  is  not,  however,  by  its  military,  but  by  its  naval  and  commercial  power, 
that  the  importance  of  the  Venetian  commonwealth  must  be  estimated.  The 
latter  constituted  the  real  force  and  nerves  of  the  state.  The  jealousy  of 
government  did  not  extend  to  this  department.  Nothing  was  apprehended 
from  this  quarter,  that  could  prove  formidable  to  liberty.  The  senate 
encouraged  the  nobles  to  trade,  and  to  serve  on  board  the  fleet.  They 
became  merchants  and  admirals.  They  increased  the  wealth  of  their 
country  by  their  industry.  They  added  to  its  dominions,  by  the  valour 
with  which  they  conducted  its  naval  armaments. 

Commerce  was  an  inexhaustible  source  of  opulence  to  the  Venetians. 
All  the  nations  in  Europe  depended  upon  them,  not  only  for  the  commo- 
dities of  the  East,  but  for  various  manufactures  fabricated  by  them  alone, 
or  finished  with  a  dexterity  and  elegance  unknown  in  other  countries. 
From  this  extensive  commerce,  the  state  derived  such  immense  supplies, 
as  concealed  those  vices  in  its  constitution  which  I  have  mentioned ;  and 
enabled  it  to  keep  on  foot  such  armies,  as  were  not  only  an  overmatch  for 
the  force  which  any  of  its  neighbours  could  bring  into  the  field,  but  were 
sufficient  to  contend,  for  some  time,  with  the  powerful  monarchs  beyond 
the  Alps.  During  its  struggles  with  the  princes  united  against  it  by  the 
league  of  Cambray,  the  republic  levied  sums  which,  even  in  the  present 
age,  would  be  deemed  considerable  ;  and  while  the  king  of  France  paid 
the  exorbitant  interest  which  I  have  mentioned  for  the  money  advanced  to 
him,  and  the  emperor,  eager  to  borrow,  but  destitute  of  credit,  was  known 
by  the  name  of  Maximilian  the  Moneyless,  the  Venetians  raised  whatever 
sums  they  pleased,  at  the  moderate  premium  of  five  in  the  hundred.* 

The  constitution  of  Florence  was  perfectly  the  reverse  of  the  Venetian. 
It  partook  as  much  of  democratical  turbulence  and  licentiousness,  as  the 
other  of  aristocratical  rigour.  Florence,  however,  was  a  commereial,  not 
a  military  democracy.  The  nature  of  its  institutions  was  favourable  to 
commerce,  and  the  genius  of  the  people  was  turned  toAvards  it.  The  vast 
wealth  which  the  family  of  Medici  had  acquired  by  trade,  together  with 
the  magnificence,  the  generosity,  and  the  virtue  of  the  first  Cosmo,  gave 
him  such  an  ascendant  over*  the  affections  as  well  as  the  councils  of  his 
countiymen,  that  though  the  forms  of  popular  government  were  preserved, 
though  the  various  departments  of  administration  were  filled  by  magistrates 
distinguished  by  the  ancient  names,  and  elected  in  the  usual  manner,  he 
was  in  reality  the  head  of  the  commonwealth ;  and  in  the  station  of  a 
private  citizen,  he  possessed  supreme  authority.  Cosmo  transmitted  a 
considerable  degree  of  this  power  to  his  descendants  ;  and  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  political  state  of  Florence  was 
extremely  singular.  The  appearance  of  republican  government  subsisted, 
the  people  were  passionately  attached  to  it,  and  on  some  occasions  con- 
tended warmly  for  their  privileges,  and  yet  they  permitted  a  single  family 
to  assume  the  direction  ot  their  affairs,  almost  as  absolutely  as  if  it  had  been 
formerly  invested  with  sovereign  power.  The  jealousy  of  the  Medici 
concurred  with  the  commercial  spirit  of  the  Florentines,  in  putting  the 
military  force  of  the  republic  upon  the  same  footing  with  that  of  the  other 
Italian  states.  The  troops,  which  the  Florentines  employed  in  their  wars, 
consisted  almost  entirely  of  mercenary  soldiers,  furnished  by  the  Condottieri, 
or  leaders  of  bands,  whom  they  took  into  their  pay. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  to  which  the  sovereignty  of  the  island  of 
Sicily  was  annexed,  the  feudal  government  were  established  in  the  same 
form,  and  with  the  same  defects,  as  in  the  other  nations  of  Europe.  The 
frequent  and  violent  revolutions  which  happened  in  that  monarchy  had 
considerably  increased  these  defects,  and  rendered  them  more  intolerable. 

*  Ui<t.  dc  la  Ligue  fait  a  Cambray,  par  M.  l'Abbe  du  Bos  lib.  v.    Sandi  Satoiia  CWil  Vcr 
Kb.  viii.  c.lS.  p.  S)l.&r. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  f»5 

The  succession  to  the  crown  of  Naples  had  been  so  often  interrupted  or 
altered,  and  so  many  princes  of  foreign  blood  had,  at  different  periods, 
obtained  possession  of  the  throne,  that  the  Neapolitan  nobility  had  lost,  in 
a  great  measure,  that  attachment  to  the  family  of  their  sovereigns,  as  well 
as  that  reverence  for  their  persons,  which,  in  other  feudal  kingdoms,  con- 
tributed to  set  some  bounds  to  the  encroachments  of  the  barons  upon  the 
royal  prerogative  and  power.  At  the  same  time,  the  different  pretenders 
to  the  crown,  being  obliged  to  court  the  barons  who  adhered  to  them,  and 
on  whose  support  they  depended  for  the  success  of  their  claims,  they 
augmented  their  privileges  by  liberal  concessions,  and  connived  at  their 
boldest  usurpations.  Even  when  seated  on  the  throne,  it  was  dangerous 
for  a  prince,  who  held  his  sceptre  by  a  disputed  title,  to  venture  on  any  step 
towards  extending  his  own  power,  or  circumscribing  that  of  the  nobles. 

From  all  these'  causes,  the  kingdom  of  Naples  was  the  most  turbulent  of 
any  in  Europe,  and  the  authority  of  its  monarchs  the  least  extensive.  Though 
Ferdinand  I.  who  began  his  reign  in  the  year  1468,  attempted  to  break  the 
power  of  the  aristocracy ;  though  his  son  Alphonso,  that  he  might  crush  it 
at  once  by  cutting  off  the  leaders  of  greatest  reputation  and  influence  among 
the  Neapolitan  barons,  ventured  to  commit  one  of  the  most  perfidious  and 
cruel  actions  recorded  in  history  [A.  D.  1487]  ;  the  order  of  nobles  was 
nevertheless  more  exasperated  than  humbled  by  their  measures.*  The 
resentment  which  these  outrages  excited  was  so  violent,  and  the  power  of 
the  malecontent  nobles  was  still  so  formidable,  that  to  these  may  be 
ascribed,  in  a  great  degree,  the  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  Charles  VIII „ 
conquered  the  kingdom  of  Naples.] 

The  event  that  gave  rise  to  the  violent  contests  concerning  the  succession 
to  the  crown  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  which  brought  so  many  calamities  upon 
these  kingdoms,  happened  in  the  thirteenth  century  [A.  D.  1254].  Upon 
the  death  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.  Manfred,  his  natural  son,  aspiring 
to  the  Neapolitan  throne,  murdered  his  brother  the  emperor  Conrad  (if  we 
may  believe  contemporary  historians,)  and  by  that  crime  obtained  pos- 
session of  it.J  The  popes,  from  their  implacable  enmity  to  the  house  of 
Suabia,  not  only  refused  to  recognise  Manfred's  title,  but  endeavoured  to 
excite  against  him  some  rival  capable  of  wresting  the  sceptre  out  of  his 
hand.  Charles,  count  of  Anjou,  the  brother  of  St.  Louis  king  of  France, 
undertook  this ;  and  he  received  from  the  popes  the  investiture  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples  and  Sicily  as  a  fief  held  of  the  holy  see.  The  count  of 
Anjou's  efforts  were  crownea  with  success  ;  Manfred  fell  in  battle  ;  and  he 
took  possession  of  the  vacant  throne.  But  soon  after,  Charles  sullied  the 
glory  which  he  had  acquired,  by  the  injustice  and  cruelty  with  which  he 
put  to  death,  by  the  hands  of  the  executioner,  Conradin,  the  last  prince  of 
the  house  of  Suabia,  and  the  rightful  heir  of  the  Neapolitan  crown.  That 
gallant  young  prince  asserted  his  title,  to  the  last,  with  a  courage  worthy 
of  a  better  fate.  On  the  scaffold,  he  declared  Peter,  at  that  time  prince, 
and  soon  after  king  of  Aragon,  who  had  married  Manfred's  only  daughter, 
his  heir;  and  throwing  his  glove  among  the  people,  he  entreated  that  it 
might  be  carried  to  Peter,  as  the  symbol  by  which  he  conveyed  all  his 
rights  to  him.§  The  desire  of  avenging  the  insult  offered  to  royalty,  by 
the  death  of  Conradin,  concurred  with  his  own  ambition,  in  prompting- 
Peter  to  take  arms  in  support  of  the  title  which  he  had  acquired.  From 
that  period,  during  almost  two  centuries,  the  houses  of  Aragon  and  Anjou 
contended  for  the  crown  of  Naples.  Amidst  a  succession  of  revolutions 
more  rapid,  as  well  as  of  crimes  more  atrocious,  than  what  occur  in  the 
history  of  almost  any  other  kingdom,  monarchs,  sometimes  of  the  Ara- 
gonese  line,  and  sometimes  of  the  Angevin,  were  seated  on  the  throne.    At 

•  Oiannone,  book  XXViii.  chap.  0.  vol.  ii.  p.  410,  it.       t  Uiamione,  ib.  p.  414.        J  Sffuv.  Corj>. 
;ii<t.  Germ.  i.  481.    Giannone,  book  xviii,  chap.  r.        <S  Ibid,  book  xix-  chap.  4.  $  2. 
Vol..  II.— 9 


66  A  VIE W   OF   THE  [Sect.  III. 

length  the  princes  oi  the  house  of  Aragon  [A.  D.  1434]  obtained  such  firm 
possession  of  this  long  disputed  inheritance,  that  they  transmitted  it  quietly 
to  a  bastard  branch  of  their  family.* 

The  race  of  the  Angevin  kings,  however,  was  not  extinct,  nor  had  they 
relinquished  their  title  to  the  Neapolitan  crown.  The  count  of  Maine  and 
Provence,  the  heir  of  this  family,  conveyed  all  his  rights  and  pretensions  to 
Louis  XI.  and  to  his  successors  [A.  D.  1494].  Charles  VIII.,  as  I  have 
already  related,  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  in  order 
to  prosecute  his  claim  with  a  degree  of  vigour  far  superior  to  that  which 
the  princes  from  whom  he  derived  it  had  been  capable  of  exerting.  The 
rapid  progress  of  his  arms  in  Italy,  as  well  as  the  short  time  during  which 
he  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  success,  have  already  been  mentioned,  and  are 
well  known.  Frederick,  the  heir  of  the  illegitimate  branch  of  the  Ara- 
gonese  family,  soon  recovered  the  throne  of  which  Charles  had  dispossessed 
him.  Louis  XII.  and  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  united  against  this  prince, 
whom  both,  though  for  different  reasons,  considered  as  a  usurper,  and 
agreed  to  divide  his  dominions  between  them  [A.  D.  15>  ll.  Frederick, 
'jnable  to  resist  the  combined  monarchs,  each  of  whom  was  far  his  superior 
in  power,  resigned  his  sceptre.  Louis  and  Ferdinand,  though  they  had 
concurred  in  making  the  conquest,  differed  about  the  division  of  it ;  and 
Irom  allies  became  enemies.  But  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova,  partly  by  the  exer- 
tion of  such  military  talents  as  gave  him  a  just  title  to  the  appellation  of 
the  Great  Captain,  which  the  Spanish  historians  have  bestowed  upon  him  ; 
and  partly  by  such  shameless  and  frequent  violations  of  the  most  solemn 
engagements,  as  leave  an  indelible  stain  on  his  memory;  stripped  the 
French  of  all  that  they  possessed  in  the  Neapolitan  dominions,  and  secured 
the  peaceable  possession  of  them  to  his  master.  These,  together  with  his 
other  kingdoms,  Ferdinand  transmitted  to  his  grandson  Charles  V.  whose 
right  to  possess  them,  if  not  altogether  uncontrovertible,  seems,  at  least,  to 
be  as  well  founded,  as  that  which  the  kings  of  France  set  up  in  opposition 
to  it.j 

There  is  nothing  in  the  political  constitution  or  interior  government  of 
the  dutchy  of  Milan,  so  remarkable,  as  to  require  a  particular  explanation. 
But  as  the  right  of  succession  to  that  fertile  province  was  the  cause  or  the 
pretext  of  almost  all  the  wars  carried  on  in  Italy  during  the  reign  of  Charles 
V.  it  is  necessary  to  trace  these  disputes  to  their  source,  and  to  inquire  into 
the  pretensions  of  the  various  competitors. 

During  the  long  and  fierce  contests  excited  in  Italy  by  the  violence  of 
the  Giielf  and  Ghibelline  factions,  the  family  of  Visconti  rose  to  great  emi- 
nence among  their  fellow-citizens  of  Milan.  As  the  Visconti  had  adhered 
uniformly  to  the  Ghibelline  or  Imperial  interest,  they,  by  way  of  recom- 
pense, received,  from  one  emperor,  the  dignity  of  perpetual  vicars  of  the 
empire  in  ItalyJ  [A.  D.  1354] :  they  were  created,  by  another,  dukes  of 
Milan  [A.  D.  1395] ;  and,  together  with  that  title,  the  possession  of  the  city 
and  its  territories  was  bestowed  upon  them  as  an  hereditary  fief.§  John, 
king  of  France,  among  other  expedients  for  raising  money,  which  the 
calamities  of  his  reign  obliged  him  to  employ,  condescended  to  give  one 
of  his  daughters  in  marriage  to  John  Galeazzo  Visconti,  the  first  duke  of 
Milan,  from  whom  he  had  received  considerable  sums.  Valentine  Visconti, 
one  of  the  children  of  this  marriage,  married  her  cousin,  Louis,  duke  of 
Orleans,  the  only  brother  of  Charles  VI.  In  their  marriage-contract,  which 
the  Pope  confirmed,  it  was  stipulated  that,  upon  failure  of  heirs  male  in  the 

of 
year 


wit  x  ujjc  i  i  linn  men.  ii   vvds  oiipuidicu  iu.u,u['iui  lanuic  ui  liens  iii.iie  iu  11 

family  of  Visconti,  the  dutchy  of  Milan  should  descend  to  the  posterity 
Valentine  and  the  duke  of  Orleans.     That  event  took  place.     In  the  ye 


*  Giannone,  book  xxvi.  ch.  2.  f  Droits  des  Bois  de  France  au  Royaume  de  Sicile.    Mem.de 

Comin.     Edit,  de  Fresnoy,  torn.  iv.  part  iv.  p.  5.  t  Petrarch,  enist.  ap.  Struv.  Corn.  i.  G25 

§  J^lirrit.  Cod.  Jur.  Oent.  Diplom.  vol.  i.  237. 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  &7 

1447,  Philip  Maria,  the  last  prince  of  the  ducal  family  of  Visconti,  died. 
Various  competitors  claimed  the  succession.  Charles,  duke  of  Orleans., 
pleaded  his  right  to  it,  founded  on  the  marriage  contract  of  his  mother 
Valentine  Visconti.  Alfonso  king  of  Naples  claimed  it  in  consequence  of 
a  will  made  by  Philip  Maria  in  his  favour.  The  emperor  contended  that, 
upon  the  extinction  of  male  issue  in  the  family  of  Visconti,  the  fief  returned 
to  the  superior  lord,  and  ought  to  be  re-annexed  to  the  Empire.  The  peo- 
ple of  Milan,  smitten  with  the  love  of  liberty  which  in  that  age  prevailed 
among  the  Italian  states,  declared  against  the  dominion  of  any  master,  and 
established  a  republican  form  of  government. 

But  during  the  struggle  among  so  many  competitors,  the  prize  for  which 
they  contended  was  seized  by  one  from  whom  none  of  them  apprehended 
any  danger.  Francis  Sforza,  the  natural  son  of  Jacomuzzo  Sforza,  whom 
his  courage  and  abilities  had  elevated  from  the  rank  of  a  peasant  to  be 
one  of  the  most  eminent  and  powerful  of  the  Italian  Condottieri,  having 
succeeded  his  father  in  the  command  of  the  adventurers  who  followed  his 
standard,  had  married  a  natural  daughter  of  the  last  duke  of  Milan.  Upon 
this  shadow  of  a  title  Francis  founded  his  pretensions  to  the  dutchy,  which 
he  supported  with  such  talents  and  valour,  as  placed  him  at  last  on  the  ducal 
throne.  The  virtues,  as  well  as  abilities,  with  which  he  governed,  inducing 
his  subjects  to  forget  the  defects  in  his  title,  he  transmitted  his  dominions 
quietly  to  his  son  ;  from  whom  they  descended  to  his  grandson.  He  was 
murdered  by  his  grand-uncle  Ludovico,  surnamed  the  Moor,  who  took 
possession  of  the  dutchy  ;  and  his  right  to  it  was  confirmed  by  the  investi- 
ture of  the  emperor  Maximilian  in  the  year  1494.* 

Louis  XI.,  who  took  pleasure  in  depressing  the  princes  of  the  blood,  and 
who  admired  the  political  abilities  of  Francis  Sforza,  would  not  permit 
the  duke  of  Orleans  to  take  any  step  in  prosecution  of  his  right  to  the 
dutchy  of  Milan.  Ludovico  the  Moor  kept  up  such  a  close  connection 
with  Charles  VIII.  that,  during  the  greater  part  of  his  reign,  the  claim  of 
the  family  of  Orleans  continued  to  lie  dormant.  But  when  the  crown  of. 
France  devolved  on  Louis  XII.  duke  of  Orleans,  he  instantly  asserted  the 
rights  of  his  family  with  the  ardour  which  it  was  natural  to  expect,  and 
marched  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army  to  support  them.  Ludovico 
Sforza,  incapable  of  contending  with  such  a  rival,  was  stripped  of  all  his 
dominions  in  the  space  of  a  few  days.  The  king,  clad  in  the  ducal  robes, 
entered  Milan  in  triumph  ;  and  soon  after,  Ludovico,  having  been  betrayed 
by  the  Swiss  in  his  pay,  was  sent  a  prisoner  into  France,  and  shut  up  in  the 
castle  of  Loches,  where  he  lay  unpitied  during  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
In  consequence  of  one  of  the  singular  revolutions  which  occur  so  frequently 
in  the  history  of  the  Milanese,  his  son  Maximilian  Sforza  was  placed  on  the 
ducal  throne,  of  which  he  kept  possession  during  the  reign  of  Louis  Xll. 
[A.  D.  1512.]  But  his  successor  Francis  I.  was  too  high-spirited  and 
enterprising  tamely  to  relinquish  his  title.  As  soon  as  he  was  seated  upon 
the  throne,  he  prepared  to  invade  the  Milanese  ;  and  his  right  of  succession 
to  it  appears,  from  this  detail,  to  have  been  more  natural  and  more  just 
than  that  of  any  other  competitor. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  any  detail  with  respect  to  the  form  of 
government  in  Genoa,  Parma,  Modena,  and  the  other  inferior  states  of 
Italy.  Their  names,  indeed,  will  often  occur  in  the  following  history. 
But  the  power  of  these  states  themselves  was  so  inconsiderable,  that  their 
fate  depended  little  upon  their  own  efforts  ;  and  the  frequent  revolutions 
which  they  underwent,  were  brought  about  rather  by  the  operations  of 
the  princes  who  attacked  or  defended  them,  than  by  any  thing  peculiar  id 
their  internal  constitution. 

*  Ripalin.  Hist.  Mtdiol.  lib.  vi.  63-1.  ap.  Siruv.  Corp.  i.  MO.  Da  Mont  Cuips  Diplom.  torn.  lii.  p 
ii.  "J33.  ib.  . 


6&  A   V  JEW  OF  THE  [Sec*.  III. 

Of  the  great  kingdoms  on  this  side  of  the  Alps,  Spain  is  one  of  the 
most  considerable  ;  and  as  it  was  the  hereditary  domain  of  Charles  V.  as 
well  as  the  chief  source  of  his  power  and  wealth,  a  distinct  knowledge 
of  its  political  constitution  is  of  capital  importance  towards  understanding 
the  transactions  of  his  reign. 

The  Vandals  and  Goths,  who  overturned  the  Roman  power  in  Spain, 
established  a  form  of  government  in  that  country,  and  introduced  customs 
and  laws,  perfectly  similar  to  those  which  were  established  in  the  rest  of 
Europe,  by  the  other  victorious  tribes  which  acquired  settlements  there. 
For  some  time,  society  advanced,  among  the  new  inhabitants  of  Spain, 
by  the  same  steps,  and  seemed  to  hold  the  same  course,  as  in  other  Euro- 
pean nations.  To  this  progress  a  sudden  stop  was  put  by  the  invasion  of 
the  Saracens  or  Moors  from  Africa  [A.  D.  712.]  The  Goths  could  not 
withstand  the  efforts  of  their  enthusiastic  valour,  which  subdued  the  greatest 
part  of  Spain,  with  the  same  impetuous  rapidity  that  distinguishes  all  the 
operations  of  their  arms.  The  conquerors  introduced  into  the  country  in 
which  they  settled,  the  Mahometan  religion,  the  Arabic  language,  the 
manners  of  the  East,  together  with  that  taste  for  the  arts,  and  that  love  of 
elegance  and  splendour,  which  the  caliphs  had  begun  to  cultivate  among 
their  subjects. 

Such  Gothic  nobles  as  disdained  to  submit  to  the  Moorish  yoke,  fled  for 
refuge  to  the  inaccessible  mountains  of  Asturias.  There  they  comforted 
themselves  with  enjoying  the  exercise  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  with 
maintaining  the  authority  of  their  ancient  laws.  Being  joined  by  many 
of  the  boldest  and  most  warlike  among  their  countrymen,  they  sallied  out 
upon  the  adjacent  settlements  of  the  Moors  in  small  parties  ;  but  venturing 
only  upon  short  excursions  at  first,  they  were  satisfied  with  plunder  and 
revenge,  without  thinking  of  conquest.  By  degrees,  their  strength  in- 
creased, their  views  enlarged,  a  regular  government  was  established 
among  them,  and  they  began  to  aim  at  extending  their  territories.  While 
they  pushed  on  their  attacks  with  the  unremitting  ardour,  excited  by  zeal 
for  religion,  by  the  desire  of  vengeance,  and  by  the  hope  of  rescuing  their 
country  from  oppression  ;  while  they  conducted  their  operations  with  the 
courage  natural  to  men  who  had  no  other  occupation  but  war,  and  who  were 
strangers  to  all  the  arts  which  corrupt  or  enfeeble  the  mind  ;  the  Moors 
gradually  lost  many  of  the  advantages  to  which  they  had  been  indebted 
(or  their  first  success.  They  threw  off  all  dependence  on  the  caliphs  ;* 
they  neglected  to  preserve  a  close  connection  with  their  countrymen  in 
Africa  5  their  empire  in  Spain  was  split  into  many  small  kingdoms  ;  the 
arts  which  they  cultivated,  together  with  the  luxury  to  which  these  gave 
rise,  relaxed,  in  some  measure,  the  force  of  their  military  institutions,  and 
abated  the  vigour  of  their  warlike  spirit.  The  Moors,  however,  continued 
still  to  be  a  gallant  people,  and  possessed  great  resources.  According  to 
the  magnificent  style  ot  the  Spanish  historians,  eight  centuries  of  almost 
uninterrupted  war  elapsed,  and  three  thousand  seven  hundred  battles  were 
fought,  before  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kingdoms  in  Spain  submitted  to  the 
Christian  arms  [1492]. 
As  the  Christians  made  their  conquests  upon  the  Mahometans  at  various 

f)eriods,  and  under  different  leaders,  each  formed  the  territory  which  he 
lad  wrested  from  the  common  enemy,  into  an  independent  state.  Spain 
was  divided  into  almost  as  many  separate  kingdoms  as  it.  contained  pro- 
vinces ;  in  each  city  of  note,  a  petty  monarch  established  his  throne,  and 
assumed  all  the  ensigns  of  royalty.  In  a  series  of  years,  however,  by  the 
usual  events  of  intermarriages,  or  succession,  or  conquest,  all  these  interior 
principalities  were  annexed  to  the  more  powerful  kingdoms  of  Castile 
and  of  Aragon.      At  length,  by  the  fortunate    marriage  of  Ferdinand 

•  Joa,  Pirn.  Awsemanni  Histor. "ital.  Scriptorca.  vol   Hi.  j>  l?r 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  63 

and  Isabella,  the  former  the  hereditary  monarch  of  Aragon,  and  the  latter 
raised  to  the  throne  of  Castile  by  the  affection  of  her  subjects  [1481], 
all  the  Spanish  crowns  were  united,  and  descended  in  the  same  line. 

From  this  period,  the  political  constitution  of  Spain  began  to  assume  a 
regular  and  uniform  appearance  ;  the  genius  of  its  government  may  be 
delineated,  and  the  progress  of  its  laws  and  manners  may  be  traced  with 
certainty.  Notwithstanding  the  singular  revolution  which  the  invasion  of 
the  Moors  occasioned  in  Spain,  and  the  peculiarity  of  its  fate,  in  being  so 
long  subject  to  the  Mahometan  yoke,  the  customs  introduced  by  the  Vandals 
and  Goths  had  taken  such  deep  root,  and  were  so  thoroughly  incorporated 
with  the  frame  of  its  government,  that  in  every  province  which  the  Chris- 
tians recovered  from  the  Moors,  we  find  the  condition  of  individuals,  as 
well  as  the  political  constitution,  nearly  the  same  as  in  other  nations  of 
Europe.  Lands  were  held  by  the  same  tenure;  justice  was  dispensed 
in  the  same  form  ;  the  same  privileges  were  claimed  by  the  nobility  ;  and 
the  same  power  exercised  by  the  Cortes,  or  general  assembly  of  the  king- 
dom. Several  circumstances  contributed  to  secure  this  permanence  of 
the  feudal  institutions  in  Spain,  notwithstanding  the  conquest  of  the  Moors, 
which  seemed  to  have  overturned  them.  Such  of  the  Spaniards,  as  pre- 
served their  independence,  adhered  to  their  ancient  customs,  not  only 
from  attachment  to  them,  but  out  of  antipathy  to  the  Moors,  to  whose  ideas 
concerning  property  and  government  these  customs  were  totally  repug- 
nant. Even  among  the  Christians,  who  submitted  to  the  Moorish  con- 
querors, and  consented  to  become  their  subjects,  ancient  customs  were  not 
entirely  abolished.  They  were  permitted  to  retain  their  religion,  their 
laws  concerning  private  property,  their  forms  of  administering  justice,  and 
their  mode  of  levying  taxes.  The  followers  of  Mahomet  are  the  only 
enthusiasts  who  have  united  the  spirit  of  toleration  with  zeal  for  making 
proselytes,  and  who,  at  the  same  time  that  they  took  arms  to  propagate 
the  doctrine  of  their  Prophet,  permitted  such  as  would  not  embrace  it,  to 
adhere  to  their  own  tenets,  and  to  practise  their  own  rites.  To  this  pecu- 
liarity in  the  genius  of  the  Mahometan  religion,  as  well  as  to  the  desire 
which  the  Moors  had  of  reconciling  the  Christians  to  their  yoke,  it  was 
owing  that  the  ancient  manners  and  laws  in  Spain  survived  the  violent 
shock  of  a  conquest,  and  were  permitted  to  subsist,  notwithstanding  the 
introduction  of  a  new  religion  and  a  new  form  of  government  into  that 
country.  It  is  obvious,  from  all  these  particulars,  that  the  Christians  must 
have  found  it  extremely  easy  to  re-establish  manners  and  government  on 
their  ancient  foundations  in  those  provinces  of  Spain  which  they  wrested 
successively  from  the  Moors.  A  considerable  part  of  the  people  retained 
such  a  fondness  for  the  customs,  and  such  a  reverence  for  the  laws,  of 
their  ancestors,  that,  wishing  to  see  them  completely  restored,  they  were 
not  only  willing  but  eager  to  resume  the  former,  and  to  recognise  the 
authority  of  the  latter. 

But  though  the  feudal  form  of  government,  with  all  the  institutions 
which  characterize  it,  was  thus  preserved  entire  in  Castile  and  Aragon, 
as  well  as  in  all  the  kingdoms  which  depended  on  these  crowns,  there 
were  certain  peculiarities  in  their  political  constitutions,  which  distinguish 
them  from  those  of  any  other  country  in  Europe.  The  royal  prerogative, 
extremely  limited  in  every  feudal  kingdom,  was  circumscribed,  in  Spain, 
within  such  narrow  bounds,  as  reduced  the  power  of  the  sovereign  almost 
to  nothing.  The -privileges  of  the  nobility  were  great  in  proportion,  and 
extended  so  far,  as  to  border  on  absolute  independence.  The  immunities 
of  the  cities  were  likewise  greater  than  in  other  feudal  kingdoms,  they 
possessed  considerable  influence  in  the  Cortes,  and  they  aspired  at  obtain- 
ing more.  Such  a  state  of  society,  in  which  the  political  machine  was  so 
ill  adjusted,  and  the  several  members  of  the  legislature  so  improperly 
balanced,  produced  internal  disorders  in  the  kingdoms  of  Spain,  which 


70  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  HI. 

rose  beyond  the  pitch  of  turbulence  and  anarchy  usual  under  the  feudal 
government.  The  whole  tenor  of  the  Spanish  history  confirms  the  truth 
of  this  observation  ;  and  when  the  mutinous  spirit,  to  which  the  genius  of 
their  policy  gave  birth  and  vigour,  was  no  longer  restrained  and  overawed 
by  the  immediate  dread  of  the  Moorish  arms,  it  broke  out  into  more 
frequent  insurrections  against  the  government  of  their  princes,  as  well  as 
more  outrageous  insults  on  their  dignity,  than  occur  in  the  annals  of  any 
other  country.  These  were  accompanied  at  some  times  with  more  liberal 
sentiments  concerning  the  rights  of  the  people,  at  other  times  with  more 
elevated  notions  concerning  the  privileges  of  the  nobles,  than  were  common 
in  other  nations. 

In  the  principality  of  Catalonia,  which  was  annexed  to  the  kingdom  of 
Aragon,  the    impatience  of  the    people    to  obtain  the  redress  of  their 

frievances  having  prompted  them  to  take  arms  against  their  sovereign, 
ohn  II.  [A.  D.  1462],  they,  by  a  solemn  deed,  recalled  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance which  they  had  sworn  to  him,  declared  him  and  his  posterity  to  be 
unworthy  of  the  throne,*  and  endeavoured  to  establish  a  republican  form 
of  government,  in  order  to  secure  the  perpetual  enjoyment  oi  that  liberty, 
after  which  they  aspired. t  Nearly  about  the  same  period,  the  indignation 
of  the  Castilian  nobility  against  the  weak  and  flagitious  administration  of 
Henry  IV.  having  led  them  to  combine  against  him,  they  arrogated,  as 
one  of  the  privileges  belonging  to  their  order,  the  right  of  trying  and  of 
passing  sentence  on  their  sovereign.  That  the  exercise  of  this  power 
might  be  as  public  and  solemn,  as  the  pretension  to  it  was  bold,  they  sum- 
moned all  the  nobility  of  their  party  to  meet  at  Avila  [A,  D.  1465]  ;  a 
spacious  theatre  was  erected  in  a  plain,  without  the  walls  of  the  town  ;  an 
image,  representing  the  king,  was  seated  on  a  throne,  clad  in  royal  robes, 
with  a  crown  on  its  head,  a  sceptre  in  its  hand,  and  the  sword  of  justice 
by  its  side.  The  accusation  against  the  king  was  read,  and  the  sentence 
of  deposition  was  pronounced,  in  presence  of  a  numerous  assembly.  At 
the  close  of  the  hrst  article  of  the  charge,  the  archbishop  of  Toledo 
advanced,  and  tore  the  crown  from  the  head  of  the  image  :  at  the  close 
of  the  second,  the  Conde  de  Piacentia  snatched  the  sword  of  justice  from 
its  side  ;  at  the  close  of  the  third,  the  Conde  de  Benevente  wrested  the 
sceptre  from  its  hand ;  at  the  close  of  the  last,  Don  Diego  Lopes  de 
Stuniga  tumbled  it  headlong  from  the  throne.  At  the  same  instant,  Don 
Alphonso,  Henry's  brother,  was  proclaimed  king  of  Castile  and  Leon  in 
his  stead. | 

The  most  daring  leaders  of  faction  would  not  have  ventured  on  these 
measures,  nor  have  conducted  them  with  such  public  ceremony,  if  the 
sentiments  of  the  people  concerning  the  royal  dignity  had  not  been  so 
formed  by  the  laws  and  policy  to  which  they  were  accustomed  both  in 
Castile  and  Catalonia,  as  prepared  them  to  approve  of  such  extraordinary 
proceedings,  or  to  acquiesce  in  them. 

In  Aragon,  the  form  of  government  was  monarchical,  but  the  genius  and 
maxims  of  it  were  purely  republican.  The  kings  who  were  long  elective, 
retained  only  the  shadow  of  power ;  the  real  exercise  of  it  was  in  the 
Cortes  or  parliament  of  the  kingdom.  This  supreme  assembly  was  com- 
posed of  four  different  arms  or  members.  The  nobilitv  of  the  first  rank  ; 
The  equestrian  order,  or  nobility  of  the  second  class  ;  The  representatives 
of  the  cities  and  towns  whose  right  to  a  place  in  the  Cortes,  if  we  may 
give  credit  to  the  historians  of  Aragon,  was  coeval  with  the  constitution  ; 
The  ecclesiastical  order,  composed  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church, 
together  with  the  representatives  of  the  inferior  clergy, §     No  law  could 

*  Znrita  Annates  dp  Arng.  torn.  iv.  113.  1 15,  &c.  t  Ferreras  Hist.  d'Espasne,  torn.  vii.  p.  92. 
P.  Orleans  Revo).  d'Eapagne,  torn.  iii.  p.  155.  L.  Marineus  Siculus-  de  Run.  Biapan.  apud  Schotti 
Script.  Hlspan.  I'ol.  490,  J  Marian.  Hist.  lib.  \\iii.  c,  0.  <\  Forma  de  »VI<l>rar.     Corte*  in 

Aragop.  por  Gcron.  iVlartfl. 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  71 

pass  in  this  assembly  without  the  assent  of  every  single  member  who  had 
a  right  to  vote.*  Without  the  permission  of  the  Cortes,  no  tax  could  be 
imposed ;  no  war  could  be  declared  ;  no  peace  could  be  concluded  ;  no 
money  could  be  coined  :  nor  could  any  alteration  be  made  in  the  current 
specie.!  The  power  of  reviewing  the  proceedings  of  all  inferior  courts, 
the  privilege  of  inspecting  every  department  of  administration,  and  the  right 
of  redressing  all  grievances,  belonged  to  the  Cortes.  Nor  did  those  who 
conceived  themselves  to  be  aggrieved,  address  the  Cortes  in  the  humble 
tone  of  suppliants,  and  petition  for  redress ;  they  demanded  it  as  the 
birthright  of  freemen,  and  required  the  guardians  of  their  liberty  to 
decide  with  respect  to  the  points  which  they  laid  before  them.|  This 
sovereign  court  was  held,  during  several  centuries,  every  year ;  but,  in 
consequence  of  a  regulation  introduced  about  the  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  it  was  convoked  from  that  period  only  once  in  two  years. 
After  it  was  assembled,  the  king  had  no  right  to  prorogue  or  dissolve  it 
without  its  own  consent ;  and  the  session  continued  forty  days.§ 

Not  satisfied  with  having  erected  such  formidable  barriers  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  royal  prerogative,  nor  willing  to  commit  the  sole 
guardianship  of  their  liberties  entirely  to  the  vigilance  and  authority  of 
an  assembly,  similar  to  the  diets,  states-general,  and  parliaments,  in  which 
the  other  feudal  nations  have  placed  so  much  confidence,  the  Aragonese 
had  recourse  to  an  institution  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  elected  a  Justiza 
or  supreme  judge.  This  magistrate,  whose  otfice  bore  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  Ephori  in  ancient  Sparta,  acted  as  the  protector  of  the  people, 
and  the  comptroller  of  the  prince.  The  person  of  the  justiza  was  sacred, 
his  power  and  jurisdiction  almost  unbounded.  He  was  the  supreme 
interpreter  of  the  laws.  Not  only  inferior  judges,  but  the  kings  them- 
selves, were  bound  to  consult  him  in  every  doubtful  case,  and  to  receive 
his  responses  with  implicit  deference.il  An  appeal  lay  to  him  from  the 
royal  judges,  as  well  as  from  those  appointed  by  the  barons  within 
their  respective  territories.  Even  when  no  appeal  was  made  to  him, 
he  could  interpose  by  his  own  authority,  prohibit  the  ordinary  judge 
to  proceed,  take  immediate  cognizance  of  the  court  himself,  and  remove 
the  party  accused  to  the  Manifestation,  or  prison  of  the  state,  to  which 
no  person  had  access  but  by  his  permission.  His  power  was  exerted^ 
with  no  less  vigour  and  effect  in  superintending  the  administration  ot 
government,  than  in  regulating  the  courts  of  justice.  It  was  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  justiza,  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  the  king.  He  had  a  title 
to  review  all  the  royal  proclamations  and  patents,  and  to  declare  whether 
or  not  they  were  agreeable  to  law,  and  ought  to  be  carried  into  execution. 
He,  by  his  sole  authority,  could  exclude  any  of  the  king's  ministers  from 
the  conduct  of  affairs,  and  call  them  to  answer  for  their  maladministra- 
tion. He  himself  was  accountable  to  the  Cortes  only,  for  the  manner 
in  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  this  high  office  ;  and  performed 
functions  of  the  greatest  importance  that  could  be  committed  to  a  sub- 
ject [31].  IT 

It  is  evident,  from  a  bare  enumeration  of  the  privileges  of  the  Aragonese 
Cortes,  as  well  as  of  the  rights  belonging  to  the  justiza,  that  a  very  small 
portion  of  power  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  king.  The  Aragonese 
seem  to  have  been  solicitous  that  their  monarchs  should  know  and  feel 
this  state  of  impotence,  to  which  they  were  reduced.  Even  in  swearing 
allegiance  to  their  sovereign,  an  act  which  ought  naturally  to  be  accom- 
panied with  professions  of  submission  and  respect,  they  devised  an  oath, 
in  such  a  form,  as  to  remind  him  of  his  dependence  on  his  subject*. 
"  We,"  said  the  justiza  to  the  king,  in  name  of  his  high-spirited  barons, 

*  Martel.  ibid.  p.  2.  t  Hier.  Blanca  Comment.  Kit.  Arapon.  ap.  Schot.  Script  Hispan.  vol. 

iii.  p.  750.        J  Martel.  Forma  de  Celebr.  p.  2.  §  Hier.  Blanca  Comment.  7C3.         ||  Blanca 

has  preserved  two  responses  of  the  jus!  iza  to  James  II.  who  reigned  towards  tlie  close  of  Llie  thirteenth 
century.     Blanca.  7-1P.  V  flier.  Blanca  Comment,  p.  747— 755. 


n  'A    VIEW   OF   THE  [Sect.  Ill- 

"  who  are  eacli  of  us  as  good,  and  who  are  altogether  more  powerful  than 
you,  promise  obedience  to  your  government,  if  you  maintain  our  rights 
and  liberties  ;  but  if  not,  not."  Conformably  to  this  oath,  they  established 
it  as  a  fundamental  article  in  their  constitution,  that  if  the  king  should 
violate  their  rights  and  privileges,  it  was  lawful  for  the  people  to  disclaim 
him  as  their  sovereign,  and  to  elect  another,  even  though  a  heathen,  in  his 
place.*  The  attachment  of  the  Aragonese  to  this  singular  constitution 
of  government  was  extreme,  and  their  respect  for  it  approached  to  super- 
stitious veneration  [32].  In  the  preamble  to  one  ot  their  laws,  they 
declare,  that  such  was  the  barrenness  of  their  country,  and  the  poverty  of 
the  inhabitants,  that  if  it  were  not  on  account  of  the  liberties  by  which 
they  were  distinguished  from  other  nations,  the  people  would  abandon  it, 
and  go  in  quest  of  a  settlement  to  some  more  fruitful  region. t 

In  Castile  there  were  not  such  peculiarities  in  the  form  of  government, 
as  to  establish  any  remarkable  distinction  between  it  and  that  of  the  other 
European  nations.  The  executive  part  of  government  was  committed  to 
the  king,  but  with  a  prerogative  extremely  limited.  The  legislative 
authority  resided  in  the  Cortes,  which  was  composed  of  the  nobility,  the 
dignified  ecclesiastics,  and  the  representatives  of  the  cities.  The  assembly 
of  the  Cortes  in  Castile  was  very  ancient,  and  seems  to  have  been  almost 
coeval  with  the  constitution.  The  members  of  the  three  different  orders, 
who  had  a  right  of  suffrage,  met  in  one  place,  and  deliberated  as  one 
collective  body  ;  the  decisions  of  which  were  regulated  by  the  sentiments 
of  the  majority.  The  right  of  imposing  taxes,  of  enacting  laws,  and  of 
redressing  grievances,  belonged  to  this  assembly  ;  and,  in  order  to  secure 
the  assent  ot  the  king  to  such  statutes  and  regulations  as  were  deemed 
salutary  or  beneficial  to  the  kingdom,  it  was  usual  in  the  Cortes  to  take  no 
step  towards  granting  money,  until  all  business  relative  to  the  public  welfare 
was  concluded.  The  representatives  of  cities  seem  to  have  obtained  a 
seat  very  early  in  the  Cortes  of  Castile,  and  soon  acquired  such  influence 
and  credit,  as  were  very  uncommon,  at  a  period  when  the  splendour  and 
pre-eminence  of  the  nobility  had  eclipsed  or  depressed  all  other  orders  of 
men.  yhe  number  of  members  from  cities  bore  such  a  proportion  to  that 
of  the  whole  collective  body,  as  rendered  them  extremely  respectable  in 
the  Cortes  [33].  The  degree  of  consideration,  which  they  possessed  in 
the  state,  may  be  estimated  by  one  event.  Upon  the  death  of  John  I. 
[A.  D.  1390]  a  council  of  regency  was  appointed  to  govern  the  kingdom 
during  the  minority  of  his  son.  It  was  composed  of  an  equal  number  of 
noblemen,  and  of  deputies  chosen  by  the  cities  ;  the  latter  were  admitted 
to  the  same  rank,  and  invested  with  the  same  powers  as  prelates  and 
grandees  of  the  first  order.J  But  though  the  members  of  communities  in 
Castile  were  elevated  above  the  condition  wherein  they  were  placed  in 
other  kingdoms  of  Europe  ;  though  they  had  attained  to  such  political 
importance,  that  even  the  proud  and  jealous  spirit  of  the  feudal  aristocracy 
could  not  exclude  them  from  a  considerable  share  in  government  ;  yet  the 
nobles,  notwithstanding  these  acquisitions  of  the  commons,  continued  to 
assert  the  privileges  of  their  order,  in  opposition  to  the  crown,  in  a  tone 
extremely  high.  There  was  not  any  body  of  nobility  in  Europe  more 
distinguished  for  independence  of  spirit,  haughtiness  of  deportment,  and 
bold  pretensions,  than  that  of  Castile.  The  history  of  that  monarchy 
affords  the  most  striking  examples  of  the  vigilance  with  which  they 
observed,  and  of  the  vigour  with  which  they  opposed,  every  measure  of 
their  kings,  that  tended  to  encroach  on  their  jurisdiction,  to  diminish  their 
dignity,  or  to  abridge  their  power.  Even  in  their  ordinary  intercourse 
with  their  monarchs,  they  preserved  such  a  consciousness  of  their  rank, 
that  the  nobles  of  the  first  order  claimed  it  as  a  privilege  to  be  covered  in 

*  JJier.  Blanca  Comment,  p.  790  |  Ibid  p.  751  }  Marian.  Hist  lib.  xviii  c.  15. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE.  73 

the  royal  presence,  and  approached  their  sovereigns  rather  as  equals  than 
as  subjects. 

The  constitutions  of  the  subordinate  monarchies,  which  depended  on 
the  crowns  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  nearly  resembled  those  ol  the  king- 
doms to  which  they  were  annexed.  In  all  of  them,  the  dignity  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  nobles  were  great ;  the  immunities  and  power  of  the 
cities  were  considerable. 

An  attentive  observation  of  the  singular  situation  of  Spain,  as  well  as  the 
various  events  which  occurred  there,  from  the  invasion  of  the  Moors  to 
the  union  of  its  kingdoms  under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  will  discover  the 
causes  to  which  all  the  peculiarities  in  its  political  constitution  I  have 
pointed  out,  ought  to  be  ascribed. 

As  the  provinces  of  Spain  were  wrested  from  the  Mahometans  gradually 
and  with  difficulty,  the  nobles  who  followed  the  standard  of  any  eminent 
leader  in  these  wars,  conquered  not  for  him  alone,  but  for  themselves. 
They  claimed  a  share  in  the  lands  which  their  valour  had  won  from  the 
enemy,  and  their  prosperity  and  power  increased,  in  proportion  as  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  prince  extended. 

During  their  perpetual  wars  with  the  Moors,  the  monarchs  of  the  seve- 
ral kingdoms  in  Spain  depended  so  much  on  their  nobles,  that  it  became 
necessary  to  conciliate  their  good-will  by  successive  grants  of  new  honours 
and  privileges.  By  the  time  that  any  prince  could  establish  his  dominion 
in  a  conquered  province,  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  was  parcelled 
out  by  him  among  his  barons,  with  such  jurisdiction  and  immunities  as 
raised  them  almost  to  sovereign  power. 

At  the  same  time,  the  kingdoms  erected  in  so  many  different  corners 
of  Spain,  were  of  inconsiderable  extent.  The  petty  monarch  was  but 
little  elevated  above  his  nobles.  They,  feeling  themselves  to  be  almost 
his  equals,  acted  as  such  ;  and  could  not  look  up  to  the  kings  of  such  limited 
domains  with  the  same  reverence  that  the  sovereigns  of  the  great  monar- 
chies in  Europe  were  viewed  by  their  subjects  [34J. 

While  these  circumstances  concurred  in  exalting  the  nobility,  and  in 
depressing  the  royal  authority,  there  were  other  causes  which  raised  the 
cities  in  Spain  to  consideration  and  power. 

As  the  open  country,  during  the  wars  with  the  Moors,  was  perpetually 
exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the  enemy,  with  whom  no  peace  or  truce 
was  so  permanent  as  to  prove  any  lasting  security,  self-preservation 
obliged  persons  of  all  ranks  to  fix  their  residence  in  places  of  strength. 
The  castles  of  the  barons,  which,  in  other  countries,  afforded  a  commo- 
dious retreat  from  the  depredations  of  banditti,  or  from  the  transient  vio- 
lence of  any  interior  commotion,  were  unable  to  resist  an  enemy  whose 
operations  were  conducted  with  regular  and  persevering  vigour.  Cities, 
in  which  great  numbers  united  for  their  mutual  defence,  were  the  only 
places  in  which  people  could  reside  with  any  prospect  of  safety.  To 
this  was  owing  the  rapid  growth  of  those  cities  in  Spain  of  which  the 
Christians  recovered  possession.  All  who  fled  from  the  Moorish  yoke 
resorted  to  them  as  to  an  asylum ;  and  in  them,  the  greater  part  of  those 
who  took  the  field  against  the  Mahometans  established  their  families. 

Several  of  these  cities,  during  a  longer  or  shorter  course  of  years,  were 
the  capitals  of  little  states,  and  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  which  accele- 
rate the  increase  of  inhabitants  in  every  place  that  is  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. 

From  those  concurring  causes,  the  number  of  cities  in  Spain,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  had  become  considerable,  and  they 
were  peopled  far  beyond  the  proportion  which  was  common  in  other 
parts  of  Europe,  except  in  Italy  and  the  Low  Countries.  The  Moors  had 
introduced  manufactures  into  those  cities,  while  under  their  dominion. 
The  Christians,  who,  by  intermixture  with  them,  had  learned  their  arts. 

Vol.  IT.— 10 


74  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

continued  to  cultivate  these.  Trade  in  several  of  the  Spanish  towns 
appears  to  have  been  carried  on  with  vigour  ;  and  the  spirit  of  commerce 
continued  to  preserve  the  number  of  their  inhabitants,  as  the  sense  of 
danger  had  first  induced  them  to  crowd  together. 

As  the  Spanish  cities  were  populous,  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  of 
a  rank  superior  to  those  who  resided  in  towns  in  other  countries  of  Eu- 
rope. That  cause,  which  contributed  chiefly  to  their  population,  affected 
equally  persons  of  every  condition,  who  flocked  thither  promiscuously, 
in  order  to  find  shelter  there,  or  in  hopes  of  making  a  stand  against  the 
enemy,  with  greater  advantage  than  in  any  other  station.  The  persons 
elected  as  their  representatives  in  the  Cortes  by  the  cities,  or  promoted 
to  offices  of  trust  and  dignity  in  the  government  of  the  community,  were 
often,  as  will  appear  from  transactions  which  I  shall  hereafter  relate,  of 
such  considerable  rank,  in  the  kingdom,  as  reflected  lustre  on  their  con- 
stituents, and  on  the  stations  wherein  they  were  placed. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  carry  on  a  continual  war  against  the  Moors, 
without  some  other  military  force  than  that  which  the  barons  were  obliged 
to  bring  into  the  field,  in  consequence  of  the  feudal  tenures,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  some  troops,  particularly  a  body  of  light  cavalry,  in 
constant  pay.  It  was  one  of  the  privileges  of  the  nobles,  that  their  lands 
were  exempt  from  the  burden  ol  taxes.  The  charge  of  supporting  the 
troops  requisite  for  the  public  safety,  fell  wholly  upon  the  cities  ;  and 
their  kings,  being  obliged  frequently  to  apply  to  them  for  aid,  found  it 
necessary  to  gam  their  favour  by  concessions,  which  not  only  extended 
their  immunities,  but  added  to  their  wealth  and  power. 

When  the  influence  of  all  these  circumstances,  peculiar  to  Spain,  is 
added  to  the  general  and  common  causes,  which  contributed  to  aggran- 
dize cities  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  this  will  fully  account  for  the 
extensive  privileges  which  they  acquired,  as  well  as  for  the  extraordinary 
consideration  to  which  they  attained,  in  all  the  Spanish  kingdoms  [35]. 

By  these  exorbitant  privileges  of  the  nobility,  and  this  unusual  power 
of  the  cities  in  Spain,  the  royal  prerogative  was  hemmed  in  on  every 
side,  and  reduced  within  very  narrow  bounds.  Sensible  of  this,  and  im- 
patient of  such  restraint,  several  monarchs  endeavoured  at  various  junc- 
tures and  by  different  means,  to  enlarge  their  own  jurisdiction.  Their 
power,  however,  or  their  abilities,  were  so  unequal  to  the  undertaking, 
that  their  efforts  were  attended  with  little  success.  But  when  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  found  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  united  kingdoms  of 
Spain,  and  delivered  from  the  danger  and  interruption  of  domestic  wars, 
they  were  not  only  in  a  condition  to  resume,  but  were  now  able  to  pro- 
secute with  advantage,  the  schemes  of  extending  the  prerogative,  which 
their  ancestors  had  attempted  in  vain.  Ferdinand's  profound  sagacity  in 
concerting  his  measures,  his  persevering  industry  in  conducting  them,  and 
his  uncommon  address  in  carrying  them  into  execution,  fitted  him  admi- 
rably for  an  undertaking  which  required  all  these  talents. 

As  the  overgrown  power  and  high  pretensions  of  the  nobility  were 
what  the  monarchs  of  Spain  felt  most  sensibly,  and  bore  with  the  great- 
est impatience,  the  great  object  of  Ferdinand's  policy  was  to  reduce 
these  within  more  moderate  bounds.  Under  various  pretexts,  sometimes 
by  violence,  more  frequently  in  consequence  of  decrees  obtained  in  the 
courts  of  law,  he  wrested  from  the  barons  a  great  part  of  the  lands  which 
had  been  granted  to  them  by  the  inconsiderate  bounty  of  former  monarchs, 

farticularly  during  the  feeble  and  profuse  reign  of  his  predecessor  Henry 
V-  He  did  not  give  the  entire  conduct  of  affairs  to  persons  of  noble 
birth,  who  were  accustomed  to  occupy  every  department  of  importance 
in  peace  or  in  war,  as  if  it  had  been  a  privilege  peculiar  to  their  order, 
to  be  employed  as  the  sole  counsellors  and  ministers  of  the  crown.  He 
often  tran«artod  btisinoss  of  trreat  consequence  without  their  intervention, 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  75 

and  bestowed  many  offices  of  power  and  trust  on  new  men,  devoted  to 
his  interest.*  He  introduced  a  degree  of  state  and  dignity  into  his  court, 
which  being  little  known  in  Spain,  while  it  remained  split  into  many 
small  kingdoms,  taught  the  nobles  to  approach  their  sovereign  with  more 
ceremony,  and  gradually  rendered  him  the  object  of  greater  deference 
and  respect. 

The  annexing  the  masterships  of  the  three  military  orders  of  St.  Jago, 
Calatrava,  and  Alcantara,  to  the  crown,  was  another  expedient,  by  which 
Ferdinand  greatly  augmented  the  revenue  and  power  of  the  kings  of 
Spain.  These  orders  were  instituted  in  imitation  of  those  of  the  Knights 
Templars  and  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  on  purpose  to  wage  perpetual 
war  with  the  Mahometans,  and  to  protect  the  pilgrims  who  visited 
Compostella,  or  other  places  of  eminent  sanctity  in  Spain.  The  zeal  and 
superstition  of  the  ages  in  which  they  were  founded,  prompted  persons  of 
every  rank  to  bestow  such  liberal  donations  on  those  holy  warriors,  that, 
in  a  short  time,  they  engrossed  a  considerable  share  in  the  property  and 
wealth  of  the  kingdom.  The  masterships  of  these  orders  came  to  be 
stations  of  the  greatest  power  and  opulence  to  which  a  Spanish  nobleman 
could  be  advanced.  These  high  dignities  were  in  the  disposal  of  the 
knights  of  the  order,  and  placed  the  persons  on  whom  they  conferred 
them  almost  on  a  level  with  their  sovereign  [36].  Ferdinand,  unwilling 
that  the  nobility,  whom  he  considered  as  already  too  formidable,  should 
derive  such  additional  credit  and  influence  from  possessing  the  government 
of  these  wealthy  fraternities,  was  solicitous  to  wrest  it  out  of  their  hands, 
and  to  vest  it  in  the  crown.  His  measures  for  accomplishing  this  were 
wisely  planned,  and  executed  with  vigourf  [A.  D.  1476  and  1493].  By 
addresses,  by  promises,  and  by  threats,  he  prevailed  on  the  knights  of 
each  order  to  place  Isabella  and  him  at  the  head  of  it.  Innocent  VIII. 
and  Alexander  VI.  gave  this  election  the  sanction  of  papal  authority  ;J 
and  subsequent  pontiffs  rendered  the  annexation  of  these  masterships  to 
the  crown  perpetual. 

While  Ferdinand,  by  this  measure,  diminished  the  power  and  influence 
of  the  nobility,  and  added  new  lustre  or  authority  to  the  crown,  he  was 
taking  other  important  steps  with  a  view  to  the  same  object.  The  sove- 
reign jurisdiction,  which  the  feudal  barons  exercised  within  their  own 
territories,  was  the  pride  and  distinction  of  their  order.  To  have  invaded 
openly  a  privilege  which  they  prized  so  highly,  and  in  defence  of  which 
they  would  have  run  so  eagerly  to  arms,  was  a  measure  too  daring  for  a 
prince  of  Ferdinand's  cautious  temper.  He  took  advantage,  however, 
of  an  opportunity  which  the  state  of  his  kingdoms  and  the  spirit  of  his 
people  presented  him,  in  order  to  undermine  what  he  durst  not  assault. 
The  incessant  depredations  of  the  Moors,  the  want  of  discipline  among 
the  troops  which  were  employed  to  oppose  them,  the  frequent  civil  wars 
between  the  crown  and  the  nobility,  as  well  as  the  undiscerning  rage  with 
which  the  barons  carried  on  their  private  wars  with  each  other,  filled 
all  the  provinces  of  Spain  with  disorder.  Rapine,  outrage,  and  murder, 
became  so  common  as  not  only  to  interrupt  commerce,  but  in  a  great 
measure  to  suspend  all  intercourse  between  one  place  and  another.  That 
security  and  protection,  which  men  expect  from  entering  into  civil  society, 
ceased  in  a  great  degree.  Internal  order  and  police,  while  the  feudal 
institutions  remained  in  vigour,  were  so  little  objects  of  attention,  and  the 
administration  of  justice  was  so  extremely  feeble,  that  it  would  have  been 
vain  to  have  expected  relief  from  the  established  laws  or  the  ordinary 
judges.  But  the  evil  became  so  intolerable,  and  the  inhabitants  of  cities, 
who  were  the  chief  sufferers,  grew  so  impatient  of  this  anarchy,  that 

*  Zurita  Annates  de  Arag.  torn.  vi.  p.  22.  f  Marian.  Hist.  lib.  xxv.  c.  5.  *  Zurita  Annalcs, 
torn.  v.  p.  22.  JStti  Anion.  Nebrissensis  rerum  a  Ferdinand  et  F.lizabe  gestarum  deraries  ii.  apiid 
S-liot.  script.  Hispan.  i.  S'W. 


76  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [&ct.  III. 

self-preservation  forced  them  to  have  recourse  to  an  extraordinary  remedy. 
About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  cities  in  the  kingdom  of 
Aragon,  and  after  their  example,  those  in  Castile,  formed  themselves  into 
an  association  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  Holy  Brotherhood.  They 
exacted  a  certain  contribution  from  each  of  the  associated  towns :  they 
levied  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  in  order  to  protect  travellers,  and 
to  pursue  criminals  :  they  appointed  judges,  who  opened  their  courts  in 
various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Whoever  was  guilty  of  murder,  robbery, 
or  of  any  act  that  violated  the  public  peace,  and  was  seized  by  the  troops 
oi  the  Brotherhood,  was  carried  before  judges  of  their  nomination,  who, 
without  paying  any  regard  to  the  exclusive  and  sovereign  jurisdiction, 
which  the  lord  of  the  place  might  claim,  tried  and  condemned  the  crimi- 
nals. By  the  establishment  of  this  fraternity,  the  prompt  and  impartial 
administration  of  justice  was  restored  ;  and,  together  with  it,  internal 
tranquillity  and  order  began  to  return.  The  nobles  alone  murmured  at 
this  salutary  institution.  They  complained  of  it,  as  an  encroachment  on 
one  of  their  most  valuable  privileges.  They  remonstrated  against  it  in  a 
high  tone  ;  and,  on  some  occasions,  refused  to  grant  any  aid  to  the  crown, 
unless  it  were  abolished.  Ferdinand,  however,  was  sensible  not  only 
of  the  good  effects  of  the  Holy  Brotherhood  with  respect  to  the  police  of 
his  kingdoms,  but  perceived  its  tendency  to  abridge,  and  at  length  to  an- 
nihilate, the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  nobility.  He  countenanced  it 
on  every  occasion.  He  supported  it  with  the  whole  iorce  of  royal  au- 
thority ;  and  besides  the  expedients  employed  by  him  in  common  with 
the  other  monarchs  of  Europe,  he  availed  himself  of  this  institution,  which 
was  peculiar  to  his  kingdom,  in  order  to  limit  and  abolish  that  independent 
jurisdiction  of  the  nobility,  which  was  no  less  inconsistent  with  the 
authority  of  the  prince,  than  with  the  order  of  society  [37]. 

But  though  Ferdinand  by  these  measures  considerably  enlarged  the 
boundaries  of  prerogative,  and  acquired  a  degree  of  influence  and  power 
far  beyond  what  any  of  his  predecessors  had  enjoyed,  yet  the  limitations 
of  the  royal  authority,  as  well  as  the  barriers  against  its  encroachments, 
continued  to  be  many  and  "strong.  The  spirit  of  liberty  was  vigorous 
among  the  people  of  Spain ;  the  spirit  of  independence  was  high  among 
the  nobility  ;  and  though  the  love  of  glory,  peculiar  to  the  Spaniards  in 
every  period  of  their  history,  prompted  them  to  support  Ferdinand  with 
zeal  in  his  foreign  operations,  and  to  afford  him  such  aid  as  enabled  him 
not  only  to  undertake  but  to  execute  great  enterprises ;  he  reigned  over 
his  subjects  with  a  jurisdiction  less  extersive  than  that  of  any  of  the  great 
monarchs  in  Europe.  It  will  appear  from  many  passages  in  the  following 
history,  that  during  a  considerable  part  of  the  reign  of  his  successor  Charles 
V.  the  prerogative  of  the  Spanish  crown  was  equally  circumscribed. 

The  ancient  government  and  laws  in  France  so  nearly  resembled  those 
of  the  other  feudal  kingdoms,  that  such  a  detail  with  respect  to  them  as 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  convey  some  idea  of  the  nature  and  effects  of 
the  peculiar  institutions  which  took  place  in  Spain,  would  be  superfluous. 
In  the  view  which  I  have  exhibited  of  the  means  by  which  the  French 
monarchs  acquired  such  a  full  command  of  the  national  force  of  their 
kingdom,  as  enabled  them  to  engage  in  extensive  schemes  of  foreign  ope- 
ration, I  have  already  pointed  out  the  great  steps  by  which  they  advanced 
tov/ards  a  more  ample  possession  of  political  power,  and  a  more  uncon- 
trolled exercise  of  their  royal  prerogative.  All  that  now  remains  is  to 
take  notice  of  such  particulars  in  the  constitution  of  France,  as  serve  either 
to  distinguish  it  from  that  of  other  countries,  or  tend  to  tbroAv  any  light  on 
the  transactions  of  that  period,  to  which  the  following  history  extends. 

Under  the  French  monarchs  of  the  first  race,  the  royal  prerogative  was 
very  inconsiderable.  The  general  assemblies  of  the  nation,  which  met 
annually  at  stated  seasons,  extended  their  authority  to  every  department 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  7? 

of  government.  The  power  of  electing  kings,  of  enacting  laws,  of  re- 
dressing grievances,  of  conferring  donations  on  the  prince,  of  passing 
judgment  in  the  last  resort,  with  respect  to  every  person  and  to  every 
cause,  resided  in  this  great  convention  of  the  nation.  Under  the  second 
race  of  kings,  notwithstanding  the  power  and  splendour  which  the  con- 
quests of  Charlemagne  added  to  the  crown,  the  general  assemblies  of  the 
nation  continued  to  possess  extensive  authority.  The  right  of  determining 
which  of  the  royal  family  should  be  placed  on  the  throne,  was  vested  in 
them.  The  princes,  elevated  to  that  dignity  by  their  suffrage,  were  ac- 
customed regularly  to  call  and  to  consult  them  with  respect  to  every  affair 
of  importance  to  the  state,  and  without  their  consent  no  law  was  passed, 
and  no  new  tax  was  levied. 

But,  by  the  time  that  Hugh  Capet,  the  father  of  the  third  race  of  kings, 
took  possession  of  the  throne  of  France,  such  changes  had  happened  in 
the  political  state  of  the  kingdom,  as  considerably  affected  the  power  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation.  The  royal  authority, 
'in  the  hands  of  the  degenerate  posterity  of  Charlemagne,  had  dwindled 
into  insignificance  and  contempt.  Every  considerable  proprietor  of  land 
had  formed  his  territoiy  into  a  barony,  almost  independent  of  the 
sovereign.  The  dukes  or  governors  of  provinces,  the  counts  or  governors 
of  towns  and  small  districts,  and  the  great  officers  of  the  crown,  had  ren- 
dered these  dignities,  which  originally  were  granted  only  during  pleasure 
or  for  life,  hereditary  in  their  families.  Each  of  these  had  usurped  all 
the  rights  which  hitherto  had  been  deemed  the  distinctions  of  royalty, 
particularly  the  privileges  of  dispensing  justice  within  their  own  domains, 
of  coining  money,  and  of  waging-  war.  Every  district  was  governed  by 
local  customs,  acknowledged  a  distinct  lord,  and  pursued  a  separate  in- 
terest. The  formality  of  doing  homage  to  their  sovereign,  was  almost  the 
only  act  of  subjection  which  those  haughty  barons  would  perform,  and 
that  bound  them  no  farther  than  they  were  willing  to  acknowledge  its 
obligations  [38]. 

In  a  kingdom  broken  into  so  many  independent  baronies,  hardly  any 
common  principle  of  union  remained ;  and  the  general  assembly,  in  its 
deliberations,  could  scarcely  consider  the  nation  as  forming  one  body,  or 
establish  common  regulations  to  be  of  equal  force  in  every  part.  Within 
the  immediate  domains  of  the  crown,  the  king  might  publish  laws,  and 
they  were  obeyed,  because  there  he  was  acknowledged  as  the  only  lord. 
But  if  he  had  aimed  at  rendering  these  laws  general,  that  would  have 
alarmed  the  barons  as  an  encroachment  upon  the  independence  of  their 
jurisdiction.  The  barons,  when  met  in  the  great  national  convention, 
avoided,  with  no  less  care,  the  enacting  of  general  laws  to  be  observed  in 
every  part  of  the  kingdom,  because  the  execution  of  them  must  have 
been  vested  in  the  king,  and  would  have  enlarged  that  paramount  powei\ 
which  was  the  object  of  their  jealousy.  Thus,  under  the  descendants  of 
Hugh  Capet,  the  States  General  (for  that  was  the  name  by  which  "the 
supreme  assembly  of  the  French  nation  came  then  to  be  distinguished) 
lost  their  legislative  authority,  or  at  least  entirely  relinquished  the  exercise 
of  it.  From  that  period,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States  General  extended 
no  farther  than  to  the  imposition  of  new  taxes,  the  determination  of 
questions  with  respect  to  the  right  of  succession  to  the  crown,  the  settling 
of  the  regency  when  the  preceding  monarch  had  not  fixed  it  by  his  will, 
and  the  presenting  remonstrances  enumerating  the  grievances  of  which 
the  nation  wished  to  obtain  redress. 

As,  during  several  centuries,  the  monarchs  of  Europe  seldom  demanded 
extraordinary  subsidies  of  their  subjects,  and  the  other  events,  which 
required  the  interposition  of  the  States,  rarely  occurred,  their  meetings  in 
France  were  not  frequent.  They  were  summoned  occasionally  by  their 
kings,  when  compelled  by  their  wants  or  their  fears  to  have  recourse  to 


78  A    VIEW    OF    THE  [sect.  ill. 

the  great  convention  of  their  people ;  but  they  did  not,  like  the  Diet  in 
Germany,  the  Cortes  in  Spain,  or  the  Parliament  in  England,  form  an 
essential  member  of  the  constitution,  the  regular  exertion  ot  whose  powers 
was  requisite  to  give  vigour  and  order  to  government. 

When  the  states  of  France  ceased  to  exercise  legislative  authority,  the 
kings  began  to  assume  it.  They  ventured  at  first  on  acts  of  legislation 
with  great  reserve,  and  after  taking  every  precaution  that  could  prevent 
their  subjects  from  being  alarmed  at  the  exercise  of  a  new  power.  They 
did  not  at  once  issue  their  ordinances  in  a  tone  of  authority  and  command. 
They  treated  with  their  subjects;  they  pointed  out  what  was  best;  and 
allured  them  to  comply  with  it.  By  degrees,  however,  as  the  prerogative 
of  the  crown  extended,  and  as  the  supreme  jurisdiction  of  the  royal  courts 
came  to  be  established,  the  kings  of  France  assumed  more  openly  the  style 
and  authority  of  lawgivers  ;  and,  before  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, the  complete  legislative  power  was  vested  in  the  crown  [39]. 

Having  secured  this  important  acquisition,  the  steps  which  led  to  the 
right  of  imposing  taxes  were  rendered  few  and  easy.  The  peopleyaccustomed 
to  see  their  sovereigns  issue  ordinances,  by  their  sole  authority,  which  regu- 
lated points  of  the  greatest  consequence  with  respect  to  the  property  of 
their  subjects,  were  not  alarmed  when  they  were  required,  by  the  royal 
edicts,  to  contribute  certain  sums  towards  supplying  the  exigencies  of 
government,  and  carrying  forward  the  measures  of  the  nation.  When 
Charles  VII.  and  Louis  XI.  first  ventured  to  exercise  this  new  power,  in 
the  manner  which  I  have  already  described,  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
royal  authority  had  so  imperceptibly  prepared  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
France  for  this  innovation,  that  it  excited'  no  commotion  in  the  kingdom, 
and  seems  scarcely  to  have  given  rise  to  any  murmur  or  complaint. 

When  the  kings  of  France  had  thus  engrossed  every  power  which  can 
be  exerted  in  government  ;  when  the  right  of  making  laws,  of  levying 
money,  of  keeping  an  army  of  mercenaries  in  constant  pay,  of  declaring 
war,  and  of  concluding  peace,  centred  in  the  crown,  the  constitution  of  the 
kingdom,  which,  under  the  first  race  of  kings,  was  nearly  democratical  : 
which,  under  the  second  rac£,  became  an  aristocracy  ;  terminated,  under 
the  third  race,  in  a  pure  monarchy.  Every  thing  that  tended  to  preserve 
the  appearance  or  revive  the  memory  of  the  ancient  mixed  government, 
seems  from  that  period  to  have  been  industriously  avoided.  During  the 
long  and  active  reign  of  Francis  I.  the  variety  as  well  as  extent  of  whose 
operations  obliged  him  to  lay  many  heavy  impositions  on  his  subjects,  the 
States  General  of  France  were  not  once  assembled,  nor  were  the  people 
once  allowed  to  exert  the  power  of  taxing  themselves,  which,  according 
to  the  original  ideas  of  feudal  government,  was  a  right  essential  to  every 
freeman. 

Two  things,  however,  remained,  which  moderated  the  exercise  of  the 
regal  prerogative,  and  restrained  it  within  such  bounds  as  preserved  the 
constitution  of  France  from  degenerating  into  mere  despotism.  The  rights 
and  privileges  claimed  by  the  nobility,  must  be  considered  as  one  barrier 
against  the  absolute  dominion  of  the  crown.  Though  the  nobles  of  France 
had  lost  that  political  power  which  was  vested  in  their  order  as  a  body, 
they  still  retained  the  personal  rights  and  pre-eminence  which  they  derived 
from  their  rank.  They  preserved  a  consciousness  of  elevation  above  other 
classes  of  citizens  ;  an  exemption  from  burdens  to  which  persons  of  inferior 
condition  were  subject ;  a  contempt  of  the  occupations  in  which  they  were 
engaged;  the  privilege  of  assuming  ensigns  that  indicated  their  own  dignity : 
a  right  to  be  treated  with  a  certain  degree  of  deference  during  peace ;  and 
a  claim  to  various  distinctions  when  in  the  field.  Many  of  these  pretensions 
were  not  founded  on  the  words  of  statutes,  or  derived  from  positive  laws  : 
they  were  defined  and  ascertained  by  the  maxims  of  honour,  a  title  more 
delicate,  but  no  less  sacred.     These  rights,  established  and  protected  by  a 


STATE  OF   EUROPE.  79 

principle  equally  vigilant  in  guarding,  and  intrepid  in  defending  them,  are 
to  the  sovereign  himself  objects  of  respect  and  veneration.  Wherever  they 
Stand  in  its  way,  the  royal  prerogative  is  bounded.  The  violence  of  a 
despot  may  exterminate  such  an  order  of  men  ;  but  as  long  as  it  subsists, 
and  its  ideas  of  personal  distinction  remain  entire,  the  power  of  the  prince 
has  limits.* 

As  in  France  the  body  of  nobility  was  veiy  numerous,  and  the  indi- 
viduals of  which  it  was  composed,  retained  a  high  sense  of  their  own  pre- 
eminence, to  this  we  may  ascribe,  in  a  great  measure,  the  mode  ot  exer- 
cising the  royal  prerogative  which  peculiarly  distinguishes  the  govern- 
ment of  that  kingdom.  An  intermediate  order  was  placed  between  the 
monarch  and  his  other  subjects;  in  every  act  of  authority  it  became 
necessary  to  attend  to  its  privileges,  and  not  only  to  guard  against  any  real 
violation  of  them,  but  to  avoid  any  suspicion  of  supposing  it  to  be  possible 
that  they  might  be  violated.  Thusi'a  species  of  government  was  established 
in  France,  unknown  in  the  ancient  world,  that  of  a  monarchy,  in  which  the 
power  of  the  sovereign,  though  unconfirmed  by  any  legal  or  constitutional 
restraint,  has  certain  bounds  set  to  i|  by  the  ideas  which  one  class  of  his 
subjects  entertain  concerning  their  Own  dignity. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  parliaments  in  France,  particularly  that  of  Paris, 
was  the  other  barrier  which  served  to  confine  the  exercise  of  the  royal 
prerogative  within  certain  limits.  The  parliament  of  Paris  was  originally 
the  court  of  the  kings  of  France,  towhich  they  committed  the  supreme 
administration  of  justice  within  theii  own  domains,  as  well  as  the  power 
of  deciding  with  respect  to  all  cases  brought  before  it  by  appeals  from  the 
courts  of  the  barons.  When  in  consequence  of  events  and  regulations 
which  have  been  mentioned  formerly,  the  time  and  place  of  its  meeting 
were  fixed,  when  not  only  the  form  of  its  procedure,  but  the  principles  on 
which  it  decided,  were  rendered  regular  and  consistent,  when  every  cause 
of  importance  was  finally  determined  there,  and  when  the  people  became 
accustomed  to  resort  thither  as  to  the  supreme  temple  of  justice,  the  par- 
liament of  Paris  rose  to  high  estimation  in  the  kingdom,  its  members 
acquired  dignity,  and  its  decrees  were  submitted  to  with  deference.  Nor 
was  this  the  only  source  of  the  power  and  influence  which  the  parliament 
obtained.  The  kings  of  France,  when  they  first  began  to  assume  the 
legislative  power,  in  order  to  reconcile  the  minds  of  their  people  to  this 
new  exertion  of  prerogative,  produced  their  edicts  and  ordinances  in  the. 
parliament  of  Paris,  that  they  might  be  approved  of  and  registered  there, 
before  they  were  published  and  declared  to  be  of  authority  in  the  king- 
dom. During  the  intervals  between  the  meetings  of  the  States  General  of 
the  kingdom,  or  during  those  reigns  in  which  the  States  General  were  not 
assembled,  the  monarchs  of  France  were  accustomed  to  consult  the  parlia- 
ment of  Paris  with  respect  to  the  most  arduous  affairs  of  government,  and 
frequently  regulated  their  conduct  by  its  advice,  in  declaring  war,  in  con- 
cluding peace,  and  in  other  transactions  of  public  concern.  Thus  there 
\vas  erected  in  the  kingdom  a  tribunal  which  became  the  great  depository 
of  the  laws,  and  by  the  uniform  tenor  of  its  decrees  established  principles 
of  justice  and  forms  of  proceeding  which  were  considered  so  sacred,  that 
even  the  sovereign  power  of  the  monarch  dunt  not  venture  to  disregard  or 
to  violate  them.  1  he  members  of  this  illustrious  body,  though  they  neither 
possess  legislative  authority,  nor  can  be  considered  as  the  representatives 
of  the  people,  have  availed  themselves  of  the  reputation  and  influence, 
which  they  had  acquired  among  their  coi'iitrymen,  in  order  to  make  a 
stand  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability,  against  every  unprecedented  and  exor- 
bitant exertion  of  the  prerogative.     Fn  every  period  of  the  French  history, 

*  De  l'Espiit  des  Loir,  liv.  ii.  c.  4.    Dr.  Ferguson's  Essay  on  llie  Hist,  of  Civil  Society,  part 
scot.  10. 


so  A   VIEW    OF   THE  [Sect.  III-. 

they  have  merited  the  praise  of  being  the  virtuous  but  feeble  guardians  of 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  nation  [40]. 

After  taking  this  view  of  the  political  state  of  France,  I  proceed  to  con- 
sider that  of  the  German  empire,  from  which  Charles  V.  derived  his  title 
of  highest  dignity.  In  explaining  the  constitution  of  this  great  and  com- 
plex body  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  I  shall  avoid  entering 
into  such  a  detail  as  would  involve  my  readers  in  that  inextricable  laby- 
rinth, which  is  formed  by  the  multiplicity  of  its  tribunals,  the  number  of 
its  members,  their  interfering  rights,  and  by  the  endless  discussions  or 
refinements  of  the  public  lawyers  of  Germany,  with  respect  to  all  these. 

The  empire  of  Charlemagne  was  a  structure  erected  in  so  short  a  time, 
that  it  could  not  be  permanent.  Under  his  immediate  successor  it  began 
to  totter  ;  and  soon  after  fell  to  pieces.  The  crown  of  Germany  was  sepa- 
rated from  that  of  France,  and  the  descendants  of  Charlemagne  established 
two  great  monarchies  so  situated  as  to  give  rise  to  a  perpetual  rivalship 
and  enmity  between  them.  But  the  princes  of  the  race  of  Charlemagne 
who  were  placed  on  the  Imperial  throne,  were  not  altogether  so  degene- 
rate, as  those  of  the  same  family  who  reigned  in  France.  In  the  hands  of 
the  former  the  royal  authority  retained  some  vigour,  and  the  nobles  of  Ger- 
many, though  possessed  of  extensive  privileges  as  well  as  ample,  territories, 
did  not  so  early  attain  independence.  The  great  offices  of  the  crown  con- 
tinued to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  sovereign,  and  during  a  long  period, 
fiefs  remained  in  their  original  state,  without  becoming  hereditary  and 
perpetual  in  the  families  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  had  been  granted. 

At  length  the  German  branch  of  *he  family  of  Charlemagne  became 
extinct,  and  his  feeble  descendants  who  reigned  in  France  had  sunk  into 
such  contempt,  that  the  Germans,  without  looking  towards  them,  exercised 
the  right  inherent  in  a  free  people  ;  and  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  nation 
elected  Conrad  count  of  Franconia  emperor  [A.  D.  911].  After  him  Henry 
of  Saxony,  and  his  descendants  the  three  Othos,  were  placed,  in  succession, 
on  the  Imperial  throne,  by  the  suffrages  of  their  countrymen.  The  exten- 
sive territories  of  the  Saxon  emperors,  their  eminent  abilities  and  enterprising 
genius,  not  only  added  new  vigour  to  the  Imperial  dignity,  but  raised  it  to 
higher  power  and  pre-eminence.  Otho  the  Great  marched  at  the  head  of 
a  numerous  army  into  Italy  [A.  D.  952],  and  after  the  example  of  Charle- 
magne, gave  law  to  that  country.  Every  power  there  acknowledged  his 
authority.  He  created  popes,  and  deposed  them  by  his  sovereign  man- 
date. He  annexed  the  kingdom  of  Italy  to  the  German  empire.  Elated 
with  his  success,  he  assumed  the  title  of  Cesar  Augustus.*  A  prince,  born 
in  the  heart  of  Germany,  pretended  to  be  the  successor  of  the  emperors  of 
ancient  Rome,  and  claimed  a  right  to  the  same  power  and  prerogative. 

But  while  the  emperors,  by  means  of  these  new  titles  and  new  domi- 
nions, gradually  acquired  additional  authority  and  splendour,  the  nobility 
of  Germany  had  gone  on  at  the  same  time,  extending  their  privileges  and 
jurisdiction.  The  situation  of  affairs  was  favourable  to  their  attempts. 
The  vigour  which  Charlemagne  had  given  to  government  quickly  relaxed. 
The  incapacity  of  some  ot  his  successors  was  such,  as  would  have 
encouraged  vassals  less  enterprising  than  the  nobles  of  that  age,  to  have 
claimed  new  rights,  and  to  have  assumed  new  powers.  The  civil  wars 
in  which  other  emperors  were  engaged,  obliged  them  to  pay  perpetual 
court  to  their  subjects,  on  whose  support  they  depended,  and  not  only  to 
connive  at  their  usurpations,  but  to  permit,  and  even  to  authorize  them. 
Fiefs  gradually  became  hereditary.  They  were  transmitted  not  only  in 
the  direct,  but  also  in  the  collateral  line.  The  investiture  of  them  was 
demanded  not  only  by  male  but  by  female  heirs.  Every  baron  began  to 
exercise  sovereign  jurisdiction  within  his  own  domains;  and  the  dukes 

*  Annalists  Paxo.  Sec.  ay  Strav.  Corp.  vol.  i-  p.  24fi 


.STATE   OF   EUROPE.  g? 

and  counts  of  Germany  took  wide  steps  towards  rendering  their  territo- 
ries distinct  and  independent  states.*  The  Saxon  emperors  observed 
their  progress,  and  were  aware  of  its  tendency.  But  as  they  could  not 
hope  to  humble  vassals  already  grown  too  potent,  unless  they  had  turned 
their  whole  force  as  well  as  attention  to  that  enterprise,  and  as  they  were 
extremely  intent  on  their  expeditions  into  Italy,  which  they  could  not 
undertake  without  the  concurrence  of  their  nobles,  they  were  solicitous 
not  to  alarm  them  by  any  direct  attack  on  their  privileges  and  jurisdic- 
tions. They  aimed,  however,  at  undermining  their  power.  With  this 
view,  they  inconsiderately  bestowed  additional  territories,  and  accumu- 
lated new  honours  on  the  clergy,  in  hopes  that  this  order  might  serve  as  a 
counterpoise  to  that  of  the  nobility  in  any  future  struggle. t 

The  unhappy  effects  of  this  fatal  error  in  policy  were  quickly  felt. 
Under  the  emperors  of  the  Franconian  and  Suabian  lines,  whom  the  Ger- 
mans, by  their  voluntary  election,  placed  on  the  Imperial  throne,  a  new 
face  of  things  appeared,  and  a  scene  was  exhibited  in  Germany,  which 
astonished  all  Christendom  at  that  time  [A.  D.  1024],  and  in  the  present 
age  appears  almost  incredible.  The  popes,  hitherto  dependent  on  the 
emperors,  and  indebted  for  power  as  well  as  dignity  to  their  beneficence 
and  protection,  began  to  claim  a  superior  jurisdiction;  and,  in  virtue  of 
authority  which  they  pretended  to  derive  from  heaven,  tried,  condemned, 
excommunicated,  and  deposed  their  former  masters.  Nor  is  this  to  be 
considered  merely  as  a  Irantic  sally  of  passion  in  a  pontiff  intoxicated 
with  high  ideas  concerning  the  extent  cf  priestly  domination,  and   the 

{ilenitude  of  papal  authority.  Gregory  VII.  was  able  as  well  as  daring, 
lis  presumption  and  violence  were  accompanied  with  political  discern- 
ment and  sagacity.  He  had  observed  that  the  princes  and  nobles  of  Ger- 
many had  acquired  such  considerable  territories  and  such  extensive  juris- 
diction, as  rendered  them  not  only  formidable  to  the  emperors,  but  dis- 
posed them  to  favour  any  attempt  to  circumscribe  their  power.  He  fore- 
saw that  the  ecclesiastics  of  Germany,  raised  almost  to  a  level  with  its 
princes,  were  ready  to  support  any  person  who  would  stand  forth  as  the 
protector  of  their  privileges  and  independence.  With  both  of  these 
Gregory  negotiated,  and  had  secured  many  devoted  adherents  among 
Ihem,  before  he  ventured  to  enter  the  lists  against  the  head  of  the  empire. 
He  began  his  rupture  with  Henry  IV.  upon  a  pretext  that  was  popular 
and  plausible.  He  complained  of  the  venality  and  corruption  with 
which  the  emperor  had  granted  the  investiture  of  benefices  to  ecclesias- 
tics. He  contended  that  this  right  belonged  to  him  as  head  of  the  church ; 
he  required  Henry  to  confine  himself  within  the  bounds  of  his  civil  juris- 
diction, and  to  abstain  for  the  future  from  such  sacrilegious  encroachments 
on  the  spiritual  dominion.  All  the  censures  of  the  church  were  denounced 
against  Henry,  because  he  refused  to  relinquish  those  powers  which  his 
predecessors  had  uniformly  exercised.  The  most  considerable  of  the 
German  princes  and  ecclesiastics  were  excited  to  take  arms  against  him. 
His  mother,  his  wife,  his  sons,  were  wrought  upon  to  disregard  all  the 
ties  of  blood  as  well  as  of  duty,  and  to  join  the  party  of  his  enemies. J 
Such  were  the  successful  arts  with  which  the  court  of  Rome  inflamed  the 
superstitious  zeal,  and  conducted  the  factious  spirit  of  the  Germans  and 
Italians,  that  an  emperor,  distinguished  not  only  for  many  virtues,  but 
possessed  of  considerable  talents,  was  at  length  obliged  to  appear  as  a 
suppliant  at  the  gate  of  the  castle  in  which  the  pope  resided,  and  to  stand 
there  three  days,  bare-footed,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  imploring  a  pardon, 
which  at  length  he  obtained  with  difficulty  [41]. 

This  act  oi  humiliation  degraded  the  Imperial  dignity.     Nor  wa3  the 

"  Ffeffel.  Abrege,  p.  120.  152.     Lib.  Feudor.  tit  i.        '  Pfeflfel.  Abrt'go,  p.  151        '  Annal.  Goi- 
nian.  an.  Struv.  i.  p.  325. 

Vol.  IT.~11 


32  A  VIEW   OF    THE  [Sect.  HI. 

depression  momentary  only.  The  contest  between  Gregory  and  Henry- 
gave  rise  to  the  two  great  factions  of  the  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines  ;  the 
former  of  which  supporting  the  pretensions  of  the  popes,  and  the  latter  de- 
fending the  rights  of  the  emperor,  kept  Germany  and  Italy  in  perpetual  agi- 
tation during  three  centuries.  A  regular  system  for  humbling  the  emperors 
and  circumscribing  their  power  was  formed,  and  adhered  to  uniformly 
throughout  that  period.  The  popes,  the  free  states  in  Italy,  the  nobility 
and  ecclesiastics  of  Germany,  were  all  interested  in  its  success :  and  not- 
withstanding the  return  of  some  short  intervals  of  vigour,  under  the  admi- 
nistration ot  a  few  able  emperors,  the  Imperial  authority  continued  to 
decline.  During  the  anarchy  of  the  long  interregnum,  subsequent  to  the 
death  of  William  of  Holland  [A.  D.  1456],  it  dwindled  down  annost  to 
nothing.  Rodulph  of  Hapsburgh,  the  founder  of  the  House  of  Austria, 
and  who  first  opened  the  way  to  its  future  grandeur,  was  at  length  elected 
emperor  [A.  D.  1273],  not  that  he  might  re-establish  and  extend  the  Im- 
perial authority,  but  because  his  territories  and  influence  were  so  inconsi- 
derable as  to  excite  no  jealousy  in  the  German  princes,  who  were  willing 
to  preserve  the  forms  of  a  constitution,  the  power  and  vigour  of  which 
they  had  destroyed.  Several  of  bis  successors  were  placed  on  the  Impe- 
rial throne  from  the  same  motive ;  and  almost  every  remaining  preroga- 
tive was  rescued  out  of  the  hands  of  feeble  princes  unable  to  exercise 
or  to  defend  them. 

DiMng  this  period  of  turbulence  and  confusion,  the  constitution  of  the 
Germanic  body  underwent  a  total  change.  The  ancient  names  of  courts 
and  magistrates,  together  with  the  original  forms  and  appearance  of  policy, 
were  preserved  ;  but  such  new  privileges  and  jurisdiction  were  assumed, 
and  so  many  various  rights  established,  that  the  same  species  of  govern- 
ment no  longer  subsisted.  The  princes,  the  great  nobility,  the  dignified 
ecclesiastics,  the  free  cities,  had  taken  advantage  of  the  interregnum, 
which  I  have  mentioned,  to  establish  or  to  extend  their  usurpations. 
They  claimed  and  exercised  the  right  of  governing  their  respective  ter- 
ritories with  full  sovereignty.  They  acknowledged  no  superior  with 
respect  to  any  point,  relative  to  the  interior  administration  and  police  of 
their  domains.  They  enacted  laws,  imposed  taxes,  coined  money,  de- 
clared war,  concluded  peace,  and  exerted  every  prerogative  peculiar  to 
independent  states.  The  ideas  of  order  and  political  union,  which  had 
originally  formed  the  various  provinces  of  Germany  into  one  body,  were 
almost  entirely  lost ;  and  the  society  must  have  dissolved,  if  the  forms  of 
feudal  subordination  had  not  preserved  such  an  appearance  of  connection 
or  dependence  among  the  various  members  of  the  community,  as  pre- 
served it  from  falling  to  pieces. 

This  bond,  of  union,  however,  was  extremely  feeble  ;  and  hardly  any 
principle  remained  in  the  German  constitution,  of  sufficient  force  to  main- 
tain public  order,  or  even  to  ascertain  personal  security.  From  the  acces- 
sion of  Rodulph  of  Hapsburgh,  to  the  reign  of  Maximilian,  the  imme- 
diate predecessor  of  Charles  v.,  the  empire  felt  every  calamity  which  a 
state  must  endure,  when  the  authority  of  government  is  so  much  relaxed 
aa  to  have  lost  its  proper  degree  of  vigour.  The  causes  of  dissension 
among  that  vast  number  of  members,  which  composed  the  Germanic  body, 
were  infinite  and  unavoidable.  These  gave  rise  to  perpetual  private  wars, 
which  were  carried  on  with  all  the  violence  that  usually  accompanies 
resentment,  when  unrestrained  by  superior  authority.  Rapine,  outrage, 
exactions,  became  universal.  Commerce  was  interrupted;  industiy  sus- 
pended ;  and  every  part  of  Germany  resembled  a  country  which  an 
enemy  had  plundered  and  left  desolate*  The  variety  of  expedients  em- 
ployed with  a  view  to  restore  order  and    tranquillity,  prove   that  the 

*  See  above,  iiri;<:  "23.  and  Note  xxi.  Ttett.  de  oarc  puldica  toper.  i>.  Cj.  do.  S3  p.  88,  no  36,  p  ?'• 
no.  1 ! . 


STATE   OF   EUROPE. 

grievances  occasioned  by  this  state  of  anarchy  had  groAvn  intolerable. 
Arbiters  were  appointed  to  terminate  the  differences  among  the  several 
states.  The  cities  united  in  a  league,  the  object  of  which  was  to  check 
the  rapine  and  extortions  of  the  nobility.  '1  he  nobility  formed  confede- 
racies, on  purpose  to  maintain  tranquillity  among  their  own  order.  Ger- 
many was  divided  into  several  circles,  in  each  of  which  a  provincial  and 
partial  jurisdiction  was  established,  to  supply  the  place  of  a  public  and 
common  tribunal.* 

But  all  these  remedies  were  so  ineffectual,  that  they  served  only  to 
demonstrate  the  violence  of  that  anarchy  which  prevailed,  and  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  the  means  employed  to  correct  it.  At  length  Maximilian  re- 
established public  order  in  the  empire,  by  instituting  the  Imperial  cham- 
ber [A.  D.  1495],  a  tribunal  composed  of  judges  named  partly  by  the 
emperor,  partly  by  the  several  states,  and  vested  with  authority  to  decide 
finally  concerning  all  differences  among  the  members  of  the  Germanic 
body".  A  few  years  after  [A.  D.  1512],  by  giving  a  new  form  to  the  Aulic 
council,  which  takes  cognizance  of  all  feudal  causes,  and  such  as  belong 
to  the  emperor's  immediate  jurisdiction,  he  restored  some  degree  of 
vigour  to  the  imperial  authority. 

"But  notwithstanding  the  salutary  effects  of  these  regulations  and  improve- 
ments, the  political  constitution  of  the  German  empire,  at  the  commence  • 
ment  of  the  period  of  which  I  propose  io  write  the  history,  was  of  a  spe- 
cies so  peculiar,  as  not  io  resemble  perfectly  any  form  of  government 
known  either  in  the  ancient  or  modern  world.  It  was  a  complex  body* 
formed  by  the  associatior.  of  several  states,  each  ot  which  possessed  sove- 
reign and  independent  jurisdiction  within  its  own  territories.  Of  all  the 
members  which  composed  this  United  body,  the  emperor  was  the  head, 
In  his  name,  all  decrees  and  regulations,  with  respect  to  points  of  common 
concern,  were  issued  ;  and  to  him  the  power  of  carrying  them  into  exe- 
cution was  committed.  But  ihis  appearance  of  monarchical  power  in  the 
emperor  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  influence  of  the  princes 
and  states  of  the  empire  in  every  act  of  administration.  No  law  extend- 
ing to  the  whole  body  could  pass,  no  resolution  that  affected  the  general 
interest  could  be  taken,  without  the  approbation  of  the  diet  of  the  empire. 
In  this  assembly,  every  sovereign  prince  and  state  of  the  Germanic  body 
had  a  right  to  be  present,  to  deliberate,  and  to  vote.  The  decrees  or 
recesses  of  the  diet  were  the  laws  of  the  empire,  which  the  emperor  was- 
bound  to  ratify  and  enforce. 

Under  this  aspect,  the  constitution  of  the  empire  appears  a  regular 
confederacy,  similai  to  the  Achaean  league  in  ancient  Greece,  or  to  that 
of  the  United  Provinces  and  of  the  Swiss  Cantons  in  modern  times.  But 
if  viewed  in  another  light,  striking  peculiarities  in  its  political  state  present 
themselves.  The  Germanic  body  was  not  formed  by  the  union  of  members 
altogether  distinct  and  independent.  All  the  princes  and  states  joined 
in  this  association,  were  originally  subject  to  the  emperors,  and  acknow- 
ledged them  as  sovereigns.  Besides  this,  they  originally  held  their  lands 
as  Imperial  fiefs,  and  in  consequence  of  this  tenure  owed  the  emperors 
all  those  services  which  feudal  vassals  are  bound  to  perform  to  their  liege 
lord.  But  though  this  political  subjection  was  entirely  at  an  end,  and  the 
influence  of  the  feudal  relation  much  diminished,  the  ancient  forms  and 
institutions,  introduced  while  the  emperors  governed  Germany  with  autho- 
rity not  inferior  to  that  which  the  other  monarchs  of  Europe  possessed,  still 
remained.  Thus  an  opposition  was  established  between  the  genius  of 
the  government,  and  the  forms  of  administration  in  the  German  empire 
The  former  considered  the  emperor  only  as  the  head  of  a  confederacy, 
the  members  of  which,  by  their  voluntary  choice,  have  raised  him  to  that 

*  Datt.  psMim.    Stmv.  Corp.  Hitt.  i.  6lU,&'r 


84  A  VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

dignity  ;  the  latter  seemed  to  imply,  that  he  is  really  invested  with  sove- 
reign power.  By  this  circumstance,  such  principles  of  hostility  and 
discord  were  interwoven  into  the  frame  of  the  Germanic  body,  as  affected 
each  of  its  members,  rendering  their  interior  union  incomplete,  and  their 
external  efforts  feeble  and  irregular.  The  pernicious  influence  of  this 
defect  inherent  in  the  constitution  of  the  empire  is  so  considerable,  that, 
without  attending  to  it,  we  cannot  fully  comprehend  many  transactions  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  V.  or  form  just  ideas  concerning  the  genius  of  the 
German  government. 

The  emperors  of  Germany,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
were  distinguished  by  the  most  pompous  titles,  and  by  such  ensigns  of 
dignity,  as  intimated  their  authority  to  be  superior  to  that  of  all  other 
monarchs.  *  The  greatest  princes  of  the  empire  attended,  and  served 
them,  on  some  occasions,  as  the  officers  of  their  household.  They  exercised 
prerogatives  which  no  other  sovereign  ever  claimed.  They  retained  pre- 
tensions to  all  the  extensive  powers  which  their  predecessors  had  enjoyed 
in  any  former  age.  But,  at  the  same  time,  instead  of  possessing  that 
ample  domain  which  had  belonged  to  the  ancient  emperors  of  Germany, 
and  which  stretched  from  Basil  to  Cologne,  along  both  banks  of  the  Rhine,* 
they  were  stripped  of  all  territorial  property,  and  had  not  a  single  city, 
a  single  castle,  a  single  foot  of  land,  that  belonged  to  them,  as  heads  of  the 
empire.  As  their  domain  was  alienated,  their  stated  revenues  were  reduced 
almost  to  nothing  ;  and  the  extraordinary  aids,  which  on  a  few  occasions 
they  obtained,  were  granted  sparingly  and  paid  with  reluctance.     The 

frinces  and  states  of  the  empire,  though  they  seemed  to  recognise  the 
mperial  authority,  were  subjects  only  in  name,  each  of  them  possessing 
a  complete  municipal  jurisdiction  within  the  precincts  of  his  own  ter- 
ritories. 

From  this  ill-compacted  frame  of  government,  effects  that  were  unavoid- 
able resulted.  The  emperors,  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  their  titles, 
and  the  external  signs  of  vast  authority,  were  apt  to  imagine  themselves 
to  be  the  real  sovereigns  of  Germany,  and  were  led  to  aim  continually  at 
recovering  the  exercise  of  those  powers  which  the  forms  of  the  constitution 
seemed  to  vest  in  them,  and  which  their  predecessors,  Charlemagne  and 
the  Othos,  had  actually  enjoyed.  The  princes  and  states,  aware  of  the 
nature  as  well  as  extent  of  these  pretensions,  were  perpetually  on  their 
guard,  in  order  to  watch  all  the  motions  of  the  Imperial  court,  and  to 
circumscribe  its  power  within  limits  still  more  narrow.  The  emperors, 
in  support  of  their  claims,  appealed  to  ancient  forms  and  institutions, 
which  the  states  held  to  be  obsolete.  The  states  founded  their  rights  on 
recent  practice  and  modern  privileges,  which  the  emperors  considered  as 
usurpations. 

This  jealousy  of  the  Imperial  authority,  together  with  the  opposition 
between  it  and  the  rights  of  the  states,  increased  considerably  from  the 
time  that  the  emperors  were  elected,  not  by  the  collective  body  of 
German  nobles,  but  by  a  few  princes  of  chief  dignity.  During  a  long 
period,  all  the  members  of  the  Germanic  body  had  a  right  to  assemble, 
and  to  make  choice  of  the  person  whom  they  appointed  to  be  their  head. 
But  amidst  the  violence  and  anarchy  which  prevailed  for  several  centuries 
in  the  empire,  s.even  princes  who  possessed  the  most  extensive  territories, 
and  who  had  obtained  a  hereditary  title  to  the  great  offices  of  the  state, 
acquired  the  exclusive  privilege  of  nominating  the  emperor.  This  right 
was  confirmed  to  them  by  the  Golden  Bull  :  the  mode  of  exercising  it 
was  ascertained,  and  they  were  dignified  with  the  appellation  of  Electors. 
The  nobility  and  free  cities  being  thus  stripped  of  a  privilege  which  they 
had  once  enjoyed,  were  less  connected  with  a  prince,  towards  whose 

*  Pfftffel.  AnteA  fcr.  p,  241. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE. 

f  levation  they  had  not  contributed  by  their  suffrages,  and  came  to  be 
more  apprehensive  of  his  authority.  The  electors,  by  their  extensive 
power,  and  the  distinguishing-  privileges  which  they  possessed,  became 
formidable  to  the  emperors,  with  whom  they  were  placed  almost  on  a 
level  in  several  acts  of  jurisdiction.  Thus  the  introduction  of  the  electoral 
college  into  the  empire,  and  the  authority  which  it  acquired,  instead  of 
diminishing,  contributed  to  strengthen,  the  principles  of  hostility  and 
discord  in  the  Germanic  constitution. 

These  were  further  augmented  by  the  various  and  repugnant  forms  of 
civil  policy  in  the  several  states  which  composed  the  Germanic  body.  It 
is  no  easy  matter  to  render  the  union  of  independent  states  perfect  and 
entire,  even  when  the  genius  and  forms  of  their  respective  governments 
happen  to  be  altogether  similar.  But  in  the  Germanic  empire,  which  was 
a  confederacy  of  princes,  of  ecclesiastics,  and  of  free  cities,  it  was  impos- 
sible that  they  could  incorporate  thoroughly.  The  free  cities  were  small 
republics,  in  which  the  maxims  and  spirit  peculiar  to  that  species  of  go- 
vernment prevailed.  The  princes  and  nobles,  to  whom  supreme  jurisdiction 
belonged,  possessed  a  sort  of  monarchical  power  within  their  own  territories, 
and  the  forms  of  their  interior  administration  nearly  resembled  those  of  the 
great  feudal  kingdoms.  The  interests,  the  ideas,  the  objects  of  states  so 
differently  constituted,  cannot  be  the  same.  Nor  could  their  common 
deliberations  be  carried  on  with  the  same  spirit,  while  the  love  of  liberty, 
and  attention  to  commerce,  were  the  reigning  principles  in  the  cities  ;  while 
the  desire  of  power,  and  ardour  for  military  glory,  were  the  governing 
passions  of  the  princes  and  nobility. 

The  secular  and  ecclesiastical  members  of  the  empire  were  as  little  fitted 
for  union  as  the  free  cities  and  the  nobility.  Considerable  territories  had 
been  granted  to  several  of  the  bishoprics  and  abbeys,  and  some  of  the 
highest  offices  in  the  empire  having  been  annexed  to  them  inalienably, 
were  held  by  the  ecclesiastics  raised  to  these  dignities.  The  younger 
sons  of  noblemen  of  the  second  order,  who  had  devoted  themselves  to  the 
church,  were  commonly  promoted  to  these  stations  of  eminence  and  power  ; 
and  it  was  no  small  mortification  to  the  princes  and  great  nobility,  to  see 
persons  raised  from  an  inferior  rank  to  the  same  level  with  themselves,  or 
even  exalted  to  superior  dignity.  The  education  of  these  churchmen,  the 
genius  of  their  profession,  and  their  connection  with  the  court  of  Rome, 
rendered  their  character  as  well  as  their  interest  different  from  those  of  the 
other  members  of  the  Germanic  body,  with  whom  they  were  called  to 
act  in  concert.  Thus  another  source  of  jealousy  and  variance  was  opened, 
which  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  when  we  are  searching  into  the  nature 
of  the  German  constitution. 

To  all  these  causes  of  dissension  may  be  added  one  more,  arising  from 
the  unequal  distribution  of  power  and  wealth  among  the  states  of  the 
empire.  The  electors,  and  other  nobles  of  the  highest  rank,  not  only 
possessed  sovereign  jurisdiction,  but  governed  such  extensive,  populous, 
and  rich  countries,  as  rendered  them  great  princes.  Many  of  the  other 
members,  though  they  enjoyed  all  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  ruled  over 
such  petty  domains,  that  their  real  power  bore  no  proportion  to  this  high 
prerogative.  A  well  compacted  and  vigorous  confederacy  could  not  be 
formed  of  such  dissimilar  states.  The  weaker  were  jealous,  timid,  and 
unable  either  to  assert  or  defend  their  just  privileges.  The  more  powerful 
were  apt  to  assume  and  to  become  oppressive.  The  electors  and  empe- 
rors, by  turns,  endeavoured  to  extend  their  own  authority,  by  encroaching 
on  those  feeble  members  of  the  Germanic  body,  who  sometimes  defended 
their  rights  with  much  spirit,  but  more  frequently,  being  overawed  or  cor- 
rupted, they  tamely  surrendered  their  privileges,  or  meanly  favoured  the 
designs  formed  against  them  [42]. 

After  contemplating  all  these  principles  of  disunion  and  opposition  in 


V,  A   VIEW  OF  THE  [Sect.  III. 

the  constitution  of  the  German  empire,  it  will  be  easy  to  account  for  tho 
want  of  concord  and  uniformity,  conspicuous  in  its  councils  and  proceed- 
ings. That  slow,  dilatory,  distrustful,  and  irresolute  spirit,  which  charac- 
ter! es  all  its  deliberations,  will  appear  natural  in  a  body,  the  junction  of 
■whose  members  was  so  incomplete,  the  different  parts  of  which  were  held 
together  by  such  feeble  ties,  and  set  at  variance  by  such  powerful  motives. 
But  the  empire  of  Germany,  nevertheless,  comprehended  countries  of  such 
great  extent,  and  was  inhabited  by  such  a  martial  and  hardy  race  of  men, 
that  when  the  abilities  of  an  emperor,  or  zeal  for  any  common  cause, 
could  rouse  this  unwieldy  body  to  put  forth  its  strength,  it  acted  with 
almost  irresistible  force.  In  the  following  history  we  shall  find,  that  as 
the  measures  on  which  Charles  V.  was  most  intent,  were  often  thwarted 
or  rendered  abortive  by  the  spirit  of  jealousy  and  division  peculiar  to  the 
Germanic  constitution  ;  so  it  was  by  the  influence  which  he  acquired  over 
the  pripces  of  the  empire,  and  by  engaging  them  to  co-operate  with  him, 
that  he  was  enabled  to  make  some  of  the  greatest  efforts  which  distinguish 
his  reign. 

The  Turkish  history  is  so  blended,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  with 
that  of  the  great  nations  in  Europe,  and  the  Ottoman  Porte  interposed  so 
often,  and  with  such  decisive  influence,  in  the  wars  and  negotiations  of  the 
Christian  princes,  that  some  previous  account  of  the  state  of  government 
in  that  great  empire  is  no  less  necessary  for  the  information  of  my  readers, 
than  those  views  of  the  constitution  of  other  kingdoms  which  I  have 
already  exhibited  to  them. 

It  has  been  the  fate  of  the  southern  and  more  fertile  parts  of  Asia, 
at  different  periods,  to  be  conquered  by  that  warlike  and  hardy  race  of 
men,  who  inhabit  the  vast  country  known  to  the  ancients  by  the  name  of 
Scythia,  and  among  the  moderns  by  that  of  Tartary.  One  tribe  of  these 
people,  called  Turks  or  Turcomans,  extended  its  conquests,  under  various 
leaders,  and  during  several  centuries,  from  the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  straits  of 
the  Dardanelles.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  these 
formidable  conquerors  took- Constantinople  by  storm,  and  established  the 
seat  of  their  government  in  that  imperial  city.  Greece,  Moldavia,  Wala- 
chia,  and  the  other  provinces  of  the  ancient  kingdoms  of  Thrace  and 
Macedonia,  together  with  part  of  Hungary,  were  subjected  to  their  power. 

But  though  the  seat  of  the  Turkish  government  was  fixed  in  Europe, 
and  the  sultans  obtained  possession  of  such  extensive  dominions  in  that 
quarter  of  the  globe,  the  genius  of  their  policy  continued  to  be  purely 
Asiatic  ;  and  may  be  properly  termed  a  despotism,  in  contradistinction  to 
those  monarchical  and  republican  forms  of  government  which  we  have 
been  hitherto  contemplating.  The  supreme  power  was  vested  in  sultans 
ol  the  Ottoman  race,  that  blood  being  deemed  so  sacred,  that  no  other 
was  thought  worthy  of  the  throne.  From  this  elevation,  these  sovereigns 
could  look  down  and  behold  all  their  subjects  reduced  to  the  same  level 
before  them.  The  maxims  of  Turkish  policy  do  not  authorize  any  of 
those  institutions,  which  in  other  countries,  limit  the  exercise,  or  moderate 
the  rigour  of  monarchical  power  ;  they  admit  neither  of  any  great  court 
with  constitutional  and  permanent  jurisdiction  to  interpose,  both  in  enacting 
laws,  and  in  superintending  the  execution  of  them  ;  nor  of  a  body  of 
hereditary  nobles,  whose  sense  of  their  own  pre-eminence,  whose  con- 
sciousness of  what  is  due  to  their  rank  and  character,  whose  jealousy  of 
their  privileges  circumscribe  the  authority  of  the  prince,  and  serve  not  only 
as  a  barrier  against  the  excesses  of  his  caprice,  but  stand  as  an  intermediate 
order  between  him  and  the  people.  Under  the  Turkish  government,  the 
political  condition  of  every  subject  is  equal.  To  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  sultan  is  the  only  circumstance  that  confers  distinction. 
Even  this  distinction  is  rather  official  than  personal,  and  so  closely  annexed 
to  the  station  in  which  any  individual  serves,  that  it  is  scarcely  communicated 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  87 

to  the  persons  of  those  who  are  placed  in  them.  The  highest  dignity  in 
the  empire  does  not  give  any  rank  or  pre-eminence  to  the  family  of  him 
who  enjoys  it.  As  every  man,  before  he  is  raised  to  any  station  of  authority, 
must  go  through  the  preparatory  discipline  of  a  long  and  servile  obedience,* 
the  moment  he  is  deprived  of  power,  he  and  his  posterity  return  to  the 
same  condition  with  other  subjects,  and  sink  back  into  obscurity.  It  is 
the  distinguishing  and  odious  characteristic  of  Eastern  despotism,  that  it 
annihilates  all  other  ranks  of  men,  in  order  to  exalt  the  monarch  ;  that  it 
leaves  nothing  to  the  former,  while  it  gives  every  thing  to  the  latter ;  that 
it  endeavours  to  fix  in  the  minds  of  those  who  arc  subject  to  it,  the  idea 
of  no  relation  between  men,  but  that  of  a  master  and  of  a  slave,  the  former 
destined  to  command  and  to  punish,  the  latter  formed  to  tremble  and  to 
obey  [4j]. 

But  as  there  are  circumstances  which  frequently  obstruct  or  defeat  the 
salutary  effects  of  the  best  regulated  governments,  there  are  others  which 
contribute  to  mitigate  the  evils  of  the  most  defective  forms  of  policy. 
There  can,  indeed,  be  no  constitutional  restraints  upon  the  will  of  a  prince 
in  a  despotic  government ;  but  there  may  be  such  as  are  accidental. 
Absolute  as  the  Turkish  sultans  are,  they  ieel  themselves  circumscribed 
both  by  religion,  the  principle  on  which  their  authority  is  founded,!  and 
by  the  army,  the  instrument  which  they  must  employ  in  order  to  maintain 
it.  Wherever  religion  interposes,  the  will  of  the  sovereign  must  submit  to 
its  decrees.  When  the  Koran  hath  prescribed  any  religious  rite,  hath 
enjoined  any  moral  duty,  or  hath  confirmed  by  its  sanction  any  political 
maxim,  the  command  of  the  sultan  cannot  overturn  that  which  a  higher 
authority  hath  established.  The  chief  restriction,  however,  on  the  will  of 
the  sultans,  is  imposed  by  the  military  power.  An  armed  force  must 
surround  the  throne  of  every  despot,  to  maintain  his  authority,  and  to 
execute  his  commands.  As  the  Turks  extended  their  empire  over  nations 
which  they  did  not  exterminate,  but  reduce  to  subjection,  they  found  it 
necessary  to  render  their  military  establishment  numerous  and  formidable. 
Amurath,  their  third  sultan,  in  order  to  form  a  body  of  troops  devoted  to 
his  will,  that  might  serve  as  the  immediate  guards  of  his  person  and 
dignity,  commanded  his  officers  to  seize  annually  as  the  Imperial  property, 
the  fifth  part  of  the  youth  taken  in  war  [A.  D.  1362].  These,  after  being 
instructed  in  the  Mahometan  religion,  inured  to  obedience  by  severe 
discipline,  and  trained  to  warlike  exercises,  were  formed  into  a  body 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  Janizaries,  or  new  soldiers.  Every  sentiment 
which  enthusiasm  can  inspire,  every  mark  of  distinction  that  the  favour 
of  the  prince  could  confer,  were  employed  in  order  to  animate  this  body 
with  martial  ardour,  and  with  a  consciousness  of  its  own  pre-eminence.;}; 
The  Janizaries  soon  became  the  chief  strength  and  pride  of  the  Ottoman 
armies ;  and,  by  their  number  as  well  as  reputation,  were  distinguished 
above  all  the  troops  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  on  the  person  of  the 
sultan  [44]. 

Thus,  as  the  supreme  power  in  every  society  is  possessed  by  those  who 
have  arms  in  their  hands,  this  formidable  body  of  soldiers,  destined  to  be 
the  instruments  of  enlarging  the  sultan's  authority,  acquired  at  the  same 
time,  the  means  of  controlling  it.  The  Janizaries  in  Constantinople,  like 
the  Prsetorian  bands  in  ancient  Rome,  quickly  perceived  all  the  advantages 
which  they  derived  from  being  stationed  in  the  capital  ;  from  their  union 
under  one  standard ;  and  from  being  masters  of  the  person  of  the  prince. 
The  sultans  became  no  less  sensible  of  their  influence  and  importance. 
The  Capiculy,  or  soldiery  of  the  Porte,  was  the  only  power  in  the  empire 
that  a  sultan  or  his  vizier  had  reason  to  dread.    To  preserve  the  fidelity  and 

*  Stale  of  the  Turkish  Empire  by  Rycaot,  p.  ?.".  t  EfCBUt,  p.  S.  :  Puiire  Cnntemir'tJ 

History  of  Ihe  Cthmr.n  Empire,  p.  37. 


83  A   VIEW   OF   THE,  ice.  [Sect.  HI. 

attachment  of  the  Janizaries,  was  the  great  art  of  government,  and  the 
principal  object  of  attention  in  the  policy  of  the  Ottoman  court.  Under 
a  monarch,  whose  abilities  and  vigour  of  mind  fit  him  for  command,  they 
are  obsequious  instruments  ;  execute  whatever  he  enjoins  ;  and  render  his 

Eower  irresistible.  Under  feeble  princes,  or  such  as  are  unfortunate,  they 
ecome  turbulent  and  mutinous;  assume  the  tone  of  masters;  degrade 
and  exalt  sultans  at  pleasure  ;  and  teach  those  to  tremble,  on  whose  nod, 
at  other  times,  life  and  death  depend. 

From  Mahomet  II.  who  took  Constantinople,  to  Solyman  the  Magnificent, 
who  began  his  reign  a  few  months  after  Charles  V.  was  placed  on  the 
Imperial  throne  of  Germany,  a  succession  of  illustrious  princes  ruled  over 
the  Turkish  empire.  By  their  great  abilities,  they  kept  their  subjects 
of  every  order,  military  as  well  as  civil,  submissive  to  government ;  and 
had  the  absolute  command  of  whatever  force  their  vast  empire  was  able 
to  exert.  Solyman  in  particular,  who  is  known  to  the  Christians  chiefly 
as  a  conqueror,  but  is  celebrated  in  the  Turkish  annals,  as  the  great  law- 
giver who  established  order  and  police  in  their  empire,  governed,  during 
his  long  reign,  with  no  less  authority  than  wisdom.  He  divided  his 
dominions  into  several  districts ;  he  appointed  the  number  of  soldiers 
which  each  should  furnish ;  he  appropriated  a  certain  proportion  of  the  land 
in  every  province  for  their  maintenance  ;  he  regulated,  with  a  minute 
accuracy,  every  thing  relative  to  their  discipline,  their  arms,  and  the  nature 
of  their  service.  He  put  the  finances  of  the  empire  into  an  orderly  train  of 
administration  ;  and,  though  the  taxes  in  the  Turkish  dominions,  as  well 
as  in  the  other  despotic  monarchies  of  the  East,  are  far  from  being  con- 
siderable, he  supplied  that  defect  by  an  attentive  and  severe  economy. 

Nor  was  it  only  under  such  sultans  as  Solyman,  whose  talents  were  no 
less  adapted  to  preserve  internal  order  than  to  conduct  the  operations  of 
war,  that  the  Turkish  empire  engaged  with  advantage  in  its  contests  with 
the  Christian  states.  The  long  succession  of  able  princes,  which  I  have 
mentioned,  had  given  such  vigour  and  firmness  to  the  Ottoman  government, 
that  it  seems  to  have  attained,  during  the  sixteenth  century,  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection  of  which  its  constitution  was  capable.  Whereas  the 
great  monarchies  in  Christendom  were  still  far  from  that  state,  which  could 
enable  them  to  act  with  a  full  exertion  of  their  force.  Besides  this,  the 
Turkish  troops  in  that  age  possessed  every  advantage  which  arises  from 
superiority  in  military  discipline.  At  the  time  when  Solyman  began  his 
reign,  the  Janizaries  had  been  embodied  near  a  century  and  a  half ;  and, 
during  that  long  period,  the  severity  of  their  military  discipline  had  in  no 
degree  relaxed.  The  other  soldiers,  drawn  from  the  provinces  of  the 
empire,  had  been  kept  almost  continually  under  arms,  in  the  various  wars 
which  the  sultans  had  carried  on  with  hardly  any  interval  of  peace.  Against 
troops  thus  trained  and  accustomed  to  service,  the  forces  of  the  Christian 
powers  took  the  field  with  great  disadvantage.  The  most  intelligent  as 
well  as  impartial  authors  of  the  sixteenth  century  acknowledge  and  lament 
the  superior  attainments  of  the  Turks  in  the  military  art  [45].  The  success 
which  almost  uniformly  attended  their  arms,  in  all  their  wars,  demonstrates 
the  justness  of  this  observation.  The  Christian  armies  did  not  acquire  that 
superiority  over  the  Turks,  which  they  now  possess,  until  the  long  establish- 
ment of  standing  forces  had  improved  military  discipline  among  the  former ; 
and  until  various  causes  and  events,  which  it  is  not  my  province  to  explain, 
had  corrupted  or  abolished  their  ancient  warlike  institutions  among  the 
latter. 


TUB 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REIGN 


OF   THE 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V« 


BOOK  I. 

Charles  V.  was  born  at  Ghent  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  February, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred.  His  father,  Philip  the  Handsome, 
archduke  of  Austria,  was  the  son  of  the  emperor  Maximilian,  and  of  Mary 
the  only  child  of  Charles  the  Bold,  the  last  prince  of  the  house  of  Burgundy, 
His  mother,  Joanna,  was  the  second  daughter  of  Ferdinand  king  of  Aragon, 
and  of  Isabella  queen  of  Castile. 

A  long  train  of  fortunate  events  had  opened  the  way  for  this  young 
prince  to  the  inheritance  of  more  extensive  dominions,  than  any  European 
monarch,  since  Charlemagne,  had  possessed.  Each  of  his  ancestors  had 
acquired  kingdoms  or  provinces,  towards  which  their  prospect  of  succession 
was  extremely  remote.  The  rich  possessions  of  Mary  of  Burgundy  had 
been  destined  for  another  family,  she  having  been  contracted  by  her  father 
to  the  only  son  of  Louis  XI.  of  France ;  but  that  capricious  monarch, 
indulging  his  hatred  to  her  family,  chose  rather  to  strip  her  of  part  of  her 
territories  by  force,  than  to  secure  the  whole  by  marriage  ;  and  by  this 
misconduct,  fatal  to  his  posterity,  he  threw  all  the  Netherlands  and  Franche 
Compte  into  the  hands  of  a  rival.  Isabella,  the  daughter  of  John  II.  of 
Castile,  far  from  having  any  prospect  of  that  noble  inheritance  which  she 
transmitted  to  her  grandson,  passed  the  early  part  of  her  life  in  obscurity 
and  indigence.  But  the  Castilians,  exasperated  against  her  brother  Henry 
IV.,  an  ill-advised  and  vicious  prince,  publicly  charged  him  with  impotence, 
and  his  queen  with  adultery.  Upon  his  demise,  rejecting  Joanna,  whom 
Henry  had  uniformly,  and  even  on  his  death-bed,  owned  to  be  his  lawful 
daughter,  and  whom  an  assembly  of  the  stales  had  acknowledged  to  be  the 
heir  of  his  kingdom,  they  obliged  her  to  retire  into  Portugal,  and  placed 
Isabella  on  the  throne  of  Castile.  Ferdinand  owed  the  crown  of  Aragon 
to  the  unexpected  death  of  his  elder  brother,  and  acquired  the  kingdoms 
of  Naples  and  Sicily  by  violating  the  faith  of  treaties,  and  disregarding  the 
ties  of  blood.  To  all  these  kingdoms,  Christopher  Columbus,  by  an  effort 
of  genius  and  of  intrepidity,  the  boldest  and  most  successful  that  is  re- 
corded in  the  annals  of  mankind,  added  a  new  world,  the  wealth  of  which 
became  one  considerable  source  of  the  power  and  grandeur  of  the  Spanish 
monarchs. 

Don  John,  the  only  son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  their  eldest 
daughter,  the  queen  of  Portugal,  being  cut  off,  without  issue,  in  the  flower 
of  youth,  all  their  hopes  centred  in  Joanna  and  her  posterity.  But  as  her 
husband,  the  archduke,  was  a  stranger  to  the  Spaniards,  it  was  thought 

Vor..  II.— 12 


90  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  I. 

expedient  to  invite  him  into  Spain,  that  by  residing  among  them,  he  might 
accustom  himself  to  their  laws  and  manners ;  and  it  was  expected  that 
the  Cortes,  or  assembly  of  states,  whose  authority  was  then  so  great  in 
Spain,  that  no  title  to  the  crown  was  reckoned  valid  unless  it  received  their 
sanction,  would  acknowledge  his  right  of  succession,  together  with  that  of 
the  infanta,  his  wife.  Philip  and  Joanna,  passing  through  France  in  their 
way  to  Spain,  were  entertained  in  that  kingdom  with  the  utmost  magnifi- 
cence. The  archduke  did  homage  to  Louis  XII.  for  the  earldom  of  Flan- 
ders, and  took  his  seat  as  a  peer  of  the  realm  in  the  parliament  of  Paris. 
They  were  received  in  Spain  with  every  mark  of  honour  that  the  parental 
affection  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  or  the  respect  of  their  subjects,  could 
devise  ;  and  their  title  to  the  crown  was  soon  after  acknowledged  by  the 
Cortes  of  both  kingdoms. 

But  amidst  these  outward  appearances  of  satisfaction  and  joy,  some 
secret  uneasiness  preyed  upon  the  mind  of  each  of  these  princes.  The 
stately  and  reserved  ceremonial  of  the  Spanish  court  was  so  burdensome 
to  Philip,  a  prince,  young,  gay,  affable,  fond  of  society  and  of  pleasure, 
that  he  soon  began  to  express  a  desire  of  returning  to  his  native  country, 
the  manners  of  which  were  more  suited  to  his  temper.  Ferdinand,  ob- 
serving the  declining  health  of  his  queen,  with  whose  life  he  knew  that 
his  right  to  the  government  of  Castile  must  cease,  easily  foresaw,  that  a 
prince  of  Philip  s  disposition,  and  who  already  discovered  an  extreme 
impatience  to  reign,  would  never  consent  to  his  retaining  any  degree  of 
authority  in  that  kingdom  ;  and  the  prospect  of  this  diminution  of  his  power 
awakened  the  jealousy  of  that  ambitious  monarch. 

Isabella  beheld,  with  the  sentiments  natural  to  a  mother,  the  indifference 
and  neglect  with  which  the  archduke  treated  her  daughter,  who  was  des- 
titute of  those  beauties  of  person,  as  well  as  those  accomplishments  of 
mind,  which  fix  the  affections  of  a  husband.  Her  understanding,  always 
weak,  was  often  disordered.  She  doated  on  Philip  with  such  an  excess 
of  childish  and  indiscreet  fondness,  as  excited  disgust  rather  than  affection. 
Her  jealousy,  for  which  her  husband's  behaviour  gave  her  too  much  cause, 
was  proportioned  to  her  love,  and  often  broke  out  in  the  most  extravagant 
actions.  Isabella,  though  sensible  of  her  defects,  could  not  help  pitying 
her  condition,  which  was  soon  rendered  altogether  deplorable,  by  the 
archduke's  abrupt  resolution  of  setting  out  in  the  middle  of  winter  for 
Flanders,  and  of  leaving  her  in  Spain.  Isabella  entreated  him  not  to 
abandon'his  wife  to  grief  and  melancholy,  which  might  prove  fatal  to  her, 
as  she  was  near  the  time  of  her  delivery.  Joanna  conjured  him  to  put  off 
his  journey  for  three  days  only,  that  she  might  have  the  pleasure  of  cele- 
brating the  festival  of  Christmas  in  his  company.  Ferdinand,  after  repre- 
senting the  imprudence  of  his  leaving  Spain,  before  he  had  time  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  genius,  or  to  gain  the  affections  of  the  people,  who 
were  one  day  to  be  his  subjects,  besought  him,  at  least,  not  to  pass  through 
France,  with  which  kingdom  he  was  then  at  open  war.  Philip,  without 
regarding  either  the  dictates  of  humanity,  or  the  maxims  of  prudence, 
persisted  in  his  purpose  ;  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  December  set  out 
lor  the  Low  Countries,  by  the  way  of  France.* 

From  the  moment  of  his  departure,  Joanna  sunk  into  a  deep  and  sullen 
melancholy,!  and  while  she  was  in  that  situation  bore  Ferdinand  her 
second  son,  for  whom  the  power  of  his  brother  Charles  afterwards  pro- 
cured the  kingdoms  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  and  to  whom  he  at  last 
transmitted  the  imperial  sceptre.  Joanna  was  the  only  person  in  Spain 
who  discovered  no  joy  at  the  birth  of  this  prince.  Insensible  to  that  as 
well  as  to  every  other  pleasure,  she  was  wholly  occupied  with  the  thoughts 

*  Petri  MartyiiH  Anglerii  Epistolip.  230— 253.'  *  Id.  Fpisf.  355, 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  91 

of  returning  to  her  husband ;  nor  did  she,  in  any  degree,  recover  tranquillity 
of  mind,  until  she  arrived  at  Brussels  next  year.* 

Philip,  in  passing  through  France,  had  an  interview  with  Louis  XII.  and 
signed  a  treaty  with  him,  by  which  he  hoped  that  all  the  differences  be- 
tween France  and  Spain  would  have  been  finally  terminated.  But  Fer- 
dinand, whose  affairs,  at  that  time,  were  extremely  prosperous  in  Italy, 
where  the  superior  genius  of  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova,  the  great  captain, 
triumphed  on  every  occasion  over  the  arms  of  France,  did  not  pay  tho 
least  regard  to  what  his  son-in-law  had  concluded,  and  carried  on  hos- 
tilities with  greater  ardour  than  ever. 

From  this  time  Philip  seems  not  to  have  taken  any  part  in  the  affairs  of 
Spain,  waiting  in  quiet  till  the  death  either  of  Ferdinand  or  Isabella  should 
open  the  way  to  one  of  their  thrones.  The  latter  of  these  events  was  not  far 
distant.  The  untimely  death  of  her  son  and  eldest  daughter  had  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  mind  of  Isabella  ;  and  as  she  could  derive  but 
little  consolation  for  the  losses  which  she  had  sustained  either  from  her 
daughter  Joanna,  whose  infirmities  daily  increased,  or  from  her  son-in-law, 
who  no  longer  preserved  even  the  appearance  of  a  decent  respect  towards 
that  unhappy  princess,  her  spirits  and  health  began  gradually  to  decline,  and 
after  languishing  some  months,  she  died  at  Medina  del  Campo  on  the 
twenty-sixth  of  November  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  four.  She  was 
no  less  eminent  for  virtue  than  for  wisdom  ;  and  whether  we  consider  her 
behaviour  as  a  queen,  as  a  wife,  or  as  a  mother,  she  is  justly  entitled  to 
the  high  encomiums  bestowed  on  her  by  the  Spanish  historians.! 

A  few  weeks  before  her  death,  she  made  her  last  will,  and  being  con- 
vinced of  Joanna's  incapacity  to  assume  the  reins  of  government  into  her 
own  hands,  and  having  no  inclination  to  commit  them  to  Philip,  with  whose 
conduct  she  was  extremely  dissatisfied,  she  appointed  Ferdinand  regent  or 
administrator  of  the  affairs  of  Castile  until  her  grandson  Charles  should 
attain  the  age  of  twenty.  She  bequeathed  to  Ferdinand  likewise  one  half 
of  the  revenues  which  should  arise  from  the  Indies,  together  with  the 
grand  masterships  of  the  three  military  orders  -r  dignities  which  rendered 
the  person  who  possessed  them  almost  independent,  and  which  Isabella 
had,  for  that  reason,  annexed  to  the  crown.|  But  before  she  signed  a  deed 
so  favourable  to  Ferdinand,  she  obliged  him  to  swear  that  he  would  not,  by 
a  second  marriage,  or  by  any  other  means,  endeavour  to  deprive  Joanna  or 
her  posterity  of  their  right  of  succession  to  any  of  his  kingdoms.^ 

Immediately  upon  the  queen's  death,  Ferdinand  resigned  the  title  of 
king  of  Castile,  and  issued  orders  to  proclaim  Joanna  and  Philip  the  sove- 
reigns of  that  kingdom.  But,  at  the  same  time,  he  assumed  the  character 
of  regent,  in  consequence  of  Isabella's  testament ;  and  not  long  after  he 
prevailed  on  the  Cortes  of  Castile  to  acknowledge  his  right  to  that  office. 
This,  however,  he  did  not  procure  without  difficulty,  nor  without  dis- 
covering such  symptoms  of  alienation  and  disgust  among  the  Castilians  as 
filled  him  with  great  uneasiness.  The  union  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  for 
almost  thirty  years,  had  not  so  entirely  extirpated  the  ancient  and  here- 
ditary enmity  which  subsisted  between  the  natives  of  these  kingdoms,  that 
the  Castilian  pride  could  submit,  without  murmuring,  to  the  government  of 
a  king  of  Aragon.  Ferdinand's  own  character,  with  which  the  Castilians 
were  well  acquainted,  was  far  from  rendering  his  authority  desirable. 
|  Suspicious,  discerning,  severe,  and  parsimonious,  he  was  accustomed  to{ 
observe  the  minute  actions  of  his  subjects  with  a  jealous  attention,  and  to 
reward  their  highest  services  with  little  liberality ;  and  they  were  now 
deprived  of  Isabella,  whose  gentle  qualities,  and  partiality  to  her  Castilian 

*  Mariana,  lib.  27.  c.  11. 14.    Flechier  Vie  de  Ximen.  1.  191.  +  P.  Mart.  Ep.  279.  I  Ibid. 

r.t>.  277.  Mar.  Hist.  lil>.2J.  c.  11.  e'er.  Hist.  Gener.  d'Espagne.  tnin.viii.  2fiX  ft  Mar.  Hist.  lib. 

fX.c.  14. 


52  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  Book  I. 

subjects,  often  tempered  his  austerity,  or  rendered  it  tolerable  Th#> 
maxims  of  his  government  were  especially  odious  to  the  grandees;  for  that 
artful  prince,  sensible  of  the  dangerous  privileges  conferred  upon  them  by 
the  feudal  institutions,  had  endeavoured  to  curb  their  exorbitant  power,* 
by  extending  the  royal  jurisdiction,  by  protecting  their  injured  vassals,  by 
increasing  the  immunities  of  cities,  and  by  other  measures  equally  prudent. 
From  all  these  causes,  a  formidable  party  among  the  Castilians  united 
against  Ferdinand,  and  though  the  persons  who  composed  it  had  not 
hitherto  taken  any  public  step  in  opposition  to  him,  he  plainly  saw,  that 
upon  the  least  encouragement  from  their  new  king,  they  would  proceed  to 
the  most  violent  extremities. 

There  was  no  less  agitation  in  the  Netherlands,  upon  receiving  the 
accounts  of  Isabella's  death,  and  of  Ferdinand's  having  assumed  the 
government  of  Castile.  Philip  was  not  of  a  temper  tamely  to  suffer  him- 
self to  be  supplanted  by  the  ambition  of  his  father-in-law.  If  Joanna's 
infirmities,  and  the  nonage  of  Charles,  rendered  them  incapable  of  govern- 
ment, he,  as  a  husband,  was  the  proper  guardian  of  his  wife,  and,  as  a 
father,  the  natural  tutor  of  his  son.  Nor  was  it  sufficient  to  oppose  to  these 
just  rights,  and  to  the  inclination  of  the  people  of  Castile,  the  authority  of 
a  testament,  the  genuineness  of  which  was  perhaps  doubtful,  and  its  con- 
tents to  him  appeared  certainly  to  be  iniquitous.  A  keener  edge  was 
added  to  Philip's  resentment,  and  new  vigour  infused  into  his  councils  by 
the  arrival  of  Don  John  Manuel.  He  was  Ferdinand's  ambassador  at  the 
Imperial  court,  but  upon  the  first  notice  of  Isabella's  death  repaired  to 
Brussels,  flattering  himself,  that  under  a  young  and  liberal  prince,  he  might 
attain  to  power  and  honours,  which  he  could  never  have  expected  in  the 
service  of  an  old  and  frugal  master.  He  had  early  paid  court  to  Philip 
during  his  residence  in  Spain,  with  such  assiduity  as  entirely  gained  his 
confidence ;  and  having  been  trained  to  business  under  Ferdinand,  could 
oppose  his  schemes  with  equal  abili'ies,  and  with  arts  not  inferior  to  those 
for  which  that  monarch  was  distinguished.! 

By  the  advice  of  Manuel,  ambassadors  were  despatched  to  require  Fer- 
dinand to  retire  into  Aragon,  and  to  resign  the  government  of  Castile  to 
those  persons  whom  Philip  should  intrust  with  it,  until  his  own  arrival  in 
that  kingdom.  Such  of  the  Castilian  nobles  as  had  discovered  an}'  dissatis- 
faction with  Ferdinand's  administration,  were  encouraged  by  every  method 
to  oppose  it.  At  the  same  time  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  Louis  XII. 
by  which  Philip  flattered  himself,  that  he  had  secured  the  friendship  and 
assistance  of  that  monarch. 

Meanwhile,  Ferdinand  employed  all  the  arts  of  address  and  policy,  in 
order  to  retain  the  power  of  which  he  had  got  possession.  By  means  of 
Conchillos,  an  Aragonian  gentleman,  he  entered  into  a  private  negotiation 
with  Joanna,  and  prevailed  on  that  weak  princess  to  confirm,  by  her  autho- 
rity, his  right  to  the  regency.  But  this  intrigue  did  not  escape  the  pene- 
trating eye  of  Don  John  Manuel ;  Joanna's  letter  of  consent  was  inter- 
cepted ;  Conchillos  was  thrown  into  a  dungeon;  she  herself  confined  to  an 
apartment  in  the  palace,  and  all  her  Spanish  domestics  secluded  from  her 
presence.J 

The  mortification  which  the  discovery  of  this  intrigue  occasioned  to  Fer- 
dinand was  much  increased  by  his  observing  the  progress  which  Philip's 
emissaries  made  in  Castile.  Some  of  the  nobles  retired  to  their  castles  ; 
others  to  the  towns  in  which  they  had  influence  :  they  formed  themselves 
into  confederacies,  and  began  to  assemble  their  vassals.  Ferdinand's  court 
was  almost  totally  deserted ;  not  a  person  of  distinction  but  Ximenes,  arch- 
bishop of  Toledo,  the  duke  of  Alva,  and  the  marquis  of  Denia,  remaining 

*  Marian,  lib.  28.  c.  12.  f  Zurita  Aniialps  d«>  Aragon.  torn.  vi.  p.  19.         $  P.  Mart.  Ep.  ?8" 

Zuri'a  Annili-fi,  vi  p.  M. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  93 

there  ;  while  the  houses  of  Philip's  ambassadors  were  daily  crowded  with 
noblemen  of  the  highest  rank. 

Exasperated  at  this  universal  defection,  and  mortified  perhaps  with 
seeing  all  his  schemes  defeated  by  a  younger  politician,  Ferdinand  resolved, 
in  defiance  of  the  law  of  nature,  and  of  decency,  to  deprive  his  daughter 
and  her  posterity  of  the  crown  of  Castile,  rather  than  renounce  the  regency 
of  that  kingdom.  His  plan  for  accomplishing  this  was  no  Jess  bold,  than 
the  intention  itself  was  wicked.  He  demanded  in  marriage  Joanna,  the 
supposed  daughter  of  Henry  IV.  on  the  belief  of  whose  illegitimacy 
Isabella's  right  to  the  crown  of  Castile  was  founded :  and  by  reviving  the 
claim  of  this  princess,  in  opposition  to  which  he  himself  had  formerly  led 
armies  and  fought  battles,  he  hoped  once  more  to  get  possession  of  the 
throne  of  that  kingdom.  But  Emanuel,  king  of  Portugal,  in  whose  do- 
minions Joanna  resided  at  that  time,  having  married  one  of  Ferdinand's 
daughters  by  Isabella,  refused  his  consent  to  that  unnatural  match  ;  and  the 
unhappy  princess  herself,  having  lost  all  relish  for  the  objects  of  ambition, 
by  being  long  immured  in  a  convent,  discovered  no  less  aversion  to  it.* 

The  resources,  however,  of  Ferdinand's  ambition  were  not  exhausted. 
Upon  meeting  with  a  repulse  in  Portugal,  he  turned  towards  France,  and 
sought  in  marriage  Germain  de  Foix,  a  daughter  of  the  viscount  of  Nar- 
bonne,  and  of  Mary,  the  sister  of  Louis  XII.  The  war  which  that  monarch 
had  carried  on  against  Ferdinand  in  Naples,  had  been  so  unfortunate,  that 
he  listened  with  joy  to  a  proposal,  which  furnished  him  with  an  honourable 
pretence  for  concluding  peace  ;  and  though  no  prince  was  ever  more 
remarkable  than  Ferdinand  for  making  all  his  passions  bend  to  the  maxims 
of  interest,  or  become  subservient  to  the  purposes  of  ambition,  yet  so  vehe- 
ment was  his  resentment  against  his  son-in-law,  that  the  desire  of  gratifying 
it  rendered  him  regardless  of  every  other  consideration.  In  order  to  be 
revenged  of  Philip,  by  detaching  Louis  from  his  interest,  and  in  order  to 
gain  a  chance  of  excluding  him  from  his  hereditary  throne  of  Aragon,  and 
the  dominions  annexed  to  it,  he  was  ready  once  more  to  divide  Spain  into 
separate  kingdoms,  though  the  union  of  these  was  the  great  glory  of  his 
reign,  and  had  been  the  chief  object  of  his  ambition  ;  he  consented  to 
restore  the  Neapolitan  nobles  of  the  French  faction  to  their  possessions  and 
honours ;  and  submitted  to  the  ridicule  of  marrying  in  an  advanced  age,  a 
princess  of  eighteen.! 

The  conclusion  of  this  match,  which  deprived  Philip  of  his  only  ally, 
and  threatened  him  with  the  loss  of  so  many  kingdoms,  gave  him  a  dreadlul 
alarm,  and  convinced  Don  John  Manuel  that  there  was  now  a  necessity  of 
taking  other  measures  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  Spain.J  He  accordingly 
instructed  the  Flemish  ambassadors,  in  the  court  of  Spain,  to  testify  the 
strong  desire  which  their  master  had  of  terminating  all  differences  between 
him  and  Ferdinand  in  an  amicable  manner,  and  his  willingness  to  consent 
to  any  conditions  that  would  re-establish  the  friendship  which  ought  to  sub- 
sist between  a  fame*  and  a  son-in-law.  Ferdinand,  though  he  had  made 
and  broken  more  treaties  than  any  prince  of  any  age,  was  apt  to  confide  so 
far  in  the  sincerity  of  other  men,  or  to  depend  so  much  upon  his  own 
address  and  their  weakness,  as  to  be  always  extremely  fond  of  a  negotiation. 
He  listened  with  eagerness  to  these  declarations,  and  soon  concluded  a  treaty 
at  Salamanca  [Nov.  24] ;  in  which  it  was  stipulated,  that  the  government 
of  Castile  should  be  carried  on  in  the  joint  names  of  Joanna,  of  Ferdinand, 
and  of  Philip ;  and  that  the  revenues  of  the  crown,  as  well  as  the  right  of 
conferring  offices,  should  be  shared  between  Ferdinand  and  Philip,  by  an 
equal  division.§ 

*  Sandov.  Hist,  of  Civil  Wars  ia  Castile,  Lon.  ICw.  p.  5.  Zurita  Annales  de  Aragon,  torn.  vi. 
p.  213.        f  Mart.  Ep.  290.  292.     Mariana,  lib.  28.  c.  iff.  17.  J  P.  Halt  Ep.  303.         «  7.u,ritr 

Annalcs  de  .Arsgon.  vi.  10.     P  Mart.  E;>  293.  294. 


M  THE  KEIGN  OF  THE  Book  I. 

Nothing,  however,  was  farther  from  Philip's  thoughts  than  to  observe  thia 
treaty.  His  sole  intention  in  proposing  it  was  to  amuse  Ferdinand,  and  to 
prevent  him  from  taking  any  measures  for  obstructing  his  voyage  into 
Spain.  It  had  that  effect.  Ferdinand,  sagacious  as  he  was,  did  not  for 
some  time  suspect  his  design  ;  and  though  when  he  perceived  it,  he  pre- 
vailed on  the  king  of  France  not  only  to  remonstrate  against  the  archduke's 
journey,  bul  to  threaten  hostilities  if  he  should  undertake  it;  though  he 
solicited  the  duke  of  Gueldres  to  attack  his  son-in-law's  dominions  in  the 
Low-Countries,  Philip  and  his  consort  nevertheless  set  sail  with  a  nume- 
rous fleet,  and  a  good  body  of  land  forces,  They  were  obliged,  by  a 
violent  tempest,  to  take  shelter  in  England,  where  Henry  VII.,  in  com- 
pliance with  Ferdinand's  solicitations,  detained  them  upwards  of  three 
months  ;*  at  last  they  were  permitted  to  depart,  and  after  a  more  pros- 
perous voyage,  they  arrived  in  safety  at  Corunna  in  Galicia  [April  28],  nor 
durst  Ferdinand  attempt,  as  he  had  once  intended,  to  oppose  their  landing 
by  force  of  arms. 

The  Castilian  nobles,  who  had  been  obliged  hitherto  to  conceal  or  to 
dissemble  their  sentiments,  now  declared  openly  in  favour  of  Philip. 
From  every  corner  of  the  kingdom,  persons  of  the  highest  rank,  with 
numerous  retinues  of  their  vassals,  repaired  to  their  new'  sovereign.  The 
treaty  of  Salamanca'was  universally  condemned,  and  all  agreed  to  exclude 
from  the  government  of  Castile,  a  prince,  who  by  consenting  to  disjoin 
Aragon  and  Naples  from  that  crown,  discovered  so  little  concern  for  its 
true  interests.  Ferdinand,  meanwhile,  abandoned  by  almost  all  the  Cas- 
tilians,  disconcerted  by  their  revolt,  and  uncertain  whether  he  should 
peaceably  relinquish  his  power,  or  take  arms  in  order  to  maintain  it,  ear- 
nestly solicited  an  interview  with  his  son-in-law,  who,  by  the  advice  of 
Manuel,  studiously  avoided  it.  Convinced  at  last,  by  seeing  the  number 
and  zeal  of  Philip's  adherents  daily  increase,  that  it  was  vain  to  think  of 
resisting  such  a  torrent,  Ferdinand  consented,  by  treaty,  to  resign  the  regency 
of  Castile  into  the  hands  of  Philip  [June  27],'  to  retire  into  his  hereditary 
dominions  of  Aragon,  and  to  jest  satisfied  with  the  masterships  of  the 
military  orders,  and  that  share  of  the  revenue- of  the  Indies,  which  Isabella 
had  bequeathed  to  him.  Though  an  interview  between  the  princes  was 
no  longer  necessary,  it  was  agreed  to  on  both  sides  from  motives  of  decency. 
Philip  repaired  to  the  place  appointed,  with  a  splendid  retinue  of  Castilian 
nobles,  and  a  considerable  body  of  armed  men.  Ferdinand  appeared 
without  any  pomp,  attended  by  a  few  followers  mounted  on  mules,  and 
unarmed.  On  that  occasion  Don  John  Manuel  had  the  pleasure  of  dis- 
playing before  the  monarch,  whom  he  had  deserted,  the  extensive  influence 
which  he  had  acquired  over  his  new  master:  while  Ferdinand  suffered,  ill 
presence  of  his  former  subjects,  the  two  most  cruel  mortifications  which 
an  arttul  and  ambitious  prince  can  feel ;  being  at  once  overreached  in  con- 
duct, and  stripped  of  power.t 

Not  long  alter  [July],  he  retired  into  Aragon  ;  and  hoping  that  some 
favourable  accident  would  soon  open  the  way  for  his  return  into  Castile, 
he  took  care  to  protest,  though  with  great  secrecy,  that  the  treaty  con- 
cluded with  his  son-in-law,  being  extorted  by  force,  ought  to  be  deemed 
void  of  all  obligation. | 

Philip  took  possession  of  his  new  authority  with  a  youthful  joy.  The 
unhappy  Joanna,  from  whom  he  derived  it,  remained,  during  all  these 
contests,  under  the  dominion  of  a  deep  melancholy ;  she  was  seldom  allowed 
to  appear  in  public  ;  her  father,  though  he  had  often  desired  it,  was  refused 
access  to  her;  and  Philip's  chief  object  was  to  prevail  on  the  Cortes  to 
declare  her  incapable  of  government,  that  an  undivided  power  might  be 

*  ferter.  Hist. Viil.  285.  t  Zurita  Annates  de  Aiag.  vi.  64.  Mar.  lib.  28.  c.  10,20.  P.  Atnrfc 
J  .p.  304.  305,  &c.       }  Zurita.  Annates  <Ie  Arag.  vi.  p.  OB.    Ferrer.  Hist.  viii.  200. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  95 

lodged  in  his  hands,  until  his  son  should  attain  unto  full  age.  But  such 
was  the  partial  attachment  of  the  Castilians  to  their  native  princess,  that 
though  Manuel  had  the  address  to  gain  some  members  of  the  Cortes  assem- 
bled at  Valladolid,  and  others  were  willing  to  gratify  their  new  sovereign 
in  his  first  request,  the  great  body  of  the  representatives  refused  their  con- 
sent to  a  declaration  which  they  thought  so  injurious  to  the  blood  of  their 
monarchs.*  They  were  unanimous,  however,  in  acknowledging  Joanna 
and  Philip,  queen  and  king  of  Castile,  and  their  son  Charles  prince  o 
Asturias. 

This  was  almost  the  only  memorable  event  during  Philip's  administra- 
tion.    A  fever  put  an  end  to  his  life  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age 
[Sept.  25],  when  he  had  not  enjoyed  the  regal  dignity,  which  he  had  bee 
so  eager  to  obtain,  full  three  months.! 

The  whole  royal  authority  in  Castile  ought  of  course  to  have  devolved 
upon  Joanna.  But  the  shock  occasioned  by  such  a  disaster  so  unexpected 
as  the  death  of  her  husband,  completed  the  disorder  of  her  understanding, 
and  her  incapacity  for  government.  During  all  the  time  of  Philip's  sick- 
ness no  entreaty  could  prevail  on  her,  though  in  the  sixth  month  of  her 
pregnancy,  to  leave  him  for  a  moment.  When  he  expired,  however,  she 
did  not  shed  one  tear,  or  utter  a  single  groan.  Her  grief  was  silent  and 
settled.  She  continued  to  watch  the  dead  body  with  the  same  tenderness 
and  attention  as  if  it  had  been  alive  ;f  and  though  at  last  she  permitted 
it  to  be  buried,  she  soon  removed  it  from  the  tomb  to  her  own  apartment- 
There  it  was  laid  upon  a  bed  of  state,  in  a  splendid  dress  ;  and  having 
heard  from  some  monk  a  legendary  tale  of  a  king  who  revived  after  he 
had  been  dead  fourteen  years,  she  kept  her  eyes  almost  constantly  fixed 
en  the  body,  waiting  for  the  happy  moment  of  its  return  to  life.  Nor  was 
this  capricious  affection  for  her  dead  husband  less  tinctured  with  jealousy, 
than  that  which  she  had  borne  to  him  while  alive.  She  did  not  permit 
any  of  her  female  attendants  to  approach  the  bed  on  which  his  corpse  was 
laid  ;  she  would  not  suffer  any  woman  who  did  not  belong  to  her  family  to 
enter  the  apartment ;  and  rather  than  grant  that  privilege  to  a  midwife, 
though  a  very  aged  one  had  been  chosen  on  purpose,  she  bore  the  princess 
Catharine  without  any  other  assistance  than  that  of  her  own  domestics. § 

A  woman  in  such  a  state  of  mind  was  little  capable  of  governing  a  great 
kingdom;  and  Joanna,  who  made  it  her  sole  employment  to  bewail  the 
loss,  and  to  pray  for  the  soul  of  her  husband,  would  have  thought  her 
attention  to  public  affairs  an  impious  neglect  of  those  duties  which  she 
owed  to  him.  But  though  she  declined  assuming  the  administration  her- 
self, yet  by  a  strange  caprice  of  jealousy,  she  refused  to  commit  it  to  any 
other  person  ;  ana  no  entreaty  of  her  subjects  could  persuade  her  to  name 
a  regent,  or  even  to  sign  such  papers  as  were  necessary  for  the  execution  of 
justice,  and  the  security  of  the  kingdom. 

The  death  of  Philip  threw  the  Castilians  into  the  greatest  perplexity. 
It  was  necessary  to  appoint  a  regent,  both  on  account  of  Joanna's  frenzy, 
and  the  infancy  of  her  son ;  and  as  there  was  not  among  the  nobles  any 
person  so  eminently  distinguished,  either  by  superiority  in  rank  or  abilities, 
as  to  be  called  by  the  public  voice  to  that  high  office,  all  naturally  turned 
their  eyes  either  towards  Ferdinand,  or  towards  the  emperor  Maximilian. 
The  former  claimed  that  dignity  as  administrator  for  his  daughter,  and  by 
virtue  of  the  testament  of  Isabella ;  the  latter  thought  himself  the  legal 
guardian  of  his  grandson,  whom  on  account  of  his  mother's  infirmity,  he 
already  considered  as  king  of  Castile.  Such  of  the  nobility  as  had  lately 
been  most  active  in  compelling  Ferdinand  to  resign  the  government  of  the 
kingdom,  trembled  at  the  thoughts  of  his  being*  restored  so  soon  to  hk 

*  Zurita  Annates  <Je  Arag.  vi.  p.  75.        t  Marian,  lib.  28.  c.  23.      J  P.  Mart.  Ep.  316.       <S  Mil 
Hut.  lib.  29.  c.  3  4c  5.    P.  Mart. Ep.  318.  324. 328. 332.  y 


90  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  J. 

former  dignity.  They  dreaded  the  return  of  a  monarch,  not  apt  to  forgive, 
and  who,  to  those  defects  with  which  they  were  already  acquainted,  added 
that  resentment  which  the  remembrance  of  their  behaviour,  and  reflection 
upon  his  own  disgrace,  must  naturally  have  excited.  Though  none  of 
these  objections  lay  against  Maximilian,  he  was  a  stranger  to  the  laws  and 
manners  of  Castile ;  he  had  not  either  troops  or  money  to  support  his  pre- 
tensions ;  nor  could  his  claim  be  admitted  without  a  public  declaration  of 
Joanna's  incapacity  for  government,  an  indignity  to  which,  notwithstanding 
the  notoriety  of  her  distemper,  the  delicacy  of  the  Castilians  could  not 
bear  the  thoughts  of  subjecting  her. 

Don  John  Manuel,  however,  and  a  few  of  the  nobles,  who  considered 
themselves  as  most  obnoxious  to  Ferdinand's  displeasure,  declared  for 
Maximilian,  and  offered  to  support  his  claim  with  all  their  interest.  Maxi- 
milian, always  enterprising  and  decisive  in  council,  though  feeble  and  dila- 
tory in  execution,  eagerly  embraced  the  offer.  But  a  series  of  ineffectual 
negotiations  was  the  only  consequence  of  this  transaction.  The  emperor, 
as  usual,  asserted  his  rights  in  a  high  strain,  promised  a  great  deal,  and 
performed  nothing.* 

A  few  days  before  the  death  of  Philip,  Ferdinand  had  set  out  for  Naples, 
that,  by  his  own  presence,  he  might  put  an  end,  with  greater  decency,  to 
the  viceroyalty  ot  the  great  captain,  whose  important  services,  and  cautious 
conduct,  d.id  not  screen  him  from  the  suspicions  of  his  jealous  master. 
Though  an  account  of  his  son-in-law's  death  reached  him  at  Porto-fino, 
in  the  territories  of  Genoa,  he  was  so  solicitous  to  discover  the  secret 
intrigues  which  he  supposed  the  great  captain  to  have  been  carrying  on, 
and  to  establish  his  own  authority  on  a  firm  foundation  in  the  Neapolitan 
dominions,  by  removing  him  from  the  supreme  command  there,  that  rather 
than  discontinue  his  voyage,  he  chose  to  leave  Castile  in  a  state  of  anarchy, 
and  even  to  risk,  by  this  delay,  his  obtaining  possession  of  the  government 
of  that  kingdom.! 

Nothing  but  the  great  abilities  and  prudent  conduct  of  his  adherents 
could  have  prevented  the  bad  effects  of  this  absence.  At  the  head  of 
these  was  Ximenes,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  who,  though  he  had  been 
raised  to  that  dignity  by  Isabella,  contrary  to  the  inclination  of  Ferdinand, 
and  though  he  could  have  no  expectation  of  enjoying  much  power  under 
the  administration  of  a  master  little  disposed  to  distinguish  him  by  extra- 
ordinary marks  of  attention,  was  nevertheless  so  disinterested  as  to  prefer 
the  welfare  of  his  country  before  his  own  grandeur,  and  to  declare,  that 
Castile  could  never  be  so  happily  governed  as  by  a  prince,  whom  long 
experience  had  rendered  thoroughly  acquainted  with  its  true  interest. 
The  zeal  of  Ximenes  to  bring  over  his  countrymen  to  this  opinion,  induced 
him  to  lay  aside  somewhat  of  his  usual  austerity  and  haughtiness.  He 
condescended,  on  this  occasion,  to  court  the  disaffected  nobles,  and  em- 
ployed address,  as  well  as  arguments,  to  persuade  them.  Ferdinand 
seconded  his  endeavours  with  great  art ;  and  by  concessions  to  some  of 
the  grandees,  by  promises  to  others,  and  by  letters  full  of  complaisance  to 
all;  he  gained  many  of  his  most  violent  opponents.]:  Though  many  cabals 
were  formed,  and  some  commotions  were  excited,  yet  when  Ferdinand, 
after  having  settled  the  affairs  of  Naples,  arrived  in  Castile  |^A"g-  21, 
15071,  he  entered  upon  the  administration  without  opposition.  The  pru- 
dence with  which  he  exercised  his  authority  in  that  kingdom,  equalled 
the  good  fortune  by  which  he  had  recovered  it.  By  a  moderate,  but 
steady  administration,  free  from  partiality  and  from  resentment,  he  recon- 
ciled the  Castilians  to  his  person,  and  secured  to  them,  entirely,  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  as  much  domestic  tranquillity  as  was  consistent  with 

*  Mariana,  lib.  23.  c.  7.    Znrita  Annates  <ir  iVrag.  vi.  9?.       1  Znrita  Annates  i!o  Ara?.  vi 
;  IHd  vi.  p.  «r  <m  icii. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  it 

the  genius  of  the  feudal  government,  which  still  subsisted  among  them  in 
full  vigour.* 

Nor  was  the  preservation  of  tranquillity  in  his  hereditary  kingdoms  the 
only  obligation  which  the  archduke  Charles  owed  to  the  wise  regency  of 
his  grandfather ;  it  was  his  good  fortune,  during  that  period,  to  have  very 
important  additions  made  to  the  dominions  over  which  he  was  to  reign, 
On  the  coast  of  Barbary,  Oran,  and  other  conquests  of  no  small  value,  were 
annexed  to  the  crown  of  Castile  by  Cardinal  Ximenes,  who,  with  a  spirit 
very  uncommon  in  a  monk,  led  in  person  a  numerous  army  against  the 
Moors  of  that  country ;  and  with  a  generosity  and  magnificence  still  more 
singular,  defrayed  the  whole  expense  of  the  expedition  out  of  his  own 
revenues.!  In  Europe,  Ferdinand,  under  pretences  no  less  frivolous  than 
unjust ;  as  well  as  by  artifices  the  most  shameful  and  treacherous,  expelled 
John  d'Albret,  the  lawful  sovereign,  from  the  throne  of  Navarre  ;  and, 
seizing  on  that  kingdom,  extended  the  limits  of  the  Spanish  monarchy  from 
the  Pyrenees  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  frontiers  of  Portugal  on  the  other.}; 

It  was  not,  however*  the  desire  of  aggrandizing  the  archduke,  which 
influenced  Ferdinand  in  this,  or  in  any  other  of  his  actions.  He  was  more 
apt  to  consider  that  young  prince  as  a  rival,  who  might  one  day  wrest  out 
ot  his  hands  the  government  of  Castile,  than  as  a  grandson,  for  whose 
interest  he  was  intrusted  with  the  administration.  This  jealousy  soon 
begot  aversion,  and  even  hatred*  the  symptoms  of  which  he  was  at  no 
pains  to  conceal.  Hence  proceeded  his  immoderate  joy  when  his  young 
queen  was  delivered  of  a  son,  whose  life  would  have  deprived  Charles  of 
the  crowns  of  Aragon,  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Sardinia  ;  and  upon  the  untimely 
death  of  that  prince^  he  discovered,  for  the  same  reason,  an  excessive 
solicitude  to  have  other  children.  This  impatience  hastened,  in  all  pro- 
bability, the  accession  of  Charles  to  the  crown  of  Spain.  Ferdinand,  in 
order  to  procure  a  blessing,  of  which,  from  his  advanced  age*  and  the 
mtemperance  of  his  youth,  he  could  have  little  prospect,  had  recourse  to 
his  physicians,  and  by  their  prescription  took  one  of  those  potions,  which 
are  supposed  to  add  vigour  to  the  constitution,  though  they  more  frequently 
prove  fatal  to  it.  This  was  its  effect  on  a  frame  so  feeble  and  exhausted 
as  that  of  Ferdinand ;  for  though  he  survived  a  violent  disorder,  which  it 
at  first  occasioned,  it  brought  on  such  an  habitual  languor  and  dejection  of 
mind,  as  rendered  him  averse  from  any  serious  attention  to  public  affairs, 
and  fond  of  frivolous  amusements,  on  which  he  had  not  hitherto  bestowed 
much  time.§  Though  he  now  despaired  of  having  any  son  of  his  own, 
his  jealousy  of  the  archduke  did  not  abate,  nor  could  he  help  viewing 
him  with  that  aversion  which  princes  often  bear  to  their  successors.  In 
order  to  gratify  this  unnatural  passion,  he  made  a  will,  appointing  prince 
Ferdinand,  who,  having  been  born  and  educated  in  Spain,  was  much  be- 
loved by  the  Spaniards,  to  be  regent  of  all  his  kingdoms,  until  the  arrival 
of  the  archduke  his  brother ;  and  by  the  same  deed  he  settled  upon  hirn 
the  grand-mastership  of  the  three  military  orders.  The  former  of  these 
grants  might  have  put  it  in  the  power  of  the  young  prince  to  have  dis- 
puted the  throne  with  his  brother ;  the  latter  would,-  in  any  event,  have 
rendered  him  almost  independent  of  him. 

Ferdinand  retained  to  the  last  that  jealous  love  of  power,-  which  was  so 
remarkable  through  his  whole  life.  Unwilling  even  at  the  approach  of 
death  to  admit  a  thought  of  relinquishing  any  portion  of  his  authority,  he 
removed  continually  from  place  to  place,  in  order  to  fly  from  his  distemper, 
or  to  forget  it.  Though  his  strength  declined  every  day,  none  of  his  at- 
tendants durst  mention  his  condition  ;  nor  would  he  admit  his  father  con- 
fessor, who  thought  such  silence  criminal  and  unchristian,  into  his  presence. 
At  last  the  danger  became  so  imminent,  that  it  could  be  no  longer  concealed. 

*  Mariana,  lib.  29.  c.  10.        J  Ibid.  lib.  29.  c.  1*.        J  Mar.  lib.  30.  c.  ]  1,  12.  J9. 24.         (,  Zurila 
*nnalesde  Ara°.  vi.  p.  347.     P  Mart  Kt>.  531-     Ar^frisola-Aunn!-- ,H.-  dragon,  lib   i.ri.  * 
Vor..  IT— 13 


V8  T  H  E   R  E I G  N  O  F  T  H  E  I Boor  f . 

Ferdinand  received  the  intimation  with  a  decent  fortitude,  and  touched, 
perhaps,  with  compunction  at  the  injustice  which  he  had  done  his  grandson, 
or  influenced  by  the  honest  remonstrances  of  Carvajal,  Zapata,  and  Vargas, 
his  most  ancient  and  faithful  counsellors,  who  represented  to  him,  that  by 
investing  prince  Ferdinand  with  the  regency,  he  would  infallibly  entail  a 
civil  war  on  the  two  brothers,  and  by  bestowing  on  him  the  grand  master- 
ship of  the  military  orders,  would  strip  the  crown  of  its  noblest  ornament 
and  chief  strength,  he  consented  to  alter  his  will  with  respect  to  both  these 
particulars.  By  a  new  deed  he  left  Charles  the  sole  heir  of  all  his  do- 
minions, and  allotted  to  prince  Ferdinand,  instead  of  that  throne  of  which 
he  thought  himself  almost  secure,  an  inconsiderable  establishment  ot  fifty 
thousand  ducats  a  year.*  He  died  a  few  hours  after  signing  this  will,  on 
the  twenty-third  day  of  January,  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixteen. 

Charles,  to  whom  such  a  noble  inheritance  descended  by  his  death,  was 
near  the  full  age  of  sixteen.  He  had  hitherto  resided  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, his  paternal  dominions.  Margaret  of  Austria,  his  aunt,  and  Margaret 
of  York,  the  sister  of  Edward  IV.  of  England,  and  widow  of  Charles  the 
Bold,  two  princesses  of  great  virtue  and  abilities,  had  the  care  of  forming 
his  early  youth.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  the  Flemings  committed 
the  government  of  the  Low  Countries  to  his  grandfather,  the  emperor 
Maximilian,  with  the  name  rather  than  the  authority  of  regent,  f  Maxi- 
milian made  choice  of  William  de  Croy  lord  of  Chievres  to  superintend 
the  education  of  the  young  prince  his  grandson.j  That  nobleman  pos- 
sessed, in  an  eminent  degree,  the  talents  which  fitted  him  for  such  an  im- 
portant office,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  it  with  great  fidelity.  Under 
Chievres,  Adrian  of  Utrecht  acted  as  preceptor.  This  preferment,  which 
opened  his  way  to  the  highest  dignities  an  ecclesiastic  can  attain,  he  owed 
not  to  his  birth,  for  that  was  extremely  mean ;  nor  to  his  interest,  for  he 
was  a  stranger  to  the  arts  of  a  court :  but  to  the  opinion  which  his  coun- 
trymen entertained  of  his  learning.  He  was  indeed  no  inconsiderable 
proficient  in  those  frivolous  sciences,  which,  during  several  centuries, 
assumed  the  name  of  philosophy,  and  had  published  a  commentary,  which 
was  highly  esteemed,  upon  The  Book  of  Sentences,  a  famous  treatise  of 
Petrus  Lombardus,  considered  at  that  time  as  the  standard  system  of  me- 
taphysical theology.     But  whatever  admiration  these  procured  him  in  an 

*  Mar.  Hist.  lib.  30.  c.  ult.  Zurita  Annalcs  de  Arag.  vi.  401.  P.  Mart.  Ep.  565,  566.  Argensola 
Annalesde  Arag.  lib.  i.  p.  11. 

t  Pontius  Heuterus,  Rcrum  Austriacarum,  lib.  xv.     Lov.  1649.  lib.  vii.  c.  2.  p.  155. 

}  The  French  historians,  upon  the  authority  of  M.  de  Bellay,  Mem.  p.  11.  have  unanimously  as- 
serted, that  Philip,  by  his  last  will,  having  appointed  the  king  of  France  to  have  the  direction  of  his 
son's  education,  Louis  XII.  with  a  disinterestedness  suitable  to  the  confidence  reposed  in  him, 
named  Chievres  for  that  office.  Even  the  president  Henaut  has  adopted  this  opinion.  Abrege 
Chroh.  A.  D.  1507.  Varillas,  in  his  usual  manner,  pretends  to  have  seen  Philip's  testament.  Prac. 
del'Education  des  Princes,  p.  16.  But  the  Spanish,  German,  and  Flemish  historians  concur  in  con 
tradicting  this  assertion  of  the  French  authors.  It  appears  from  Heuterus,  a  contemporary  Fleravfrt 
historian  of  great  authority,  that  Louis  XII.  by  consenting  to  the  marriage  ol'Germainede  Fnrx  with 
Ferdinand,  had  lost  much  of  that  confidence  which  Philip  once  placed  in  him  .  that  this  disgust  was 
increased  by  the  French  king's  giving  in  marriage  to  the  count  of  Angouleme  his  eldest  daughter, 
"/horn  he  had  formerly  betrothed  to  Charles,  Heuter.  Rer.  Austr.  lib.  v.  151 :  That  the  French,  a 
short  time  before  Philip's  death,  had  violated  the  peace  which  subsisted  between  them  and  the 
Flemings,  and  Philip  had  complained  of  this  injury,  and  was  ready  to  resent  it  Heuter.  ibid.  All 
these  circumstances  render  it  improbable  that  Philip,  who  made  his  will  a  few  days  before  he  died, 
Heuter.  p.  152,  should  commit  the  education  of  bis  BOO  to  Louis  XII  In  confirmation  of  these  plau- 
sible conjectures,  positive  testimony  can  he  produced.  It  appears  from  Heuterus,  that  Philip,  when 
he  set  out  for  Spain,  had  intrusted  Chievres  botli  with  the  care  of  his  son's  education,  and  with  the 
government  of  his  dominions  in  the  Low-Countries.  Heuter.  lib.  vii.  p.  153.  That  an  attempt  waj 
made,  soon  after  Philip's  death,  to  have  the  emperor  Maximilian  appointed  regent,  during  the  mino- 
rity of  his  grandson  ;  but  this  being  opposed,  Chievres  seems  to  have  continued  to  discharge  both  the 
Office!  which  Pliilip  had  committed  to  him.  Heut.  ibid.  153—155.  That  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1508,  the  Flemings  invited  Maximilian  to  accept  of  the  reeency  ;  to  which  he  consented,  and  ap- 
pointed his  daughter,  Margaret,  together  with  a  council  of  Flemings,  to  exercise  the  supreme  autho- 
rity, when  he  himself  should  at  any  time  be  absent.  He  likewise  named  Chievres  as  governor,  and 
Adrian  Utrecht  as  preceptor  to  his  son.  Heut.  ibid.  155—157.  What  Heuterus  relates  with 
respect  to  this  matter  is  confirmed  bv  Moringus  in  Vita  Adriani  apud  Analecta  Casp.  Rurmanni  de 
Adriano,  cap.  10;  by  Barlandus  Chronic.  Prabant.  ibid.  p.  25:  and  by  Harieus  Annal.  Brab  vol 
'i.  530,  &.C. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  99- 

illiterate  age,  it  was  soon  found  that  a  man  accustomed  to  the  retirement 
of  a  college,  unacquainted  with  the  world,  and  without  any  tincture  of 
taste  or  elegance,  was  hy  no  means  qualified  for  rendering  science  agree- 
able to  a  young  prince.  Charles,  accordingly,  discovered  an  early  aversion 
to  learning,  and  an  excessive  fondness  for  those  violent  and  martial  exer- 
cises, to  excel  in  which  was  the  chief  pride,  and  almost  the  only  study,  of 
persons  of  rank  in  that  age..  Chievres  encouraged  this  taste,  either  from 
a  desire  of  gaining  his  pupil  by  indulgence,  or  from  too  slight  an  opinion 
of  the  advantages  of  literary  accomplishments.*  He  instructed  him,  how- 
ever, with  great  care  in  the  arts  of  government  ;  he  made  him  study  the 
history  not  only  of  his  own  kingdoms,  but  of  those  with  which  they  were 
connected  ;"  he  accustomed  him,  from  the  time  of  his  assuming  the  govern- 
ment of  Flanders  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifteen,  to 
attend  to  business ;  he  persuaded-  him  to  peruse  all  papers  relating  h  > 
public  affairs ;  to  be  present  at  the  deliberations  of  his  privy-counsellors, 
and  to  propose  to  them  himself  those  matters,  concerning  which  he  re- 
quired their  opinion.!  From  such  an  education,  Charles  contracted  habits 
of  gravity  and  recollection  which  scarcely  suited  his  time  of  life.  The 
first  openings  of  his  genius  did  not  indicate  that  superiority  which  its  ma- 
turer  age  displayed.^  He  did  not  discover  in  his  youth  the  impetuosity  of 
spirit  which  commonly  ushers  in  an  active  and  enterprising  manhood. 
Nor  did  his  early  obsequiousness  to  Chievres,  and  his  other  favourites, 
promise  that  capacious  and  decisive  judgment,  which  afterwards  directed 
the  affairs  of  one  half  of  Europe.  But  his  subjects,  dazzled  with  the  ex- 
ternal accomplishments  of  a  graceful  figure  and  manly  address,  and 
viewing  his  character  with  that  partiality  which  is  always  shown  to  princes 
during  their  youth,  entertained  sanguine  hopes  of  his  adding  lustre  to 
those  crowns  which  descended  to  him  by  the  death  of  Ferdinand. 

The  kingdoms  of  Spain,  as  is  evident  from  the  view  which  I  have  given 
of  their  political  constitution,  were  at  that  time  in  a  situation  which,  je 
quired  an  administration  no  less  vigorous  than  prudent.  The  feudal 
institutions,  which  had  been  introduced  into  all  its  different  provinces  by 
the  Goths,  the  Suevi,  and  the  Vandals,  subsisted  in  great  force.  The 
nobles,  who  were  powerful  and  warlike,  had  long  possessed  all  the  ex- 
orbitant privileges  which  these  institutions  vested  in  their  order.  The 
cities  in  Spain  were  more  numerous  and  more  considerable,  than  the 
genius  of  feudal  government,  naturally  unfavourable  to  commerce  and  to 
regular  police,  seemed  to  admit.  The  personal  rights,  and  political 
influence,  which  the  inhabitants  of  these  cities  had  acquired,  were  extensive. 
The  royal  prerogative,  circumscribed  by  the  privileges  of  the  nobility, 
and  by  the  pretensions  of  the  people,  was  confined  within  very  narrow 
limits.  Under  such  a  form  of  government,  the  principles  of  discord  were 
many  ;  the  bond  of  union  was  extremely  feeble  ;  and  Spain  felt  not  only 
all  the  inconveniences  occasioned  by  the  defects  in  the  feudal  system,  but 
was  exposed  to  disorders  arising  from  the  peculiarities  in  its  own  con- 
stitution. 

During  the  long  administration  of  Ferdinand,  no  internal  commotion,  it 
is  true,  had  arisen  in  Spain.  His  superior  abilities  had  enabled  him  to 
restrain  the  turbulence  ot  the  nobles,  and  to  moderate  the  jealousy  of  the 
commons.  By  the  wisdom  of  his  domestic  government,  by  the  sagacity 
with  which  he  conducted  his  foreign  operations,  and  by  the  high  opinion 
which  his  subjects  entertained  of  both,  he  had  preserved  among  them  a 
degree  of  tranquillity,  greater  than  was  natural  to  a  constitution,  in  which 
the  seeds  of  discord  and  disorder  were  so  copiously  mingled.     But.  by 

*  Jovii  Vita  Adriani,  p.  91.  Struvii  Corpus  Hist.  CJorm.  if.  'JIV7.  I*.  itputer.  Rer.  Austr  lih.  vii  <- 
3  p.  157.  t  Memoires  d«- Pf i!sv,  Svo.  Tar.  157;t.  p   1 1      P.  Heater,  lib.  viiL  c.  i  rj   ;-; 

IT  Martvr,Ep.  569-«*5 


iou  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  L 

the  death  of  Ferdinand,  these  restraints  were  at  once  withdrawn  ;  and 
faction  and  discontent,  from  being  long  repressed,'  were  ready  to  break 
out  with  fiercer  animosity. 

In  order  to  prevent  these  evils,  Ferdinand  had  in  his  last  will  taken  a 
most  prudent  precaution,  by  appointing  cardinal  Ximenes,  archbishop  of 
Toledo,  to  be  sole  regent  of  Castile,  until  the  arrival  of  his  grandson  in 
Spain.  The  singular  character  of  this  man,  and  the  extraordinary  quali- 
ties which  marked  him  out  for  that  office  at  such  a  juncture,  merit  a  par- 
ticular description.  He  was  descended  of  an  honourable,  not  of  a  wealthy 
family ;  and  the  circumstances  of  his  parents,  as  well  as  his  own  inclina- 
tions, having  determined  him  to  enter  into  the  church,  he  early  obtained 
benefices  of  great  value,  and  which  placed  him  in  the  way  of  the  highest 
preferment.  All  these,  however,  he  renounced  at  once  ;  and  after  under- 
going a  very  severe  noviciate,  assumed  the  habit  of  St.  Francis  in  a 
monastery  of  Observantine  friars,  one  of  the  most  rigid  orders  in  the  Ro- 
mish church.  There  he  soon  became  eminent  for  his  uncommon  austerity 
of  manners,  and  for  those  excesses  of  superstitious  devotion,  which  are  the 
proper  characteristics  of  the  monastic  life.  But  notwithstanding  these 
extravagances,  to  which  weak  and  enthusiastic  minds  alone  are  usually 
prone,  his  understanding,  naturally  penetrating  and  decisive,  retained  its 
full  vigour,  and  acquired  him  such  ^reat  authority  in  his  own  order,  as 
raised  him  to  be  their  provincial.  His  reputation  for  sanctity  soon  pro- 
cured him  the  office  of  father-confessor  to  queen  Isabella,  which  he  accept- 
ed with  the  utmost  reluctance.  He  preservec]  in  a  court  the  same  auste- 
rity of  manners  which  had  distinguished  him  in  the  cloister.  He  continued 
to  make  all  his  journeys  on  foot ;  he  subsisted  only  upon  alms  ;  his  acts  of 
mortification  were  as  severe  as  ever,  and  his  penances  as  rigorous.  Isa- 
bella, pleased  with  her  choice,  conferred  on  him,  not  long  after,  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Toledo,  which,  next  to  the  papacy,  is  the  richest  dignity  in 
the  church  of  Rome.  This  honour  he  declined  with  a  firmness,  which 
nothing  but  the  authoritative  injunction  of  the  pope  was  able  to  overcome. 
Nor  did  this  height  of  promotion  change  his  manners.  Though  obliged 
to  display  in  public  that  magnificence  which  became  his  station,  he  him- 
self* retained  his  monastic  severity.  Under  his  pontifical  robes  he  con- 
stantly wore  the  coarse  frock  of  St.  Francis,  the  rents  in  which  he  used 
to  patch  with  his  own  hands.  He  at  no  time  used  linen  ;  but  was  com- 
monly clad  in  hair-cloth.  He  slept  always  in  his  habit,  most  frequently 
on  the  ground,  or  on  boards,  rarely  in  a  bed.  He  did  not  taste  any  of  the 
delicacies  which  appeared  at  his  table,  but  satisfied  himself  with  that  sim- 
ple diet  which  the  rule  of  his  order  prescribed.*  Notwithstanding  these 
peculiarities,  so  opposite  to  the  manners  of  the  world,  he  possessed  a  tho- 
rough knowledge  of  its  affairs  ;  and  no  sooner  was  he  called  by  his  station, 
and  by  the  high  opinion  which  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  entertained  of  him, 
to  take  a  principal  share  in  the  administration,  than  he  displayed  talents 
for  business,  which  rendered  the  fame  of  his  wisdom  equal  to  that  of  his 
sanctity.  His  political  conduct,  remarkable  for  the  boldness  and  originality 
of  all  his  plans,  flowed  from  his  real  character,  and  partook  both  of  its 
virtues  and  its  defects.  His  extensive  genius  suggested  to  him  schemes 
vast  and  magnificent.  Conscious  of  the  integrity  of  his  intentions,  he  pur- 
sued these  with  unremitting  and  undaunted  firmness.  Accustomed  from 
his  early  youth  to  mortify  his  own  passions,  he  showed  little  indulgence 
towards  those  of  other  men.  Taught  by  his  system  of  religion  to  check 
even  his  most  innocent  desires,  he  was  the  enemy  of  every  thing  to  which 
he  could  affix  the  name  of  elegance  or  pleasure.  Though  free  from  any 
suspicion  of  cruelty,  he  discovered,  in  all  his  commerce  with  the  world,  a 
severe  inflexibility  of  mind,  and  austerity  of  character,  peculiar  to  the 

*  Histnir«  do  Vadministratioi'  du  Card.  Ximen.  par  Midi.  Paudior.  4to   1639.  t>.  12 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  iui 

monastic  profession,  and  which  can  hardly  be  conceived  in  a  country 
where  that  is  unknown. 

Such  was  the  man  to  whom  Ferdinand  committed  the  regency  of  Cas- 
tile ;  and  though  Ximenes  was  then  near  fourscore,  and  perfectly  acquaint- 
ed with  the  labour  and  difficulty  of  the  office,  his  natural  intrepidity  of 
mind,  and  zeal  for  the  public  good,  prompted  him  to  accept  of  it  without 
hesitation.  Adrian  of  Utrecht,  who  nad  been  sent  into  Spain  a  few  months 
before  the  death  of  Ferdinand,  produced  full  powers  from  the  archduke 
to  assume  the  name  and  authority  of  regent,  upon  the  demise  of  his  grand- 
father ;  but  such  was  the  aversion  of  the  Spaniards  to  the  government  of 
a  stranger,  and  so  unequal  the  abilities  of  the  two  competitors,  that  Adrian's 
claim  would  at  once  have  been  rejected,  if  Ximenes  himself,  from  com- 
plaisance to  his  new  master,  had  not  consented  to  acknowledge  him  as 
regent,  and  to  carry  on  the  government  in  conjunction  with  him.  By  this, 
however,  Adrian  acquired  a  dignity  merely  nominal.  Ximenes,  though 
he  treated  him  with  great  decency,  and  even  respect,  retained  the  whole 
power  in  his  own  hands.* 

The  cardinal's  first  care  was  to  observe  the  motions  of  the  infant  Don 
Ferdinand,  who,  having  been  flattered  with  so  near  a  prospect  of  supreme 
power,  bore  the  disappointment  of  his  hopes  with  greater  impatience  than 
a  prince  at  a  period  of  life  so  early  could  have  been  supposed  to  feel. 
Ximenes,  under  pretence  of  providing  more  effectually  for  his  safety, 
removed  him  from  Guadaloupe,  the  place  in  which  he  had  been  educated, 
to  Madrid,  where  he  fixed  the  residence  of  the  court.  There  he  was 
under  the  cardinal's  own  eye,  and  his  conduct,  with  that  of  his  domestics, 
wras  watched  with  the  utmost  attention.! 

The  first  intelligence  he  received  from  the  Low  Countries,  gave  greater 
disquiet  to  the  cardinal,  and  convinced  him  how  difficult  a  task  it  would 
be  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  an  unexperienced  prince,  under  the  influence 
of  counsellors  unacquainted  with  the  laws  and  manners  of  Spain.  No 
sooner  did  the  account  of  Ferdinand's  death  reach  Brussels,  than  Charles, 
by  the  advice  of  his  Flemish  ministers,  resolved  to  assume  the  title  of 
king.  By  the  laws  of  Spain,  the  sole  right  to  the  crowns,  both  of  Castile 
and  Aragon,  belonged  to  Joanna  ;  and  though  her  infirmities  disqualified 
her  from  governing,  this  incapacity  had  not  been  declared  by  any  public 
act  of  the  Cortes  in  either  kingdom  :  so  that  the  Spaniards  considered  this 
resolution,  not  only  as  a  direct  violation  of  their  privileges,  but  as  an 
unnatural  usurpation  in  a  son  on  the  prerogatives  of  a  mother,  towards 
whom,  in  her  present  unhappy  situation,  he  manifested  a  less  delicate 
regard  than  her  subjects  had  always  expressed.];  The  Flemish  court, 
however,  having  prevailed  both  on  the  pope  and  on  the  emperor  to  address 
letters  to  Charles  as  king  of  Castile  ;  the  former  of  whom,  it  was  pre- 
tended, had  a  right,  as  head  of  the  church ;  and  the  latter,  as  head  of  the 
empire,  to  confer  this  title ;  instructions  were  sent  to  Ximenes,  to  prevail 
on  the  Spaniards  to  acknowledge  it.  Ximenes,  though  he  had  earnestly 
remonstrated  against  the  measure,  as  no  less  unpopular  than  unnecessary, 
resolved  to  exert  all  his  authority  and  credit  in  carrying  it  into  execution, 
and  immediately  assembled  such  of  the  nobles  as  were  then  at  court. 
What  Charles  required  was  laid  before  them  ;  and  when,  instead  of  com- 
plying with  his  demands,  they  began  to  murmur  against  such  an  unprece- 
dented encroachment  on  their  privileges,  and  to  talk  high  of  the  rights  of 
Joanna,  and  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  her,  Ximenes  hastily  interposed, 
and  with  that  firm  and  decisive  tone  which  was  natural  to  him,  told  them 
that  they  were  not  called  now  to  deliberate,  but  to  obey  ;  that  their  sove- 
reign did  not  apply  to  them  for  advice,  but  expected  submission ;  and 


*  Gometius  dp  reb.  gest.  Ximenii,  p.  150.  fol.  Compl.  1569; 
i.  c.  2.    Randier  Hist  Ho  Xijiienm.  p.  .118.       }  1'  Marl  Ep.  50B. 


t  Mimana  Pontin.  MeriarjcR,  lib. 


i0>  THE   REIGN  OF   TUB  [Book  I. 

'•  this  da)',"  added  he,  "  Charles  shall  be  proclaimed  king  of  Castile  in 
Madrid  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  cities,  I  doubt  not,  will  follow  its  example," 
On  the  spot  he  gave  orders  for  that  purpose*  [April  13]  ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  novelty  of  the  practice,  and  the  secret  discontents  of  many 
persons  of  distinction,  Charles's  title  was  universally  recognised.  In  Ara- 
gon,  where  the  privileges  of  the  subject  were  more  extensive,  and  the 
abilities  as  well  as  authority  of  the  archbishop  of  Saragossa,  whom  Fer- 
dinand had  appointed  regent,  were  far  inferior  to  those  of  Ximenes,  the 
same  obsequiousness  to  the  will  of  Charles  did  not  appear,  nor  was  he 
acknowledged  there  under  any  other  character  but  that  of  prince,  until 
his  arrival  in  Spain. | 

Ximenes,  though  possessed  only  of  delegated  power,  which  from  his 
advanced  age  he  could  not  expect  to  enjoy  long,  assumed,  together  with 
the  character  of  regent,  all  the  ideas  natural  to  a  monarch,  and  adopted 
schemes  for  extending  the  regal  authority,  which  he  pursued  with  as  much 
intrepidity  and  ardour,  as  if  he  himself  had  been  to  reap  the  advantages 
resulting  from  their  success.  The  exorbitant  privileges  of  the  Castilian 
nobles  circumscribed  the  prerogative  of  the  prince  within  very  narrow 
limits.  These  privileges  the  cardinal  considered  as  so  many  unjust  extor- 
tions from  the  crown,  and  determined  to  abridge  them.  Dangerous  as  the 
attempt  was,  there  were  circumstances  in  his  situation  which  promised 
him  greater  success  than  any  king  of  Castile  could  have  expected.  His 
strict  and  prudent  economy  of  his  archiepiscopal  revenues  furnished  him 
with  more  ready  money  than  the  crown  could  at  any  time  command ;  the 
sanctity  of  his  manners,  his  charity  and  munificence,  rendered  him  the 
idol  of  the  people  ;  and  the  nobles  themselves,  not  suspecting  any  danger 
from  him,  did  not  observe  his  motions  with  the  same  jealous  attention,  as 
they  would  have  watched  those  of  one  of  their  monarchs. 

Immediately  upon  his  accession  to  the  regency,  several  of  the  nobles  fancy- 
ing that  the  reins  of  government  would  of  consequence  be  somewhat  relaxed, 
began  to  assemble  their  vassals,  and  to  prosecute,  by  force  of  arms,  private 
quarrels  and  pretensions,  which  the  authority  of  Ferdinand  had  obliged 
them  to  dissemble,  or  to  relinquish.  But  Ximenes,  who  had  taken  into 
pay  a  good  body  of  troops,  opposed  and  defeated  all  their  designs  with 
unexpected  vigour  and  facility ;  and  though  he  did  not  treat  the  authors 
of  these  disorders  with  any  cruelty,  he  forcecLfbem  to  acts  of  submission, 
extremely  mortifying  to  the  haughty  spirit  of  Castilian  grandees. 

But  while  the  cardinal's  attacks  were  confined  to  individuals,  and  every 
act  of  rigour  was  justified  by  the  appearance  of  necessity,  founded  on  the 
forms  of  justice,  and  tempered  with  a  mixture  of  lenity,  there  was  scarcely 
room  for  jealousy  or  complaint.  It  was  not  so  with  his  next  measure, 
which,  by  striking  at  a  privilege  essential  to  the  nobility,  gave  a  general 
alarm  to  the  whole  order.  By  the  feudal  constitution,  the  military  power 
was  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  nobles,  and  men  of  an  inferior  condition 
were  called  into  the  field  only  as  their  vassals,  and  to  follow  their  banners. 
A  king,  with  scanty  revenues,  and  a  limited  prerogative,  depended  on  these 
potent  barons,  in  all  his  operations.  It  was  with  their  forces  he  attacked 
his  enemies,  and  with  them  he  defended  his  kingdom.  While  at  the 
head  of  troops  attached  warmly  to  their  own  immediate  lords,  and  accus- 
tomed to*©bey  no  other  commands,  his  authority  was  precarious,  and  his 
efforts  feeble.  From  this  state  Ximenes  resolved  to  deliver  the  crown ; 
and  as  mercenary  standing  armies  were  unknown  under  the  feudal  govern- 
ment, and  would  have  been  odious  to  a  martial  and  generous  people,  he 
issued  a  proclamation,  commanding  every  city  in  Castile  to  enrol  a  certain 
number  of  its  burgesses,  in  order  that  they  might  be  trained  to  the  use  ot 
arms  on  Sundays  and  holy  days  ;  he  engaged  to  provide  officers  to  command 

»  t"iom«liue.  p.  132.  &c     Bauiiier  Hist.  <}e  Ximen.  J>-  !-'•        +  p  Mart  Ep.  572, 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  H)3 

them  at  the  public  expense  ;  and,  as  an  encouragement  to  the  private  men, 
promised  them  an  exemption  from  all  tares  and  impositions.  The  frequent 
incursions  of  the  Moors  from  Africa,  and  the  necessity  of  having  some  force 
always  ready  to  oppose  them,  furnished  a  plausible  pretence  for  this 
innovation.  The  object  really  in  view  was  to  secure  the  king  a  body  of 
troops  independent  of  his  barons,  and  which  might  serve  to  counterbalance 
their  power.*  The  nobles  were  not  slow  in  perceiving  what  was  his 
intention,  and  saw  how  effectually  the  scheme  which  he  had  adopted 
would  accomplish  his  end  ;  but  as  a  measure  which  had  the  pious  appear- 
ance of  resisting  the  progress  of  the  infidels  was  extremely  popular,  and 
as  any  opposition  to  it,  arising  from  their  order  alone,  would  have  been 
imputed  wholly  to  interested  motives,  they  endeavoured  to  excite  the 
cities  themselves  to  refuse  obedience,  and  to  inveigh  against  the  proclama- 
tion as  inconsistent  with  their  charters  and  privileges.  In  consequence  of 
their  instigations,  Burgos,  Valladolid,  and  several  other  cities,  rose  in  open 
mutiny.  Some  of  the  grandees  declared  themselves  their  protectors. 
Violent  remonstrances  were  presented  to  the  king.  His  Flemish  coun- 
sellors were  alarmed.  Ximenes  alone  continued  firm  and  undaunted  ;  and 
partly  by  terror,  partly  by  entreaty ;  by  force  in  some  instances,  and  by 
forbearance  in  others  ;  he  prevailed  on  all  the  refractory  cities  to  comply.! 
During  his  administration,  he  continued  to  execute  his  plan  with  vigour ; 
but  soon  after  his  death  it  was  entirely  dropped. 

His  success  in  this  scheme  for  reducing  the  exorbitant  power  of  the 
nobility,  encouraged  him  to  attempt  a  diminution  of  their  possessions, 
which  were  no  less  exorbitant.  During  the  contests  and  disorders 
inseparable  from  the  feudal  government,  the  nobles,  ever  attentive  to 
their  own  interest,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  weakness  or  distress  of 
their  monarchs,  had  seized  some  parts  of  the  royal  demesnes,  obtained 
grants  of  others,  and  having  gradually  wrested  almost  the  whole  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  prince,  had  annexed  them  to  their  own  estates. 
The  titles,  by  which  most  of  the  grandees  held  these  lands,  were 
extremely  defective  ;  it  was  from  some  successful  usurpation,  which  the 
crown  had  been  too  feeble  to  dispute,  that  many  derived  their  only 
claim  to  possession.  An  inquiry  carried  back  to  the  origin  of  these 
encroachments,  which  were  almost  coeval  with  the  feudal  system,  was 
impracticable  ;  and  as  it  WQuld  have  stripped  every  nobleman  in  Spain  of 
great  part  of  his  lands,  it  must  have  excited  a  general  revolt.  Such  a  step 
was  too  bold,  even  for  the  enterprising  genius  of  Ximenes.  He  confined 
himself  to  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  ;  and  beginning  with  the  pensions 
granted  during  that  time,  refused  to  make  any  farther  payment,  because 
all  right  to  them  expired  with  his  life.  He  then  called  to  account  such 
as  had  acquired  crown  lands  under  the  administration  of  that  monarch, 
and  at  once  resumed  whatever  he  had  alienated.  The  effects  of  these 
revocations  extended  to  many  persons  of  high  rank  ;  for  though  Ferdinand 
was  a  prince  of  little  generosity,  yet  he  and  Isabella  having  been  raised 
to  the  throne  of  Castile  by  a  powerful  faction  of  the  nobles,  they  were 
obliged  to  reward  the  zeal  of  their  adherents  with  great  liberality,  and 
the  royal  demesnes  were  their  only  fund  for  that  purpose.  The  addition 
made  to  the  revenue  of  the  crown  by  these  revocations,  together  with  his 
own  frugal  economy,  enabled  Ximenes  not  only  to  discharge  all  the  debts 
which  Ferdinand  had  left,  and  to  remit  considerable  sums  to  Flanders, 
but  to  pay  the  officers  of  his  new  militia,  and  to  establish  magazines  not 
only  more  numerous,  but  better  furnished  with  artillery,  arms,  and  warlike 
stores,  than  Spain  had  ever  possessed  in  any  former  age.J     The  prudent 

*  Mintana:  Continuatio  Marianie,  fol.  Hag.  1733.  p.  3.  ]  P.  Mart.  Ep.  5GG,  tec.    (iometius, 

p.  J60.  At.  I  Flerhior  Vie  de  Ximci.  v.  600. 


104  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  1. 

and  disinterested  application  of  these  sums,  was  a  full  apology  to  the 
people  for  the  rigour  with  which  they  were  exacted. 

The  nobles,  alarmed  at  these  repeated  attacks,  began  to  think  of  pre- 
cautions for  the  safety  of  their  o/der.  Many  cabals  were  formed,  loud 
complaints  were  uttered,  and  desperate  resolutions  taken  ;  but  before  they 
proceeded  to  extremities,  they  appointed  some  of  their  number  to  examine 
the  powers  in  consequence  of  which  the  cardinal  exercised  acts  of  such 
high  authority.  The  admiral  of  Castile,  the  duke  de  Infantado,  and  the 
Conde  de  Beneyento,  grandees  of  the  first  rank,  were  intrusted  with  this 
commission.  Ximenes  received  them  with  coid  civility,  and  in  answer  to 
their  demand,  produced  the  testament  of  Ferdinand  by  which  he  was 
appointed  regent,  together  with  the  ratification  of  that  deed  by  Charles. 
To  both  these  they  objected ;  and  he  endeavoured  to  establish  their 
validity.  As  the  conversation  grew  warm,  he  led  them  insensibly  towards 
a  balcony,  from  which  they  had  a  view  of  a  large  body  of  troops  under 
arms,  and  of  a  formidable  train  of  artillery.  "  Behold,  says  he,  pointing 
to  these  and  raising  his  voice,  "  the  powers  which  I  have  received  from 
his  Catholic  majesty.  With  these  I  govern  Castile  ;  and  with  these  I 
will  govern  it,  until  the  king  your  master  and  mine  takes  possession  of 
his  kingdom."*  A  declaration  so  bold  and  haughty  silenced  them,  and 
astonished  their  associates.  To  take  arms  against  a  man  aware  of  his 
danger,  and  prepared  for  his  defence,  was  what  despair  alone  would 
dictate.  All  thoughts  of  a  general  confederacy  against  the  cardinal's 
administration  were  laid  aside  ;  and  except  from  some  slight  commotions, 
excited  by  the  private  resentment  of  particular  noblemen,  the  tranquillity 
of  Castile  suffered  no  interruption. 

It  was  not  only  from  the  opposition  of  the  Spanish  nobility  that  obstacles 
arose  to  the  execution  of  the  cardinal's  schemes ;  he  had  a  constant  strug- 
gle to  maintain  with  the  Flemish  ministers,  who,  presuming  upon  their 
favour  with  the  young  king,  aimed  at  directing  the  affairs  of  Spain,  as  well 
as  those  of  their  own  country.  Jealous  of  the  great  abilities  and  indepen- 
dent spirit  of  Ximenes,  they_considered  him  rather  as  a  rival  who  might 
circumscribe  their  power,  than  as  a  minister,  who  by  his  prudence  and 
vigour  yvas  adding  to  the  grandeur  and  authority  of  their  master.  Every 
complaint  against  his  administration  was  listened  to  with  pleasure  by  the 
courtiers  in  the  Low-Countries.  Unnecessary  obstructions  were  thrown 
by  their  means  in  the  way  of  all  his  measures  ;  and  though  they  could 
not,  either  with  decency  or  safety,  deprive  hjm  of  the  office  of  regent, 
they  endeavoured  to  lessen  his  authority  by  dividing  it.  They  soon 
discovered  that  Adrian  of  Utrecht,  already  joined  with  him  in  office,  had 
neither  genius  nor  spirit  sufficient  to  give  the  least  check  to  his  proceedings  ; 
and  therefore  Charles,  by  their  advice,  added  to  the  commission  of  regency 
La  Chau,  a  Flemish  gentleman,  and  afterwards  Amerstorf,  a  nobleman  of 
Holland  ;  the  former  distinguished  for  his  address,  the  latter  for  his  firm- 
ness. Ximenes,  though  no  stranger  to  the  malevolent  intention  of  the 
Flemish  courtiers,  received  these  new  associates  with  all  the  external 
marks  of  distinction  due  to  the  office  with  which  they  were  invested  ;  but 
when  they  came  to  enter  upon  business,  he  abated  nothing  of  that  air  of 
superiority  with  which  he  had  treated  Adrian,  and  still  retained  the  sole 
direction  of  affairs.  The  Spaniards,  more  averse,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
people,  to  the  government  of  strangers,  approved  of  all  his  efforts  to  pre- 
serve his  own  authority.  Even  the  nobles,  influenced  by  this  national 
passion,  and  forgetting  their  jealousies  and  discontents,  chose  rather  to 
see  the  supreme  power  in  the  hands  of  one  of  their  countrymen,  whom 
they  feared,  than  in  those  of  foreigners,  whom  they  hated. 

Ximenes,  though  engaged  in  such  great  schemes  of  domestic  policy 

Flcch.  ii.  551.    Feneras,  Hist.  vlli.  488, 


EMPEROR  OHARLE'S  V.  105 

and  embarrassed  by  the  artifices  and  intrigues  of  the  Flemish  ministers, 
had  the  burden  of  two  foreign  wars  to  support.  The  one  was  in  Navarre, 
which  was  invaded  by  its  unfortunate  monarch  John  d'Albret.  The  death 
of  Ferdinand,  the  absence  of  Charles,  the  discord  and  disaffection  which 
reigned  among  the  Spanish  nobles,  seemed  to  present  him  with  a  favoura- 
ble opportunity  of  recovering  his  dominions.  The  cardinal's  vigilance, 
however,  defeated  a  measure  so  well  concerted.  As  he  foresaw  the  dan- 
ger to  which  that  kingdom  might  be  exposed,  one  of  his  first  acts  of 
administration  was  to  order  thither  a  considerable  body  of  troops.  While 
the  king  was  employed  with  one  part  of  bis  army  in  the  siege  of  St.  Jean 
Pied  en  Port,  Villalva,  an  officer  of  great  experience  and  courage,  attacked 
the  other  by  surprise,  and  cut  it  to  pieces.  The  king  instantly  retreated 
with  precipitation,  and  an  end  was  put  to  the  war.*  But  as  Navarre  was 
filled  at  that  time  with  towns  and  castles  slightly  fortified,  and  weakly 

farrisoned,  which  being  unable  to  resist  an  enemy,  served  only  to  furnish 
im  with  places  of  retreat ;  Ximenes,  always  bold  and  decisive  in  his 
measures,  ordered  every  one  of  these  to  be  dismantled,  except  Pampeluna, 
the  fortifications  of  which  he  proposed  to  render  very  strong.  To  this 
uncommon  precaution  Spain  owes  the  possession  of  Navarre.  The  French, 
since  that  period,  have  often  entered,  and  have  as  often  overrun  the  open 
country ;  while  they  were  exposed  to  all  the  inconveniences  attending  an 
invading  army,  the  Spaniards  have  easily  drawn  troops  from  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces  to  oppose  them ;  ana  the  French  having  no  place  of 
any  strength  to  which  they  could  retire,  have  been  obliged  repeatedly  to 
abandon  their  conquest  with  as  much  rapidity  as  they  gained  it. 

The  other  war  which  he  carried  on  in  Africa,  against  the  famous  adven- 
turer Horuc  Barbarossa,  who,  from  a  private  corsair,  raised  himself,  by 
his  singular  valour  and  address,  to  be  king  of  Algiers  and  Tunis,  was  far 
from  being  equally  successful.  The  ill  conduct  of  the  Spanish  general, 
and  the  rash  valour  of  his  troops,  presented  Barbarossa  with  an  easy  vic- 
tory. Many  perished  in  the  battle,  more  in  the  retreat,  and  the  remainder 
returned  into  Spain  covered  with  infamy.  The  magnanimity,  however, 
with  which  the  cardinal  bore  this  disgrace,  the  only  one  he  experienced 
during  his  administration,  added  new  lustre  to  his  character.!  Great 
composure  of  temper  under  a  disappointment  was  not  expected  from  a 
man  so  remarkable  for  the  eagerness  and  impatience  with  which  he  urged 
on  the  execution  of  all  his  schemes. 

This  disaster  was  soon  forgotten ;  while  the  conduct  of  the  Flemish 
court  proved  the  cause  of  constant  uneasiness,  not  only  to  the  cardinal, 
but  to  the  whole  Spanish  nation.  All  the  great  qualities  of  Chievres,  the 
prime  minister  and  favourite  of  the  young  king,  were  sullied  with  an  ignoble 
and  sordid  avarice.  The  accession  of  his  master  to  the  crown  of  Spain, 
opened  a  new  and  copious  source  for  the  gratification  of  this  passion. 
During  the  time  of  Charles's  residence  in  Flanders,  the  whole  tribe  of 
pretenders  to  offices  or  to  favour  resorted  thither.  They  soon  discovered 
that,  without  the  patronage  of  Chievres,  it  was  vain  to  hope  for  prefer- 
ment ;  nor  did  they  want  sagacity  to  find  out  the  proper  method  of  securing 
his  protection.  Great  sums  of  money  were  drawn  out  of  Spain.  Every 
things  was  venal,  and  disposed  of  to  the  highest  bidder.  After  the  example 
of  Chievres,  the  inferior  Flemish  ministers  engaged  in  this  traffic,  which 
became  as  general  and  avowed,  as  it  was  infamous.*  The  Spaniards 
were  filled  with  rage  when  they  beheld  offices  of  great  importance  to  the 
welfare  of  their  country,  set  to  sail  by  strangers,  unconcerned  for  its  honour 
or  its  happiness.  Ximenes,  disinterested  in  his  whole  administration,  and 
a  stranger,  from  his  native  grandeur  of  mind,  to  the  passion  of  avarice, 
inveighed  wiih  the  utmost  boldness  against  the  venality  of  the  Flemings. 

*  P.  Marl.  Ep.  570.  f  Gometius,  lib.  vi.  p.  179.  *  Miniana,  dntin.  I.  i.  c  2. 

Vol.  II.— 1 4 


106  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  I. 

He  represented  to  the  king,  in  strong;  terms,  the  murmurs  and  indignation 
which  their  behaviour  excited  among  a  free  and  high  spirited  people,  and 
besought  him  to  set  out  without  loss  of  time  for  Spain,  that,  by  his  pre- 
sence, he  might  dissipate  the  clouds  which  were  gathering  all  over  the 
kingdom.* 

Charles  was  fully  sensible  that  he  had  delayed  too  long  to  take  posses- 
sion of  his  dominions  in  Spain.  Powerful  obstacles,  however,  stood  in  his 
way,  and  detained  him  in  the  Low-Countries.  The  war  which  the  league 
of  Cambray  had  kindled  in  Italy,  still  subsisted ;  though  during  its  course, 
the  armies  of  all  the  parties  engaged  in  it  had  changed  their  destination 
and  their  objects.  France  was  now  in  alliance  with  Venice,  which  it  had 
at  first  combined  to  destroy.  Maximilian  and  Ferdinand  had  for  some 
years  carried  on  hostilities  against  France,  their  original  ally,  to  the  valour 
of  whose  troops  the  confederacy  had  been  indebted  in  a  great  measure 
for  its  success.  Together  with  his  kingdoms,  Ferdinand  transmitted  this 
war  to  his  grandson ;  and  there  was  reason  to  expect  that  Maximilian, 
always  fond  of  new  enterprises,  would  persuade  the  young  monarch  to 
enter  into  it  with  ardour.  But  the  Flemings,  who  had  long  possessed  an 
extensive  commerce,  which,  during  the  league  of  Cambray,  had  grown 
to  a  great  height  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Venetian  trade,  dreaded  a  rupture 
with  France  ;  and  Chievres,  sagacious  to  discern  the  true  interest  of  his 
country,  and  not  warped  on  this  occasion  by  his  love  of  wealth,  warmly 
declared  for  maintaining  peace  with  the  French  nation.  Francis  I.  desti- 
tute of  allies,  and  solicitous  to  secure  his  late  conquests  in  Italy  by  a 
treaty,  listened  with  joy  to  the  first  overtures  of  accommodation.  Chievres 
himself  conducted  the  negotiation  in  the  name  of  Charles.  Gouffier 
appeared  as  plenipotentiary  for  Francis.  Each  of  them  had  presided 
over  the  education  of  the  prince  whom  he  represented.  They  had  both 
adopted  the  same  pacific  system ;  and  were  equally  persuaded  that  the 
union  of  the  two  monarchs  was  the  happiest  event  for  themselves  as  well 
as  for  their  kingdoms.  In  such  hands  the  negotiation  did  not  languish. 
A  few  days  after  opening  their  conferences  at  Noyon,  they  concluded  a 
treaty  of  confederacy  and  mutual  defence  between  the  two  monarchs 
[Aug.  13],  the  chief  articles  in  which  were,  that  Francis  should  give  in 
marriage  to  Charles,  his  eldest  daughter,  the  princess  Louise,  an  infant  of 
a  year  old,  and  as  her  dowry,  should  make  over  to  him  all  his  claims  and 
pretensions  upon  the  kingdom  of  Naples ;  that,  in  consideration  of 
Charles's  being  already  in  possession  of  Naples,  he  should, -until  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  marriage,  pay  a  hundred  thousand  crowns  a-year  to 
the  French  king  ;  and  the  half  of  that  sum  annually  as  long  as  the  princess 
bad  no  children ;  that  when  Charles  shall  arrive  in  Spain,  the  heirs  of 
the  king  of  Navarre  may  represent  to  him  their  right  to  that  kingdom  ; 
and  if,  after  examining;  their  claim,  he  does  not  give  them  satisfaction, 
Francis  shall  be  at  liberty  to  assist  them  with  all  his  forces.t  This 
alliance  not  only  united  Charles  and  Francis,  but  obliged  Maximilian,  who 
was  unable  alone  to  cope  with  the  French  and  Venetians,  to  enter  into  a 
treaty  with  those  powers,  which  put  a  final  period  to  the  bloody  and 
tedious  war  that  the  league  of  Cambray  had  occasioned.  Europe  en- 
joyed a  few  years  of  universal  tranquillity,  and  was  indebted  for  that 
blessing  to  two  princes,  whose  rivalship  ana  ambition  kept  it  in  perpetual 
discord  and  agitation  during  the  remainder  of  their  reigns. 

By  the  treaty  of  Noyon,  Charles  secured  a  safe  passage  into  Spain. 
It  was  not,  however,  the  interest  of  his  Flemish  ministers,  that  he  should 
visit  that  kingdom  soon.  While  he  resided  in  Flanders,  the  revenues  of 
the  Spanish  crown  were  spent  there,  and  they  engrossed,  without  any 
competitors,  all  the  effects  of  their  monarch's  generosity  ;  their  country 

*  P.  Mart.  Kp.  576.  f  T.rnnard  Rerupil  d»p  Traitfz.  fom.  ri.  09 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  107 

became  the  seat  of  government,  and  all  favours  were  dispensed  by  them. 
Of  all  these  advantages  they  run  the  risk  of  seeing  themselves  deprived, 
from  the  moment  that  their  sovereign  entered  Spain.  The  Spaniards 
would  naturally  assume  the  direction  of  their  own  affairs ;  the  Low- 
Countries  would  be  considered  only  as  a  province  of  that  mighty  mo- 
narchy ;  and  they  who  now  distributed  the  favours  of  the  prince  to  others, 
must  then  be  content  to  receive  them  from  the  hands  of  strangers.  But 
what  Chievres  chiefly  wished  to  avoid  was,  an  interview  between  tin? 
king  and  Ximenes.  On  the  one  hand,  the  wisdom,  the  integrity,  and  the 
magnanimity  of  that  prelate,  gave  him  a  wonderful  ascendant  over  the 
minds  of  men  ;  and  it  was  extremely  probable,  that  these  great  qualities, 
added  to  the  reverence  due  to  his  age  and  office,  would  command  the 
respect  of  a  young  prince,  who,  capable  of  noble  and  generous  sentiments 
himself,  would,  in  proportion  to  his  admiration  of  the  cardinal's  virtues, 
lessen  his  deference  towards  persons  of  another  character.  Or,  on  tho 
other  hand,  if  Charles  should  allow  his  Flemish  favourites  to  retain  all  the 
influence  over  his  councils  which  they  at  present  possessed,  it  was  easy 
to  foresee  that  the  cardinal  would  remonstrate  loudly  against  such  an 
indignity  to  the  Spanish  nation,  and  vindicate  the  rights  of  his  country 
with  the  same  intrepidity  and  success,  with  which  he  had  asserted  the 
prerogatives  of  the  crown.  For  these  reasons,  all  his  Flemish  counsellors 
combined  to  retard  his  deDarture  ;  and  Charles,  unsuspicious,  from  want 
of  experience,  and  fond  of  his  native  country,  suffered  himself  to  be  un- 
necessarily detained  in  the  Netherlands  a  whole  year  after  signing  the 
treaty  of  Noyon. 

The  repeated  entreaties  of  Ximenes,  the  advice  of  his  grandfather 
Maximilian,  and  the  impatient  murmurs  of  his  Spanish  subjects,  prevailed 
on  him  at  last  to  embark.  He  was  attended  not  only  by  Chievres,  his 
prime  minister,  but  by  a  numerous  and  splendid  train  of  the  Flemish 
nobles,  fond  of  beholding  the  grandeur,  or  of  sharing  in  the  bounty  of 
their  prince.  After  a  dangerous  voyage,  he  landed  at  Villa  Viciosa,  in 
the  province  of  Asturias  [Sept.  13],  and  was  received  with  such  loud 
acclamations  of  joy,  as  a  new  monarch,  whose  arrival  was  so  ardently 
desired,  had  reason  to  expect.  The  Spanish  nobility  resorted  to  their 
sovereign  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  displayed  a  magnificence 
which  the  Flemings  were  unable  to  emulate.* 

Ximenes,  who  considered  the  presence  of  the  king  as  the  greatest 
blessing  to  his  dominions,  was  advancing  towards  the  coast,  as  fast  as  tho 
infirm  state  of  his  health  would  permit,  in  order  to  receive  him.  During 
his  regency,  and  notwithstanding  his  extreme  old  age,  he  had  abated, 
in  no  degree,  the  rigour  or  frequency  of  his  mortifications  ;  and  to  these 
he  added  such  laborious  assiduity  in  business,  as  would  have  worn  out 
the  most  youthful  and  vigorous  constitution.  Every  day  he  employed 
several  hours  in  devotion  ;  he  celebrated  mass  in  person  ;  he  even  allotted 
some  space  for  study.  Notwithstanding  these  occupations,  he  regularly 
attended  the  council ;  he  received  and  read  all  papers  presented  to  him ; 
he  dictated  letters  and  instructions ;  and  took  under  his  inspection  all 
business,  civil,  ecclesiastical,  or  military.  Every  moment  of  his  time 
was  filled  up  with  some  serious  employment.  The  only  amusement  in 
which  he  indulged  himself,  by  way  of  relaxation  after  business,  was  to 
canvass,  with  a  few  friars  and  other  divines,  some  intricate  article  in 
scholastic  theology.  Wasted  by  such  a  course  of  life,  the  infirmities  of 
age  daily  grew  upon  him.  On  his  journey,  a  violent  disorder  seized  him 
at  Bos  Equillos,  attended  with  uncommon  symptoms,  which  his  followers 
considered  as  the  effect  of  poison,!  but  could  not  agree  whether  the 
rrime  ought  to  be  imputed  to  the  hatred  of  the  Spanish  nobles,  or  to  thp 

«  P.  Mart.  Ep.  599.  601.  '  Miniona.  Cnntin.  lib.  i.  o   3 


108  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  1. 

malice  of  the  Flemish  courtiers.  This  accident  obliged  him  to  stop  short, 
he  wrote  to  Charles,  and  with  his  usual  boldness  advised  him,  to  dismiss 
all  the  strangers  in  his  train,  whose  numbers  and  credit  gave  offence 
already  to  the  Spaniards,  and  would  ere  long  alienate  the  affections  of 
the  whole  people.  At  the  same  time  he  earnestly  desired  to  have  an 
interview  with  the  king,  that  he  might  inform  him  of  the  state  of  the 
nation,  and  the  temper  of  his  subjects.  To  prevent  this,  not  only  the 
Flemings,  but  the  Spanish  grandees,  employed  all  their  address,  and  in- 
dustriously kept  Charlfes  at  a  distance  from  Aranda,  the  place  to  which 
the  cardinal  had  removed.  Through  their  suggestions,  every  measure 
that  he  recommended  was  rejected  ;  the  utmost  care  was  taken  to  make 
him  feel,  and  to  point  out  to  the  whole  nation,  that  his  power  was  on  the 
decline  ;  even  in  things  purely  trivial,  such  a  choice  was  always  made, 
as  was  deemed  most  disagreeable  to  him.  Ximenes  did  not  bear  this 
treatment  with  his  usual  fortitude  of  spirit.  Conscious  of  his  own 
integrity  and  merit,  he  expected  a  more  grateful  return  from  a  prince,  to 
whom  he  delivered  a  kingdom  more  flourishing  than  it  had  been  in  any 
former  age,  together  with  authority  more  extensive  and  better  established 
than  the  most  illustrious  of  his  ancestors  had  ever  possessed.  He  could 
not,  therefore,  on  many  occasions,  refrain  from  giving  vent  to  his  indig- 
nation and  complaints.  He  lamented  the  fate  of  his  country,  and  foretold 
the  calamities  which  it  would  suffer  from  the  insolence,  the  rapaciousness, 
and  ignorance  of  strangers.  While  his  mind  was  agitated  by  these 
passions,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  king,  in  which,  after  a  few  cold 
and  formal  expressions  of  regard,  he  was  allowed  to  retire  to  his  diocess  ; 
that  after  a  life  of  such  continued  labour,  he  might  end  his  days  in  tran- 
quillity. This  message  proved  fatal  to  Ximenes.  His  haughty  mind,  it 
is  probable,  could  not  survive  disgrace ;  perhaps  his  generous  heart  could 
not  bear  the  prospect  of  the  misfortunes  ready  to  fall  on  his  country. 
Whichsoever  of  these  opinions  we  embrace,  certain  it  is  that  he  expired 
a  few  hours  after  reading  the  letter*  [Nov.  8].  The  variety,  the  gran- 
deur, and  the  success  of  his  schemes,  during  a  regency  of  only  twenty 
months,  leave  it  doubtful,  whether  his  sagacity  in  council,  his  prudence 
in  conduct,  or  his  boldness  in  execution,  deserve  the  greatest  praise.  His 
reputation  is  still  high  in  Spain,  not  only  for  wisdom,  but  for  sanctity ; 
and  he  is  the  only  prime  minister  mentioned  in  history,  whom  his  con- 
temporaries reverenced  as  a  saint,!  and  to  whom  the  people  under  his 
government  ascribed  the  power  of  working  miracles. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Ximenes,  Charles  made  his  public  entry,  with 
great  pomp,  into  Valladolid,  whither  he  had  summoned  the  Cortes  of 
Castile.  Though  he  assumed  on  all  occasions  the  name  of  king,  that  title 
had  never  been  acknowledged  in  the  Cortes.  The  Spaniards  considered 
Joanna  as  possessed  of  the  sole  right  to  the  crown,  and  no  example  ot  a  son's 
having  enjoyed  the  title  of  king  during  the  life  of  his  parents  occurring  in 
their  history,  the  Cortes  discovered  all  that  scrupulous  respect  for  ancient 
forms,  and  that  aversion  to  innovation,  which  are  conspicuous  in  popular 
assemblies.  The  presence,  however,  of  their  prince,  the  address,  the 
artifices,  and  the  threats  of  his  ministers,  prevailed  on  them  at  last  to  proclaim 
him  king,  in  conjunction  with  his  mother,  whose  name  they  appointed  to 
be  placed  before  that  of  her  son  in  all  public  acts.  But  when  they  made 
this  concession,  they  declared,  that  if,  at  any  future  period,  Joanna  should 
recover  the  exercise  of  reason,  the  whole  royal  authority  should  return  into 
her  hands.  At  the  same  time,  they  voted  a  free  gift  of  six  hundred  thousand 
ducats,  to  be  paid  in  three  years,  a  sum  more  considerable  than  had  ever 
been  granted  to  any  former  monarch.^ 

*  MareolKer,  Vie  de  Ximenes,  p.  447.  Gonierius,  lib.  vii.  206,  &c.  Baudier,  Hist,  de  Ximen. 
p.  208.  t  Flechier,  Vie  de  Ximen.  ii.  p.  74fi.  *  Miniana.  Contin.  lib   ).  r.  3.    P.  Mart. 

Ep.  608.    Sandov.  p.  12. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   \.  109 

Notwithstanding  this  obsequiousness  of  the  Cortes  to  the  will  of  the 
king,  the  most  violent  symptoms  of  dissatisfaction  with  his  government 
began  to  break  out  in  the  kingdom.  Chievres  had  acquired  over  the  mind 
of  the  young  monarch  the  ascendant,  not  only  of  a  tutor,  but  of  a  parent. 
Charles  seemed  to  have  no  sentiments  but  those  which  his  minister  inspired, 
and  scarcely  uttered  a  word  but  what  he  put  into  his  mouth.  He  was 
constantly  surrounded  by  Flemings  ;  no  person  got  access  to  him  without 
their  permission  ;  nor  was  any  admitted  to  audience  but  in  their  presence. 
As  he  spoke  the  Spanish  language  very  imperfectly,  his  answers  were 
always  extremely  short,  and  often  delivered  with  hesitation.  From  all 
these  circumstances,  many  of  the  Spaniards  were  led  to  believe,  that  he 
was  a  prince  of  a  slow  and  narrow  genius.  Some  pretended  to  discover 
a  strong  resemblance  between  him  and  his  mother,  and  began  to  whisper 
that  his  capacity  for  government  would  never  be  far  superior  to  hers  ;  and 
though  they  who  had  the  best  opportunity  of  judging  concerning  his 
character,  maintained,  that  notwithstanding  such  unpromising  appearances, 
he  possessed  a  large  fund  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  of  sagacity  ;*  yet  all 
agreed  in  condemning  his  partiality  towards  the  Flemings,  and  his  attach- 
ment to  his  favourites,  as  unreasonable  and  immoderate.  Unfortunately 
for  Charles,  these  favourites  were  unworthy  of  his  confidence.  To  amass 
wealth  seems  to  have  been  their  only  aim  :  and  as  they  had  reason  to 
fear,  that  either  their  master's  good  sense,  or  the  indignation  of  the  Spaniards, 
might  soon  abridge  their  power,  they  hastened  to  improve  the  present 
opportunity,  and  their  avarice  was  the  more  rapacious,  because  they 
expected  their  authority  to  be  of  no  long  duration.  All  honours,  offices, 
and  benefices,  were  either  engrossed  by  the  Flemings,  or  publicly  sold  by_ 
them.  Chievres,  his  wife,  and  Sauvage,  whom  Charles,  on  the  death  of 
Ximenes,  had  imprudently  raised  to  be  Chancellor  of  Castile,  vied  with 
each  other  in  all  the  refinements  of  extortion  and  venality.  Not  only  the 
Spanish  historians,  who,  from  resentment,  may  be  suspected  of  exaggera- 
tion, but  Peter  Martyr  Angleria,  an  Italian,  who  resided  at  that  time  in  the 
court  of  Spain,  and  who  was  under  no  temptation  to  deceive  the  persons 
to  whom  his  letters  are  addressed,  gives  a  description  which  is  almost 
incredible,  of  the  insatiable  and  shameless  covetousness  of  the  Flemings. 
According  to  Angleria's  calculation,  which  he  asserts  to  be  extremely 
moderate,  they  remitted  into  the  Low -Countries,  in  the  space  of  ten  months, 
no  less  a  sum  than  a  million  and  one  hundred  thousand  ducats.  The 
nomination  of  William  de  Croy,  Chievres'  nephew,  a  young  man  not  of 
canonical  age,  to  the  archbishopric  of  Toledo,  exasperated  the  Spaniards 
more  than  all  these  exactions.  They  considered  the  elevation  of  a  stranger 
to  the  head  of  their  church,  and  to  the  richest  benefice  in  the  kingdom* 
not  only  as  an  injury,  but  as  an  insult  to  the  whole  nation ;  both  clergy* 
and  laity,  the  former  from  interest,  the  latter  from  indignation,  joined  in 
exclaiming  against  it.t 

Charles  leaving  Castile  thus  disgusted  with  his  administration,  set  out 
for  Saragossa,  the  capital  of  Aragon,  that  he  might  be  present  in  the  Cortes  of 
that  kingdom.  On  his  way  thither,  he  took  leave  of  his  brother  Ferdinand, 
whom  he  sent  to  Germany  on  the  pretence  of  visiting  their  grandfather, 
Maximilian,  in  his  old  age.  To  this  prudent  precaution,  Charles  owed 
the  preservation  of  the  Spanish  dominions.  During  the  violent  commotions 
which  arose  there  soon  after  this  period,  the  Spaniards  would  infallibly 
have  offered  the  crown  to  a  prince,  who  was  the  darling  of  the  whole 
nation  ;  nor  did  Ferdinand  want  ambition,  or  counsellors,  that  might  have 
prompted  him  to  accept  of  the  offer.J 

The  Aragonese  had  not  hitherto  acknowledged  Charles  as  king,  nor 

*  Sandoval,  p.  31.    V.  Mart.  Ep.  655.  1  Sandoval,  98—31.    P.  Mart.  Ep. 008.  Oil. 013, 014. 

r.K.  623. 039.    Miuiana.Contin.lil).  t.  c.3.  p.8.  $  P.  Hart.  Ep.  619.    Ferreras,  yiii.  460, 


140  THE   RElUft    OF   THE  [Book  I. 

would  they  allow  the  Cortes  to  be  assembled  in  his  name,  but  in  that  of 
the  Justiza,  to  whom,  during  an  interregnum,  this  privilege  belonged.* 
The  opposition  Charles  had  to  struggle  with  in  the  Cortes  of  Aragon, 
was  more  violent  and  obstinate  than  that  which  he  had  overcome  in  Cas- 
tile ;  after  long  delays,  however,  and  with  much  difficulty,  he  persuaded 
the  members  to  confer  on  him  the  title  of  king,  in  conjunction  with  his 
mother.  At  the  same  time  he  bound  himself  by  that  solemn  oath,  which 
the  Aragonese  exacted  of  their  kings,  never  to  violate  any  of  their  rights 
or  liberties.  When  a  donative  was  demanded,  the  members  were  still 
more  intractable ;  many  months  elapsed  before  they  would  agree  to 
grant  Charles  two  hundred  thousand  ducats,  and  that  sum  they  appropriated 
so  strictly  for  paying  the  debts  of  the  crown,  which  had  long  been  forgotten, 
that  a  very  small  part  of  it  came  into  the  king's  hands.  What  had  hap- 
pened in  Castile  taught  them  caution,  and  determined  them  rather  to 
satisfy  the  claims  of  their  fellow-citizens,  how  obsolete  soever,  than  to 
furnish  strangers  the  means  of  enriching  themselves  with  the  spoils  of  their 
country.f 

During  these  proceedings  of  the  Cortes,  ambassadors  arrived  at  Saragossa 
from  Francis  I.  and  the  young  king  of  Navarre,  demanding  the  restitution 
of  that  kingdom  in  terms  ofthe  treaty  of  Noyon.  But  neither  Charles, 
nor  the  Castilian  nobles  whom  he  consulted  on  this  occasion,  discovered 
any  inclination  to  part  with  this  acquisition.  A  conference  held  soon  after 
at  Montpelier,  in  order  to  bring  this  matter  to  an  amicable  issue,  was  alto- 
gether fruitless  ;  while  the  French  urged  the  injustice  of  the  usurpation, 
the  Spaniards  were  attentive  only  to  its  importance.J 

From  Aragon  Charles  proceeded  to  Catalonia,  where  he  wasted  as  much 
time,  encountered  more  difficulties,  and  gained  less  money.  The  Flemings 
were  now  become  so  odious  in  every  province  of  Spain  by  their  exactions, 
that  the  desire  of  mortifying  them,  and  of  disappointing  their  avarice, 
augmented  the  jealousy  with  which  a  free  people  usually  conducted  their 
deliberations. 

The  Castilians,  who  had  felt  most  sensibly  the  weight  and  rigour  of 
the  oppressive  schemes  carried  on  by  the  Flemings,  resolved  no  longer  to 
submit  with  a  tameness  fatal  to  themselves,  and  which  rendered  them  the 
objects  of  scorn  to  their  fellow-subjects  in  the  other  kingdoms,  of  which 
the  Spanish  monarchy  was  composed.  Segovia,  Toledo,  Seville,  and 
several  other  cities  ol  the  first  rank,  entered  into  a  confederacy  for  the 
defence  of  their  rights  and  privileges  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  silence  of 
the  nobility,  who,  on  this  occasion,  discovered  neither  the  public  spirit,  nor 
the  resolution  which  became  their  order,  .the  confederates  laid  before  the 
king  a  full  view  of  the  state  of  the  kingdom,  and  of  the  maladministra- 
tion of  his  favourites.  The  preferment  of  strangers,  the  exportation  of 
the  current  coin,  the  increase  of  taxes,  were  the  grievances  of  which  they 
chiefly  complained ;  and  of  these  they  demanded  redress  with  that  bold- 
ness which  is  natural  to  a  free  people.  These  remonstrances,  presented  at 
first  at  Saragossa,  and  renewed  afterwards  at  Barcelona,  Charles  treated 
with  great  neglect.  The  confederacy,  however,  of  these  cities,  at  this 
juncture,  was  the  beginning  of  that  famous  union  among  the  commons  of 
Castile,  which  not  long  after  threw  the  kingdom  into  such  violent  convul- 
sions as  shook  the  throne,  and  almost  overturned  the  constitution.§ 

Soon  after  Charles's  arrival  at  Barcelona,  he  received  the  account  of  an 
event  which  interested  him  much  more  than  the  murmurs  of  the  Castilians, 
or  the  scruples  of  the  Cortes  of  Catalonia.  This  was  the  death  of  the 
emperor  Maximilian  [Jan.  12]  ;  an  occurrence  of  small  importance  in 
itself,  for  he  was  a  prince  conspicuous  neither  for  his  virtues,  nor  his 

*  P.  Mart.  Ep.  COS.  t  Ibid.  Ep.  615—634.  t  Ibid.  Er>.  605.  633.  640.  ft  Ibid.  Bp.  680 

Ferreras.  •>  iii.  464. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  Ill 

power,  nor  his  abilities  ;  but  rendered  by  its  consequences  more  memora- 
ble than  any  that  had  happened  during  several  ages.  It  broke  that  pro- 
found and  universal  peace  which  then  reigned  in  the  Christian  world  ;  it 
excited  a  rivalship  between  two  princes,  which  threw  all  Europe  into  agi- 
tation, and  kindled  wars  more  general,  and  of  longer  duration,  than  had 
hitherto  been  known  in  modern  times. 

The  revolutions  occasioned  by  the  expedition  of  the  French  king, 
Charles  VIII.  into  Italy,  had  inspired  the  European  princes  with  new  ideas 
concerning  the  importance  of  the  Imperial  dignity.  The  claims  of  the 
empire  upon  some  of  the  Italian  states  were  numerous  ;  its  Jurisdiction 
over  others  was  extensive  ;  and  though  the  former  had  been  almost  aban- 
doned, and  the  latter  seldom  exercised,  under  princes  of  slender  abilities 
and  of  little  influence,  it  was  obvious,  that  in  the  hands  ot  an  emperor  pos- 
sessed of  power  or  of  genius,  they  might  be  employed  as  engines  for 
stretching  his  dominion  over  the  greater  part  of  that  country.  Even  Maxi- 
milian, feeble  and  unsteady  as  his  conduct  always  was,  had  availed  him- 
self of  the  infinite  pretensions  of  the  empire,  and  had  reaped  advantage 
from  every  war  and  every  negotiation  in  Italy  during  his  reign.  These 
considerations,  added  to  the  dignity  of  the  station,  confessedly  the  first 
among  Christian  princes,  and  to  the  rights  inherent  in  the  office,  which,  if 
exerted  with  vigour,  were  far  from  being  inconsiderable,  rendered  the 
Imperial  crown  more  than  ever  an  object  of  ambition. 

Not  long  before  his  death,  Maximilian  had  discovered  great  solicitude 
to  preserve  this  dignity  in  the  Austrian  family,  and  to  procure  the  king  of 
Spain  to  be  chosen  his  successor.  But  he  himself  having  never  been 
crowned  by  the  pope,  a  ceremony  deemed  essential  in  that  age,  was  con- 
sidered only  as  emperor  elect.  Though  historians  have  not  attended  to 
that  distinction,  neither  the  Italian  nor  German  chancery  bestowed  any 
other  title  upon  him  than  that  of  king  of  the  Romans ;  and  no  example 
occurring  in  history  of  any  person's  being  chosen  a  successor  to  a  king 
of  the  Romans,  the  Germans,  always  tenacious  of  their  forms,  and  unwil- 
ling to  confer  upon  Charles  an  office  for  which  their  constitution  knew  no 
name,  obstinately  refused  to  gratify  Maximilian  in  that  point.* 

By  his  death,  this  difficulty  was  at  once  removed,  and  Charles  openly 
aspired  to  that  dignity  which  his  grandfather  had  attempted,  without  suc- 
cess, to  secure  for  him.  At  the  same  time  Francis  I.,  a  powerful  rival, 
entered  the  lists  against  him  ;  and  the  attention  of  all  Europe  was  fixed 
upon  this  competition,  no  less  illustrious  from  the  high  rank  of  the  candi- 
dates, than  from  the  importance  of  the  prize  for  which  they  contended. 
Each  of  them  urged  his  pretensions  with  sanguine  expectations,  and  with 
no  unpromising  prospect  of  success.  Charles  considered  the  Imperial 
crown  as  belonging  to  hrm  of  right,  from  its  long  continuance  in  the  Aus- 
trian line  ;  he  knew  that  none  of  the  German  princes  possessed  power  or 
influence  enough  to  appear  as  his  antagonist  ;  he  flattered  himself  that  no 
consideration  would  induce  the  natives  of  Germany  to  exalt  any  foreign 
prince  to  a  dignity,  which  during  so  many  ages  had  been  deemed  peculiar 
to  their  own  nation  ;  and  least  of  all,  that  they  would  confer  this  honour 
upon  Francis  I.,  the  sovereign  of  a  people  whose  genius,  and  laws,  and 
manners,  differed  so  widely  from  those  of  the  Germans,  that  it  was  hardly 

fiossible  to  establish  any  cordial  union  between  them  ;  he  trusted  not  a 
ittle  to  the  effect  of  Maximilian's  negotiations,  which,  though  they  did  not 
attain  their  end,  had  prepared  the  minds  of  the  Germans  for  his  elevation 
to  the  Imperial  throne  ;  but  what  he  relied  on  as  a  chief  recommendation, 
was  the  fortunate  situation  of  hie  hereditary  dominions  in  Germany,  which 
served  as  a  natural  barrier  to  the  empire  against  the  encroachments  of  the 

*  Guicciardini,  lib.  xiii.  p.  15.  Hist.  Gener.  d'AUenagne,  par  P.  Bacre,  torn.  viii.  pari  t.  p.  1087, 
T.  Heuter.  Rer.  Auetr.  lib.  vii.  o.  17.  p,  179.  lib.  viii.  c.  '-'.  p.  W&. 


112  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Rook  I. 

Turkish  power.  The  conquests,  the  abilities,  and  the  ambition  of  Sultan 
Selim  II.  bad  spread  over  Europe,  at  that  time,  a  general  and  well-founded 
alarm.  By  his  victories  over  the  Mamalukes,  and  the  extirpation  of  that 
gallant  body  of  men,  he  had  not  only  added  Egypt  and  Syria  to  his  em- 
pire, but  had  secured  to  it  such  a  degree  of  internal  tranquillity,  that  he 
was  ready  to  turn  against  Christendom  the  whole  force  of  his  arms,  which 
nothing  hitherto  had  been  able  to  resist.  The  most  effectual  expedient 
for  stopping  the  progress  of  this  torrent,  seemed  to  be  the  election  of  an 
emperor,  possessed  of  extensive  territories  in  that  country,  where  its  first 
impression  would  be  felt,  and  who,  besides,  could  combat  this  formidable 
enemy  with  all  the  forces  of  a  powerful  monarchy,  and  with  all  the  wealth 
furnished  by  the  mines  of  the  new  world,  or  the  commerce  of  the  Low 
Countries.  These  were  the  arguments  by  which  Charles  publicly  sup- 
ported his  claim  ;  and  to  men  of  integrity  and  reflection,  they  appeared  to 
be  not  only  plausible  but  convincing.  He  did  not,  however,  trust  the  suc- 
cess of  his  cause  to  these  alone.  Great  sums  of  money  were  remitted 
lrom  Spain  ;  all  the  refinements  and  artifice  of  negotiation  were  employed  ; 
and  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  kept  on  foot,  at  that  time,  by  the  states 
of  the  Circle  of  Suabia,  was  secretly  taken  into  his  pay.  The  venal  were 
gained  by  presents  ;  the  objections  of  the  more  scrupulous  were  answered 
or  eluded ;  some  feeble  princes  were  threatened  and  overawed.* 

On  the  other  hand,  Francis  supported  his  claim  with  equal  eagerness, 
and  no  less  confidence  of  its  being  well  founded.  His  emissaries  con- 
tended that  it  was  now  high  time  to  convince  the  princes  of  the  house  of 
Austria  that  the  Imperial  crown  was  elective,  and  not  hereditary  ;  that 
other  persons  might  aspire  to  an  honour  which  their  arrogance  had  accus- 
tomed them  to  regard  as  the  property  of  their  family  ;  that  it  required  a 
sovereign  of  mature  judgment,  and  of  approved  abilities,  to  hold  the  reins 
of  government  in  a  country  where  such  unknown  opinions  concerning  reli- 
gion had  been  published,  as  had  thrown  the  minds  of  men  into  an  uncom- 
mon agitation,  which  threatened  the  most  violent  effects ;  that  a  young 
prince,  without  experience,  and  who  had  hitherto  given  no  specimens  of 
•his  genius  for  command,  was"  no  fit  match  for  Selim,  a  monarch  grown  old 
in  the  art  of  war,  and  in  the  course  of  victory ;  whereas  a  king  who  in  his 
early  youth  had  triumphed  over  the  valour  and  discipline  ot  the  Swiss, 
till  then  reckoned  invincible,  would  be  an  antagonist  not  unworthy  the 
conqueror  of  the  East ;  that  the  fire  and  impetuosity  of 'the  French  cavalry, 
added  to  the  discipline  and  stability  of  the  German  infantry,  would  form 
an  army  so  irresistible,  that,  instead  of  waiting  the  approach  of  the  Otto- 
man forces*  it  might  carry  hostilities  into  the  heart  of  their  dominions ; 
that  the  election  of  Charles  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  fundamental 
constitution,  by  which  the  person  who  holds  the  crown  of  Naples  is  ex- 
cluded from  aspiring  to  the  Imperial  dignity  ;  that  his  elevation  to  that 
honour  would  soon  kindle  a  war  in  Italy,  on  account  of  his  pretensions  to 
the  duchy  of  Milan,  the  effects  of  which  conld  not  fail  of  reaching  the 
empire,  and  might  prove  fatal  to  it.|  But  while  the  French  ambassadors 
enlarged  upon  these  and  other  topics  of  the  same  kind,  in  all  the  courts  of 
Germany,  Francis,  sensible  of  the  prejudices  entertained  against  him  as 
a  foreigner,  unacquainted  with  the  German  language  or  manners,  endea- 
voured to  overcome  these,  and  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  princes  by  im- 
mense gifts,  and  by  infinite  promises.  As  the  expeditious  method  of 
transmitting  money,  and  the  decent  mode  of  conveying  a  bribe,  by  bills  of 
exchange,  were  then  little  known,  the  French  ambassadors  travelled  with 
a  train  of  horses  loaded  with  treasure,  an  equipage  not  very  honourable 

*  Guicc.  lib.  13.  150.     Sleidan,  Hist,  of  the  Reformat..  14.     Struvii  Corp.  Hist.  Herman,  ii.  971. 
Not.  'it).  to  nice.  lib.  13.  ltio.     Sieid,  p.  10.     Geor.Sabmide  Elect.     Car.  V.  fflnoria  spud 

Sr.ardii  Script  Rw.  German,  vol.  ii.  p.  t. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  113 

lor  that  prince  by  whom  they  were  employed,  and  infamous  tor  those  to 
whom  they  were  sent.* 

The  other  European  princes  could  not  remain  indifferent  spectators  of  a 
contest,  the  decision  of  which  so  nearly  affected  every  one  of  them. 
Their  common  interest  ought  naturally  to  have  formed  a  general  combina- 
tion, in  order  to  disappoint  both  competitors,  and  to  prevent  either  of  them 
from  obtaining  such  a  pre-eminence  in  power  and  dignity,  as  might  prove 
dangerous  lo  the  liberties  of  Europe.  But  the  ideas  with  respect  to  a 
proper  distribution  and  balance  of  power  were  so  lately  introduced  into 
the  system  of  European  policy,  that  they  were  not  hitherto  objects  of  suf- 
ficient attention.  The  passions  of  some  princes,  the  want  of  foresight  in 
others,  and  the  fear  of  giving  offence  to  the  candidates,  hindered  such  a 
salutary  union  of  the  powers  of  Europe,  and  rendered* them  either  totally 
negligent  of  the  public  safety,  or  kept  them  from  exerting  themselves  with 
vigour  in  its  behalf. 

The  Swiss  Cantons,  though  they  dreaded  the  elevation  of  either  of  the 
contending  monarchs,  and  though  they  wished  to  have  seen  some  prince 
whose  dominions  were  less  extensive,  and  whose  power  was  more  mode- 
rate, seated  on  the  Imperial  throne,  were  prompted,  however,  by  their 
hatred  of  the  French  nation,  to  give  an  open  preference  to  the  pretensions  of 
Charles,  while  they  used  their  utmost  influence  to  frustrate  those  of  Francis.! 

The  Venetians  easily  discerned,  that  it  was  the  interest  of  their  republic 
to  have  both  the  rivals  set  aside  ;  but  their  jealousy  of  the  house  of  Austria, 
whose  ambition  and  neighbourhood  had  been  fatal  to  their  grandeur,  would 
not  permit  them  to  act  up  to  their  own  ideas,  and  led  them  hastily  to  give 
the  sanction  of  their  approbation  to  the  claim  of  the  French  king. 

It  was  equally  the  interest,  and  more  in  the  power  of  Henry  VIlI.  of 
England,  to  prevent  either  Francis  or  Charles  from  acquiring  a  dignity 
which  would  raise  them  so  far  above  other  monarchs.  But  though  Henry 
often  boasted  that  he  held  the  balance  of  Europe  in  his  hand,  he  had 
neither  the  steady  attention,  the  accurate  discernment,  nor  the  dispassionate 
temper  which  that  delicate  function  required.  On  this  occasion,  it  mor- 
tified his  vanity  so  much,  to  think  that  he  had  not  entered  early  into  that 
noble  competition  which  reflected  such  honour  upon  the  two  antago- 
nists, that  he  took  a  resolution  of  sending  an  ambassador  into  Germany*  and 
of  declaring  himself  a  candidate  for  the  Imperial  throne.  The  ambassador, 
though  loaded  with  caresses  by  the  German  princes  and  the  pope's  nuncio, 
informed  his  master,  that  he  could  hope  foT  no  success  in  a  claim  which 
he  had  been  so  late  in  preferring.  Henry,  imputing  his  disappointment  to 
that  circumstance  alone,  and  soothed  with  this  ostentatious  display  of  his 
own  importance,  seems  to  have  taken  no  farther  part  in  the  matter,  either 
by  contributing  to  thwart  both  his  rivals,  or  to  promote  one  of  them.J 

Leo  X.,  a  pontiff  no  less  renowned  for  his  political  abilities,  than  for  his 
love  of  the  arts,  was  the  only  prince  of  the  age  who  observed  the  motions 
of  the  two  contending  monarchs  with  a  prudent  attention,  or  who  discovered 
a  proper  solicitude  for  the  public  safety.  The  imperial  and  papal  juris- 
diction interfered  in  so  many  instances,  the  complaints  of  usurpation  were 
so  numerous  on  both  sides,  and  the  territories  of  the  church  owed  their 
security  so  little  to  their  own  force,  and  so  much  to  the  weakness  of  the 
powers  around  them,  that  nothing  was  so  formidable  to  the  court  of  Rome 
as  an  emperor  with  extensive  dominions,  or  of  enterprising  genius.  Leo 
trembled  at  the  prospect  of  beholding  the  Imperial  crown  placed  on  the 
head  of  the  king  of  Spain  and  of  Naples,  and  the  master  of  the  new  world ; 
nor  was  he  less  afraid  of  seeing  a  king  of  France,  who  was  the  duke  of 
Milan  and  lord  of  Genoa,  exalted  to  that  dignity.     He  foretold  that  the 

*  Mtemofrea  <le  Marecli.  de  Kleuranges,  p.' 396.  J  t'nbtnus.  r>.  S.-  }  If emoiiei  da  Fletiranaes. 
31 4      Herbert,  Hi8t.  of  Henry  VI ft 

x  ,'i.  B.-.-15 


114  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book!. 

election  of  either  of  them  would  be  fatal  to  the  independence  of  the  holy 
see,  to  the  peace  of  Italy,  and  perhaps  to  the  liberties  of  Europe.  But  to 
oppose  them  with  any  prospect  of  success,  required  address  and  caution  in 
proportion  to  the  greatness  of  their  power,  and  their  opportunities  of  taking 
revenge.  Leo  was  defective  in  neither.  He  secretly  exhorted  the  German 
princes  to  place  one  of  their  own  number  on  the  Imperial  throne,  which 
many  of  them  were  capable  of  filling  with  honour.  He  put  them  in  mind 
of  the  constitution  by  which  the  kings  of  Naples  were  for  ever  excluded 
from  that  dignity.*  He  warmly  exhorted  the  French  king  to  persist  in  his 
claim,  not  from  any  desire  that  he  should  gain  his  end,  but  as  lie  foresaw 
that  the  Germans  would  be  more  disposed  to  favour  the  king  of  Spain,  he 
hoped  that  Francis  himself,  when  he  discovered  his  own  chance  of  success 
to  be  desperate,  would  be  stimulated  by  resentment  and  the  spirit  of 
rivalship,  to  concur  with  all  his  interest  in  raising  some  third  person  to  the 
head  ot  the  empire  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  Francis  should  make  an 
unexpected  progress,  he  did  not  doubt  but  that  Charles  would  be  induced 
by  similar  motives  to  act  the  same  part ;  and  thus,  by  a  prudent  attention, 
the  mutual  jealousy  of  the  two  rivals  might  be  so  dexterous  y  managed,  as 
to  disappoint  both.  But  this  scheme,  the  only  one  which  a  prince  in  Leo's 
situation  could  adopt,  though  concerted  with  great  wisdom,  was  executed 
with  little  discretion.  The  French  ambassadors  in  Germany  fed  their 
master  with  vain  hopes ;  the  pope's  nuncio,  being  gained  by  them,  alto- 
gether forgot  the  instructions  which  he  had  received;  and  Francis  per- 
severed so  long  and  with  such  obstinacy  in  urging  his  own  pietensions,  as 
rendered  all  Leo's  measures  abortive.! 

Such  were  the  hopes  of  the  candidates,  and  the  views  of  the  different 
princes,  when  the  diet  was  opened  according  to  form  at  Frankfort  [June 
17].  The  right  of  choosing  an  emperor  had  long  been  vested  in  seven 
great  princes,  distinguished  by  the  name  of  electors,  the  origin  of  whose 
office,  as  well  as  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  powers,  have  already  been 
explained.  These  were  at  that  time,  Albert  of  Brandenburgh,  archbishop 
of  Mentz ;  Herman  count  cte  Wied,  archbishop  of  Cologne ;  Richard  de 
Grieffenklau,  archbishop  of  Triers  ;  Lewis,  king  of  Bohemia ;  Lewis,  count 
palatine  of  the  Rhine ;  Frederic,  duke  of  Saxony ;  and  Joachim  I.  marquis 
of  Brandenburgh.  Notwithstanding  the  artful  arguments  produced  by  the 
ambassadors  of  the  two  kings  in  favour  of  their  respective  masters,  and  in 
spite  of  all  their  solicitations,  intrigues,  and  presents,  the  electors  did  not 
forget  that  maxim  on  which  the  liberty  of  the  German  constitution  was 
thought  to  be  founded,  \mong  the  members  of  the  Germanic  body, 
which  is  a  great  republic  composed  of  states  almost  independent,  the  first 
principle  of  patriotism  is  to  depress  and  limit  the  power  of  the  emperor; 
and  ol  this  idea,  so  natural  under  such  a  form  of  government,  a  German 
politician  seldom  loses  sight.  No  prince  of  considerable  j>ower,  or  exten- 
sive dominions,  had  for  some  ages  been  raised  to  the  Imperial  throne.  To 
this  prudent  precaution  many  of  the  great  families  in  Germany  owed  the 
splendour  and  independence  which  they  had  acquired  during  that  period. 
To  elect  either  of  the  contending  monarchs,  would  have  been  a  gross 
violation  of  that  salutary  maxim;  would  have  given  to  the  empire  a  master 
instead  of  a  head  ;  and  would  have  reduced  themselves  from  the  rank  of 
being  almost  his  equals,  to  the  condition  of  his  subjects. 

Full  of  these  ideas,  all  the  electors  turned  their  eyes  towards  Frederic, 
duke  of  Saxony,  a  prince  of  such  eminent  virtue  and  abilities,  as  to  be 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  Sage,  and  with  one  voice  they  offered 
him  the  Imperial  crown.  He  was  not  dazzled  with  that  object,  which 
monarchs,  so  far  superior  to  him  in  power,  courted  with  such  eagerness  ; 
and  after  deliberating  upon  the  matter  a  short  time,  he  rejected  it  with  a 

*  Goldasti  Coiwtiturtones  Imperiales.    Francof.  1673.  vol.  i.  439.  *  Guieetwr,  lib.  13. 161 


\ 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  115 

magnanimity  and  disinterestedness  no  less  singular  than  admirable- 
"  Nothing:,"  he  observed,  "  could  be  more  impolitic,  than  an  obstinate 
adherence  to  a  maxim  which,  though  sound  and  just  in  many  cases,  was 
not  applicable  to  all.  In  times  ot  tranquillity  (said  he)  we  wish  for  an 
emperor  who  has  not  power  to  invade  our  liberties.;  times  of  danger 
demand  one  who  is  able  to  secure  our  safety.  The  Turkish  armies,  led 
by  a  gallant  and  victorious  monarch,  are  now  assembling.  They  are  ready 
to  pour  in  upon  Germany  with  a  violence  unknown  in  former  ages.  New 
conjunctures  call  for  new  expedients.  The  Imperial  sceptre  must,  be  com- 
mitted to  some  hand  more  powerful  than  mine,  or  that  of  any  other  German 
prince.  We  possess  neither  dominions,  nor  revenues,  nor  authority,  which 
enables  us  to  encounter  such  a  formidable  enemy.  Recourse  must  be  hadf 
in  this  exigency,  to  one  of  the  rival  monarchs.  Each  of  them  can  bring 
into  the  field  forces  sufficient  for  our  defence.  But  as  the  king  of  Spain  is 
of  German  extraction ;  as  he  is  a  member  and  prince  of  the  empire  by 
the  territories  which  descend  to  him  from  his  grandfather;  as  his  dominions 
stretch  along  that  frontier  which  lies  most  exposed  to  the  enemy;  his  claim 
is  preferable,  in  my  opinion,  to  that  of  a  stranger  to  our  language,  to  our 
blood,  and  to  our  country ;  and  therefore  I  give  my  vote  to  confer  on  hiiu 
the  Imperial  crown." 

This  opinion,  dictated  by  such  uncommon  generosity,  and  supported  by 
arguments  so  plausible,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  electors.  The  king 
of  Spain's  ambassadors,  sensible  of  the  important  service  which  Frederic 
had  done  their  master,  sent  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money  as  the  first 
token  of  that  prince's  gratitude.  But  he  who  had  greatness  of  mind 
to  refuse  a  crown,  disdained  to  receive  a  bribe;  and,  upon  their  entreating 
tbat  at  least  he  would  permit  them  to  distribute  part  of  that  sum  among 
his  attendants,  he  replied,  That  he  could  not  prevent  them  from  accepting 
what  should  be  offered,  but  whoever  took  a  single  florin  should  be  dis- 
missed next  morning  from  his  service.* 

No  prince  in  Germany  could  now  aspire  to  a  dignity,  which  Frederic 
had  declined,  for  reasons  applicable  to  them  all.  It  remained  to  make  a 
choice  between  the  two  great  competitors.  But  besides  the  prejudice  in 
Charles's  favour  arising  from  his  birth,  as  well  as  the  situation  of  his  German 
dominions,  he  owed  not  a  little  to  the  abilities  of  the  cardinal  de  Gurk, 
and  the  zeal  of  Erard  de  la  Mark,  bishop  of  Liege,  two  of  his  ambassadors, 
who  had  conducted  their  negotiations  with  more  prudence  and  address  than 
those  intrusted  by  the  French  king.  The  former,  who  had  long  been  the 
minister  and  favourite  of  Maximilian,  was  well  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
managing  the  Germans ;  and  the  latter,  having  been  disappointed  of  a  car- 
dinal's hat  by  Francis,  employed  all  the  malicious  ingenuity  with  which 
the  desire  of  revenge  inspires  an  ambitious  mind,  in  thwarting  the  measures  of 
that  monarch.  The  Spanish  party  among  the  electors  daily  gained  ground ; 
and  even  the  pope's  nuncio,  being  convinced  that  it  was  vain  to  make  any 
further  opposition,  endeavoured  to  acquire  some  merit  with  the  future 
emperor,  by  offering  voluntarily,  in  the  name  of  his  master,  a  dispensation 
!o  hold  the  Imperial  crown  in  conjunction  with  that  of  Naples.! 

*  P.  Daniel,  an  historian  of  cons.derable  name,  seems  to  call  in  question  the  truth  of  this  account 
of  Frederic's  behaviour  in  refusing  the  Imperial  crown,  because  it  is  not  mentioned  by  Georgius 
Sabinus  in  his  History  of  the  Election  and  Coronation  of  Charles  V.  torn.  iii.  p.  63.  But  no  great 
stress  ought  to  be  laid  on  an  omission  in  a  superficial  author,  whose  treatise,  though  dignified  with 
the  name  of  History,  contains  only  such  an  account  of  the  ceremonial  of  Charles's  election,  as  is 
usually  published  in  Germany  on  like  occasions.  Scard.  Rer  Germ.  Script,  v.  ii.  p.  1.  The  testi- 
mony of  Erasmus,  lib.  13.  epist.  4.  and  that  of  Sleiden,  p.  18.  are  express.  Scckendorf,  in  his 
Commentarius  Historicus  et  Apologeticus  de  Luthtranismo,  p.  121.  has  examined  this  fact  with  Ins 
usual  industry,  and  has  established  its  truth  by  the  most  undoubted  evidence.  To  these  testimmu  3 
which  he  has  collected,  I  may  add  the  decisive  one  of  Cardinal  Cajetan,  the  pope's  legale  at  Prank- 
fort,  in  his  letter,  July  5th,  1511).  Epistres  au  Princes,  &.c.  recueiDes  par  Kuscelli,  traduicts  par 
Belforcst.    Par.  15" 2.  p.  fid. 

t  Freheri  Rer.  German.  Scriptoreb,  vol.  iii.  1*2.  cur.  Struxii.  Argent.  1717.  Grianone  Hist  if 
Mples,  ii.  w. 


216  T  H  E  RE  I G  N  0  F  [Book  ff. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  June,  five  months  and  ten  days  after  the 
death  of  Maximilian,  this  important  contest,  which  had  held  all  Europe  in 
suspense,  was  decided.  Six  of  the  electors  had  already  declared  for  the 
king  of  Spain ;  and  the  archhishop  of  Triers,  the  only  firm  adherent  to 
the  French  interest,  having  at  last  joined  his  brethren,  Charles  was, 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  electoral  college,  raised  to  the  Imperial 
throne.* 

But  though  the  electors  consented,  from  various  motives,  to  promote 
Charles  to  that  high  station,  they  discovered,  at  the  same  time,  great 
jealousy  of  his  extraordinary  power,  and  endeavoured,  with  the  utmost 
solicitude^  to  provide  against  his  encroaching  on  the  privileges  of  the  Ger- 
manic body.  It  had  long  been  the  custom  to  demand  of  every  new  em- 
peror a  confirmation  of  these  privileges,  and  to  require  a  promise  that  he 
would  never  violate  them  in  any  instance.  While  princes,  who  were, 
formidable  neither  from  extent  of  territory,  nor  of  genius,  possessed  the 
Imperial  throne,  a  general  and  verbal  engagement  to  this  purpose  was 
deemed  sufficient.  But  under  an  emperor  so  powerful  as  Charles,  other 
precautions  seemed  necessary.  A  Capitulation  or  claim  of  right  was 
formed,  in  which  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  the  electors,  of  the 
princes  of  the  empire,  of  the  cities,  and  of  every  other  member  of  the 
Germanic  body,  are  enumerated.  This  capitulation  was  immediately 
signed  by  Charles's  ambassadors  in  the  name  of  their  master,  and  he  him- 
self, at  his  coronation,  confirmed  it  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  Since 
that  period,  the  electors  have  continued  to  prescribe  the  same  conditions 
to  all  his  successors  ;  and  the  capitulation  or  mutual  contract  between  the 
emperor  and  his  subjects,  is  considered  in  Germany  as  a  strong  barrier 
against  the  progress  of  the  Imperial  power,  and  as  the  great  charter  of 
their  liberties,  to  which  they  often  appeal.f 

The  important  intelligence  of  this  election  was  conveyed  in  nine  days 
from  Frankfort  to  Barcelona,  where  Charles  was  still  detained  by  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Catalonian  Cortes,  which  had  not  hitherto  brought  to  an 
issue  any  of  the  affairs  which  came  before  it.  He  received  the  account 
witfi  the  joy  natural  to  a  young  and  aspiring  mind,  on  an  accession  of 
power  and  dignity  which  raised  him  so  far  above  the  other  princes  of 
Europe.  Then  it  was  that  those  vast  prospects,  which  allured  him 
during  his  whole  administration,  began  to  open,  and  from  this  era  we  may 
date  the  formation,  and  are  able  to  trace  the  gradual  progress,  of  a  grand 
S3'stem  of  enterprising  ambition,  which  renders  the  history  of  his  reign  so 
worthy  of  attention. 

A  trivial  circumstance  first  discovered  the  effects  of  this  great  elevation 
upon  the  mind  of  Charles.  In  all  the  public  writs  which  he  now  issued 
as  king  of  Spain,  he  assumed  the  title  of  Majesty,  and  required  it  from  his 
subjects  as  a  mark  of  their  respect.  Before  that  time,  all  the  monarchs  of 
Europe  were  satisfied  with  the  appellation  of  Highness  or  Grace;  but  the 
vanity  of  other  courts  soon  led  them  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  Spanish. 
The  epithet  of  Majesty  is  no  longer  a  mark  of  pre-eminence.  The 
most  inconsiderable  monarchs  in  Europe  enjoy  it,  and  the  arrogance  of 
the  greater  potentates  has  invented  no  higher  denomination. J 

The  Spaniards  were  far  from  viewing  the  promotion  of  their  king  to 
the  Imperial  throne  with  the  same  satisfaction  which  he  himself  felt.  To 
be  deprived  of  the  presence  of  their  sovereign,  and  to  be  subjected  to  the 
government  of  a  viceroy  and  his  council,  a  species  of  administration  often 
oppressive,  and  always  disagreeable,  were  the  immediate  and  necessary 
"consequences  of  this  new  dignity.     To  see  the  blood  of  their  countrymen 

*  Jac.  Aug.  Thuan.  Hiet.  sui  Temporia,  edit.  Bulkley,  lib.  1.  c.  9.  t  Pfeffel  Abtegi  de  I'Hi.'t. 

de  Droit  Puliliqu*  d'Allemagne,  590.    Linniei  Capitulat.    lmper.    Epistres  dee  Princes  par  Ruscelll, 
P-  CO.  t  Miniana,  Coutiu.  Mar.  p.  13.    Ferreras,  viii.  475.    Memoires  Hist,  dela  Houssaie, 

Win.  i.  p.  53,  &.e. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  117 

shed  in  quarrels  wherein  the  nation  had  no  concern ;  to  behold  its  treasures 
wasted  in  supporting  the  splendour  of  a  foreign  title  ;  to  be  plunged  in 
the  chaos  of  Italian  and  German  politics,  were  effects  of  this  event  almost 
as  unavoidable.  From  all  these  considerations,  they  concluded,  that 
nothing  could  have  happened  more  pernicious  to  the  Spanish  nation ;  and 
the  fortitude  and  public  spirit  of  their  ancestors,  who,  in  the  Cortes  of 
Castile,  prohibited  Alphonso  the  Wise  from  leaving  the  kingdom,  in  order 
to  receive  the  Imperial  crown,  were  often  mentioned  with  the  highest 
praise,  and  pronounced  to  be  extremely  worthy  of  imitation  at  this 
juncture.* 

But  Charles,  without  regarding  the  sentiments  or  murmurs  of  his  Spanish 
subjects,  accepted  of  the  Imperial  dignity,  which  the  count  palatine,  at  the 
head  of  a  solemn  embassy,  offered  him  in  the  name  of  the  electors  [Novem- 
ber] ;  and  declared  his  intention  of  setting  out  soon  for  Germany  in  order 
to  take  possession  of  it.  This  was  the  more  necessary,  because,  according 
to  the  forms  of  the  German  constitution,  he  could  not,  before  the  ceremony 
of  a  public  coronation,  exercise  any  act  of  jurisdiction  or  authority.! 

Their  certain  knowledge  of  this  resolution  augmented  so  much  the  dis- 
gust of  the  Spaniards,  that  a  sullen  and  refractory  spirit  prevailed  among 
persons  of  all  ranks.  The  pope  having  granted  the  king  the  tenths  of  all 
ecclesiastical  benefices  in  Castile,  to  assist  him  in  carrying  on  war  with 
greater  vigour  against  the  Turks,  a  convocation  of  the  clergy  unanimously 
refused  to  levy  that  sum,  upon  pretence  that  it  ought  never  to  be  exacted 
but  at  those  times  when  Christendom  was  actually  invaded  by  the  Infidels  ; 
and  though  Leo,  in  order  to  support  his  authority,  laid  the  kingdom  under 
an  interdict,  so  little  regard  was  paid  to  a  censure  which  was  universally 
deemed  unjust,  that  Charles  himself  applied  to  have  it  taken  off.  Thus 
the  Spanish- clergy,  besides  their  merit  in  opposing  the  usurpations  of  the 
pope,  and  disregarding  the  influence  of  the  crown,  gained  the  exemption 
which  they  had  claimed. J 

The  commotions  which  arose  in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  annexed  to 
the  crown  of  Aragon,  were  more  formidable,  and  produced  more  dan- 
gerous and  lasting  effects.  A  seditious  monk  having,  by  his  sermons, 
excited  the  citizens  of  Valencia,  the  capital  city,  to  take  arms,  and  to  punish 
certain  criminals  in  a  tumultuary  manner,  the  people,  pleased  with  this 
exercise  of  power,  and  with  such  a  discovery  of  their  own  importance, 
not  only  refused  to  lay  down  their  arms,  but  formed  themselves  into  troops 
and  companies,  that  they  might  be  regularly  trained  to  martial  exercises. 
To  obtain  some  security  against  the  oppression  of  the  grandees  was  the 
motive  of  this  association,  and  proved  a  powerful  bond  of  union ;  for  as 
the  aristocratical  privileges  and  independence  were  more  complete  in 
Valencia  than  in  any  other  of  the  Spanish  kingdoms,  the  nobles,  being 
scarcely  accountable  for  their  conduct  to  any  superior,  treated  the  people 
not  only  as  vassals,  but  as  slaves.  They  were  alarmed,  however,  at  the 
progress  of  this  unexpected  insurrection,  as  it  might  encourage  the  people 
to  attempt  shaking  off  the  yoke  altogether ;  but  as  they  could  not  repress 
them  without  taking  arms,  it  became  necessaiy  to  have  recourse  to  the 
emperor,  and  to  desire  his  permission  to  attack  them.  At  the  same  time 
the  people  made  choice  of  deputies  to  represent  their  grievances,  and  to 
implore  the  protection  of  their  sovereign.  Happily  for  the  latter,  they 
arrived  at  court  when  Charles  was  exasperated  to  a  high  degree  against 
the  nobility.  As  he  was  eager  to  visit  Germany,  where  his  presence  be- 
came every  day  more  necessary,  and  as  his  Flemish  courtiers  were  still 
more  impatient  to  return  into  their  native  country,  that  they  might  carry 
thither  the  spoils  which  they  had  amassed  in  Castile,  it  was  impossible  for 

*  Sandoval,  i.  p.  32.     Miniana,  Contin,  p.  J4  f  SabiBQP,  P.  B»nrp.  viii.  1085.  ?  P  Ma>- 

Jyr.  Ep.  4fi9.    Frrrprss  viii.  4?:? 


n;-,  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  I. 

him  to  hold  the  Cortes  of  Valencia  in  person.  He  had  for  that  reason 
empowered  the  Cardinal  Adrian  to  represent  him  in  that  assembly,  and 
in  his  name  to  receive  their  oath  of  allegiance,  to  confirm  their  privileges 
with  the  usual  solemnities,  and  to  demand  of  them  a  free  gift.  But  the 
Valencian  nobles,  who  considered  this  measure  as  an  indignity  to  their 
country,  which  was  no  less  entitled,  than  his  other  kingdoms,  to  the  honour 
of  their  sovereign's  presence,  declared,  that  by  the  fundamental  laws  of 
the  constitution  they  could  neither  acknowledge  as  king  a  person  who  was 
absent,  nor  grant  him  any  subsidy  ;  and  to  this  declaration  they  adhered 
with  a  haughty  and  inflexible  obstinacy.  Charles,  piqued  by  their  be- 
haviour, decided  in  favour  of  the  people,  and  rashly  authorized  them  to 
continue  in  arms.  The  deputies  returned  in  triumph,  and  were  received 
by  their  fellow-citizens  as  the  deliverers  of  their  country.  The  insolence 
of  the  multitude  increasing  with  their  success,  they  expelled  all  the  nobles 
out  of  the  city,  committed  the  government  to  magistrates  of  their  own 
election,  and  entered  into  an  association  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Germanada  or  Brotherhood,  which  proved  the  source  not  only  of  the 
wildest  disorders,  but  of  the  most  fatal  calamities  in  that  kingdom.* 

Meanwhile,  the  kingdom  of  Castile  was  agitated  with  no  less  violence. 
No  sooner  was  the  emperor's  intention  to  leave  Spain  made  known,  than 
several  cities  of  the  first  rank  resolved  to  remonstrate  against  it,  and  to 
crave  redress  once  more  of  those  grievances  which  they  had  formerly  laid 
before  him.  Gharles  artfully  avoided  admitting  their  deputies  to  audience  ; 
and  as  he  saw  from  this  circumstance  how  difficult  it  would  be,  at  this 
juncture,  to  restrain  the  mutinous  spirit  of  the  greater  cities,  he  summoned 
the  Cortes  of  Castile  to  meet  at  Compostella,  a  town  in  Galicia.  His 
only  reason  for  calling  that  assembly,  was  the  hope  of  obtaining  another 
donative  ;  for  as  his  treasury  had  been  exhausted  in  the  same  proportion 
that  the  riches  of  his  ministers  increased,  he  could  not,  without  some 
additional  aid,  appear  in  Germany  with  splendour  suited  to  the  Imperial 
dignity.  To  appoint  a  meeting  of  the  Cortes  in  so  remote  a  province, 
and  to  demand  a  new  subsidy  before  the  time  for  paying  the  former  was 
expired,  were  innovations  of  a  most  dangerous  tendency ;  and  among  a 
people  not  only  jealous  of  their  liberties,  but  accustomed  to  supply  the 
wants  of  their  sovereigns  with  a  very  frugal  hand,  excited  an  universal 
alarm.  The  magistrates  of  Toledo  remonstrated  against  both  these 
measures  in  a  very  hisrh  tone  ;  the  inhabitants  of  Valladolid,  who  expected 
that  the  Cortes  should  have  been  held  in  that  city,  were  so  enraged,  that 
they  took  arms  in  a  tumultuary  manner ;  and  if  Charles,  with  his  foreign 
counsellors,  had  not  fortunately  made  their  escape  during  a  violent  tempest, 
they  would  have  massacred  all  the  Flemings,  and  have  prevented  him 
from  continuing  his  journey  towards  Compostella. 

Every  city  through  which  he  passed,  petitioned  against  holding  a  Cortes 
in  Galicia,  a  point  with  regard  to  which  Charles  was  inflexible.  But 
though  the  utmost  influence  had  been  exerted  by  the  ministers,  in  order  to 
procure  a  choice  of  representatives  favourable  to  their  designs,  such  was 
the  temper  of  the  nation,  that,  at  the  opening  of  the  assembly  [April  1], 
there  appeared  among  many  of  the  members  unusual  symptoms  of  ill-hu- 
mour, which  threatened  a  fierce  opposition  to  all  the  measures  of  the 
court.  No  representatives  were  sent  by  Toledo  ;  for  the  lot,  according  to 
which,  by  ancient  custom,  the  election  was  determined  in  that  city,  having 
fallen  upon  two  persons  devoted  to  the  Flemish  ministers,  their  fellow- 
citizens  refused  to  grant  them  a  commission  in  the  usual  form,  and  in  their 
stead  made  choice  of  two  deputies,  whom  they  empowered  to  repair  to 
Compostella,  and  to  protest  against  the  lawfulness  of  the  Cortes  assembled 
there.     The  representatives  of  Salamanca  refused  to  take  the  usual  path 

*  P.  Martyr,  Ep.ftT>l      Forreras,  viji.  47fi,  48^. 


EMPEKOK  CHARLES   V.  119 

of  fidelity,  unless  Charles  consented  to  change  the  place  of  meeting. 
Those  <it  Toro,  Madrid,  Cordova,  and  several  other  places,  declared  the 
demand  of  another  donative  to  be  unprecedented,  unconstitutional,  and  un- 
necessary. All  the  arts,  however,  which  influence  popular  assemblies, 
bribes,  promises,  threats,  and  even  force,  were  employed,  in  order  to  gain 
members.  The  nobles,  soothed  by  the  respectful  assiduity  with  which 
Chievres  and  the  other  Flemings  paid  court  to  them,  or  instigated  by  a 
mean  jealousy  of  that  spirit  of  independence  which  they  saw  rising  among 
the  commons,  openly  favoured  the  pretensions  of  the  court,  or  at  the 
utmost  did  not  oppose  them,  and  at  last,  in  contempt  not  only  of  the  senti- 
ments of  the  nation,  but  of  the  ancient  forms  of  the  constitution,  a  majority 
voted  to  grant  the  donative  for  which  the  emperor  had  applied.*  Toge- 
ther with  this  grant,  the  Cortes  laid  before  Charles  a  representation  of 
those  grievances  whereof  his  people  complained,  and  in  their  name  craved 
redress  ;  but  he,  having  obtained  from  them  all  he  could  expect,  paid  no 
attention  to  this  ill-timed  petition,  which  it  was  no  longer  dangerous  to 
disregard.! 

As  nothing  now  retarded  his  embarkation,  he  disclosed  his  intention 
with  regard  to  the  regency  of  Castile  during  his  absence,  which  he  had 
hitherto  kept  secret,  and  nominated  cardinal  Adrian  to  that  office.  The 
viceroyalty  of  Aragon  he  conferred  on  Don  John  de  Lanuza  ;  that  of  Va- 
lencia on  Don  Diego  de  Mendoza  Conde  de  Melito.  The  choice  of  the 
two  latter  was  universally  acceptable  ;  but  the  advancement  of  Adrian, 
though  the  only  Fleming  who  had  preserved  any  reputation  among  the 
Spaniards,  animated  the  Castilians  with  new  hatred  against  foreigners ; 
and  even  the  nobles,  who  had  so  tamely  suffered  other  inroads  upon  the 
constitution,  felt  the  indignity  offered  to  their  own  order  by  his  promotion, 
and  remonstrated  against  it  as  illegal.  But  Charles's  desire  of  visiting 
Germany,  as  well  as  the  impatience  of  his  ministers  to  leave  Spain,  were 
now  so  much  increased,  that  without  attending  to  the  murmurs  of  the  Cas- 
tilians, or  even  taking  time  to  provide  any  remedy  against  an  insurrection 
in  Toledo,  which  at  that  time  threatened,  and  afterwards  produced,  most 
formidable  effects,  he  sailed  from  Corunna  on  the  22d  of  May  ;  and  by 
setting  out  so  abrupdy  in  quest  of  a  new  crown,  he  endangered  a  more 
important  one  of  which  he  was  already  in  possession.^ 


BOOK  II. 


Many  concurring  circumstances  not  only  called  Charles's  thoughts  to- 
wards the  affairs  of  Germany,  but  rendered  his  presence  in  that  country 
necessary.  The  electors  grew  impatient  of  so  long  an  interregnum  ;  his 
hereditary  dominions  were  disturbed  by  intestine  commotions;  and  the 
new  opinions  concerning  religion  made  such  rapid  progress  as  required 
the  most  serious  consideration.  But  above  all,  the  motions  of  the  French 
king  drew  his  attention,  and  convinced  him  that  it  was  necessary  to  take 
measures  for  his  own  defence  with  no  less  speed  than  vigour. 

When  Chirles  and  Francis  entered  the  lists  as  candidates  for  the  Impe- 
rial dignity,  they  conducted  their  rivalship  with  many  professions  of  regard 
for  each  other,  and  with  repeated  declarations  that  they  would  not  suffer 
any  tincture  of  enmity  to  mingle  itself  with  this  honourable  emulation. 
"  We  both  court  the  same  mistress,"  said  Francis,  with  his  usual  vivacity  ; 

•  P.  Martyr,  Ep.  663.  Sandoval,  p.  33.  &<\  t  Sandoval,  84.  i  P.  Martyr,  Ep.  670.  J?an= 
do»al;  W. 


120  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  Book  If. 

*'each  ought  to  urge  his  suit  with  all  the  address  of  which  he  is  master; 
the  most  fortunate  will  prevail,  and  the  other  must  rest  contented."*  But 
though  two  young  and  high-spirited  princes,  and  each  of  them  animated 
ivith  the  hope  of  success,  might  be  capable  of  forming  such  a  generous 
resolution,  it  was  soon  found,  that  they  promised  upon  a  moderation  too 
refined  and  disinterested  for  human  nature.  The  preference  given  to 
Charles  in  the  sight  of  all  Europe  mortified  Francis  extremely,  and  inspired 
him  with  all  the  passions  natural  to  disappointed  ambition.  To  this  was 
owing  the  personal  jealousy  and  rivalship  which  subsisted  between  the 
two  monarchs  during  their  whole  reign ;  and  the  rancour  of  these,  aug- 
mented by  a  real  opposition  of  interest,  which  gave  rise  to  many  unavoid- 
able causes  of  discord,  involved  them  in  almost  perpetual  hostilities. 
Charles  had  paid  no  regard  to  the  principal  article  in  the  treaty  of  Noyon, 
by  refusing  oftener  than  once  to  do  justice  to  John  d'Albret,  the  excluded 
monarch  or  Navarre,  whom  Francis  was  bound  in  honpur,  and  prompted 
by  interest,  to  restore  to  his  throne.  The  French  king  had  pretensions  to 
the  crown  of  Naples,  of  which  Ferdinand  had  deprived  his  predecessors 
by  a  most  unjustifiable  breach  of  faith.  The  emperor  might  reclaim  the 
duchy  of  Milan  as  a  fief  of  the  empire,  which  Francis  had  seized,  and 
still  kept  in  possession,  without  having  received  investiture  of  it  from  the 
emperor.  Charles  considered  the  duchy  of  Burgundy  as  the  patrimonial 
domain  of  his  ancestors,  wrested  from  them  by  the  unjust  policy  of  Louis 
XL,  and  observed  with  the  greatest  jealousy  the  strict  connections  which 
Francis  had  formed  with  the  duke  of  Gueldres,  the  hereditary  enemy  of 
his  family. 

When  the  sources  of  discord  were  so  many  and  various,  peace  could 
be  of  no  long  continuance,  even  between  princes  the  most  exempt  from  am- 
bition or  emulation.  But  as  the  shock  between  two  such  mighty  antagonists 
could  not  fail  of  being  extremely  violent,  they  both  discovered  no  small 
solicitude  about  its  consequences,  and  took  time  not  only  to  collect  and  to 
ponder  their  own  strength,  and  to  compare  it  with  that  of  their  adversary, 
but  to  secure  the  friendship  orassistance  of  the  other  European  powers. 

The  pope  had  equal  reason  to  dread  the  two  rivals,  and  saw  that  he 
who  prevailed  would  become  absolute  master.  If  it  had  been  in  his 
power  to  engage  them  in  hostilities,  without  rendering  Lombardy  the  the- 
atre of  war,  nothing  would  have  been  more  agreeable  to  him,  than  to  see 
them  waste  each  other's  strength  in  endless  quarrels.  But  this  was  im- 
possible. Leo  foresaw,  that  on  the  first  rupture  between  the  two  monarchs, 
the  armies  of  France  and  Spain  would  take  the  field  in  the  Milanese  ;  and 
while  the  scene  of  their  operations  was  so  near,  and  the  subject  for  which 
they  contended  so  interesting  to  him,  he  could  not  long  remain  neuter. 
He  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  adapt  his  plan  of  conduct  to  his  political 
situation.  He  courted  and  soothed  the  emperor  and  king  of  France  with 
equal  industry  and  address.  Though  warmly  solicited  by  each  of  them 
to  espouse  his  cause,  he  assumed  all  the  appearances  of  entire  impartiality, 
and  attempted  to  conceal  his  real  sentiments  under  that  profound  dissimu- 
lation which,  seems  to  have  been  affected  by  most  of  the  Italian  politicians 
in  that  age. 

The  views  and  interests  of  the  Venetians  were  not  different  from  those 
of  the  pope  ;  nor  were  they  less  solicitous  to  prevent  Italy  from  becoming 
the  seat  of  war,  and  their  own  republic  from  being  involved  in  the  quar- 
rel. But  through  all  Leo's  artifices,  and  notwithstanding  his  high  preten- 
sions to  a  perfect  neutrality,  it  was  visible  that  he  leaned  towards  the  em- 
peror, from  whom  he  had  both  more  to  fear  and  more  to  hope  than  from 
Francis  ;  and  it  was  equally  manifest,  that  if  it  became  necessary  to  take 
a  side,  the  Venetians  would  from  motives  of  the  same  nature,  declare  for 

•Guicc.  HH.  13.  p.  159. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  12: 

the  king  of  France.  No  considerable  assistance,  however,  was  to  be 
expected  from  the  Italian  states,  who  were  jealous  to  an  extreme  degree 
of  the  Transalpine  powers,  and  careful  to  preserve  the  balance  even 
between  them,  unless  when  they  were  seduced  to  violate  this  favourite 
maxim  of  their  policy,  by  the  certain  prospect  of  some  great  advantage  to 
themselves, 

But  the  chief  attention  both  of  Charles  and  of  Francis  was  employed 
in  order  to  gain  the  king  of  England,  from  whom  each  of  them  expected 
assistance  more  effectual,  and  afforded  with  less  political  caution.     Henry 
VIII-  had  ascended  the  throne  of  that  kingdom  in  the  year  1509,  with  such 
circumstances  of  advantage  as  promised  a  reign  of  distinguished  felicity 
and  splendour.     The  union  in  his  person  of  the  two  contending  titles  of 
York  and  Lancaster  ;  the  alacrity  and  emulation  with  which  both  tactions 
obeyed  his  commands,  not  only  enabled  him  to  exert  a  degree  of  vigour 
and  authority  in  his  domestic  government  which  none  of  his  predecessors 
could  have  safely  assumed  ;    but  permitted   him  to  take  a  share  in  the 
affairs  of  the  continent,  from  which  the  attention  of  the  English  had  long 
been  diverted  by  their  unhappy  intestine  c  ivisions.     The  great  sum?  of 
money  which  his  father  had  amassed,  rendered  him   the  most  wealthy 
prince  in  Europe.     The  peace  which  had  subsisted  under  the  cautious 
administration  of  that  monarch,  had  been  of  sufficient  length  to  recruit  the 
population  of  the  kingdom  after  the  desolation  of  the  civil  wars,  but  not 
so  long  as  to  enervate  its  spirit  ;  and  the  English,  ashamed  of  having  ren- 
dered their  own  country  so  long  a  scene  oi  discord  and  bloodshed,  were 
eager  to  display  their  valour  in  some  foreign  v.  ar,  and  to  revive  the  memory 
of  the  victories  gained  on  the  continent  by  iheir  ancestors.     Henry's  own 
temper  perfectly  suited  the  state  of  his  kingdom,  and   the  disposition  of 
his  subjects.     Ambitious,  active,  enterprising,  and  accomplished  in  all  the 
martial  exercises  which  in  that  age  formed  a  chief  part  in  the  education  of 
persons  of  noble  birth,  and  inspired  them  w  ith  an  early  love  of  war,  he 
longed  to  engage  in  action,  and  to  signalize  the  beginning  of  his  reign  by 
some  remarkable  exploit.     An  opportunity  soon  presented  itself ;  and  the 
victory  at^Guinegate  [l51o],  together  with  the  successtul  sieges  of  Teroii- 
enne  and  Tournay,  though  of  little  utility  to  England,  reflected  great  lustre 
on  its  monarch,  and  confirmed  the  idea  which  foreign  princes  entertained 
of  his  power  and  consequence.     So  many  concurring  causes,  added  to  the 
happy  situation  of  his  own  dominions,  which  secured  them  from  foreign 
invasion  ;    and  to  the  fortunate  circumstance  of  his  being  in  possession  of 
Calais,  which  served  not  only  as  a  key  to  France,  but  opened  an  easy  pas- 
sage into  the  Netherlands,  rendered  the  king  of  England  the  natural  guar- 
dian of  the  liberties  of  Europe*  and  the  arbiter  between  the  emperor  and 
French  monarch.     Henry  himself  was  sensible  of  this  singular  advantage, 
and  convinced,  that,  in  order  to  preserve  the  balance  even,  it  was  his  office 
to  prevent  either  of  the  rivals  from  acquiring  such  superiority  of  pow  er  as 
might  be  fatal  to  the  other,  or  formidable  to  the  rest  of  Christendom.     But 
he  was  destitute  of  the  penetration,  and  still  more  of  the  temper,  which 
such  a  delicate  function  required.     Influenced  by  caprice,  by  vanity,  by 
resentment,  by  affection,  he   was   incapable  of  forming  any  regular  and 
extensive  system  of  policy,  or  of  adhering  to  it  with  steadiness.     His  mea- 
sures seldom  resulted  from  attention  to  the  general  welfare,  or  from  a  deli- 
berate regard  to  his  own  interest,  but  were  dictated  by  passions  which 
rendered  him  blind  to  both,  and  prevented  his  gaining  that  ascendant  in 
the  affairs  oi  Europe,  or  from  reaping  such  advantages  to  himself,  as  a 
prince  of  greater  art,  though  with   inferior  talents,  might  have  easily 
secured. 

All  the  impolitic  steps  in  Henry's  administration  must  not,  however,  be 
imputed  to  defects  in  his  own  character ;  many  of  them  were  owing  to  the 
violent  passions  and  insatiable  ambition  of  his  prime  minister  and  favourite, 
Vol.  II.— 16 


U2  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  II.  ' 

cardinal  Wolsey.  This  man,  from  one  of  the  lowest  ranks  in  life,  had 
risen  to  a  height  of  power  and  dignity,  to  which  no  English  subject  ever 
arrived ;  and  governed  the  haughty,  presumptuous,  and  untractable  spirit 
of  Henry  with  absolute  authority.  Great  talents,  and  of  very  different 
kinds,  fitted  him  for  the  two  opposite  stations  of  minister  and  of  favourite. 
His  profound  judgment,  his  unwearied  industry,  his  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  state  of  the  kingdom,  his  extensive  knowledge  ot  the  views  and 
interests  of  foreign  courts,  qualified  him  for  that  uncontrolled  direction  of 
affairs  with  which  he  was  intrusted.  The  elegance  of  his  manners,  the 
gayety  of  his  conversation,  his  insinuating  address,  his  love  of  magnificence, 
and  his  proficiency  in  those  parts  of  literature  of  which  Henry  was  fond, 
gained  him  the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  young  monarch.  Wolsey 
was  far  from  employing  this  vast  and  almost  royal  power,  to  promote 
either  the  true  interest  of  the  nation,  or  the  real  grandeur  of  his  master. 
Rapacious  at  the  same  time,  and  profuse,  he  was  insatiable  in  desiring 
wealth.  Of  boundless  ambition,  he  aspired  after  new  honours  with  an 
eagerness  unabated  by  his  former  success;  and  being  rendered  presump- 
tuous by  his  uncommon  elevation,  as  well  as  by  the  ascendant  which  he 
had  gained  over  a  prince,  who  scarcely  brooked  advice  from  any  other 

Eerson,  he  discovered  in  his  whole  demeanour  the  most  overbearing 
aughtiness  and  pride.  To  these  passions  he  himself  sacrificed  every 
consideration ;  and  whoever  endeavoured  to  obtain  his  favour  or  that  of  his 
master,  found  it  necessary  to  soothe  and  to  gratify  them. 

As  all  the  states  of  Europe  sought  Henry's  friendship  at  that  time,  all 
courted  his  minister  with  incredible  attention  and  obsequiousness,  and 
strove  by  presents,  by  promises,  or  by  flattery,  to  work  upon  his  avarice, 
his  ambition,  or  his  pride.*  Francis  had,  in  the  year  1518,  employed 
Bonnivet,  admiral  of  France,  one  of  his  most  accomplished  and  artful 
courtiers,  to  gain  this  hayghty  prelate.  He  himself  bestowed  on  him  every 
mark  of  respect  and  confidence.  He  consulted  him  with  regard  to  his 
most  important  affairs,  and  received  his  responses  with  implicit  deference. 
By  these  arts,  together  with -the  grant  of  a  large  pension,  Francis  attached 
the  cardinal  to  his  interest,  who  persuaded  his  master  to  surrender  Tour- 
nay  to  France,  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  marriage  between  his  daughter  the 
princess  Mary  and  the  dauphin,  and  to  consent  to  a  personal  interview 
with  the  French  king.j  From  that  time,  the  most  familiar  intercourse 
subsisted  between  the  two  courts ;  Francis,  sensible  of  the  great  value  of 
Wolsey's  friendship,  laboured  to  secure  the  continuance  of  it  by  every 
possible  expression  of  regard,  bestowing  on  him,  in  all  his  letters,  the 
honourable  appellations  of  Father,  Tutor,  and  Governor. 

Charles  observed  the  progress  of  this  union  with  the  utmost  jealousy 
and  concern.  His  near  affinity  to  the  king  of  England  gave  him  some 
title  to  his  friendship ;  and  soon  after  nis  accession  to  the  throne  of  Castile, 
he  attempted  to  ingratiate  himself  with  Wolsey,  by  settling  on  him  a  pen- 
sion of  three  thousand  livres.  His  chief  solicitude  at  present  was  to  pre- 
vent the  intended  interview  with  Francis,  the  effects  of  which  upon  two 
young  princes,  whose  hearts  were  no  less  susceptible  of  friendship,  than 
their  manners  were  capable  of  inspiring  it,  he  extremely  dreaded.  But 
after  many  delays,  occasioned  by  difficulties  with  respect  to  the  cere- 
monial, and  by  the  anxious  precautions  of  both  courts  for  the  safety  of 
their  respective  sovereigns,  the  time  and  place  of  meeting  were  at  last 
fixed.  Messengers  had  been  sent  to  different  courts,  inviting  all  comers, 
who  were  gentlemen,  to  enter  the  lists  at  tilt  and  tournament,  against  the 
two  monarchs  and  their  knights.  Both  Francis  and  Henry  loved  the 
splendour  of  these  spectacles  too  well,  and  were  too  much  delighted  with 

*  FidJes'g  Life  of  Wolsev,  166.  H»mer'8  Feeders,  xiii.  7IP.  t  Hcrbert'e  Hist,  of  Henry  VIII, 
30.     Ryiner,  xiti.  624. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  123 

the  graceful  figure  which  they  made  on  such  occasions,  to  forego  the  plea- 
sure or  glory  which  they  expected  from  such  a  singular  and  brilliant 
assembly.  Nor  was  the  cardinal  less  fond  of  displaying  his  own  mag- 
nificence in  the  presence  of  two  courts,  and  of  discovering  to  the  two 
nations  the  extent  of  his  influence  over  both  their  monarchs.  Charles, 
finding  it  impossible  to  prevent  the  interview,  endeavoured  to  disappoint 
its  effects,  and  to  pre-occupy  the  favour  of  the  English  monarch  and  his 
minister  by  an  act  of  complaisance  still  more  flattering  and  more  un- 
common. Having  sailed  from  Corunna,  as  has  already  been  related,  he 
steered  his  course  directly  towards  England,  and  relying  wholly  on  Henry's 
generosity  for  his  own  safety,  landed  at  Dover  [May  26th].  This  unex- 
pected visit  surprised  the  nation.  Wolsey,  however,  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  emperor's  intention.  A  negotiation,  unknown  to  the  historians  of 
that  age,  had  been  carried  on  between  him  and  the  court  of  Spain ;  this 
visit  had  been  concerted ;  and  Charles  granted  the  cardinal  whom  he  calls 
his  most  dear  friend,  an  additional  pension  of  seven  thousand  ducats.* 
Henry,  who  was  then  at  Canterbury,  in  his  way  to  France,  immediately 
despatched  Wolsey  to  Dover,  in  order  to  welcome  the  emperor ;  and  being 
highly  pleased  with  an  event  so  soothing  to  his  vanity,  hastened  to  receive, 
with  suitable  respect,  a  guest  who  had  placed  in  him  such  unbounded 
confidence.  Charles,  to  whom  time  was  precious,  stayed  only  four  days 
in  England ;  but  during  that  short  space  he  had  the  address,  not  only  to 
give  Henry  favourable  impressions  of  his  character  and  intentions,  but  to 
detach  Wolsey  entirely  from  the  interest  of  the  French  king.  All  the 
grandeur,  the  wealth,  and  the  power,  which  the  cardinal  possessed,  did 
not  satisfy  his  ambitious  mind,  while  there  was  one  step  higher  to  which 
an  ecclesiastic  could  ascend.  The  papal  dignity  had  for  some  time  been 
the  object  of  his  wishes,  and  Francis,  as  the  most  effectual  method  of 
securing  his  friendship,  had  promised  to  favour  his  pretensions,  on  the  first 
vacancy,  with  all  his  interest.  But  as  the  emperor's  influence  in  the  college 
of  cardinals  was  greatly  superior  to  that  of  the  French  king,  Wolsey 
grasped  eagerly  at  the  offer  which  that  artful  prince  had  made  him,  of 
exerting  it  vigorously  in  his  behalf;  and  allured  by  this  prospect,  which, 
under  the  pontificate  of  Leo,  still  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  was  a  very  distant 
one,  he  entered  with  warmth  into  all  the  emperor's  schemes.  No  treaty, 
however,  was  concluded  at  that  time  between  the  two  monarchs ;  but 
Henry,  in  return  for  the  honour  which  Charles  had  done  him,  promised  to 
visit  him  in  some  place  of  the  Low-Countries,  immediately  after  taking 
leave  of  the  French  king. 

His  interview  with  that  prince  was  in  an  open  plain  between  Guisnes 
and  Ardres  [Tune  7th,]  where  the  two  kings  and  their  attendants  displayed 
their  magnificence  with  such  emulation  and  profuse  expense,  as  procured 
it  the  name  of  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold.  Feats  of  chivalry,  parties  of 
gallantry,  together  with  such  exercises  and  pastimes  as  were  in  that  age 
reckoned  manly  or  elegant  rather  than  serious  business,  occupied  both 
courts  during  eighteen  days  that  they  continued  together.!  Whatever 
impression  the  engaging  manners  of  Francis,  or  the  liberal  and  unsuspicious 

*  Rymer,  xili.  714. 

f  The  French  and  English  historians  describe  the  pomp  of  this  interview,  and  the  various  spec- 
tacles, with  great  minuteness.  One  circumstance  mentioned  by  the  mareschal  de  Fleuranges,  who 
was  present,  and  which  must  appear  singular  in  the  present  age,  is  commonly  omitted  "  After  the 
tournament,*'  says  he,  "  the  French  and  English  wrestlers  made  their  appearance,  and  wrestled  in 
presence  of  the  kings,  and  the  ladies;  and  as  there  were  many  stout  wrestlers  there,  it  afforded 
excellent  pastime  ;  but  as  the  king  of  France  had  neglected  to  bring  any  wrestlers  out  of  Bretagne, 
the  English  gained  the  prize. — After  this,  the  kings  of  France  and  England  retired  to  a  tent,  where 
they  drank  together,  and  the  king  of  England,  seizing  the  king  of  France  by  the  collar,  said,  "  My 
brother,  I  must  wrestle  with  you"  and  endeavoured  once  or  twice  to  trip  up  hii  heels;  but  the  king 
of  France,  who  is  a  dexterous  wrestler,  twisted  him  round,  and  threw  him  on  the  earth  with  a  pro- 
ilieious  vjolenrr.  The  king  of  England  wanted  to  renew  the  combat,  but  was  prevented  '' 
Memoires  de  Fleurance«s.  IW.    Pari?,  1753,  p.  3?9. 


124  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Kook  II. 

confidence  with  which  he  treated  Henry,  made  on  the  mind  of  thai 
monarch,  was  soon  effaced  by  Wolsey's  artifices,  or  by  an  interview  he 
had  with  the  emperor  at  Gravelines  [July  10]  ;  which  was  conducted  with 
less  pomp  than  that  near  Guisnes,  but  with  greater  attention  to  what  might 
be  of  political  utility.  • 

This  assiduity,  with  which  the  two  greatest  monarchs  in  Europe  paid 
court  to  Henry,  appeared  to  him  a  plain  acknowledgment  that  he  held 
the  balance  in  his  hands,  and  convinced  him  of  the  justness  of  the  motto 
which  he  had  chosen,  "That  whoever  he  favoured  would  prevail."  In 
this  opinion  he  was  confirmed  by  an  offer  which  Charles  made,  of  sub- 
mitting any  difference  that  might  arise  between  him  and  Francis  to  his  sole 
arbitration.  Nothing  could  have  the  appearance  of  greater  candour  and 
moderation,  than  the  choice  of  a  judge  who  was  reckoned  the  common 
friend  of  both.  But  as  the  emperor  had  now  attached  Wolsey  entirely  to 
his  interest,  no  proposal  could  be  more  insidious,  nor,  as  appeared  by  the 
sequel,  more  fatal  to  the  French  king.* 

Charles,  notwithstanding  his  partial  fondness  for  the  Netherlands,  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  made  no  long  stay  there  ;  and  after  receiving  the 
homage  and  congratulations  of  his  countrymen,  hastened  to  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle,  the  place  appointed  by  the  golden  bull  for  the  coronation  of  the 
emperor.  There,  in  presence  of  an  assembly  more  numerous  and  splendid 
than  had  appeared  on  any  former  occasion,  the  crown  of  Charlemagne 
was  placed  on  his  head  [Oct.  23],  with  all  the  pompous  solemnity  which 
the  Germans  affect  in  their  public  ceremonies,  and  which  they  deem 
essential  to  the  dignity  of  their  empire.+ 

Almost  at  the  same  time,  Solyman  the  Magnificent,  one  of  the  most 
accomplished,  enterprising,  and  victorious  of  the  Turkish  sultans,  a 
constant  and  formidable  rival  to  the  emperor,  ascended  the  Ottoman 
throne.  It  was  the  peculiar  glory  of  that  period  to  produce  the  most 
illustrious  monarchs,  who  have  at  any  one  time  appeared  in  Europe. 
Leo,  Charles,  Francis,  Henry,  and  Solyman,  were  each  of  them  possessed 
of  talents  which  might  have  renderea  any  age,  wherein  they  happened 
to  flourish,  conspicuous.  But  such  a  constellation  of  great  princes  shed 
uncommon  lustre  on  the  sixteenth  century.  In  every  contest,  great  power 
as  well  as  great  abilities  were  set  in  opposition  ;  the  efforts  of  valour  and 
conduct  on  one  side,  counterbalanced  by  an  equal  exertion  of  the  same 
qualifies  on  the  other,  not  only  occasioned  such  a  variety  of  events  as 
renders  -the  history  of  that  period  interesting,  but  served  to  check  the 
exorbitant  progress  of  any  of  those  princes,  and  to  prevent  their  attaining 
such  pre-eminence  in  power  as  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  liberty  and 
happiness  of  mankind. 

The  first  act  of  the  emperor's  administration  was  to  appoint  a  diet  of 
the  empire  to  be  held  at  Worms  on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  twenty  one.  In  his  circular  letters  to  the  different 
princes,  he  informed  them,  that  he  had  called  this  assembly  in  order  to 
concert  with  them  the  most  proper  measures  for  checking  the  progress  of 
those  new  and  dangerous  opinions,  which  threatened  to  disturb  the  peace 
of  Germany,  and  to  overturn  the  religion  of  their  ancestors. 

Charles  had  in  view  the  opinions  which  had  been  propagated  by  Luther 
and  his  disciples  since  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventeen. 
As  these  led  to  that  happy  reformation  in  religion  which  rescued  one  part 
of  Europe  from  the  papal  yoke,  mitigated  its  rigour  in  the  other,  and 
produced  a  revolution  in  the  sentiments  of  mankind,  the  greatest,  as  well 
as  the  most  beneficial,  that  has  happened  since  the  publication  of  Chris- 
tianity, not  only  the  events  which  at  first  gave  birth  to  such  opinions,  but 

*  Herbert,  37.  ]  Hartroan.  Mauri  Rflarto  Cororiat.  Car.  V.  ap.  Gnldast  Folit.  Jmneria' 

Franc  16J4.  fol.  p.  264.  V. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  125 

die  causes  which  rendered  their  progress  so  rapid  and  successful,  deserve 
to  be  considered  with  minute  attention. 

To  overturn  a  system  of  religious  belief,  founded  on  ancient  and  deep 
rooted  prejudices,  supported  by  power,  and  defended  with  no  less  art  than 
industry  ;  to  establish  in  its  room  doctrines  of  the  most  contrary  genius 
and  tendency  ;  and  to  accomplish  ali  this,  not  by  external  violence  or  the 
force  of  arms  ;  are  operations  which  historians,  the  least  prone  to  credulity 
and  superstition,  ascribe  to  that  Divine  Providence  which,  with  infinite 
ease,  can  bring  about  events  which  to  human  sagacity  appear  impossible. 
The  interposition  of  Heaven,  in  favour  of  the  Christian  religion  at  its  first 
publication,  was  manifested  by  miracles  and  prophecies  wrought  and 
uttered  in  confirmation  of  it.  Though  none  of  the  reformers  possessed, 
or  pretended  to  possess,  these  supematura;  gifts,  yet  that  wonderful  pre- 
paration of  circumstances  which  disposed  the  minds  of  men  tor  receiving 
their  doctrines,  that  singular  combination  of  causes  which  secured  their 
success,  and  enabled  men,  destitute  of  power  and  of  policy,  to  triumph 
over  those  who  employed  against  them  extraordinary  efforts  of  both,  may 
be  considered  as  no  slight  proof,  that  the  same  hand  which  planted  the 
Christian  religion,  protected  the  reformed  faith,  and  reared  it,  from  begin- 
nings extremely  feeble,  to  an  amazing  degree  of  vigour  and  maturity. 

It  was  from  causes,  seemingly  fortuitous,  and  from  a  source  very  incon- 
siderable, that  all  the  mighty  effects  of  the  reformation  flowed.  Leo  X., 
when  raised  to  the  papal  throne,  found  the  revenues  of  the  church  ex- 
hausted by  the  vast  projects  of  his  two  ambitious  predecessors,  Alexander 
VI.  and  Julius  II.  His  own  temper,  naturally  liberal  and  enterprising, 
rendered  him  incapable  of  that  severe  and  patient  economy  which  the 
situation  of  his  finances  required.  On  the  contrary,  his  schemes  for  ag- 
grandizing the  family  of  Medici,  his  love  of  splendour,  his  taste  for 
pleasure,  and  his  magnificence  in  rewarding  men  of  genius,  involved  him 
daily  in  new  expenses ;  in  order  to  provide  a  fund  for  which,  he  tried 
every  device  that  the  fertile  invention  of  priests  had  fallen  upon,  to  drain 
the  credulous  multitude  of  their  wealth.  Among  others  he  had  recourse 
to  a  sale  of  Indulgences.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Romish  church* 
all  the  good  works  of  the  saints,  over  and  above  those  which  were  neces- 
sary towards  their  own  justification,  are  deposited,  together  with  the 
infinite  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  one  inexhaustible  treasury.  The  keys 
of  this  weTe  committed  to  St.  Peter,  and  to  his  successors  the  popes,  who 
may  open  it  at  pleasure,  and  by  transferring  a  portion  of  this  superabun- 
dant merit  to  any  particular  person,  for  a  sum  of  money,  may  convey  to 
him  either  the  pardon  of  his  own  sins,  or  a  release  for  any  one,  in  whose 
happiness  he  is  interested,  from  the  pains  of  purgatory.  Such  indulgences 
were  first  invented  in  the  eleventh  century  by  Urban  II.  as  a  recompense 
for  those  who  went  in  person  upon  the  meritorious  enterprise  of  conquer* 
ing  the  Holy  Land.  They  were  afterwards  granted  to  those  who  hired  a 
soldier  for  that  purpose  ;  and  in  process  of  time  were  bestowed  on  such 
as  gave  money  For  accomplishing  any  pious  work  enjoined  by  the  pope.* 
Julius  II.  had  bestowed  indulgences  on  all  who  contributed  towards  build- 
ing the  church  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome  ;  and  as  Leo  was  carrying  on  that 
magnificent  and  extensive  fabric,  his  grant  was  founded  on  the  same 
pretence.! 

The  right  of  promulgating  these  indulgences  in  Germany,  together  with 
a  share  in  the  profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  them,  was  granted  to  Albert, 
elector  of  Mentz  and  archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  who,  as  his  chief  agent 
for  retailing  them  in  Saxony,  employed  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  friar  of 
licentious  morals,  but  of  an  active  spirit,  and  remarkable  for  his  noisy  and 
popular  eloquence.     He,  assisted  by  the  monks  of  his  order,  executed 

?  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  by  P.  Paul.  p.  4.       t  Palavic.  Bist.  Cone.  Trident,  p.  *. 


m  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  U. 

the  commission  with  great  zeal  and  success,  but  with  little  discretion  of 
decency  ;  and  though  by  magnifying  excessively  the  benefit  of  their  indul- 
gences,* and  by  disposing  of  them  at  a  very  low  price,  they  carried  on 
ior  some  time  an  extensive  and  lucrative  traffic  among  the  creduious  and 
the  ignorant ;  the  extravagance  of  their  assertions,  as  well  as  the  irregu- 
larities in  their  conduct,  came  at  last  to  give  general  offence.  The  princes 
and  nobles  were  irritated  at  seeing  their  vassals  drained  ot  so  much 
wealth,  in  order  to  replenish  the  treasury  of  a  profuse  pontiff.  Men  of 
piety  regretted  the  delusion  of  the  people,  who,  being  taught  to  rely,  for 
the  pardon  of  their  sins,  on  the  indulgences  which  they  purchased,  did 
not  think  it  incumbent  on  them  either  to  study  the  doctrines  taught  by 
genuine  Christianity,  or  to  practise  the  duties  which  it  enjoins.  Even  the 
most  unthinking  were  shocked  at  the  scandalous  behaviour  of  Tetzel  and 
his  associates,  who  often  squandered  in  drunkenness,  gaming,  and  low 
debaucheiy,  those  sums  which  were  piously  bestowed,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  eternal  happiness  ;  and  all  began  to  wish  that  some  check 
were  given  to  this  commerce,  no  less  detrimental  to  society  than  destructive 
to  religion. 

Such  was  the  favourable  juncture,  and  so  disposed  were  the  minds  of 
his  countrymen  to  listen  to  his  discourses,  when  Martin  Luther  first  began 
to  call  in  question  the  efficacy  of  indulgences,  and  to  declaim  against  the 
vicious  lives  and  false  doctrines  of  the  persons  employed  in  promulgating 
them.  Luther  was  a  native  of  Eisleben  in  Saxony,  and  though  born  of 
poor  parents,  had  received  a  learned  education,  during  the  progress  of 
which  he  gave  many  indications  of  uncommon  vigour  and  acuteness  of 
genius.  His  mind  was  naturally  susceptible  of  serious  sentiments,  and 
tinctured  with  somewhat  of  that  religious  melancholy  which  delights  in 
the  solitude  and  devotion  of  a  monastic  life.  The  death  of  a  companion, 
killed  by  lightning  at  his  side,  in  a  violent  thunder-storm,  made  such  an 
impression  on  his  mind,  as  co-operated  with  his  natural  temper,  in  inducing 
him  to  retire  into  a  convent  of  Augustinian  friars,  where,  without  suffering 
the  entreaties  of  his  parents  te-  divert  him  from  what  he  thought  his  duty 
to  God,  he  assumed  the  habit  of  that  order.     He  soon  acquired  great 

*  As  the  form  of  these  indulgences,  and  the  benefits  which  they  were  supposed  to  convey,  are 
unknown  in  protestant  countries,  and  little  understood,  at  present,  in  several  places  where  the 
Roman  catholic  religion  is  established,  I  have,  for  the  information  of  my  readers,  translated  the 
form  of  absolution  used  by  Tetzel :  "  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy  upon  thee,  and  absolve 
thee  by  the  merits  of  his  most  holy  passion.  And  1  by  his  authority,  that  of  his  blessed  apostles 
Peter  and  Paul,  and  of  the  most  holy  pope,  granted  aud  committed  to  me  in  these  parts,  do  absolve 
thee,  first  from  all  ecclesiastical  censures,  in  whatever  manner  they  have  been  incurred,  and  then 
from  all  thy  sins,  transgressions,  and  excesses,  how  enormous  soever  they  may  be,  even  from  such 
as  are  reserved  for  the  cognizance  of  the  holy  see,  and  as  far  as  the  keys  of  the  holy  church  extend, 
I  remit  to  you  ail  punishment  which  you  deserve  in  purgatory  on  their  account,  and  I  restore  you  to 
the  holy  sacraments  of  the  church,  to  the  unity  of  the  faithful,  and  to  that  innocence  and  purity 
which  you  possessed  at  Daptism,  so  that  when  you  die,  the  gates  of  punishment  shall  be  shut,  and 
the  gates  of  the  paradise  of  delight  shall  be  opened  ;  and  if  you  shall  not  die  at  present,  this  grace 
shall  remain  in  full  force  when  you  are  at  the  point  of  death  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."       Seckend.  Comment.  li!>.  i.  p.  14. 

The  terms  in  which  Tetzel  and  his  associates  described  >'ie  benefits  of  indulgences,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  purchasing  them,  are  so  extravagant,  that  they  apr-ear  to  be  almost  incredible.  If  any  man 
(said  they)  purchases  letters  of  Indulgence,  his  soul  may  rest  secure  with  respect  to  its  salvation. 
The  souls  confined  in  purgatory,  for  whose  redemption  indulgences  are  purchased,  as  soon  as  the 
money  tinkles  in  the  chest,  instantly  escape  from  thai  place  of  torment,  and  ascend  into  heaven. 
That  the  efficacy  of  indulgences  was  so  great,  that  the  most  heinous  sins,  even  if  one  should  violate 
(which  was  impossible)  the  Mother  of  God,  would  be  remitted  and  expiated  by  them,  and  the  person 
be  freed  both  from  punishment  and  guilt.  That  this  was  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God,  in  order  to 
Reconcile  men  to  himself.  That  the  cross  erected  by  the  preachers  of  indulgences,  was  as  efficacious 
as  the  cross  of  Christ  itself.  Lo!  the  heavens  are  open  ;  if  you  enter  not  now,  when  will  you  enter  T 
For  twelve  pence  you  may  redeem  the  soul  of  your  father  out  of  purgatory  ;  and  are  you  so  ungrate- 
ful, that  you  will  not  rescue  your  parent  from  torment  ?  If  you  had  but  one  coat,  you  ought  to  strip 
yourself  instantly,  and  sell  it,  in  order  to  purchase  such  benefits,  Slc.  These,  and  many  such  extra- 
vagant expressions,  are  selected  out  of  Luther's  works  by  Chemnitius  in  his  Examen  Concilii 
Tridentini,  apud  Herm.  Vonder  Hardt.  Ilist.  Liter.  Reform,  pars  iv.  p.  6.  The  same  author  has 
published  several  of  Tetzel's  discourses,  which  prove  'hot  these  expression-:  were  neither  singula.' 
7i<>r  exaggerated,    [bid.  p.  14. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  U7 

reputation,  not  only  for  piety,  but  for  his  love  of  knowledge,  and  his  un- 
wearied application  to  study.  He  had  been  taught  the  scholastic  philosophy 
and  theology  which  were  then  in  vogue,  by  very  able  masters,  and  wanted 
not  penetration  to  comprehend  all  the  niceties  and  distinctions  with  which 
they  abound ;  but  his  understanding,  naturally  sound,  and  superior  to 
every  thing  frivolous,  soon  became  disgusted  with  those  subtile  and  unin- 
structive  sciences,  and  sough;  for  some  more  solid  foundation  of  knowledge 
and  of  piety  in  the  holy  scriptures.  Having  tound  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
which  lay  neglected  in  the  library  of  his  monastery,  he  abandoned  all 
other  pursuits,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  it,  with  such  eagerness 
and  assiduity,  as  astonished  the  monks,  who  were  little  accustomed  to 
derive  their  theological  notions  from  that  source.  I  he  great  progress 
which  he  made  in  this  uncommon  course  of  study,  augmented  so  much 
the  fame  both  of  his  sanctity  and  of  his  learning,  that  Frederic,  elector  of 
Saxony,  having  founded  a  university  at  Wittemberg  on  the  Elbe,  the  place 
of  his  residence,  Luther  was  chosen  first  to  teach  philosophy,  and  after- 
wards theology  there  ;  and  discharged  both  offices  in  such  a  manner,  that 
he  was  deemed  the  chief  ornament  of  that  society. 

While  Luther  was  at  the  height  of  his  reputation  and  authority,  Tetzel 
began  to  publish  indulgences  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wittemberg,  and 
to  ascribe  to  them  the  same  imaginary  virtues  which  had,  in  other  places, 
imposed  on  the  credulity  of  the  people.  As  Saxony  was  not  more 
enlightened  than  the  other  provinces  of  Germany,  Tetzel  met  with  pro- 
digious success  there.  It  was  with  the  utmost  concern  that  Luther  beheld 
the  artifices  of  those  who  sold,  and  the  simplicity  of  those  who  bought 
indulgences.  The  opinions  of  Thomas  Aquinas  and  the  other  schoolmen, 
on  which  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  was  tounded,  had  already  lost  much 
of  their  authority  with  him  ;  and  the  scriptures  which  he  began  to  con- 
sider as  the  great  standard  of  theological  truth,  afforded  no  countenance 
to  a  practice  equally  subversive  of  faith  and  of  morals.  His  warm  and 
impetuous  temper  did  not  suffer  him  long  to  conceal  such  important  dis- 
coveries, or  to  continue  a  silent  spectator  of  the  delusion  of  his  country- 
men. From  the  pulpit,  in  the  great  church  at  Wittemberg,  he  inveighed 
bitterly  against  the  irregularities  and  vices  of  the  monks  who  published 
indulgences  ;  he  ventured  to  examine  the  doctrines  which  they  taught, 
and  pointed  out  to  the  people  the  danger  of  relying  for  salvation  upon 
any  other  means  than  those  appointed  by  God  in  his  word.  The  bold- 
ness and  novelty  of  these  opinions  drew  great  attention,  and  being  recom- 
mended by  the  authority  of  Luther's  personal  character,  and  delivered 
with  a  popular  and  persuasive  eloquence,  they  made  a  deep  impression 
on  his  hearers.  Encouraged  by  the  favourable  reception  of  his  doctrines 
among  the  people,  he  wrote  to  Albert,  elector  of  Mentz,  and  archbishop 
of  Magdeburg,  to  whose  jurisdiction  that  part  of  Saxony  was  subject, 
and  remonstrated  warmly  against  the  false  opinions,  as  well  as  wicked 
lives,  of  the  preachers  of  indulgences  ;  but  he  found  that  prelate  too 
deeply  interested  in  their  success  to  correct  their  abuses.  His  next 
attempt  was  to  gain  the  suffrage  of  men  of  learning.  For  this  purpose 
he  published  ninety -five  theses,  containing  his  sentiments  with  regard, 
to  indulgences.  These  he  proposed,  not  as  points  fully  established,  or  of 
undoubted  certainty,  but  as  subjects  of  inquiry  and  disputation  ;  he 
appointed  a  day,  on  which  the  learned  were  invited  to  impugn  them, 
either  in  person  or  by  writing ;  to  the  whole  he  subjoined  solemn  pro- 
testations of  his  high  respect  for  the  apostolic  see,  and  of  his  implicit 
submission  to  its  authority.  No  opponent  appeared  at  the  time  prefixed  ; 
the  theses  spread  over  Germany  with  astonishing  rapidity  ;  they  were 
read  with  the  greatest  eagerness ;  and  all  admired  the  boldness  of  the 
man,  who  had  ventured  not  only  to  call  in  question  the  plenitude  of  papal 


m  THE  REiliN   OF.THE  [Book  II. 

power,  but  to  attack  the  Dominicans,  armed  with  all  the  terrors  of 
inquisitorial  authority.* 

The  friars  of  St.  Augustine,  Luther's  own  order,  though  addicted  with 
no  less  obsequiousness  than  the  other  monastic  fraternities  to  the  papal 
see,  gave  no  check  to  the  publication  of  these  uncommon  opinions. 
Luther  had,  by  his  piety  and  learning,  acquired  extraordinary  authority 
among  his  brethren  ;  he  professed  the  highest  regard  for  the  authority  of 
the  pope ;  his  professions  were  at  that  time  sincere  ;  and  as  a  secret 
enmity,  excited  by  interest  or  emulation,  subsists  among  all  the  monastic 
orders  in  the  Komish  church,  the  Augustinians  were  highly  pleased  with 
his  invectives  against  the  Dominicans,  and  hoped  to  see  them  exposed  to 
the  hatred  and  scorn  of  the  people.  Nor  was  his  sovereign,  the  elector 
of  Saxony,  the  wisest  prince  at  that  time  in  Germany,  dissatisfied  with 
this  obstruction  which  Luther  threw  in  the  way  of  the  publication  of 
indulgences.  He  secretly  encouraged  the  attempt,  and  flattered  himself 
that  this  dispute  among  the  ecclesiastics  themselves,  might  give  some 
check  to  the  exactions  of  the  court  of  Rome,  which  the  secular  princes 
had  long,  though  without  success,  been  endeavouring  to  oppose. 

Many  zealous  champions  immediately  arose  to  defend  opinions  on 
which  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  church  were  founded,  against  Luther's 
attacks.  In  opposition  to  his  theses,  Tetzel  published  counter-theses  at 
Francfort  on  the  Oder ;  Eccius,  a  celebrated  divine  of  Augsburg,  endea- 
voured to  refute  Luther's  notions  ;  and  Prierias,  a  Dominican  friar,  master 
of  the  sacred  palace  and  Inquisitor-general,  wrote  against  him  with  all  the 
virulence  of  a  scholastic  disputant.  But  the  manner  in  which  they  con- 
ducted the  controversy  did  little  service  to  their  cause.  Luther  attempted 
to  combat  indulgences  by  arguments  founded  in  reason,  or  derived  trom 
scripture  ;  they  produced  nothing  in  support  of  them,  but  the  sentiments 
of  schoolmen,  the  conclusions  of  the  canon  law,  and  the  decrees  of  popes,  t 
The  decision  of  judges  so  partial  and  interested,  did  not  satisfy  the  people, 
who  began  to  call  in  question  the  authority  even  of  these  venerable 
guides,  when  they  found  them  standing  in  direct  opposition  to  the  dictates 
of  reason,  and  the  determinations  of  the  divine  iawj.§ 

*  Lutheri  Opera,  Jenae,  1612,  vol.  i.  pra-fat.  3.  p.  2.  GG.  Hist,  of  Council  of  Trent  by  F.  Paul,  p.  4. 
Seekend  Com  Apol.  p.  16.        f  F.  Paul,  p.  6.    Weekend,  p.  40.     Palavic.  p.  8.        I  Seckend,  p.  30. 

$  Guicciardini  has  asserted  two  things  with  regard  to  the  first  promulgation  of  indulgences : 
V  That  Leo  bestowed  a  gift  of  the  profits  arising  from  tht  sale  of  indulgences  in  Saxony,  and  the 
adjacent  provinces  of  Germany,  upon  his  sister  Magdalen,  the  wife  of  Francescetto  Cibo,  Guic.  lib. 
13.  108. — 9.  That  Arcemboldo,  a  Genoese  ecclesiastic,  who  had  been  bred  a  merchant,  and  still 
retained  all  the  activity  and  address  of  that  profession,  was  appointed  by  her  to  collect  the  money 
which  should  be  raised.  F.  Paul  has  followed  him  in  both  these  particulars,  and  adds,  that  the 
Augustinians  in  Saxony  had  been  immemorially  employed  in  preaching  indulgences  ;  but  that 
Arcemboldo  and  his  deputies,  hoping  to  gain  more  by  committing  this  trust  to  the  Dominicans, 
had  made  their  bargain  with  Tetzel,  and  that  Luther  was  prompted  at  first  to  oppose  Tetzel  and 
hie  associates,  by  a  desire  of  taking  revenge  lor  this  injury  offered  to  his  order.  F.  Paul,  p.  5. 
Almost  all  historians  since  their  time,  popish  as  well  as  protestant,  have,  without  examination, 
Admitted  these  assertions  to  be  true  upon  their  authority.  But  notwithstanding  the  concurring 
testimony  of  two  authors  so  eminent  both  tor  exactness  and  veracity,  we  may  observe, 

1.  That  Felix  Contolori,  who  searched  the  pontifical  archives  on  purpose,  could  not  find  thfaf 
pretended  grant  to  Leo's  sister  in  any  of  those  registers  where  it  must  necessarily  have  been 
recorded.  Palav.  p.  5. — 2.  That  the  profits  arising  from  indulgences  in  Saxony  and  the  adjacent 
countries,  had  been  granted  not  to  Magdalen,  but  to  Albert,  archbishop  of  Mentz,  who  had  the 
right  of  nominating  those  who  published  them.  Seek.  p.  12.  Luth.  Oper.  1.  praf.  p.  I.  Palav. 
p.  6. — 3.  That  Arcemboldo  never  had  concern  in  the  publication  of  indulgences  in  Saxony ;  his 
district  was  Flanders  and  the  Upper  and  Lower  Rhine.  Seek.  p.  14.  Palav.  p.  6. — 4.  That  Luther 
and  his  adherents  never  mention  this  grant  of  Leo's  to  his  sister  ;  though  a  circumstance  of  which 
they  could  hardly  have  been  ignorant,  and  which  they  would  have  been  careful  not  to  suppress. — 
3.  The  publication  of  indulgences  in  Germany  was  not  usually  committed  to  the  Augustinians. 
The  promulgation  of  them,  at  throe  different  periods  under  Julius  II.  was  granted  to  the  Franciscans ; 
the  Dominicans  had  been  employed  in  the  same  office  a  short  time  before  the  present  period.  Palav. 
p.  4g. — 6.  The  promulgation  of  those  indulgences,  which  first  excited  Luther's  indignation,  was 
intrusted  to  the  archbishop  of  Mentz,  in  conjunction  with  the  guardian  of  the  Franciscans:  but 
the  latter  having  declined  accepting  of  that  trust,  the  sole  right  became  vested  in  the  archbishop. 
Palav.  6.  Seek.  16,  17. — 7.  Luther  was  not  instigated  by  his  superiors  anion?  the  Augustinians  to 
attack  the  Dominicans  their  rivals,  or  to  depreciate  indulgences  because  they  were  promulgated 
by  them  ;  his  opposition  to  then-  opinions  and  vn  ea  proceeded  from  more  laudable  motives.    Secfc 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  129 

Meanwhile,  these  novelties  in  Luther's  doctrines,  which  interested  all 
Germany,  excited  little  attention  and  no  alarm  in  the  court  of  Rome. 
Leo,  fond  of  elegant  and  refined  pleasures,  intent  upon  great  schemes  of 
policy,  a  stranger  to  theological  controversies,  and  apt  to  despise  them, 
regarded  with  the  utmost  indifference  the  operations  of  an  ohscure  friar, 
who,  in  the  heart  of  Germany,  carried  on  a  scholastic  disputation  in  a 
barbarous  style.  Little  did  he  apprehend,  or  Luther  himself  dream,  that 
the  effects  of  this  quarrel  would  be  so  fatal  to  the  papal  see.  Leo  imputed 
the  whole  to  monastic  enmity  and  emulation,  and  seemed  inclined  not  to 
interpose  in  the  contest,  but  to  allow  the  Augustinians  and  Dominicans  to 
wrangle  about  the  matter  with  their  usual  animosity. 

The  solicitations,  however,  of  Luther's  adversaries,  who  were  exaspe- 
rated to  a  high  degree  by  the  boldness  and  severity  with  which  he  ani- 
madverted on  their  writings,  together  with  the  surprising  progress  which 
his  opinions  made  in  different  parts  of  Germany,  roused  at  last  the  atten- 
tion of  the  court  of  Rome,  and  obliged  Leo  to  take  measures  for  the 
security  of  the  church  against  an  attack  that  now  appeared  too  serious  to 
be  despised.  For  this  end,  he  summoned  Luther  to  appear  at  Rome 
[July,  1518],  within  sixty  days,  before  the  auditor  of  the  chamber,  and 
the  Inquisitor-general  Prierias,  who  had  written  against  him,  whom  he 
empowered  jointly  to  examine  his  doctrines,  and  to  decide  concerning 
them.  He  wrote,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  beseeching 
him  not  to  protect  a  man  whose  heretical  and  profane  tenets  were  so 
shocking  to  pious  ears  ;  and  enjoined  the  provincial  of  the  Augustinians  to 
check,  by  his  authority,  the  rashness  of  an  arrogant  monk,  which  brought 
disgrace  upon  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  and  gave  offence  and  disturbance 
to  the  whole  church. 

From  the  strain  of  these  letters,  as  well  as  from  the  nomination  of  a 
judge  so  prejudiced  and  partial  as  Prierias,  Luther  easily  saw  what  sentence 
ne  might  expect  at  Rome.  He  discovered,  for  that  reason,  the  utmost 
solicitude  to  have  his  cause  tried  in  Germany,  and  before  a  less  suspected 
tribunal.  The  professors  in  the  university  of  Wittemberg,  anxious  for  the 
safety  of  a  man  who  did  so  much  honour  to  their  society,  wrote  to  the 
pope,  and  after  employing  several  pretexts  to  excuse  Luther  from  appearing 
at  Rome,  entreated  Leo  to  commit  the  examination  of  his  doctrines  to 
some  persons  of  learning  and  authority  in  Germany.  The  elector  requested 
the  same  thing  of  the  pope's  legate  at  the  diet  of  Augsburg  ;  and  as  Luther 
himself,  who,  at  that  time,  was  so  far  from  having  any  intention  to 
disclaim  the  papal  authority,  that  he  did  not  even  entertain  the  smallest 
suspicion  concerning  its  divine  original,  had  written  to  Leo  a  most  sub- 
missive letter,  promising  an  unreserved  compliance  with  his  will,  the  pope 
gratified  them  so  far  as  to  empower  his  legate  in  Germany,  cardinal  Ca- 
jetan,  a  Dominican,  eminent  for  scholastic  learning,  and  passionately  de- 
voted to  the  Roman  see,  to  hear  and  determine  the  cause. 

Luther,  though  he  had  good  reason  to  decline  the  judge  chosen  among 
his  avowed  adversaries,  did  not  hesitate  about  appearing  before  Cajetan ; 
and  having  obtained  the  emperor's  safe-conduct,  immediately  repaired  to 
Augsburg.  The  cardinal  received  him  with  decent  respect,  and  endea- 
voured at  first  to  gain  upon  him  by  gentle  treatment.  The  cardinal,  relying 
on  the  superiority  of  his  own  talents  as  a  theologian,  entered  into  a  formal 
dispute  with  Luther  concerning  the  doctrines  contained  in  his  theses.*     But 

p.  13.  32.  IiiHlicri  Opera,  1.  p.  G4.  6.8.  A  diploma  of  Indulgences  is  published  by  llerm.  Vender 
llardt,  from  which  it  appears,  that  the  name  of  the  guardian  of  the  Franciscans  is  retained,  together 
with  that  of  the  archbishop,  although  the  former  did  nol  art.    The  limits  of  the  country  to  which 

their  commissions  extended,  viz.  the  dioeess  of  Mentz,  M.iL'ilihuri;,  llalberstadt,  and  the  territories 

of  the  marquis  of  Kraudenbtirg,  arc  mentioned  in  that  diploma.     Hist.  Literuria  Reformat,  para 

iv.  p.  14. 

*  In  the  former  editions  I  asserted,  upon  the  authority  of  Rather  Paul,  that  Cajetan  thought  it 

neath  his  dignity  to  entei  into  an;  dispute  with  Luther;  but  M   Beausobre,  in  his  Hiatoire  de  la 

Vox,.  [I.—17 


isw  THE  REIGN  PF  THE  [Book!/. 

the  weapons  which  they  employed  wore  so  different,  Cajetan  appealing  to 
papal  decrees,  and  the  opinions  of  schoolmen,  and  Luther  resting  entirely 
on  the  authority  of  scripture,  that  the  contest  was  altogether  fruitless. 
The  cardinal  relinquished  the  character  of  a  disputant,  and  assuming  that 
of  judge,  enjoined  Luther,  by  virtue  of  the  apostolic  powers  with  which 
he  was  clothed,  to  retract  the  errors  which  he  had  uttered  with  regard  to 
indulgences,  and  the  nature  of  faith  ;  and  to  abstain,  for  the  future,  from 
the  publication  of  new  and  dangerous  opinions.  Luther,  fully  persuaded 
of  the  truth  of  his  own  tenets,  and  confirmed  in  the  belief  of  them  by  the 
approbation  which  they  had  met  with  among  persons  conspicuous  both  for 
learning  and  piety,  was  surprised  at  this  abrupt  mention  of  a  recantation, 
before  any  endeavours  were  used  to  convince  him  that  he  was  mistaken. 
He  had  nattered  himself,  that  in  a  conference  concerning  the  points  in 
dispute  with  a  prelate  of  such  distinguished  abilities,  he  should  be  able  to 
remove  many  of  those  imputations  with  which  the  ignorance  or  malice  of 
his  antagonists  had  loaded  him  ;  but  the  high  tone  of  authority  that  the 
cardinal  assumed,  extinguished  at  once  all  hopes  of  this  kind,  and  cut  off 
every  prospect  of  advantage  from  the  interview.  His  native  intrepidity  of 
mind,  however,  did  not  desert  him.  He  declared  with  the  utmost  firmness, 
that  he  could  not,  with  a  safe  conscience,  renounce  opinions  which  he  be- 
lieved to  be  true  ;  nor  should  any  consideration  ever  induce  him  to  do 
what  would  be  so  base  in  itself,  and  so  offensive  to  God.  At  the  same  time 
he  continued  to  express  no  less  reverence  than  formerly  for  the  authority  ot 
the  apostolic  see;*  he  signified  his  willingness  to  submit  the  whole  con- 
troversy to  certain  universities  which  he  named,  and  promised  neither  to 
write  nor  to  preach  concerning  indulgences  for  the  tuture,  provided  his 
adversaries  were  likewise  enjoined  to  be  silent  with  respect  to  them.| 
All  these  offers  Cajetan  disregarded  or  rejected,  and  still  insisted  peremp- 
torily on  a  simple  recantation,  threatening  him  with  ecclesiastical  censures, 
and  forbidding  him  to  appear  again  in  his  presence,  unless  he  resolved 
instantly  to  comply  with  what  he  had  required.  This  haughty  and  violent 
manner  of  proceeding,  as  well  as  other  circumstances,  gave  Luther's  friends 
such  strong  reasons  to  suspegt,  that  even  the  Imperial  safe  conduct  would 
not  be  able  to  protect  him  from  the  legate's  power  and  resentment,  that 
they  prevailed  on  him  to  withdraw  secretly  from  Augsburg,  and  to  return 
to  his  own  country.  But  before  his  departure,  according  to  a  form  of 
which  there  had  been  some  examples,  he  prepared  [October  18]  a  solemn 
appeal  from  the  pope,  ill-informed  at  that  time  concerning  his  cause,  to  the 
pope,  when  he  should  receive  more  full  information  with  respect  to  it. J 

Cajetan,  enraged  at  Luther's  abrupt  retreat,  and  at  the  publication  of 
his  appeal,  wrote  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  complaining  of  both  ;  and 
requiring  him,  as  he  regarded  the  peace  of  the  church,  or  the  authority  of 
its  head,  either  to  send  that  seditious  monk  a  prisoner  to  Home,  or  to  banish 
him  out  of  his  territories.  It  was  not  from  theological  considerations  that 
Frederic  had  hitherto  countenanced  Luther ;  he  seems  to  have  been  much 
a  stranger  to  controversies  of  that  kind,  and  to  have  been  little  interested 
in  them.  His  protection  flowed  almost  entirely,  as  hath  been  already 
observed,  from  political  motives,  and  was  afforded  with  great  secrecy  and 
eaution.  lie  had  neither  heard  any  of  Luther's  discourses,  nor  read  any 
of  his  books ;  though  all  Germany  resounded  with  his  fame,  he  had  never 
once  admitted  him  into  his  presence. §  But  upon  this  demand  which  the. 
cardinal  made,  it  became  necessary  to  throw  off  somewhat  of  his  former 
reserve.  He  had  been  at  great  expense,  and  had  bestowed  much  attention 
on  founding  a  new  university,  an  object  of  considerable  importance  to 

Reformation,  vol.  i.  p.  121,  &c.  has  ■satisfied  me  that  1  was  mistaken.    See  also  Seckcnd.  lib.i.  p. 
•16,  &c. 

*  Luth.  Opor.  vol.  i.  p.  164.  t  Id.  ibid.  p.  100.  |  Sleid.  Hist,  of  Reform.  r<.  7.   Sectm*. 

p.45.    Lutta.  Oper.  i.  163.         ,$  Seckend.  p.  27.    Sleid.  Hiet.  p.  13. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  131 

every  (jierman  prince  ;  and  foreseeing  how  fatal  a  blow  the  removal  of 
Luther  would  be  to  its  reputation,*  he,  under  various  pretexts,  and  with 
many  professions  of  esteem  for  the  cardinal,  as  well  as  of  reverence  for 
the  pope,  not  only  declined  complying  with  either  of  his  requests,  but 
openly  discovered  great  concern  for  Luther's  safety. t 

The  inflexible  rigour  with  which  Cajetan  insistecfon  a  simple  recantation, 
gave  great  offence  to  Luther's  followers  in  that  age,  and  hath  since  been 
censured  as  imprudent,  by  several  Popish  writers.  But  it  was  impossible 
for  the  legate  to  act  another  part.  The  judges  before  whom  Luther  had 
been  required  to  appear  at  Rome,  were  so  eager  to  display  their  zeal 
against  his  errors,  that,  without  waiting  for  the  expiration  ot  the  sixty  days 
allowed  him  in  the  citation,  they  had  already  condemned  him  as  a  heretic.^ 
Leo  had,  in  several  of  his  briefs  and  letters,  stigmatized  him  as  a  child  of 
iniquity,  and  a  man  given  up  to  a  reprobate  sense.  Nothing  less,  therefore, 
than  a  recantation  could  save  the  honour  of  the  church,  whose  maxim  it 
is,  neVer  to  abandon  the  smallest  point  that  it  has  established,  and  which 
is  even  precluded,  by  its  pretensions  to  infallibility,  from  having  it  in  its 
power  to  do  so. 

Luther's  situation  at  this  time  was  such  as  wrould  have  filled  any  other 
person  with  the  most  disquieting  apprehensions.  He  could  not  expect 
that  a  prince  so  prudent  and  cautious  as  Frederic,  would,  on  his  account, 
set  at  defiance  the  thunders  of  the  church,  and  brave  the  papal  power, 
which  had  crushed  some  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  German  emperors. 
He  knew  what  veneration  was  paid,  in  that  age,  to  ecclesiastical  de- 
cisions ;  what  terrors  ecclesiastical  censures  carried  along  with  them,  and 
how  easily  these  might  intimidate  and  shake  a  prince,  who  was  rather  his 
protector  from  policy,  than  his  disciple  from  conviction.  If  he  should  be 
obliged  to  quit  Saxony,  he  had  no  prospect  of  any  other  asylum,  and  must 
stand  exposed  to  whatever  punishment  the  rage  or  bigotry  of  his  enemies 
could  inflict.  Though  sensible  of  his  danger,  he  discovered  no  symptoms 
of  timidity  or  remissness,  but  continued  to  vindicate  his  own  conduct  and 
opinions,  and  to  inveigh  against  those  of  his  adversaries  with  more  vehe- 
mence than  ever.§ 

But  as  eveiy  step  taken  by  the  court  of  Rome,  particularly  the  irregular 
sentence  by  which  he  had  been  so  precipitately  declared  a  heretic,  con- 
vinced Luther  that  Leo  would  soon  proceed  to  the  most  violent  measures 
against  him,  he  had  recourse  to  the  only  expedient  in  his  power,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  effect  of  the  papal  censures.  He  appealed  to  a 
general  council,  which  he  affirmed  to  by  the  representative  ot  the  catholic 
church,  and  superior  in  power  to  the  pope,  who,  being  a  fallible  man, 
mi^ht  err,  as  St.  Peter,  the  most  perfect  ot  his  predecessors  had  erred. || 

It  soon  appeared,  that  Luther  had  not  formed  rash  conjectures  concerning 
the  intentions  of  the  Romish  church.  A  bull,  of  a  date  prior  to  his  appeal, 
was  issued  by  the  pope,  in  which  he  magnifies  the  virtue  and  efficacy  of 
indulgences,  in  terms  as  extravagant  as  any  of  his  predecessors  had  ven- 
tured to  use  in  the  darkest  ages  ;  and  without  applying  such  palliatives,  or 
mentioning  such  concessions,  as  a  more  enlightened  period,  and  the  dis- 
positions in  the  minds  of  many  men  at  that  juncture,  seemed  to  call  for,  he 
required  all  Christians  to  assent  to  what  he  delivered  as  the  doctrine  of 
the  catholic  church,  and  subjected  those  who  should  hold  or  teach  and 
contrary  opinion  to  the  heaviest  ecclesiastical  censures. 

Among  Luther's  followers,  this  bull,  which  they  considered  as  an  un- 
justifiable effort  of  the  pope,  in  order  to  preserve  that  rich  branch  of  his 
revenue  which  arose  from  indulgences,  produced  little  effect.  But,  among 
the  rest  of  his  countrymen,  such  a  clear  decision  of  the  sovereign  pontiff 

*  Scckend.  p.  .">0.  T  Sleid.  Hist  p.  10.    Luth.  Oper.  i.  i;  I  J  Luth  Oner  i  16' 

-     <■■„■>■■:>-  |  SleH.  Hist.  J3.    Luth. Oper.  i.  179. 


132  THE  REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  II. 

against  him,  and  enforced  by  such  dreadful  penalties,  must  have  been 
attended  with  consequences  very  fatal  to  his  cause  ;  if  these  had  not  been 
prevented  in  a  great  measure  by  the  death  of  the  emperor  Maximilian. 
[January  17,  1519,]  whom  both  his  principles  and  his  interest  prompted  to 
support  the  authority  of  the  holy  see.  In  consequence  of  this  event,  the 
vicariat  of  that  part  of  Germany  which  is  governed  by  the  Saxon  laws, 
devolved  to  the  elector  of  Saxony  ;  and  under  the  shelter  of  his  friendly 
administration,  Luther  not  only  enjoyed  tranquillity,  but  his  opinions  were 
suffered,  during  the  interregnum  which  preceded  Charles's  election,  to 
take  root  in  different  places,  and  to  grow  up  to  some  degree  of  strength 
and  firmness.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  election  of  an  emperor  was  a 
point  more  interesting  to  Leo  than  a  theological  controversy,  which  he  did 
not  understand,  and  of  which  he  could  not  foresee  the  consequences,  he 
was  so  extremely  solicitous  not  to  irritate  a  prince  of  such  considerable 
influence  in  the  electoral  college  as  Frederic,  that  he  discovered  a  great 
unwillingness  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of  excommunication  against  Luther, 
which  his  adversaries  continually  demanded  with  the  most  clamorous  im- 
portunity. 

To  these  political  views  of  the  pope,  as  well  as  to  his  natural  aversion 
from  severe  measures,  was  owing  the  suspension  of  any  further  proceedings 
against  Luther  for  eighteen  months.  Perpetual  negotiations,  however,  in 
order  to  bring  the  matter  to  some  amicable  issue,  were  carried  on  during  that 
space.  The  manner  in  which  these  were  conducted  having  given  Luther 
many  opportunities  of  observing  the  corruption  of  the  court  of  Rome  :  its 
obstinacy  in  adhering  to  established  errors;  and  its  indifference  about 
truth,  however  clearly  proposed,  or  strongly  proved,  he  began  to  utter 
some  doubts  with  regard  to  the  divine  original  of  the  papal  authority.  A 
public  disputation  was  held  upon  this  important  question  at  Leipsic, 
between  Luther  and  Eccius,  one  of  his  most  learned  and  formidable  antago- 
nists ;  but  it  was  as  fruitless  and  indecisive  as  such  scholastic  combats 
usually  prove.  Both  parties  boasted  of  having  obtained  the  victory ;  both 
were  confirmed  in  their  own.opinions;  and  no  progress  was  made  towards 
deciding  the  point  in  controversy.* 

Nor  did  this  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  doctrines  and  usurpations  of  the 
Romish  church  break  out  in  Saxony  alone ;  an  attack  no  less  violent,  and 
occasioned  by  the  same  causes,  was  made  upon  them  about  this  time  in 
Switzerland.  The  Franciscans  being  intrusted  with  the  promulgation  of 
indulgences  in  that  country,  executed  their  commission  with  the  same 
indiscretion  and  rapaciousness  which  had  rendered  the  Dominicans  so 
odious  in  Germany.  They  proceeded,  nevertheless,  with  uninterrupted 
success  till  they  arrived  at  Zurich.  There  Zuinglius,  a  man  not  inferior  to 
Luther  himself  in  zeal  and  intrepidity,  ventured  to  oppose  them  ;  and  being 
animated  with  a  republican  boldness,  and  free  from  those  restraints  which 
subjection  to  the  will  of  a  prince  imposed  on  the  German  reformer,  he 
advanced  with  more  daring  and  rapid  steps  to  overturn  the  whole  fabric 
of  the  established  religion. f  The  appearance  of  such  a  vigorous  auxiliary, 
and  the  progress  which  he  made,  was,  at  first,  matter  of  great  joy  to 
Luther.  On  the  other  hand,  the  decrees  of  the  universities  of  Cologne  and 
Louvain,  which  pronounced  his  opinions  to  be  erroneous,  afforded  great 
cause  of  triumph  to  his  adversaries. 

But  the  undaunted  spirit  of  Luther  acquired  additional  fortitude  from 
every  instance  of  opposition ;  and  pushing  on  his  inquiries  and  attacks  from 
one  doctrine  to  another,  he  began  to  shake  the  firmest  foundations  on  which 
the  wealth  or  power  of  the  church  were  established.  Leo  came  at  last  to 
be  convinced,  that  all  hopes  of  reclaiming  him  by  forbearance  were  vain  ; 
s<'v<-ral  prelates  of  great  wisdom  exclaimed  no  less  than  Luther's  personal 

*  Liith.  Oper.  i   199.  leid.  Hist.  22     Scckend   '■•' 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   \.  133 

adversaries,  against  the  pope's  unprecedented  lenity  in  permitting  an  incorri- 
gible heretic,  who  during  three  years  had  been  endeavouring  to  subvert  every 
thing  sacred  and  venerable,  still  to  remain  within  the  bosom  of  the 
church ,  the  dignity  of  the  papal  see  rendered  the  most  vigorous  proceed 
ings  necessary ;  the  new  emperor,  it  was  hoped,  would  support  its  autho- 
rity ;  nor  did  it  seem  probable  that  the  elector  of  Saxony  would  so  far  forget 
his  usual  caution,  as  to  set  himself  in  opposition  to  their  united  power. 
The  college  of  cardinals  was  often  assembled,  in  order  to  prepare  the 
sentence  with  due  deliberation,  and  the  ablest  canonists  were  consulted  how 
it  might  be  expressed  with  unexceptionable  formality.  At  last,  on  the 
fifteenth  of  June,  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty,  the  bull,  so  fatal 
to  the  church  of  Rome,  was  issued.  Forty-one  propositions,  extracted  out 
of  Luther's  works,  are  therein  condemned  as  heretical,  scandalous,  and 
offensive  to  pious  ears;  all  persons  are  forbidden  to  read  his  writings,  upon 
pain  of  excommunication;  sucn  as  had  any  of  them  in  their  custody  are 
commanded  to  commit  them  to  the  flames;  he  himself,  if  he  did  not  in  sixty 
days,  publicly  recant  his  errors,  and  burn  his  books,  is  pronounced  an 
obstinate  heretic ;  is  excommunicated,  and  delivered  unto  Satan  for  the 
destruction  of  his  flesh  ;  and  all  secular  princes  are  required,  under  pain  of 
incurring  the  same  censure,  to  seize  his  person,  that  he  might  be  punished 
as  his  crimes  deserved.* 

The  publication  of  this  bull  in  Germany  excited  various  passions  in 
different  places.  Luther's  adversaries  exulted,  as  if  his  party  and  opinions 
had  been  crushed  at  once  by  such  a  decisive  blow.  His  followers,  whose 
reverence  for  the  papal  authority  daily  diminished,  read  Leo's  anathemas 
with  more  indignation  than  terror.  In  some  cities,  the  people  violently 
obstructed  the  promulgation  of  the  bull ;  in  others,  the  persons  who 
attempted  to  publish  it  were  insulted,  and  the  bull  itself  torn  in  pieces,  and 
trodden  under  foot.t 

This  sentence,  which  he  had  for  some  time  expected,  did  not  disconcert 
or  intimidate  Luther.  After  renewing  his  appeal  to  the  general  council 
[Nov.  17],  he  published  remarks  upon  the  bull  of  excommunication ;  and 
being  now  persuaded  that  Leo  had  been  guilty  both  of  impiety  and  injustice 
in  his  proceedings  against  him,  he  boldly  declared  the  pope  to  be  that  man 
of  sin,  or  Antichrist,  whose  appearance  is  foretold  in  the  New  Testament,- 
he  declaimed  against  his  tyranny  and  usurpations  with  greater  violence 
than  ever ;  he  exhorted  all  Christian  princes  to  shake  off  such  an  ignominious 
yoke ;  and  boasted  of  his  own  happiness  in  being  marked  out  as  the  object  of 
ecclesiastical  indignation,  because  he  had  ventured  to  assert  the  liberty  of 
mankind.     Nor  did  he  confine  his  expressions  of  contempt  for  the  papal 

Eovver  to  words  alone ;  Leo  having,  in  execution  of  the  bull,  appointed 
uther's  book  to  be  burnt  at  Rome,  he,  by  way  of  retaliation,  assembled 
all  the  professors  and  students  in  the  university  of  Wittemberg,  and  with 
great  pomp,  in  presence  of  a  vast  multitude  of  spectators,  cast  the  volumes 
of  the  canon  law,  together  with  the  bull  of  excommunication,  into  the 
flames ;  and  his  example  was  imitated  in  several  cities  of  Germany.  The 
manner  in  which  he  justified  this  action  was  still  more  offensive  than  the 
action  itself.  Having  collected  from  the  canon  law  some  of  the  most 
extravagant  propositions  with  regard  to  the  plenitude  and  omnipotence  of 
the  papal  power,  as  well  as  the  subordination  of  all  secular  jurisdiction  to 
the  authority  of  the  holy  see,  he  published  these  with  a  commentary,  pointing 
out  the  impiety  of  such  tenets,  and  their  evident  tendency  to  subvert  afi 
civil  government.! 

Such  was  the  progress  which  Luther  had  made,  and  such  the  state  of  his 
party,  when  Charles  arrived  in  Germany.  No  secular  prince  had  hitherto 
embraced  Luther's  opinions ;  no  change  in  the  established  forms  of  worship 

•  Talavic.  27.  I.ntli.  Oper.  i.  433.  f  Seckend,  p  1 16.  i  T.uth  Oper.  ii  316. 


134  THE   REIGJ3    OF   THE  [Book  It. 

had  been  introduced,  and  no  encroachments  had  been  made  upon  the  pos- 
sessions or  jurisdiction  of  the  clergy;  neither  party  had  yet  proceeded  to 
action;  and  the  controversy,  though  conducted  with  great  heat  and  passion 
on  both  sides,  was  still  carried  on  with  its  proper  weapons,  with  theses, 
disputations,  and  replies.  A  deep  impression,  however,  was  made  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people  ;  their  reverence  for  ancient  institutions  and  doc- 
trines was  shaken  ;  and  the  materials  were  already  scattered,  which  kindled 
into  the  combustion  that  soon  spread  over  all  Germany.  Students  crowded 
from  every  province  of  the  empire  toWittemberg;  and  under  Luther  him- 
self, Melancthon,  Caiiostadius,  and  other  masters  then  reckoned  eminent, 
imbibed  opinions,  which,  on  their  return,  they  propagated  among  their 
countrymen,  who  listened  to  them  with  that  tond  attention,  which  truth, 
when  accompanied  with  novelty,  naturally  commands.* 

During  the  course  of  these  transactions,  die  court  of  Rome,  though  under 
the  direction  of  one  of  its  ablest  pontiffs,  neither  formed  its  schemes  with 
that  profound  sagacity,  nor  executed  them  with  that  steady  perseverance, 
which  had  long  rendered  it  the  most  perfect  model  of  political  wisdom  to 
the  rest  of  Europe.  When  Luther  began  to  declaim  against  indulgences, 
two  different  methods  of  treating  him  lay  before  the  pope;  by  adopting 
one  of  which,  the  attempt,  it  is  probable,  might  have  been  crushed,  and  by 
the  other,  it  might  have  been  rendered  innocent.  If  Luther's  first  departuie 
from  the  doctrines  of  the  church  had  instantly  drawn  upon  him  the  weight 
of  its  censures,  the  dread  of  these  might  have  restrained  the  elector  of 
Saxony  from  protecting  him,  might  have  deterred  the  people  from  listening 
to  his  discourses,  or  even  might  have  overawed  Luther  himself;  and  his 
name,  like  that  of  many  good  men  before  his  time,  would  now  have  been 
known  to  the  world  only  for  his  honest  but  ill-timed  effort  to  correct  the 
corruptions  of  the  Romish  church.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  pope  had 
early  testified  some  displeasure  with  the  vices  and  excesses  of  the  friars 
who  had  been  employed  in  publishing  indulgences ;  if  he  had  forbidden  the 
mentioning  of  controverted  points  in  discourses  addressed  to  the  people  ; 
it  he  had  enjoined  the  disputants  on  both  sides  to  be  silent ;  if  he  had 
been  careful  not  to  risk  the  credit  of  the  church,  by  defining  articles  which 
bad  hitherto  been  left  undetermined ;  Luther  would,  probably,  have  stopt 
short  at  his  first  discoveries;  he  would  not  have  been  forced,  in  self-defence, 
to  venture  upon  new  ground,  and  the  whole  controversy  might  possibly 
have  died  away  insensibly;  or,  being  confined  entirely  to  the  schools, 
might  have  been  carried  on  with  as  little  detriment  to  the  peace  and  unity 
of  the  Romish  church,  as  that  which  the  Franciscans  maintain  with  the. 
Dominicans  concerning  the  immaculate  conception,  or  that  between  the 
Jansenists  and  Jesuits  concerning  the  operations  of  grace.  But  Leo,  by 
fluctuating  between  these  opposite  systems,  and  by  embracing  them  alter- 
nately, defeated  the  effects  of  both.  By  an  improper  exertion  oi'  authority, 
Luther  was  exasperated,  but  not  restrained.  By  a  mistaken  exercise  of 
lenity,  time  was  given  for  his  opinions  to  spread,  but  no  progress  was  made 
towards  reconciling  him  to  the  church;  and  even  the  sentence  of  excom- 
munication, which  at  another  juncture  might  have  been  decisive,  was 
delayed  so  long,  that  it  became  at  last  scarcely  an  object  of  terror. 

Such  a  series  of  errors  in  the  measures  of  a  court  seldom  chargeable 
with  mistaking  its  own  true  interest,  is  not  more  astonishing  than  the  wis- 
dom which  appeared  in  Luther's  conduct.  Though  a  perfect  stranger  to 
the  maxims  of  wordly  w  isdom,  and  incapable,  from  the  impetuosity  of  his 
temper,  of  observing  them,  he  was  led  naturally,  by  the  method  in  which 
he  made  his  discoveries,  to  carry  on  his  operations  in  a  manner  which  con- 
tributed more  to  their  success,  than  if  every  step  he  took  had  been  pre- 
scribed by  the  most  artful  policy.     At  the  time  when  he  set  himself  tr 

*  Serkerrf  59 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  135 

oppose  Tetzel,  he  was  far  from  intending  that  reformation  which  he  after- 
wards effected  ;  and  would  have  trembled  with  horror  at  the  thoughts  of 
what  at  last  he  gloried  in  accomplishing.  The  knowledge  of  truth  was 
not  poured  into  his  mind  all  at  once,  by  any  special  revelation  ;  he  acquired 
it  by  industry  and  meditation,  and  his  progress,  of  consequence,  was  gra- 
dual. The  doctrines  of  popery  are  so  closely  connected,  that  the  exposing 
of  one  error  conducted  him  naturally  to  the  detection  of  others  ;  and  all 
the  parts  of  that  artificial  f  ibric  were  so  united  together,  that  the  pulling 
down  of  one  loosened  the  foundation  of  the  rest,  and  rendered  it  more  easy 
to  overturn  them.  In  confuting  the  extravagant  tenets  concerning  indul- 
gences, he  was  obliged  to  inquire  into  the  true  cause  of  our  justification 
and  acceptance  with  God.  The  knowledge  of  that  discovered  to  him  by 
degrees  the  inutility  of  pilgrimages  and  penances  ;  the  vanity  of  relying 
on' the  intercession  of  saints  ;  the  impiety  of  worshipping  them  ;  the  abuses 
of  auricular  confession  ;  and  the  imaginary  existence  of  purgatory.  The 
detection  of  so  many  errors  led  him  of  course  to  consider  the  character  of 
the  clergy  who  taught  them  ;  and  their  exorbitant  wealth,  the  severe 
injunction  of  celibacy,  together  with  the  intolerable  rigour  of  monastic 
vows,  appeared  to  him  the  great  sources  of  their  corruption.  From 
thence,  it  was  but  one  step  to  call  in  question  the  divine  original  of  the 
papal  power,  which  authorized  and  supported  such  a  system  of  errors. 
As  the  unavoidable  result  of  the  whole,  he  disclaimed  the  infallibility  of 
the  pope,  the  decisions  of  schoolmen,  or  any  other  human  authority,  and 
appealed  to  the  word  of  God  as  the  only  standard  of  theological  truth. 
To  this  gradual  progress  Luther  owed  his  success.  His  hearers  were  not 
shocked  at  first  by  any  proposition  too  repugnant  to  their  ancient  preju- 
dices, or  too  remote  from  established  opinions.  They  were  conducted 
insensibly  from  one  doctrine  to  another.  Their  faith  and  conviction  were 
able  to  keep  pace  with  his  discoveries.  To  the  same  cause  was  owing 
the  inattention,  and  even  indifference,  with  which  Leo  viewed  Luther's 
first  proceedings.  A  direct  or  violent  attack  upon  the  authority  of  the 
church  would  at  once  have  drawn  upon  Luther  the  whole  weight  ol  its  ven- 
geance ;  but  as  this  was  far  from  his  thoughts,  as  he  continued  long  to  profess 
great  respect  for  the  pope,  and  made  repeated  offers  of  submission  to  his 
decisions,  there  seemed  to  be  no  reason  for  apprehending  that  he  would 
prove  the  author  of  any  desperate  revolt ;  and  he  was  suffered  to  proceed 
step  by  step,  in  undermining  the  constitution  of  the  church,  until  the 
remedy  applied  at  last  came  too  late  to  produce  any  effect. 

But  whatever  advantages  Luther's  cause  derived,  either  from  the  mis- 
takes of  his  adversaries,  or  from  his  own  good  conduct,  the  sudden  pro- 
gress and  firm  establishment  of  his  doctrines  must  not  be  ascribed  to  these 
alone.  The  same  corruptions  in  the  church  of  Rome  which  he  condemned, 
had  been  attacked  long  before  his  time.  The  same  opinions  which  he 
now  propagated,  had  been  published  in  different  places,  and  were  sup- 
ported by  the  same  arguments.  Waldus  in  the  twelfth  century,  Wickliff 
in  the  fourteenth,  and  Huss  in  the  fifteenth,  had  inveighed  against  the  errors 
of  popery  with  great  boldness,  and  confuted  them  with  more  ingenuity 
and  learning  than  could  have  been  expected  in  those  illiterate  ages  in  which 
they  flourished.  But  all  these  premature  attempts  towards  a  reformation 
proved  abortive.  Such  feeble  lights,  incapable  of  dispelling  the  darkness 
which  then  covered  the  church,  were  soon  extinguished ;  and  though  the 
doctrines  of  these  pious  men  produced  some  effects,  and  left  some  traces 
in  the  countries  where  they  taught,  they  were  neither  extensive  nor  con- 
siderable. Many  powerful  causes  contributed  to  facilitate  Luther's  pro- 
gress, which  either  did  not  exist,  or  did  not  operate  with  full  force  in  their 
days  ;  and  at  that  critical  and  mature  juncture  when  he  appeared,  circum- 
stances of  every  kind  concurred  in  rendering  each  step  that  he  took  suc- 
cessful. 


W6  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  II. 

The  long  and  scandalous  schism  which  divided  the  church  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  centuries, 
had  a  great  effect  in  diminishing  the  veneration  with  which  the  world  had 
been  accustomed  to  view  the  papal  dignity.  Two  or  three  contending 
pontiffs  roaming  about  Europe  at  a  time  ;  fawning  on  the  princes,  whom 
they  wanted  to  gain ;  extorting  large  sums  of  money  from  the  countries 
which  acknowledged  their  authority  ;  excommunicating  their  rivals,  and 
cursing  those  who  adhered  to  them  ;  discredited  their  pretensions  to  infal- 
libility, and  exposed  both  their  persons  and  their  office  to  contempt.  The 
laity,  to  whom  all  parties  appealed,  came  to  learn  that  some  right  ot  pri- 
vate judgment  belonged  to  them,  and  acquired  the  exercise  of  it  so  far  as 
to  choose,  among  these  infallible  guides,  whom  they  would  please  to  fol- 
low. The  proceedings  of  the  councils  of  Constance  and  Basil  spread  this 
disrespect  for  the  Romish  see  stiil  wider,  and  by  their  bold  exertion  of 
authority  in  deposing  and  electing  popes,  taught  the  world  that  there  was 
in  the  church  a  jurisdiction  superior  even  to  the  papal  power,  which  they 
had  long  believed  to  be  supreme. 

The  wound  given  on  that  occasion  to  the  papal  authority  was  scarcely 
healed  up,  when  the  pontificates  of  Alexander  VI.  and  Julius  II.,  both  able 
princes,  but  detestable  ecclesiastics,  raised  new  scandal  in  Christendom. 
The  profligate  morals  of  the  former  in  private  life  ;  the  fraud,  the  injus- 
tice, and  cruelty  of  his  public  administration,  place  him  on  a  level  with 
those  tyrants,  whose  deeds  are  the  greatest  reproach  to  human  nature. 
The  latter,  though  a  stranger  to  the  odious  passions  which  prompted  his 
predecessor  to  commit  so  many  unnatural  crimes,  was  under  the  dominion 
of  a  restless  and  ungovernable  ambition,  that  scorned  all  considerations  of 
gratitude,  of  decency,  or  of  justice,  when  they  obstructed  the  execution 
of  his  schemes.  It  was  hardly  possible  to  be  firmly  persuaded  that  the 
infallible  knowledge  of  a  religion,  whose  chief  precepts  are  purity  and 
humility,  was  deposited  in  the  breasts  of  the  profligate  Alexander  or  the 
overbearing  Julius.  The  opinion  of  those  who  exalted  the  authority  of  a 
council  above  that  of  the  pope,  spread  wonderfully  under  their  pontifi- 
cates ;  and  as  the  emperor  alid  French  kings,  who  were  alternately  en- 
gaged in  hostilities  with  those  active  pontiffs,  permitted  and  even  encou- 
raged their  subjects  to  expose  their  vices  with  all  the  violence  of  invec- 
tive and  all  the  petulance  of  ridicule,  men's  ears  being  accustomed  to 
these,  were  not  shocked  with  the  bold  or  ludicrous  discourses  of  Luther 
and  his  followers  concerning  the  papal  dignity. 

Nor  were  such  excesses  confined  to  the  head  of  the  church  alone. 
Many  of  the  dignified  clergy,  secular  as  well  as  regular,  being  the  younger 
sons  of  noble  families,  who  had  assumed  the  ecclesiastical  character  for 
no  other  reason  but  that  they  found  in  the  church  stations  of  great  dignity 
and  affluence,  were  accustomed  totally  to  neglect  the  duties  of  their  office, 
and  indulged  themselves  without  reserve  in  all  the  vices  to  which  great 
wealth  and  idleness  naturally  give  birth.  Though  the  inferior  clergy 
were  prevented  by  their  poverty  from  imitating  the  expensive  luxury  of 
their  superiors,  yet  gross  ignorance  and  low  debauchery  rendered  them  as 
contemptible  as  the  other  were  odious.*  The  severe  and  unnatural  law 
of  celibacy,  to  which  both  were  equally  subject,  occasioned  such  irregu- 
larities, that  in  several  parts  of  Europe  the  concubinage  of  priests  was 
not  only  permitted,  but  enjoined.  The  employing  of  a  remedy  so  con- 
trary to  the  precepts  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  the  strongest  proof  that 

*  The  corrupt  state  of  the  church,  prior  to  the  Reformation,  is"  acknowledged  by  an  author,  who 
was  both  abundantly  able  to  judge  concerning  this  matter,  and  who  was  not  over-forward  to  confess 
it.  "  For  some  years  (says  Bellarmine)  before  the  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  heresies  were  pub- 
lished, there  was  not  (as  contemporary  authors  testify)  any  severity  in  ecclesiastical  judicatories, 
any  discipline  with  regard  to  morals,  any  knowledge  of  sacred  literature,  any  reverence  for  divine 
things  ;  there  was  almost  not  any  religion  remaining."  Bellarminus  Concio  xxviii.  Oper.  torn.  T?, 
Ool.  2UC.  edit.  Colon.  1617.  apud  Gerdesii  Hist.  Evan.  Renovati,  vol.  i.  p.  25. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    V.  137 

the  crimes  it  was  intended  to  prevent  were  both  numerous  and  flagrant. 
Long  before  the  sixteenth  century,  many  authors  of  great  name  and  autho- 
rity give  such  descriptions  of  the  dissolute  morals  of  the  clergy,  as  seem 
almost  incredible  in  the  present  age.*  The  voluptuous  lives  of  ecclesi- 
astics occasioned  great  scandal,  not  only  because  their  manners  were 
inconsistent  with  their  sacred  character  ;  but  the  laity  being  accustomed 
to  see  several  of  them  raised  from  the  lowest  stations  to  the  greatest  afflu- 
ence, did  not  show  the  same  indulgence  to  their  excesses,  as  to  those  of 
persons  possessed  of  hereditary  wealth  or  grandeur ;  and  viewing  their 
condition  with  more  envy,  they  censured  their  crimes  with  greater  severity. 
Nothing,  therefore,  could  be  more  acceptable  to  Luther's  hearers,  than  the 
violence  with  which  he  exclaimed  against  the  immoralities  of  churchmen, 
and  every  person  in  his  audience  could,  from  his  own  observation,  confirm 
the  truth  oi  his  invectives. 

The  scandal  of  these  crimes  was  greatly  increased  by  the  facility  with 
which  such  as  committed  them  obtained  pardon.  In  all  the  European 
kingdoms,  the  impotence  of  the  civil  magistrate,  under  forms  of  govern- 
ment extremely  irregular  and  turbulent,  made  it  necessary  to  relax  the 
rigour  of  justice,  and  upon  payment  of  a  certain  fine  or  composition 
prescribed  by  law.  judges  were  accustomed  to  remit  farther  punishment, 
even  of  the  most  atrocious  crimes.  The  court  of  Rome,  always  attentive 
to  the  means  of  augmenting  its  revenues,  imitated  this  practice,  and,  by 
a  preposterous  accommodation  of  it  to  religious  concerns,  granted  its 
pardons  to  such  transgressors  as  gave  a  sum  of  money  in  order  to  purchase 
them.  As  the  idea  of  a  composition  for  crimes  was  then  familiar,  this 
strange  traffic  was  so  far  from  shocking  mankind,  that  it  soon  became 
general ;  and  in  order  to  prevent  any  imposition  in  carrying  it  on,  the 
officers  of  the  Roman  chancery  published  a  book,  containing  the  pre- 
cise sum  to  be  exacted  for  the  pardon  of  every  particular  sin.  A  deacon 
guilty  of  murder  was  absolved  for  twenty  crowns.  A  bishop  or  abbot 
might  assassinate  for  three  hundred  livres.  Any  ecclesiastic  might  violate 
his  vows  of  chastity,  even  with  the  most  aggravating  circumstances,  for 
the  third  part  of  that  sum.  Even  such  shocking  crimes,  as  occur  seldom 
in  human  life,  and  perhaps  exist  only  in  the  impure  imagination  of  a  casuist, 
were  taxed  at  a  very  moderate  rate.  When  a  more  regular  and  perfect 
mode  of  dispensing  justice  came  to  be  introduced  into  civil  courts,  the 
practice  of  paying  a  composition  for  crimes  went  gradually  into  disuse ; 
and  mankind  having  acquired  more  accurate  notions  concerning  religion 
and  morality,  the  conditions  on  which  the  court  of  Rome  bestowed  its 
pardons  appeared  impious,  and  were  considered  as  one  great  source  of 
ecclesiastical  corruption.! 

This  degeneracy  of  manners  among  the  clergy  might  have  been  tolerated, 

*  Centum  Gravamina  Nation.  German,  in  Fasciculo  Rer.  expetend.  et  fugiendarum,  per  Ortui- 
num  Gratium,  vol.  i.  361.  See  innumerable  passages  to  the  same  purpose  in  the  appendix,  or  second 
volume,  published  by  Edward  Brown.  See  also  Herru.  vonder  Hardt,  Hist.  Lit.  Reform,  pars  iii. 
and  tile  vast  collections  of  Walchius  in  his  four  volumes  of  Monumenta  MediiiEvi.    Getting.  1757. 

The  authors  1  have  quoted  enumerate  the  vices  of  the  clergy.  When  they  ventured  upon  actions 
manifestly  criminal,  we  may  conclude  that  they  would  be  less  scrupulous  with  respect  to  the  deco- 
rum of  behaviour.  Accordingly  their  neglect  of  the  decent  conduct  suitable  to  their  profession, 
seems  to  have  given  great  offence.  In  order  to  illustrate  this,  I  shall  transcribe  one  passage,  because 
it  is  taken  not  from  any  author  whose  professed  purpose  it  was  to  describe  the  improper  conduct  of 
the  clergy ;  and  who,  from  prejudice  or  artifice,  may  be  supposed  to  aggravate  the  charge  against 
them.  The  emperor  Charles  IV.  in  a  letter  to  the  archbishop  of  Mentz,  A.  D.  1359,  exhorting  hiin 
to  reform  the  disorders  of  the  clergy,  thus  expresses  himself,  "  I)e  Christi  pati  imonio,  ludos,  liasti  ■ 
ludia  et  torneamenta  exercent ;  habitum  militarem  cum  prietcxtis  aureis  et  argenteis  gestanl,  et  cal- 
ceos  militarc8  ;  comam  et  barbam  nutriunt,  et  nihil  quod  ad  vitam  et  ordinem  erclesiasticum  spec- 
tat,  ostendunt.  Militaribus  se  duntaxat  et  secularibus  actihus,  vita  et  moribus,  in  sua?  Ealutis  dis 
pendium,  et  generale  populi  scandalum,  immiscent."  Codex  Diplomalir.us  Anecdotorum,  per  Val. 
Ferd.  Gudentini,  4to.  vol.  iii.  p.  438. 

t  Fascicul.  Rer.  expet.  et  fug.  i.  355.  J.  G.  Sehelhornii  Amenit.  Literal.  Francof.  1725.  vol.  ii. 
369.  Diction,  dc  Bayle,  Artie.  Banck.  et  Tuppius.  Taxa  Canceller.  Roman*,  edit.  Francof.  1651. 
pantm. 

Vol.  II.— 18 


138  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  H. 

Eerhaps,  with  greater  indulgence,  if  their  exorbitant  riches  and  jaower 
ad  not  enabled  them,  at  the  same  time,  to  encroach  on  the  rights  ol  every 
other  order  of  men.  It  is  the  genius  of  superstition,  fond  ot  whatever  is 
pompous  or  grand,  to  set  no  bounds  to  its  liberality  towards  persons  whom 
it  esteems  sacred,  and  to  think  its  expressions  of  regard  defective,  unless 
it  hath  raised  them  to  the  height  of  wealth  and  authority.  Hence  flowed 
the  extensive  revenues  and  jurisdiction  possessed  by  the  church  in  every 
countiy  of  Europe,  and  which  were  become  intolerable  to  the  laity,  from 
whose  undiscerning  bounty  they  were  at  first  derived. 

The  burden,  however,  of  ecclesiastical  oppression  had  fallen  with  such 
peculiar  weight  on  the  Germans,  as  rendered  them,  though  naturally 
exempt  from  levity,  and  tenacious  of  their  ancient  customs,  more  inclina- 
ble than  any  people  in  Europe  to  listen  to  those  who  called  on  them  to 
assert  their  liberty.  During  the  long  contests  between  the  popes  and 
emperors  concerning  the  right  of  investiture,  and  the  wars  which  these  occa- 
sioned, most  of  the  considerable  German  ecclesiastics  joined  the  papal  faction; 
and  while  engaged  in  rebellion  against  the  head  of  the  empire,  they  seized 
the  Imperial  domains  and  revenues,  and  usurped  the  Imperial  jurisdiction 
within  their  own  diocesses.  Upon  the  re-establishinent  of  tranquillity, 
they  still  retained  these  usurpations,  as  if  by  the  length  of  an  unjust 
possession  they  had  acquired  a  legal  right  to  them.  The  emperors,  too 
feeble  to  wrest  them  out  of  their  hands,  were  obliged  to  grant  the  clergy 
fiefs  of  those  ample  territories,  and  they  enjoyed  all  the  immunities  as 
well  as  honours  which  belonged  to  feudal  barons.  By  means  of  these, 
many  bishops  and  abbots  in  Germany  were  not  only  ecclesiastics,  but 
princes,  and  their  character  and  manners  partook  more  of  the  license  too 
frequent  among  the  latter,  than  of  the  sanctity  Avhich  became  the  former.* 
The  unsettled  state  of  government  in  Germany,  and  the  frequent  wars 
to  which  that  country  was  exposed,  contributed  in  another  manner  towards 
aggrandizing  ecclesiastics.  The  only  property,  during  those  times  ot 
anarchy,  which  enjoyed  security  from  the  oppression  of  the  great,  or  the 
ravages  of  war,  was  that  which  belonged  to  the  church.  This  was  owing, 
not  only  to  the  great  reverence  for  the  sacred  character  prevalent  in  those 
ages,  but  to  a  superstitious  dread  of  the  sentence  of  excommunication, 
which  the  clergy  were  read}'  to  pronounce  against  all  who  invaded  their 
possessions.  Many  observing  this,  made  a  surrender  of  their  lands  to 
ecclesiastics,  and  consenting  to  hold  them  in  fee  of  the  church,  obtained 
as  its  vassals  a  degree  of  safety,  which  without  this  device  they  were 
unable  to  procure.  By  such  an  increase  of  the  number  of  their  vassals, 
the  power  of  ecclesiastics  received  a  real  and  permanent  augmentation  ; 
and  as  lands,  held  in  fee  by  the  limited  tenures  common  in  those  ages, 
often  returned  to  the  persons  on  whom  the  fief  depended,  considerable 
additions  were  made  in  this  way  to  the  property  of  the  clergy. t 

The  solicitude  of  the  clergy  in  providing  for  the  safety  of  their  own 
persons,  was  still  greater  than  that  which  they  displayed  in  securing 
their  possessions  ;  and  their  efforts  to  attain  it  were  still  more  successful. 
As  they  were  consecrated  to  the  priestly  office  with  much  outward 
solemnity ;  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  a  peculiar 
garb  and  manner  of  life  ;  and  arrogated  to  their  order  many  privileges 
which  do  not  belong  to  other  Christians,  they  naturally  became  the  objects 
of  excessive  veneration.  As  a  superstitious  spirit  spread,  they  were 
regarded  as  beings  of  a  superior  species  to  the  profane  laity,  whom  it 
would  be  impious  to  try  by  the  same  laws,  or  to  subject  to  the  same 
punishments-  This  exemption  from  civil  jurisdiction,  granted  at  first  to 
ecclesiastics  as  a  mark  of  respect,  they  soon  claimed  as  a  point  of  right, 

*  F.  Fanl,  History  of  Ecclosiast.  Benefices,  p.  107.  t  Ihid.  p.  66.     Bou!iinviller.=.  Etat  de 

Fr<»nc».  torn.  i.  100.     I^ond  1737. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  139 

This  valuable  immunity  of  the  priesthood  is  asserted,  not  only  in  the 
decrees  of  popes  and  councils,  but  was  confirmed  in  the  most  ample  form 
by  many  of  the  greatest  emperors.*  As  long  as  the  clerical  character 
remained,  the  person  of  an  ecclesiastic  was  in  some  degree  sacred ;  and 
unless  he  were  degraded  from  his  office,  the  unhallowed  hand  of  the  civil 
judge  durst  not  toucn  him.  But  as  the  power  of  degradation  was  lodged 
in  the  spiritual  courts,  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  obtaining  such  a  sen- 
tence, too  often  secured  absolute  impunity  to  offenders.  Many  assumed 
the  clerical  character  for  no  other  reason,  than  that  it  might  screen  them 
from  the  punishment  which  their  actions  deserved.!  The  German  nobles 
complained  loudly,  that  these  anointed  malefactors,  as  they  called  them,J 
seldom  suffered  capitally,  even  for  the  most  atrocious  crimes  ;  and  their 
independence  on  the  civil  magistrate  is  often  mentioned  in  the  remonstrances 
of  the  diets,  as  a  privilege  equally  pernicious  to  society,  and  to  the  morals 
of  the  clergy. 

While  the  clergy  asserted  the  privileges  of  their  own  order  with  so 
much  zeal,  they  made  continual  encroachments  upon  those  of  the  laity. 
All  causes  relative  to  matrimony,  to  testaments,  to  usury,  to  legitimacy  of 
birth,  as  well  as  those  which  concerned  ecclesiastical  revenues,  were 
thought  to  be  so  connected  with  religion,  that  they  could  be  tried  only  in 
the  spiritual  courts.  Not  satisfied  with  this  ample  jurisdiction,  which 
extended  to  one  half  of  the  subjects  that  give  rise  to  litigation  among  men, 
the  clergy,  with  wonderful  industry,  and  by  a  thousand  inventions,  endea- 
voured to  draw  all  other  causes  into  their  own  courts.§  As  they  had 
engrossed  almost  the  whole  learning  known  in  the  dark  ages,  the  spiritual 
judges  were  commonly  so  far  superior  in  knowledge  and  abilities  to  those 
employed  in  the  secular  courts,  that  the  people  at  first  favoured  any  stretch 
that  was  made  to  bring  their  affairs  under  the  cognizance  of  a  judicature, 
on  the  decisions  of  which  they  could  rely  with  more  perfect  confidence 
than  on  those  of  the  civil  courts.  Thus  the  interest  of  the  church,  and 
the  inclination  of  the  people,  concurring  to  elude  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
lay-magistrate,  soon  reduced  it  almost  to  nothing.jl  By  means  of  this, 
vast  power  accrued  to  ecclesiastics,  and  no  inconsiderable  addition  was 
made  to  their  revenue  by  the  sums  paid  in  those  ages  to  the  persons  who 
administered  justice. 

The  penalty  by  which  the  spiritual  courts  enforced  their  sentences, 
added  great  weight  and  terror  to  their  jurisdiction.  The  censure  of 
excommunication  was  instituted  originally  for  preserving  the  purity  of  the 
church  ;  that  obstinate  offenders,  whose  impious  tenets  or  profane  lives 
were  a  reproach  to  Christianity,  might  be  cut  off  from  the  society  of  the 
faithful ;  this  ecclesiastics  did  not  scruple  to  convert  into  an  engine  for 
promoting  their  own  power,  and  they  inflicted  it  on  the  most  frivolous 
occasions.  Whoever  despised  any  of  their  decisions,  even  concerning 
civil  matters,  immediately  incurred  this  dreadful  censure,  which  not  only 
excluded  them  from  all  the  privileges  of  a  Christian,  but  deprived  them  of 
their  rights  as  men  and  citizens,  if  and  the  dread  of  this  rendered  even 
the  most  fierce  and  turbulent  spirits  obsequious  to  the  authority  of  the 
church. 

Nor  did  the  clergy  neglect  the  proper  methods  of  preserving  the  wealth 
and  power  which  they  had  acquired  with  such  industry  and  address. 
The  possessions  of  the  church,  being  consecrated  to  God,  were  declared 
to  be  unalienable  ;  so  that  the  funds  of  a  society,  which  was  daily  gaining, 
and  could  never  lose,  grew  to  be  immense.  In  Germany  it  was  computed 
that  the  ecclesiastics  had  got  into  their  hands  more  than  one  half  of  the 
national  property.**    In  other  countries,  the  proportion  varied ;  but  the 

*  Goldasti  Conxtitut.  Imperial.  Franrof.  IG73.  vol.  ii.  92. 107.      f  Rymer's  Fredera.  vol.  xiii.  532. 
Centum  Gravam.  sect.  31.  $  Giaunone  Hist,  of  Naples,  hook  xix.  sect.  3.  II  Centum 

Gravarn.  serf,  y  5fi  84.         *'  Tbid.  sect.  M  "'  Ihfil.  sen.  28.  . 


140  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  II. 

share  belonging  to  the  church  was  every  where  prodigious.     These  vast 

1>ossessions  were  not  subject  to  the  burdens  imposed  on  the  lands  of  the 
aity.  The  German  clergy  were  exempted  by  law  from  all  taxes,*  and 
if,  on  any  extraordinary  emergence,  ecclesiastics  were  pleased  to  grant 
some  aid  towards  supplying  the  public  exigencies,  this  was  considered  as 
a  free  gift  flowing  from  their  own  generosity,  which  the  civil  magistrate  had 
no  title  to  demand,  far  less  to  exact.  In  consequence  of  this  strange  sole- 
cism in  government,  the  laity  in  Germany  had  the  mortification  to  find 
themselves  loaded  with  excessive  impositions,  because  such  as  possessed 
the  greatest  property  were  freed  from  any  obligation  to  support  or  to 
defend  the  state. 

Grievous,  however,  as  the  exorbitant  wealth  and  numerous  privileges  of 
the  clerical  order  were  to  the  other  members  of  the  Germanic  body,  they 
would  have  reckoned  it  some  mitigation  of  the  evil,  if  these  had   been 

Possessed  only  by  ecclesiastics  residing  among  themselves,  who  would 
ave  been  less  apt  to  make  an  improper  use  of  their  riches,  or  to  exercise 
their  rights  with  unbecoming  rigour.  But  the  bishops  of  Rome  having 
early  put  in  a  claim,  the  boldest  that  ever  human  ambition  suggested,  of 
being  supreme  and  infallible  heads  of  the  Christian  church,  they,  by  their 
profound  policy  and  unwearied  perseverance,  by  their  address  in  availing 
themselves  of  every  circumstance  which  occurred,  by  taking  advantage 
of  the  superstition  of  some  princes,  of  the  necessity  of  others,  and  of  the 
credulity  of  the  people,  at  length  established  their  pretensions,  in  opposi- 
tion both  to  the  interest  and  common  sense  of  mankind.  Germany  was 
the  country  which  these  ecclesiastical  sovereigns  governed  with  most 
absolute  authority.  They  excommunicated  and  deposed  some  of  its  most 
illustrious  emperors,  and  excited  their  subjects,  their  ministers,  and  even 
their  children,  to  take  arms  against  them.  Amidst  these  contests,  the  popes 
continually  extended  their  own  immunities,  spoiling  the  secular  princes 
gradually  of  their  most  valuable  prerogatives,  and  the  German  church  felt 
all  the  rigour  of  that  oppression  which  flows  from  subjection  to  foreign 
dominion,  and  foreign  exactions. 

The  right  of  conferring  benefices,  which  the  popes  usurped  during  that 
period  01  confusion,  was  an  acquisition  of  great  importance,  and  exalted 
the  ecclesiastical  power  upon  the  ruins  of  the  temporal.  The  emperors 
and  other  princes  of  Germany  had  long  been  in  possession  of  this  right, 
which  served  to  increase  both  Jheir  authority  and  their  revenue.  But  by 
wresting  it  out  of  their  hands,  the  popes  were  enabled  to  fill  the  empire 
with  their  own  creatures  ;  they  accustomed  a  great  body  of  every  prince's 
subjects  to  depend  not  upon  him,  but  upon  the  Roman  see  ;  they  bestowed 
upon  strangers  the  richest  benefices  in  every  country ;  and  drained  their 
wealth  to  supply  the  luxury  of  a  foreign  court.  Even  the  patience  of  the 
most  superstitious  ages  could  no  longer  bear  such  oppression  ;  and  so  loud 
and  frequent  were  the  complaints  and  murmurs  of  the  Germans,  that  the 
popes,  afraid  of  irritating  them  too  far,  consented,  contrary  to  their  usual 
practice,  to  abate  somewhat  of  their  pretensions,  and  to  rest  satisfied  with 
the  right  of  nomination  to  such  benefices  as  happened  to  fall  vacant  during 
six  months  in  the  year,  leaving  the  disposal  of  the  remainder  to  the  princes 
and  other  legal  patrons.t 

But  the  court  of  Rome  easily  found  expedients  for  eluding  an  agree- 
ment which  put  such  restraints  on  its  power.  The  practice  of  reserving 
certain  benefices  in  every  country  to  the  pope's  immediate  nomination, 
which  had  been  long  known,  and  often  complained  of,  was  extended  far 
beyond  its  ancient  bounds.  All  the  benefices  possessed  by  cardinals,  or 
any  of  the  numerous  officers  in  the  Roman  court ;  those  held  by  persons 

*  Centum  Gravam.  sect.  28.  Goldasti  Const.  Imper.  ii.  79.  108.  Pfeflfel  Hist,  <2u  I>rcit  Pub! 
350.  374.        *  F.  Paul,  Hiat.  of  Eccles.  Benef.  504.    Gold.  Constit.  Imper.  i.  40". 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V,  Ml 

who  happened  to  die  at  Rome,  or  within  forty  miles  of  that  city,  on  their 
journey  to  or  from  it  ;  such  as  became  vacant  by  translation,  with  many 
others,  were  included  in  the  number  of  reserved  benefices  ;  Julius  II.  and 
Leo  X.  stretching  the  matter  to  the  utmost,  often  collated  to  benefices 
where  the  right  of  reservation  had  not  been  declared,  on  pretence  of 
having  mentally  reserved  this  privilege  to  themselves.  The  right  ot 
reservation,  however,  even  with  this  extension,  had  certain  limits,  as  it 
could  be  exercised  only  where  the  benefice  was  actually  vacant,  and  there- 
fore in  order  to  render  the  exertion  of  papal  power  unbounded,  expectativc 
graces,  or  mandates  nominating  a  person  to  succeed  to  a  benefice  upon  the 
hrst  vacancy  that  should  happen,  were  brought  into  use.  By  means  of 
these,  Germany  was  filled  with  persons  who  were  servilely  dependent  on 
the  court  of  Rome,  from  which  they  had  received  such  reversionary 
grants  ;  princes  were  defrauded,  in  a  great  degree,  of  their  prerogatives ; 
the  rights  of  lay-patrons  were  pre-occupied,  and  rendered  almost  entirely 
vain.* 

The  manner  in  which  these  extraordinary  powers  were  exercised, 
rendered  them  still  more  odious  and  intolerable.  The  avarice  and  extor- 
tion of  the  court  of  Rome  were  become  excessive  almost  to  a  proverb. 
The  practice  of  selling  benefices  was  so  notorious,  that  no  pains  were 
taken  to  conceal,  or  to  disguise  it.  Companies  of  merchants  openly 
purchased  the  benefices  of  different  districts  in  Germany  from  the  pope's 
ministers,  and  retailed  them  at  an  advanced  price. |  Pious  men  beheld 
with  deep  regret  these  simoniacal  transactions,  so  unworthy  the  ministers 
of  a  Christian  church ;  while  politicians  complained  of  the  loss  sustained 
by  the  exportation  of  so  much  wealth  in  that  irreligious  traffic. 

The  sums,  indeed,  which  the  court  of  Rome  drew,  by  its  stated  and 
legal  impositions,  from  all  the  countries  acknowledging  its  authority,  were 
so  considerable,  that  it  is  not  strange  that  princes,  as  well  as  their  subjects, 
murmured  at  the  smallest  addition  made  to  them  by  unnecessary  or  illicit 
means.  Every  ecclesiastical  person,  upon  his  admission  to  his  benefice, 
paid  annats,  or  one  year's  produce  of  his  living,  to  the  pope  ;  and  as  that 
tax  was  exacted  with  great  rigour,  its  amount  was  very  great.  To  this 
must  be  added,  the  frequent  demands  made  by  the  popes  of  free  gifts 
from  the  clergy,  together  with  the  extraordinary  levies  of  tenths  upon 
ecclesiastical  benefices,  on  pretence  of  expeditions  against  the  Turks, 
seldom  intended,  or  carried  into  execution  ;  and  from  the  whole,  the  vast 

groportion  of  the  revenues  of  the  church,which  flowed  continually  to 
x>me,  may  be  estimated. 

Such  were  the  dissolute  manners,  the  exorbitant  wealth,  the  enormous 
power  and  privileges  of  the  clergy,  before  the  Reformation  ;  such  the 
oppressive  rigour  ot  that  dominion  which  the  popes  had  established  over 
the  Christian  world  ;  and  such  the  sentiments  concerning  them  that  pre- 
vailed in  Germany  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Nor  has 
this  sketch  been  copied  from  the  controversial  writers  of  that  age,  who, 
in  the  heat  of  disputation,  may  be  suspected  of  having  exaggerated  the 
errors,  or  of  having  misrepresented  the  conduct  of  that  church  which  they 
laboured  to  overturn  :  it  is  formed  upon  more  authentic  evidence,  upon 
the  memorials  and  remonstrances  of  the  Imperial  diets,  coolly  enumerating 
the  grievances  under  which  the  empire  groaned,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
redress  of  them.  Dissatisfaction  must  have  arisen  to  a  great  height  among 
the  people,  when  these  grave  assemblies  expressed  themselves  with  that 
degree  of  acrimony  which  abounds  in  their  remonstrances :  and  if  they 
demanded  the  abolition  of  those  enormities  with  so  much  vehemence,  the 

*  Centum  Gravam,  Beet  21.    Fascic.  B<  r.  expet.  &r.  334.    Gold.  Const  Imper.  i,  301.  404,  40X 
F.Paol,  Hist,  of  Ecd. Benef.  167  190,        !  Fascic.  B*T.oxpetJ.8SD. 


142  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Hook  II. 

people,  we  may  be  assured,  uttered  their  sentiments  and  desires  in  bolder 
itnd  more  virulent  language. 

To  men  thus  prepared  for  shaking  off  the  yoke,Lutli<  r  addressed  him- 
self with  certainty  of  success.  As  they  had  long  felt  its  weight,  and  had 
borne  it  with  impatience,  they  listened  with  joy  to  the  first  offer  of  pro- 
curing them  deliverance.  Hence  proceeded  the  fond  and  eager  reception 
that  his  doctrines  met  with,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  spread  over 
all  the  provinces  of  Germany.  Even  the  impetuosity  and  fierceness  of 
Luther's  spirit,  his  confidence  in  asserting  his  own  opinions,  and  the  arro- 
gance as  well  as  contempt  wherewith  he  treated  all  who  differed  from 
him,  which  in  ages  of  greater  moderation  and  refinement,  have  been 
reckoned  defects  in  the  character  of  that  reformer,  did  not  appear  exces- 
sive to  his  contemporaries  whose  minds  were  strongly  agitated  by  those 
interesting  controversies  which  he  carried  on,  and  who  had  themselves 
endured  the  rigour  of  papal  tyranny,  and  seen  the  corruptions  in  the  church 
against  which  he  exclaimed. 

Nor  were  they  offended  at  that  gross  scurrility  with  which  his  polemical 
writings  are  filled,  or  at  the  low  buffoonery  which  he  sometimes  introduces 
into  his  gravest  discourses.  No  dispute  was  managed  in  those  rude  times 
without  a  large  portion  of  the  former ;  and  the  latter  was  common,  even 
on  the  most  solemn  occasion,  and  in  treating  the  most  sacred  subjects. 
So  far  were  either  of  these  from  doing  hurt  to  his  cause,  that  invective  and 
ridicule  had  some  effect,  as  well  as  more  laudable  arguments,  in  exposing 
the  errors  of  popery,  and  in  determining  mankind  to  abandon  them. 

Besides  all  these  causes  of  Luther's  rapid  progress,  arising  from  the 
nature  of  his  enterprise,  and  the  juncture  at  which  he  undertook  it,  he 
reaped  advantage  from  some  foreign  and  adventitious  circumstances,  the 
beneficial  influence  of  which  none  of  his  forerunners  in  the  same  course 
had  enjoyed.  Among  these  may  be  reckoned  the  invention  of  the  art  of 
printing,  about  half  a  century  before  his  time.  By  this  fortunate  discovery, 
the  facility  of  acquiring  and  of  propagating  knowledge  was  wonderfully 
increased,  and  Luther's  books,  which  must  otherwise  have  made  their  way 
slowly  and  with  uncertainty  into  distant  countries,  spread  at  once  all  over 
Europe.  Nor  were  they  read"  only  by  the  rich  and  the  learned,  who  alone 
had  access  to  books  before  that  invention  ;  they  got  into  the  hands  of  the 
people,  who,  upon  this  appeal  to  them  as  judges,  ventured  to  examine  and 
to  reject  many  doctrines  which  they  had  formerly  been  required  to  believe, 
without  being  taught  to  understand  them. 

The  revival  of  learning  at  the  same  period  was  a  circumstance  extremely 
friendly  to'  the  Reformation.  The  study  of  the  ancient  Greek  and  Roman 
authors,  by  enlightening  the  human  mind  with  liberal  and  sound  know- 
ledge, roused  it  from  that  profound  lethargy  in  which  it  had  been  sunk 
during  several  centuries.  Mankind  seem,  at  that  period,  to  have  recovered 
the  powers  of  inquiring  and  of  thinking  for  themselves,  faculties  of  which 
they  had  long  lost  the  use ;  and  fond  of  the  acquisition,  they  exercised 
them  with  great  boldness  upon  all  subjects.  They  were  not  now  afraid 
of  entering  an  uncommon  path,  or  of  embracing  a  new  opinion.  Novelty 
appears  rather  to  have  been  a  recommendation  of  a  doctrine ;  and  instead 
of  being  startled  when  the  daring  hand  of  Luther  drew  aside  or  tore  the 
veil  which  covered  established  errors,  the  genius  of  the  age  applauded 
and  aided  the  attempt.  Luther,  though  a  stranger  to  elegance  in  taste  or 
composition,  zealously  promoted  the  cultivation  of  ancient  literature  ;  and 
sensible  of  its  being  necessary  to  the  right  understanding  of  the  scriptures, 
he  himself  had  acquired  considerable  knowledge  both  in  the  Hebrew  anil 
Greek  tongues.  Melancthon,  and  some  other  of  his  disciples,  were  emi- 
nent proficients  in  the  polite  arts;  and  as  the  same  ignorant  monks  who 
opposed  the  introduction  of  learning  into  Germany,  set  themselves  "with 


EMFEROR   CHARLES    v.  143 

equal  fierceness  against  Luther's  opinions,  and  declared  the  good  reception 
of  the  latter  to  be  the  effect  of  the  progress  which  the  former  had  made, 
the  cause  of  learning  and  of  the  Reformation  came  to  be  considered  as 
closely  connected  with  each  other,  and,  in  every  country,  had  the  same 
friends  and  the  same  enemies.  This  enabled  the  reformers  to  carry  on 
the  contest  at  first  with  great  superiority.  Erudition,  industry,  accuracy 
of  sentiment,  purity  of  composition,  even  wit  and  raillery,  were  almost 
wholly  on  their  side,  and  triumphed  with  ease  over  illiterate  monks,  whose 
rude  arguments,  expressed  in  a  perplexed  and  barbarous  style,  were  found 
insufficient  for  the  defence  of  a  system,  the  errors  of  which,  all  the  art 
and  ingenuity  of  its  later  and  more  learned  advocates  have  not  been  able 
to  pal  hate. 

That  bold  spirit  of  inquiry,  which  the  revival  of  learning  excited  in 
Europe,  was  so  favourable  to  the  Reformation,  that  Luther  was  aided  in 
his  progress,  and  mankind  were  prepared  to  embrace  his  doctrines,  by 
persons  who  did  not  wish  success  to  his  undertaking.  The  greater  part  of 
the  ingenious  men  who  applied  to  the  study  of  ancient  literature  toward* 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth, 
though  they  had  no  intention,  and  perhaps  no  wish,  to  overturn  the  esta- 
blished system  of  religion,  had  discovered  the  absurdity  of  many  tenets 
and  practices  authorized  by  the  church,  and  perceived  the  futility  of  those 
arguments  by  which  illiterate  monks  endeavoured  to  defend  them.  Their 
contempt  of  these  advocates  for  the  received  errors,  led  them  frequently 
to  expose  the  opinions  which  they  supported,  and  to  ridicule  their  ignorance 
with  great  freedom  and  severity.  By  this,  men  were  prepared  for  the 
more  serious  attacks  made  upon  them  by  Luther,  and  their  reverence  both 
for  the  doctrines  and  persons  against  whom  he  inveighed  was  considerably 
abated.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in  Germany.  When  the  first 
attempts  were  made  to  revive  a  taste  for  ancient  learning  in  that  country, 
the  ecclesiastics  there,  who  were  still  more  ignorant  than  their  brethren  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  set  themselves  to  oppose  its  progress  with  more 
active  zeal ;  and  the  patrons  of  the  new  studies,  in  return,  attacked  them 
with  greater  violence.  In  the  writings  of  Reuchlin,  Hutten,  and  the  other 
revivers  of  learning  in  Germany,  the  corruptions  of  the  church  of  Rome 
are  censured  with  an  acrimony  of  style  little  inferior  to  that  of  Luther 
himself.* 

From  the  same  cause  proceeded  the  frequent  strictures  of  Erasmus  upon 
the  errors  of  the  church,  as  well  as  upon  the  ignorance  and  vices  of  the 
clergy.  His  reputation  and  authority  were  so  high  in  Europe,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  his  works  were  read  with  such 
universal  admiration,  that  the  effect  of  these  deserves  to  be  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  circumstances  which  contributed  considerably  towards  Luther's 
success.  Erasmus,  having  been  destined  for  the  church,  and  trained  up  in 
the  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  literature,  applied  himself  more  to  theolo- 
gical inquiries  than  any  of  the  revivers  of  learning  in  that  age.  His  acute 
judgment  and  extensive  erudition  enabled  him  to  discover  many  errors, 
both  in  the  doctrine  and  worship  of  the  Romish  church.  Some  of  these 
he  confuted  with  great  solidity  of  reasoning  and  force  of  eloquence.  Others 
he  treated  as  objects  of  ridicule,  and  turned  against  them  that  irresistible 
torrent  of  popular  and  satirical  wit,  of  which  he  had  the  command. 
There  was  hardly  any  opinion  or  practice  of  the  Romish  church,  which 
Luther  endeavoured  to  reform,  but  what  had  been  previously  animadverted 
upon  by  Erasmus,  and  had  afforded  him  subject  either  of  censure  or  of 
raillery.  Accordingly,  when  Luther  first  began  his  attack  upon  the  church, 
Erasmus  seemed  to  applaud  his  conduct ;  he  courted  the  friendship  of 

*  Gerdesias  Hist.  Kvan^-  Renov,  vol  i  p.  141,  157  Seckend.  lib.  i.  p.  103.  VondorHardt.  His* 
bitvsr.    Rflftmn.  para  U 


144  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  II. 

several  of  his  disciples  and  patrons,  and  condemned  the  behaviour  and 
spirit  of  his  adversaries.*  He  concurred  openly  with  him  in  inveighing 
against  the  school  divines,  as  the  teachers  of  a  system  equally  unedifying 
and  obscure.  He  joined  him  in  endeavouring  to  turn  the  attention  of  men 
to  the  study  of  the  holy  scriptures,  as  the  only  standard  of  religious  truth.t 

Various  circumstances,  however,  prevented  Erasmus  from  holding  the 
same  course  with  Luther.  The  natural  timidity  of  his  temper  ;  his  want 
of  that  strength  of  mind  which  alone  can  prompt  a  man  to  assume  the 
character  of  a  reformer  ;J  his  excessive  deference  for  persons  in  high 
station  ;  his  dread  of  losing  the  pensions  and  other  emoluments,  which  their 
liberality  had  conferred  upon  him  ;  his  extreme  love  of  peace,  and  hopes 
of  reforming  abuses  gradually,  and  by  gentle  methods,  all  concurred  in 
determining  him  not  only  to  repress  and  to  moderate  the  zeal  with  which 
he  had  once  been  animated  against  the  errors  of  the  church,§  but  to 
assume  the  character  of  a  mediator  between  Luther  and  his  opponents. 
But  though  Erasmus  soon  began  to  censure  Luther  as  too  daring  and  im- 
petuous, and  was  at  last  prevailed  upon  to  write  against  him,  he  must, 
nevertheless,  be  considered  as  his  forerunner  and  auxiliary  in  this  war  upon 
the  church.  He  first  scattered  the  seeds,  which  Luther  cherished  and 
brought  to  maturity.  His  raillery  and  oblique  censures  prepared  the  way 
for  Luther's  invectives  and  more  direct  attacks.  In  this  light  Erasmus 
appeared  to  the  zealous  defenders  of  the  Romish  church  in  his  own  times.U 
In  this  light  he  must  be  considered  by  every  person  conversant  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  period. 

In  this  long  enumeration  of  the  circumstances  which  combined  in 
favouring  the  progress  of  Luther's  opinions,  or  in  weakening  the  resistance 
of  his  adversaries,  I  have  avoided  entering  into  any  discussion  of  the  theo- 
logical doctrines  of  popery,  and  have  not  attempted  to  show  how  repugnant 
they  are  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  how  destitute  of  any  foundation 
in  reason,  in  the  word  of  God,  or  in  the  practice  of  the  primitive  church, 
leaving  those  topics  entirely  to  ecclesiastical  historians,  to  whose  province 
they  peculiarly  belong.  But  when  we  add  the  effect  of  these  religious 
considerations  to  the  influence  of  political  causes,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
united  operation  of  both  on  the  human  mind  must  have  been  sudden  and 
irresistible.  Though,  to  Luther's  contemporaries,  who  were  too  near 
perhaps  to  the  scene,  or  too  deeply  interested  in  it,  to  trace  the  cause  with 
accuracy,  or  to  examine  them  with  coolness,  the  rapidity  with  which  his 
opinions  spread  appeared  to  be  so  unaccountable,  that  some  of  them  im- 
puted it  to  a  certain  uncommon  and  malignant  position  of  the  stars,  which 
scattered  "the  spirit  of  giddiness  and  innovation  over  the  world.H  it  is 
evident,  that  the  success  of  the  Reformation  was  the  natural  effect  of 
powerful  causes  prepared  by  peculiar  providence,  and  happily  conspiring 
to  that  end.  This  attempt  to  investigate  these  causes,  and  to  throw  light 
on  an  event  so  singular  and  important,  will  not,  perhaps,  be  deemed  an 
unnecessary  digression. — I  return  from  it  to  the  course  of  the  history. 

The  diet  at  Worms  conducted  its  deliberations  with  that  slow  formality 
peculiar  to  such  assemblies.  Much  time  was  spent  in  establishing  some 
regulations  with  regard  to  the  internal  police  of  the  empire.  The  juris- 
diction of  the  Imperial  chamber  was  confirmed,  and  the  forms  of  its 
proceeding  rendered  more  fixed  and  regular.     A  council  of  regency  was 

*  Seckend.  lib.  i.  p.  40.  9G.  t  Vonder  Hardt,  Histor.  Literar.    Reform,  pars  i.    Gcrdes.  Hist. 

Evang.  Renov.  i.  147. 

i  Erasmus  himself  is  candid  enough  to  acknowledge  this:  "Luther,"  says  he,  "has  given  us 
many  a  wholesome  doctrine,  and  many  a  good  counsel.  I  wish  he  had  not  defeated  the  effect  of 
them  by  Intolerable  faults.  But  if  he  had  written  every  thing  in  the  most  unexceptionable  manner, 
I  had  no  inclination  to  die  for  the  sake  of  truth.  Every  man  hath  not  the  courage  requisite  to  make 
a  martyr ;  and  I  am  nfraid  that,  if  I  were  put  to  the  trial,  I  should  imitate  St.  Peter."  Epist.  Erasmi 
in  .lortin's  Life  of  Erasm.  vol.  i.  p.  273. 

<S  Jortin's  Life  of  Erasmus,  vol.  i.  p.  258.  ''  Vorrder  Hardt,  Hist  Literar.  Reform. pare i.  p.S 

"  Jnvii  HiMorip,  Lut.  15^.  fol.  p.  IM. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  145 

appointed  to  assist  Ferdinand  in  the  government  of  the  empire  during  an£ 
occasional  absence  of  the  emperor  ;  wlrich,  from  the  extent  of  the  emperor  s 
dominions,  as  well  as  the  multiplicity  of  his  affairs,  was  an  event  that 
might  be  frequently  expected.*  The  state  of  religion  was  then  taken 
into  consideration.  There  was  not  wanting  some  plausible  reason  which 
might  have  induced  Charles  to  have  declared  himself  the  protector  ot 
Luther's  cause,  or  at  least  to  have  connived  at  its  progress.  If  he  had 
possessed  no  other  dominions,  but  those  which  belonged  to  him  in  Ger- 
many, and  no  other  crown  besides  the  Imperial*  he  might  have  been  dis- 
posed, perhaps,  to  favour  a  man,  who  asserted  so  boldly  the  privileges  and 
immunities  for  which  the  empire  had  struggled  so  long  with  the  popes. 
But  the  vast  and  dangerous  schemes  which  Francis  I.  was  forming  against 
Charles,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  regulate  his  conduct  by  views  more 
extensive  than  those  which  would  have  suited  a  German  prince  ;  and 
it  being  of  the  utmost  importance  to  secure  the  pope's  friendship,  this 
determined  him  to  treat  Luther  with  great  severity,  as  the  most  effectual 
method  of  soothing  Leo  into  a  concurrence  with  his  measures.  His  eager- 
ness to  accomplish  this  rendered  him  not  unwilling  to  gratify  the  papal 
legates  in  Germany,  who  insisted  that,  without  any  delay  or  formal  de- 
liberation, the  diet  ought  to  condemn  a  man  whom  the  pope  had  already 
excommunicated  as  an  incorrigible  heretic.  Such  an  abrupt  manner  of 
proceeding,  however,  being  deemed  unprecedented  and  unjust  by  the 
members  of  the  diet,  they  made  a  point  of  Luther's  appearing  in  person, 
and  declaring  whether  he  adhered  or  not  to  those  opinions  which  had 
drawn  upon  nim  the  censures  of  the  church. |  Not  only  the  emperor,  but 
all  the  princes  through  whose  territories  he  had  to  pass,  granted  him  a 
safe-conduct ;  and  Charles  wrote  to  him  at  the  same  time  [March  6th.] 
requiring  his  immediate  attendance  on  the  diet,  and  renewing  his  promises 
of  protection  from  any  injury  or  violence.]:  Luther  did  not  hesitate  one 
moment  about  yielding  obedience,  and  set  out  for  Worms,  attended  by  the 
herald  who  had  brougnt  the  emperor's  letter  and  safe-conduct.  While  on 
his  journey,  many  of  his  friends,  whom  the  fate  of  Huss,  under  similar 
circumstances,  and  notwithstanding  the  same  security  of  an  Imperial  safe- 
conduct,  filled  with  solicitude,  advised  and  entreated  him  not  to  rush 
wantonly  into  the  midst  of  danger.  But  Luther,  superior  to  such  terrors, 
silenced  them  with  this  reply,  "  I  am  lawfully  called,"  said  he, "  to  appear 
in  that  city,  and  thither  will  I  go  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  though  as  many 
devils,  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  houses,  were  there  combined  against  me."§ 
The  reception  which  he  met  with  at  Worms  was  such  as  he  might  have 
reckoned  a  full  reward  of  all  his  labours,  if  vanity  and  the  love  of  applause 
bad  been  the  principles  by  which  he  was  influenced.  Greater  crowds 
assembled  to  behold  him,  than  had  appeared  at  the  emperor's  public 
entry  ;  his  apartments  were  daily  filled  with  princes  and  personages  of  the 
highest  rank,il  and  he  was  treated  with  all  the  respect  paid  to  those  who 
possess  the  power  of  directing  the  understanding  and  sentiments  of  other 
men  ;  an  homage,  more  sincere,  as  well  as  more  flattering,  than  any  which 
pre-eminence  in  birth  or  condition  can  command.  At  his  appearance  before 
the  diet,  he  behaved  with  great  decency,  and  with  equal  firmness.  He 
readily  acknowledged  an  excess  of  vehemence  and  acrimony  in  his  con» 
troversial  writings,  but  refused  to  retract  his  opinions,  unless  he  were  con- 
vinced of  their  falsehood ;  or  to  consent  to  their  being  tried  by  any  other 
rule  than  the  word  of  God.  When  neither  threats  nor  entreaties  could 
prevail  on  him  to  depart  from  his  resolution,  some  of  the  ecclesiastics  pro- 
posed to  imitate  the  example  of  the  council  of  Constance,  and  by  punishing 
the  author  of  this  pestilent  heresy,  who  was  now  in  their  power,  to  deliver 

*  Pont.  Heuter.  Eer.  Austr.  lib.  viii.  •:.  11.  p.  195.    PfciTel.  Abrisge  Chionnl.  p.  598.        f  P.  Mart. 
Ep.  722.  J  Luth.  Oper.  ii.  412  $  Ibid.  K.  4M  ||  Seckend,  156.    Lutli.Oper.ii.4M. 

Vor.  II.— 19 


146  THE    RE  I  ON    OF    THE 

the  church  at  once  from  6uch  an  evil.  But  the  members  of  the  diet,  re- 
fusiog  to  expose  the  German  integrity  to  fresh  reproach  by  a  second  vio- 
lation of  public  faith  ;  and  Charles  being  no  less  unwilling  to  bring  a  stain 
upon  the  beginning  of  his  administration  by  such  an  ignominious  action, 
Luther  was  permitted  to  depart  in  safety.*  A  few  days  after  he  left  the 
city  [April  26,]  a  severe  edict  was  published  in  the  emperor's  name,  and 
by  authority  ot  the  diet,  depriving  him,  as  an  obstinate  and  excommunicated 
criminal,  ot  all  the  privileges  which  he  enjoyed  as  a  subject  of  the  empire, 
forbidding  any  prince  to  harbour  or  protect  him,  and  requiring  all  to  concur 
in  seizing  his  person  as  soon  as  the  term  specified  in  his  safe-conduct  was 
expired.T 

But  this  rigorous  decree  had  no  considerable  effect,  the  execution  of  it 
being  prevented,  partly  by  the  multiplicity  of  occupations,  which  the 
commotions  in  Spain,  together  with  the  wars  in  Italy  and  the  Low-Coun- 
tries, created  to  the  emperor ;  and  partly  by  a  prudent  precaution  em- 
ployed by  the  elector  of  Saxony,  Luther's  faithful  and  discerning  patron. 
As  Luther,  on  his  return  from  Worms,  was  passing  near  Alteflstein  in  Thu- 
ringia,  a  number  of  horsemen  in  masks  rushed  suddenly  out  of  a  wood, 
where  the  elector  had  appointed  them  to  lie  in  wait  for  him,  and  sur- 
rounding his  company,  carried  him,  after  dismissing  all  his  attendants,  to 
Wartburg,  a  strong  castle  not  far  distant.  There  the  elector  ordered  him 
to  be  supplied  with  every  thing  necessary  or  agreeable,  but  the  place  of 
his  retreat  was  carefully  concealed,  until  the  fury  of  the  present  storm 
against  him  began  to  abate,  upon  a  change  in  the  political  situation  of 
Europe.  In  this  solitude,  where  he  remained  nine  months,  and  which  he 
frequently  called  his  Patmos,  after  the  name  of  that  Island  to  which  the 
apostle  John  was  banished,  he  exerted  his  usual  vigour  and  industry  in 
defence  of  his  doctrines,  or  in  confutation  of  his  adversaries,  publishing 
several  treatises,  which  revived  the  spirit  of  his  followers,  astonished  to  a 
great  degree,  and  disheartened  at  the  sudden  disappearance  of  their 
leader. 

During  his  confinement,  his  opinions  continued  to  gain  ground,  acquiring 
the  ascendant  in  almost  every  city  in  Saxony.  At  this  time,  the  Augus- 
tinians  of  Wittemberg,  with4he  approbation  of  the  university,  and  the 
connivance  of  the  elector,  ventured  upon  the  fir-st  step  towards  an  alteration 
in  the  established  forms  of  public  worship,  by  abolishing  the  celebration 
of  private  masses,  and  by  giving  the  cup  as  well  as  the  bread  to  the  laity 
in  administering  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper. 

Whatever  consolation  the  courage  and  success  of  his  disciples,  or  the 
progress  of  his  doctrines  in  his  own  country,  afforded  Luther  in  his  retreat, 
he  there  received  information  of  two  events  which  considerably  damped 
his  joy,  as  they  seemed  to  lay  insuperable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  propa- 
gating his  principles,  in  the  two  most  powerful  kingdoms  of  Europe.  One 
was,  a  solemn  decree,  condemning  his  opinions,  published  by  the  university 
of  Paris,  the  most  ancient,  and,  at  that  time,  the  most  respectable  of  the 
learned  societies  in  Europe.  The  other  was  the  answer  written  to  his 
book  concerning  the  Babylonish  captivity  by  Henry  VIII.  of  England. 
That  monarch,  having  been  educated  under  the  eye  of  a  suspicious  father, 
who,  in  order  to  prevent  his  attending  to  business,  kept  him  occupied  in 
the  study  of  literature,  still  retained  a  greater  love  of  learning,  and  stronger 
habits  of  application  to  it,  than  are  common  among  princes  of  so  active  a 
disposition  and  such  violent  passions.  Being  ambitious  of  acquiring  glory 
of  every  kind,  as  well  as  zealously  attached  to  the  Romish  church,  and 
highly  exasperated  against  Luther,  who  had  treated  Thomas  Aquinas,  his 
favourite  author,  with  great  contempt,  Henry  did  not  think  it  enough  to 
exert  his  royal  authority  in  opposing  the  opinions  of  the  reformer,  but 

*  F.  Paul,  Hieit.  of  Counc.  p.  13,    Ssckctid.  160  "J"!'!  Const.  Imperial  ii   IDS 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V".  147 

resolved  likewise  to  combat  them  with  scholastic  weapons.  With  this 
view  he  published  his  treatise  on  the  Seven  Sacraments,  which,  though 
forgotten  at  present,  as  books  of  controversy  always  are,  when  the  occasion 
that  produced  them  is  past,  is  not  destitute  of  polemical  ingenuity  and 
acuteness,  and  was  represented  by  the  flattery  of  his  courtiers  to  be  a 
work  of  such  wonderful  science  and  learning,  as  exalted  him  no  less  above 
other  authors  in  merit,  than  he  was  distinguished  among  them  by  his  rank. 
The  pope,  to  whom  it  was  presented  with  the  greatest  formality  in  full 
consistory,  spoke  of  it  in  such  terms,  as  if  it  had  been  dictated  by  imme- 
diate inspiration ;  and  as  a  testimony  of  the  gratitude  of  the  church  for 
his  extraordinary  zeal,  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith, 
an  appellation  which  Henry  soon  forfeited  in  the  opinion  of  those  from 
whom  he  derived  it,  and  which  is  still  retained  by  his  successors,  though 
the  avowed  enemies  of  those  opinions,  by  contending  for  which  he  merited 
that  honourable  distinction.  Luther,  who  was  not  overawed,  either  by 
the  authority  of  the  university,  or  the  dignity  of  the  monarch,  soon  pub- 
lished his  animadversions  on  both,  in  a  style  no  less  vehement  and  severe, 
than  he  would  have  used  in  confuting  his  meanest  antagonist.  This  in- 
decent boldness,  instead  of  shocking  his  contemporaries,  was  considered 
by  them  as  a  new  proof  of  his  undaunted  spirit.  A  controversy  managed 
by  disputants  so  illustrious,  drew  universal  attention ;  and  such  was  the 
contagion  of  the  spirit  of  innovation,  diffused  through  Europe  in  that  age. 
and  so  powerful  the  evidence  which  accompanied  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformers  on  their  first  publication,  that,  in  spite  of  both  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  powers  combined  against  them,  they  daily  gained  converts 
both  in  France  and  in  England. 

How  desirous  soever  the  emperor  might  be  to  put  a  stop  to  Luther's 
progress,  he  was  often  obliged,  during  the  diet  at  Worms,  to  turn  his 
thoughts  to  matters  still  more  interesting,  and  which  demanded  more  im- 
mediate attention.  A  war  was  ready  to  break  out  between  him  and  the 
French  king  in  Navarre,  in  the  Low-Countries,  and  in  Italy  ;  and  it  re- 
quired either  great  address  to  avert  the  danger,  or  timely  and  wise  pre- 
cautions to  resist  it.  Every  circumstance,  at  that  juncture,  inclined  Charles 
to  prefer  the  former  measure.  Spain  was  torn  with  intestine  commotions. 
In  Italy,  he  had  not  hitherto  secured  the  assistance  of  any  one  ally.  In 
the  Low-Countries,  his  subjects  trembled  at  the  thoughts  of  a  rupture  with 
France,  the  fatal  effects  of  which  on  their  commerce  they  had  often  ex- 
perienced. From  these  considerations,  as  well  as  from  the  solicitude  of 
Chievres,  during  his  whole  administration,  to  maintain  peace  between  the 
two  monarchs,  proceeded  the  emperor's  backwardness  to  commence  hos- 
tilities. But  Francis  and  his  ministers  did  not  breathe  the  same  pacific 
spirit.  He  easily  foresaw  that  concord  could  not  long  subsist,  where 
interest,  emulation,  and  ambition  conspired  to  dissolve  it ;  and  he  possessed 
several  advantages  which  flattered  him  with  the  hopes  of  surprising  his 
rival,  and  of  overpowering  him  before  he  could  put  himself  in  a  posture  of 
defence.  The  French  king's  dominions,  from  their  compact  situation, 
from  their  subjection  to  the  royal  authority,  from  the  genius  of  the  people, 
fond  of  war,  and  attached  to  their  sovereign  by  every  tie  of  duty  and 
atlection,  were  more  capable  of  a  great  or  sudden  effort,  than  the  larger 
but  disunited  territories  of  the  emperor,  in  one  part  of  which  the  people 
were  in  arms  against  his  ministers,  and  in  all  his  prerogative  was  more 
limited  than  that  of  his  rival. 

The  only  princes,  in  whose  power  it  was  to  have  kept  down,  or  to  have 
.xtinguished  this  flame  on  its  first  appearance,  either  neglected  to  exert 
themselves,  or  were  active  in  kindling  and  spreading  it.  Henry  VIII. 
though  he  affected  to  assume  the  name  of  mediator,  and  both  parties  made 
frequent  appeals  to  him,  had  laid  aside  the  impartiality  which  suited  that 
•haracter.     Wblsey,  by  his  artifices,  had  estranged  him  so  entirely  from 


148  THE  REIGN    OF  THE  [Book  II. 

the  French  king,  that  he  secretly  fomented  the  discord  which  he  ought  to 
have  composed,  and  waited  only  for  some  decent  pretext  to  join  his  arms 
to  those  of  the  emperor.* 

Leo's  endeavours  to  excite  discord  between  the  emperor  and  Francis 
were  more  avowed,  and  had  greater  influence.  Not  only  his  duty,  as  the 
common  father  of  Christendom,  but  his  interest  as  an  Italian  potentate, 
called  upon  the  pope  to  act  as  tbe  guardian  of  the  public  tranquillity,  and 
to  avoid  any  measure  that  might  overturn  the  system,  which,  after  much 
bloodshed,  and  many  negotiations,  was  now  established  in  Italy.  Accord- 
ingly Leo,  who  instantly  discerned  the  propriety  of  this  conduct,  had 
formed  a  scheme,  upon  Charles's  promotion  to  the  Imperial  dignity,  of 
rendering  himself  the  umpire  between  the  rivals,  by  soothing  them  alter- 
nately, while  he  entered  into  no  close  confederacy  with  either ;  and  a 
pontiff  less  ambitious  and  enterprising,  might  have  saved  Europe  from 
many  calamities  by  adhering  to  this  plan.  But  this  high  spirited  prelate, 
who  was  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  longed  passionately  to  distinguish  his 
pontificate  by  some  splendid  action.  He  was  impatient  to  wash  away  the 
infamy  of  having  lost  Parma  and  Placentia,  the  acquisition  of  which  re- 
flected so  much  lustre  on  the  administration  of  his  predecessor  Julius.  He 
beheld,  with  the  indignation  natural  to  Italians  in  that  age,  the  dominion 
which  the  Transalpine,  or  as  they,  in  imitation  of  the  Roman  arrogance, 
denominated  them,  the  barbarous  nations,  had  attained  in  Italy.  He 
flattered  himself,  that  after  assisting  the  one  monarch  to  strip  the  other  of 
bis  possessions  in  that  country,  he  might  find  means  of  driving  out  the 
victor  in  his  turn,  and  acquire  the  glory  of  restoring  Italy  to  tbe  liberty 
and  happiness  which  it  had  enjoyed  before  the  invasion  of  Charles  VIII. , 
when  every  state  was  governed  by  its  native  princes,  or  its  own  laws,  and 
unacquainted  with  a  foreign  yoke.  Extravagant  and  chimerical  as  this 
project  may  seem,  it  was  the  favourite  object  of  almost  every  Italian 
eminent  for  genius  or  enterprise  during  great  part  of  the  sixteenth  centuiy. 
They  vainly  hoped,  that  by  superior  skill  in  the  artifices  and  refinements 
of  negotiation,  they  should  be  able  to  baffle  the  efforts  of  nations,  less 
polished  indeed  than  themselves,  but  much  more  powerful  and  warlike. 
So  alluring  was  the  prospect  t)f  this  to  Leo,  that  notwithstanding  the  gen- 
tleness of  his  disposition,  and  his  fondness  for  the  pleasures  of  a  refined 
and  luxurious  ease,  he  hastened  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Europe,  and  to 
plunge  himself  into  a  dangerous  war,  with  an  impetuosity  scarcely  in- 
terior to  that  of  the  turbulent  and  martial  Julius.t 

It  was  in  Leo's  power,  however,  to  choose  which  of  the  monarchs  he 
would  take  for  his  confederate  against  the  other.  Both  of  them  courted 
bis  friendship  ;  he  wavered  for  some  time  between  them,  and  at  last  con- 
cluded an  alliance  with  Francis.  The  object  of  this  treaty  was  the  con- 
quest of  Naples,  which  the  confederacy  agreed  to  divide  between  them. 
The  pope,  it  is  probable,  flattered  himself,  that  the  brisk  and  active  spirit 
of  Francis;  seconded  by  the  same  qualities  in  his  subjects,  would  get  the 
start  of  the  slow  and  wary  councils  of  the  emperor,  and  that  they  might 
overrun  with  ease  this  detached  portion  of  his  dominions,  ill  provided  for 
defence,  and  always  the  prey  of  every  invader.  But  whether  the  French 
king,  by  discovering  too  openly  his  suspicion  of  Leo's  sincerity,  disappointed 
these  hopes ;  whether  the  treaty  was  only  an  artifice  of  the  pope's  to  cover 
ihe  more  serious  negotiations  which  he  was  carrying  on  with  Charles; 
whether  he  was  enticed  by  the  prospect  of  reaping  greater  advantages  from 
a  union  with  that  prince ;  or  whether  he  was  soothed  by  the  zeal  which 
Charles  had  manifested  for  the  honour  of  the  church  in  condemning  Luther ; 
certain  it  is,  that  he  soon  deserted  his  new  ally,  and  made  overtures  oi 

*  fferbm.  Fiddos's  Life  of  Wolse;  j  Guic.  lib.  «v 


i 


"    EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  149 

friendship,  though  with  great  secrecy,  to  the  emperor.*  Don  John  Manuel, 
the  same  man  who  had  been  the  favourite  of  Philip,  and  whose  address 
had  disconcerted  all  Ferdinand's  schemes,  having  been  delivered,  upon  the 
death  of  that  monarch,  from  the  prison  to  which  he  had  been  confined,  was 
now  the  Imperial  ambassador  at  Rome,  and  fully  capable  of  improving 
this  favourable  disposition  in  the  pope  to  his  master  s  advantage.!  To  him 
the  conduct  of  this  negotiation  was  entirely  committed;  and  being  care- 
fully concealed  from  Chievres,  whose  aversion  from  a  war  with  France 
would  have  prompted  him  to  retard  or  to  defeat  it,  an  alliance  between 
the  pope  and  emperor  was  quickly  concluded}  [May  8].  The  chief 
articles  in  this  treaty,  which  proved  the  foundation  of  Charles's  grandeur  in 
Italy,  were,  that  the  pope  and  emperor  should  join  their  forces  to  expel 
the  French  out  of  the  Milanese,  the  possession  of  which  should  be  granted 
to  Francis  Sforza,  a  son  of  Ludovico  the  Moor,  who  had  resided  at  Trent 
since  the  time  that  his  brother  Maximilian  had  been  dispossessed  of  his 
dominions  by  the  French  king ;  that  Parma  and  Placentia  should  be 
restored  to  the  church;  that  the  emperor  should  assist  the  pope  in  con- 
quering Ferrara;  that  the  annual  tribute  paid  by  the  kingdom  of  Naples  to 
the  Holy  See  should  be  increased;  that  the  emperor  should  take  the  family 
of  Medici  under  his  protection ;  that  he  should  grant  to  the  cardinal  of  that 
name  a  pension  of  ten  thousand  ducats  upon  the  archbishopric  of  Toledo; 
and  should  settle  lands  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  to  the  same  value  upon 
Alexander  the  natural  son  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici. 

The  transacting  an  affair  of  such  moment  without  his  participation, 
appeared  to  Chievres  so  decisive  a  proof  of  his  having  lost  the  ascendant 
which  he  had  hitherto  maintained  over  the  mind  of  his  pupil,  that  his 
chagrin  on  this  account,  added  to  the  melancholy  with  which  he  was  over- 
whelmed on  taking  a  view  of  the  many  and  unavoidable  calamities 
attending  a  war  against  France,  is  said  to  have  shortened  his  days.S  But 
though  this,  perhaps,  may  be  only  the  conjecture  of  historians,  fond  of 
attributing  every  thing  that  befalls  illustrious  personages  to  extraordinary 
causes,  and  of  ascribing  even  their  diseases  and  death  to  the  effect  of 
political  passions,  which  are  more  apt  to  disturb  the  enjoyment  than  to 
abridge  the  period  of  life,  it  is  certain  that  his  death,  at  this  critical  junc- 
ture, extinguished  all  hopes  of  avoiding  a  rupture  with  France. ||  This 
event,  too,  delivered  Charles  from  a  minister,  to  whose  authority  he  had 
been  accustomed  from  his  infancy  to  submit  with  such  implicit  deference, 
as  checked  and  depressed  his  genius,  and  retained  him  in  a  state  of  pupil- 
age, unbecoming  his  years  as  well  as  his  rank.  But  this  restraint  being 
removed,  the  native  powers  of  his  mind  were  permitted  to  unfold  them- 
selves, and  he  began  to  display  such  great  talents,  both  in  council  and  in 
action,  as  exceeded  the  hopes  of  his  contemporaries,!!  and  command  the 
admiration  of  posterity. 

While  the  pope  and  emperor  were  preparing,  in  consequence  of  their 
secret  alliance,  to  attack  Milan,  hostilities  commenced  in  another  quarter. 
The  children  of  John  d'Albret,  king  of  Navarre,  having  often  demanded 
the  restitution  of  their  hereditary  dominions,  in  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Noyon, 
and  Charles  having  as  often  eluded  their  requests  upon  very  frivolous 
pretexts,  Francis  thought  himself  authorized  by  that  treaty  to  assist  the 
exiled  family.  The  juncture  appeared  extremely  favourable  for  such  an 
enterprise.  Charles  was  at  a  distance  from  that  part  of  his  dominions  ;  the 
troops  usually  stationed  there  had  been  called  away  to  quell  the  commo- 
tions in  Spain ;  the  Spanish  malecontents  warmly  solicited  him  to  invade 
Navarre,**  in  which  a  considerable  faction  was  ready  to  declare  for  the 

*  Guic.  lib.  xiv.  p.  175.     Mem.  de  Bellay,  Par.  1573.  p  24.        f  Jovii  Vita  J.eonis,  lib.  iv.  p.  89. 
X  Guic.  I.  xiv    181.      Mem.  de  Bellay,  p.  24.      Du  Mont,  Corps  Diplom.  torn.  iv.  suppl.  p.  % 
Bdcarii  Comment  dc  Reb.  Gallic.  483.  ||  P.  Heater.  Rer   Austria*-,  lib.  viii.  r.  11.  p.  107. 

'  P   Mart.  Kn.  735  **  Ibid.  En.  731. 


THE   REIGN    OF   THE  (Book  II. 

descendants  of  their  ancient  monarcbs.  But  in  order  to  avoid,  as  much  as 
possible,  giving  offence  to  the  emperor,  or  king  of  England,  Francis 
directed  forces 'to  be  levied,  and  the  war  to  be  carried  on,  not  in  his  own 
name,  but  in  that  of  Henry  d'Albret.  The  conduct  of  these  troops  was 
committed  to  Andrew  de  Foix,  de  l'Esparre,  a  young  nobleman,  whom  his 
near  alliance  to  the  unfortunate  king,  whose  battles  he  was  to  fight,  and 
what  was  still  more  powerful,  the  interest  of  his  sister,  Madame  de  Chateau- 
Briand,  Francis'  favourite  mistress,  recommended  to  that  important  trust, 
for  which  he  had  neither  talents  nor  experience.  But  as  there  was  no 
army  in  the  field  to  oppose  him,  he  became  master,  in  a  few  days,  of  the 
whole  kingdom  of  Navarre,  without  meeting  with  any  obstruction  but  from 
the  citadel  of  Pampeluna.  The  additional  works  to  this  fortress,  begun 
by  Ximenes,  were  still  unfinished ;  nor  would  its  slight  resistance  have 
deserved  notice,  if  Ignatio  Loyola,  a  Biscayan  gentleman,  had  not  been 
dangerously  wounded  in  its  defence.  During  the  progress  of  a  lingering 
cure,  Loyola  happened  to  have  no  other  amusement  than  what  he  found 
in  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints :  the  effect  of  this  on  his  mind,  naturally 
enthusiastic,  but  ambitious  and  daring,  was  to  inspire  him  with  such  a 
desire  of  emulating  the  glory  of  these  fabulous  worthies  of  the  Romish 
church,  as  led  him  into  the  wildest  and  most  extravagant  adventures, 
which  terminated  at  last  in  instituting  the  society  of  Jesuits,  the  most 
political  and  best  regulated  of  all  the  monastic  orders,  and  from  which 
mankind  have  derived  more  advantages,  and  received  greater  injury,  than 
from  any  other  of  those  religious  fraternities. 

If,  upon  the  reduction  of  Pampeluna,  l'Esparre  had  been  satisfied  with 
taking  proper  precautions  for  securing  his  conquest,  the  kingdom  of 
Navarre  might  still  have  remained  annexed  to  the  crown  of  France,  in 
reality,  as  well  as  in  title.  But  pushed  on  by  youthful  ardour,  and 
encouraged  by  Francis,  who  was  too  apt  to  be  dazzled  with  success,  he 
ventured  to  pass  the  confines  of  Navarre,  and  to  lay  siege  to  Logrogno,  a 
small  town  in  Castile.  This  roused  the  Castiiians,  who  had  hitherto 
beheld  the  rapid  progress  of  has  arms  with  great  unconcern,  and  the  dis- 
sensions in  that  kingdom  (ofwhich  a  full  account  shall  be  given)  being 
almost  composed,  both  parties  exerted  themselves  with  emulation  in  defence 
of  their  country ;  the  one  that  it  might  efface  the  memory  of  past  miscon- 
duct by  its  present  zeal ;  the  other,  that  it  might  add  to  tbe  merit  of  having 
subdued  the  emperor's  rebellious  subjects,  and  of  repulsing  his  foreign 
enemies.  The  sudden  advance  of  their  troops,  together  with  the  gallant 
defence  made  by  the  inhabitants  of  Logrogno,  obliged  the  French  general 
to  abandon  his  rash  enterprise.  The  Spanish  arnvy,  which  increased  every 
day,  harassing  him  during  his  retreat,  he,  instead  of  taking  shelter  under 
the  canon  of  Pampeluna,  or  waiting  the  arrival  of  some  troops  which  were 
marching  to  join  him,  attacked  the  Spaniards,  though  far  superior  to  him 
in  number,  with  great  impetuosity,  but  with  so  little  conduct,  that  his 
forces  were  totally  routed,  he  himself,  together  with  his  principal  officers, 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  Spain  recovered  possession  of  Navarre,  in  still 
shorter  time  than  the  French  had  spent  in  the  conquest  of  it.* 

While  Francis  endeavoured  to  justify  his  invasion  of  Navarre,  by  carrying 
it  on  in  the  name  of  Henry  d'Albret,  he  had  recourse  to  an  artifice  much 
of  the  same  kind,  in  attacking  another  part  of  the  emperor's  territories. 
Robert  de  la  Mark,  lord  of  the  small  but  independent  territory  of 
Bouillon,  situated  on  the  frontiers  of  Luxembourg  and  Champagne,  having 
abandoned  Charles's  service  on  account  of  an  encroachment  which  the 
Aulic  council  had  made  on  his  jurisdiction,  and  having  thrown  himself 
upon  France  for  protection,  was  easily  persuaded,  in  the  heat  of  his 
resentment,  to  send  a  herald  to  Worms,  and  to  declare  war  against  the 

*  Mem.  de  Be)!ay,  p.  '21.     P.  Mart.  Ep.  Tifi 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    \.  151 

emperor  in  form.  Such  extravagant  insolence  in  a  petty  prince  surprised 
Charles,  and  appeared  to  him  a  certain  proof  of  his  having  received 
promises  of  powerful  support  from  the  French  king.  The  justness  of  this 
conclusion  soon  became  evident.  Robert  entered  the  dutchy  ot  Luxem- 
bourg with  troops  levied  in  France,  by  the  king's  connivance,  though 
seemingly  in  contradiction  to  his  orders,  and  after  ravaging  the  open  country, 
laid  siege  to  Vireton.  Of  this  Charles  complained  loudly,  as  a  direct 
violation  of  the  peace  subsisting  between  the  two  crowns,  and  summoned 
Henry  VIII.  in  terms  of  the  treaty  concluded  at  London  in  the  year  1518, 
to  turn  his  arms  against  Francis  as  the  first  aggressor.  Francis  pretended 
that  he  was  not  answerable  for  Robert's  conduct,  whose  army  fought  under 
his  own  standards,  and  in  his  own  quarrel ;  and  affirmed,  that,  contrary  to 
an  express  prohibition,  he  had  seduced  some  subjects  of  France  into  his 
service  ;  but  Henry  paid  so  little  regard  to  this  evasion,  that  the  French 
king,  rather  than  irritate  a  prince  whom  he  still  hoped  to  gain,  commanded 
De  la  Mark  to  disband  his  troops.* 

The  emperor,  meanwhile,  was  assembling  an  army  to  chastise  Robert  S 
insolence.  Twenty  thousand  men,  under  the  count  of  Nassau,  invaded 
his  little  territories,  and  in  a  few  days  became  masters  of  every  place  in 
them  but  Sedan.  After  making  him  feel  so  sensibly  the  weight  ot  his 
master's  indignation,  Nassau  advanced  towards  the  frontiers  of  France  ; 
and  Charles,  knowing  that  he  might  presume  so  far  on  Henry's  partiality 
in  his  favour,  as  not  to  be  overawed  by  the  same  fears  which  had  restrained 
Francis,  ordered  his  general  to  besiege  Mouson.  The  cowardice  ot  the 
garrison  having  obliged  the  governor  to  surrender  almost  without  resistance, 
Nassau  invested  Mezieres,  a  place  at  that  time  of  no  considerable  strength, 
but  so  advantageously  situated,  that  by  getting  possession  of  it,  the  Impe- 
rial army  might  have  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  Champagne,  in  which 
there  was  hardly  any  other  town  capable  of  obstructing  its  progress. 
Happily  for  France,  its  monarch,  sensible  of  the  importance  of  this  fortress, 
and  of  the  danger  to  which  it  was  exposed,  committed  the  defence  ot  it 
to  the  chevalier  Bayard,  distinguished  among  his  contemporaries  by  the 
appellation  of  The  knight  without  fear,  and  without  reproach.]  This 
man,  whose  prowess  in  combat,  whose  punctilious  honour  and  formal  gal- 
lantry, bear  a  nearer  resemblance,  than  any  thing  recorded  in  history,  to 
the  character  ascribed  to  the  heroes  of  chivalry,  possessed  all  the  talents 
which  form  a  great  general.  These  he  had  many  occasions  of  exerting  in 
the  defence  of  Mezieres:  partly  by  his  valour,  partly  by  his  conduct,  he 
protracted  the  siege  to  a  great  length,  and  in  the  end  obliged  the  Imperial- 
ists to  raise  it,  with  disgrace  and  loss. J  Francis,  at  the  head  ot  a  numer- 
ous army,  soon  retook  Mouson,  and  entering  the  Low-Countries,  made 
several  conquests  of  small  importance.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Valen- 
ciennes, through  an  excess  of  caution,  an  error  with  which  he  cannot  be 
often  charged,  he  lost  an  opportunity  of  cutting  off  the  whole  Imperial 
army  ;§  and  what  was  still  more  unfortunate,  he  disgusted  Charles  duke 
of  Bourbon,  high  constable  of  France,  by  giving  the  command  of  the  van 
to  the  duke  D'Alencon,  though  this  post  of  honour  belonged  to  Bourbon. 
as  a  prerogative  of  his  office. 

During  these  operations  in  the  field,  a  congress  was  held  at  Calais 
(August)  under  the  mediation  of  Henry  VIII.  in  order  to  bring  all  differ- 
ences to  an  amicable  issue  ;  and  if  the  intentions  of  the  mediator  had  cor- 
responded in  any  degree  to  his  professions,  it  could  hardly  have  tailed  of 
producing  some  good  effect.  But  Henry  committed  the  sole  management 
of  the  negotiation,  with  unlimited  powers,  to  Wolsey  ;  and  this  choice 
alone  was  sufficient  to  have  rendered  it  abortive.     That  prelate,  bent  on 

*  Mem.  de  Bellav,  p.  ?'2,  ice.  Mem.  de  Fleuranges,  p.  3')5,  fee.  f  Oetivres  de  Brantome,  torn. 
-•in        ♦  Mem.  ae  Benny,  p.  95.  tec       $  P.  Mam  Kp.  747.    Mem.  de  Bella?,  35 


^52  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  If. 

attaining  the  papal  crown,  the  great  object  of  his  ambition,  and  ready  to 
sacrifice  every  thing  in  order  to  gain  the  emperor's  interest,  was  so  little 
able  to  conceal  his  partiality,  that,  if  Francis  had  not  been  well  acquainted 
with  his  haughty  and  vindictive  temper,  he  would  have  declined  his 
mediation.  Much  time  was  spent  in  inquiring  who  had  begun  hostilities, 
which  Wolsey  affected  to  represent  as  the  principal  point ;  and  by 
throwing  the  blame  of  that  on  Francis,  he  hoped  to  justify,  by  the  treaty 
of  London,  any  alliance  into  which  his  master  should  enter  with  Charles. 
The  conditions  on  which  hostilities  might  be  terminated  came  next  to  be 
considered;  but  with  regard  to  these,  the  emperor's  proposals  were  such, 
as  discovered  either  that  he  was  utterly  averse  to  peace,  or  that  he  knew 
Wolsey  would  approve  of  whatever  terms  should  be  offered  in  his  name. 
He  demanded  the  restitution  of  the  dutchy  of  Burgundy,  a  province,  the 
possession  of  which  would  have  given  him  access  into  the  heart  of  France  ; 
and  required  to  be  released  from  the  homage  due  to  the  crown  of  France 
for  the  counties  of  Flanders  and  Artois,  which  none  of  his  ancestors  had 
ever  refused,  and  which  he  had  bound  himself  by  the  treaty  of  Noyon  to 
renew.  These  terms,  to  which  a  high-spirited  prince  would  scarcely  have 
listened,  after  the  disasters  of  an  unfortunate  war,  Francis  rejected  with 
great  disdain  ;  and  Charles  showing  no  inclination  to  comply  with  the  more 
equal  and  moderate  propositions  of  the  French  monarch,  that  he  should 
restore  Navarre  to  its  lawful  prince,  and  withdraw  his  troops  f/om  the 
siege  of  Tournay,  the  congress  broke  up  without  any  other  effect  than  that 
which  attends  unsuccessful  negotiations,  the  exasperating  of  the  parties 
whom  it  was  intended  to  reconcile.* 

During  the  continuance  of  the  congress,  Wolsey,  on  pretence  that  the 
emperor  himself  would  be  more  willing  to  make  reasonable  concessions 
than  his  ministers,  made  an  excursion  to  Bruges,  to  meet  that  monarch. 
He  was  received  by  Charles,  who  knew  his  vanity,  with  as  much  respect 
and  magnificence  as  if  he  had  been  king  of  England.  But  instead  of  ad- 
vancing the  treaty  of  peace  by  this  interview,  Wolsey,  in  his  master's 
name,  concluded  a  league  with  the  emperor  against  Francis  ;  in  which  it 
was  stipulated,  that  Charles  should  invade  France  on  the  side  of  Spain, 
and  Henry  in  Picardy,  each  with  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men;  and 
that,  in  order  to  strengthen  their  union,  Charles  should  espouse  the  princess 
Mary,  Henry's  only  child,  and  the  apparent  heir  of  his  dominions.!  Henry 
produced  no  better  reasons  for  this  measure,  equally  unjust  and  impolitic, 
than  the  article  in  the  treaty  of  London,  by  which  he  pretended  that  he 
was  bound  to  take  arms  against  the  French  king  as  the  first  aggressor  ;  and 
the  injury  which  he  alleged  Francis  had  done  him,  in  permitting  the  duke 
of  Albany,  the  head  of  a  faction  in  Scotland,  which  opposed  the  interest  of 
England,  to  return  into  that  kingdom.  He  was  influenced,  however,  by 
other  considerations.  The  advantages  which  accrued  to  his  subjects  from 
maintaining  an  exact  neutrality,  or  the  honour  that  resulted  to  himself  from 
acting  as  the  arbiter  between  the  contending  princes,  appeared  to  his 
youthful  imagination  so  inconsiderable,  when  compared  with  the  glory 
which  might  be  reaped  from  leading  armies  or  conquering  provinces,  that 
he  determined  to  remain  no  longer  in  a  state  of  inactivity.  Having  once 
taken  this  resolution,  his  inducements  to  prefer  an  alliance  with  Charles 
were  obvious.  He  had  no  claim  upon  any  part  of  that  prince's  dominions, 
most  of  which  were  so  situated,  that  he  could  not  attack  them  without 
great  difficulty  and  disadvantage  ;  whereas  several  maritime  provinces  of 
France  had  been  long  in  the  hands  of  the  English  monarchs,  whose  preten- 
sions, even  to  the  crown  of  that  kingdom,  were  not  as  yet  altogether 
forgotten  ;  and  the  possession  of  Calais  not  only  gave  him  easy  access  into 
some  of  those  provinces,  but  in  case  of  any  disaster,  afforded  him  a  secure 

'  Kwt„  r,  I,  (K  :    \iii.     Herbert.  f  P.  Mart  Ep.  73ft.     Herbert. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  15ii 

retreat.  While  Charles  attacked  France  on  one  frontier,  Henry  flattered 
himself  that  he  should  find  little  resistance  on  the  other,  and  that  the  glory 
of  re-annexing  to  the  crown  of  England  the  ancient  inheritance  of  its 
monarchs  on  the  continent  was  reserved  for  his  reign.  Wolsey  artfully 
encouraged  these  vain  hopes,  which  led  his  master  into  such  measures  as 
were  most  subservient  to  his  own  secret  schemes  ;  and  the  English,  whose 
hereditary  animosity  against  the  French  was  apt  to  rekindle  on  every  occa- 
sion, did  not  disapprove  of  the  martial  spirit  of  their  sovereign. 

Meanwhile  the  league  between  the  pope  and  the  emperor  produced 
great  effects  in  Italy,  and  rendered  Lombardy  the  chief  theatre  of  war. 
There  was,  at  that  time,  such  contrariety  between  the  character  of  the 
French  and  Italians,  that  the  latter  submitted  to  the  government  of  the 
former  with  greater  impatience  than  they  expressed  under  the  dominion 
of  other  foreigners.  The  phlegm  of  the  Germans  and  gravity  of  the 
Spaniards  suited  their  jealous  temper  and  ceremonious  manners  better 
than  the  French  gayety,  too  prone  to  gallantry,  and  too  little  attentive  to 
decorum.  Lewis  XII.,  however,  by  the  equity  and  gentleness  of  his  ad- 
ministration, and  by  granting  the  Milanese  more  extensive  privileges  than 
those  they  had  enjoyed  under  their  native  princes,  had  overcome,  in  a  great 
measure,  their  prejudices,  and  reconciled  them  to  the  French  government. 
Francis,  on  recovering  that  dutchy,  did  not  imitate  the  example  of  his  pre- 
decessor. Though  too  generous  himself  to  oppress  his  people,  his  bound- 
less confidence  in  his  favourites,  and  his  negligence  in  examining  into  the 
conduct  of  those  whom  he  intrusted  with  power,  emboldened  them  to 
venture  upon  many  acts  of  oppression.  The  government  of  Milan  was 
committed  by  him  to  Odet  de  Foix,  Marechal  de  Lautrec,  another  brother 
of  Madame  de  Chauteau-Briand,  an  officer  of  great  experience  and  repu- 
tation, but  haughty,  imperious,  rapacious,  and  incapable  either  of  listening 
to  advice  or  of  bearing  contradiction.  His  insolence  and  exactions  totally 
alienated  the  affections  of  the  Milanese  from  France,  drove  many  of  the 
considerable  citizens  into  banishment,  and  forced  others  to  retire  for  their 
own  safety.  Among  the  last  was  Jerome  Morone,  vice-chancellor  of  Milan, 
a  man  whose  genius  for  intrigue  and  enterprise  distinguished  him  in  an  age 
and  country,  where  violent  factions,  as  well  as  frequent  revolutions,  afford- 
ing great  scope  for  such  talents,  produced  or  called  them  forth  in  great 
abundance.  He  repaired  to  Francis  Sforza,  whose  brother  Maximilian  he 
had  betrayed  ;  and  suspecting  the  pope's  intention  of  attacking  the 
Milanese,  although  his  treaty  with  the  emperor  was  not  yet  made  public, 
he  proposed  to  Leo,  in  the  name  of  Sforza,  a  scheme  for  surprising  several 
places  in  that  dutchy  by  means  of  the  exiles,  who,  from  hatred  to  the 
French,  and  from  attachment  to  their  former  masters,  were  ready  for  any 
desperate  enterprise.  Leo  not  only  encouraged  the  attempt,  but  advanced 
a  considerable  sum  towards  the  execution  of  it ;  and  when,  through  unfore- 
seen accidents,  it  failed  of  success  in  every  part,  he  allowed  the  exile?. 
who  had  assembled  in  a  body,  to  retire  to  Reggio,  which  belonged  at  that 
time  to  the  church.  The  Marechal  de  Foix,  who  commanded  at  Milan 
in  absence  of  his  brother  Lautrec,  who  was  then  in  France,  tempted  with 
the  hopes  of  catching  at  once,  as  in  a  snare,  all  the  avowed  enemies  of  his 
master's  government  in  that  country,  ventured  to  march  into  the  ecclesias- 
tical territories  [June  24],  and  to  invest  Reggio.  But  the  vigilance  and  good 
conduct  of  Guicciardini  the  historian,  governor  of  that  place,  obliged  the 
French  general  to  abandon  the  enterprise  with  disgrace.*  Leo,  on  re- 
ceiving tnis  intelligence,  with  which  he  was  highly  pleased,  as  it  furnished 
him  a  decent  pretence  for  a  rupture  with  France,  immediately  assembled 
the  consistory  of  cardinals.  After  complaining  bitterly  of  the  hostile 
intentions  of  the  French  king,  and  magnifying  the  emperor's  zeal  for  the 

*  Ouir.  lib.  xiv.  1P3.     Mem.  dp  Rnllav,  p.  38,  &C 

Vol.  II.— 20 


161  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [BookI!.* 

church,  of  which  he  had  given  a  recent  proof  by  his  proceedings  against 
Luther,  he  declared  that  he  was  constrained  in  self-defence,  and  as  the  only 
expedient  for  the  security  of  the  ecclesiastical  state,  to  join  his  arms  to 
those  of  that  prince.  For  this  purpose  he  now  pretended  to  conclude  a 
treaty  with  Don  John  Manuel,  although  it  had  really  been  signed  some 
months  before  this  time  ;  and  he  publicly  excommunicated  De  Foix,  as  an 
impious  invader  of  St.  Peter's  patrimony. 

Leo  had  already  begun  preparations  for  war,  by  taking  into  pay  a  con- 
siderable body  of  Swiss  ;  but  the  Imperial  troops  advanced  so  slowly 
from  Naples  and  Germany,  that  it  was  the  middle  of  autumn  before  the 
army  took  the  field  under  the  command  of  Prosper  Colonna,  the  most 
eminent  of  the  Italian  generals,  whose  extreme  caution,  the  effect  of  long 
experience  in  the  art  of  war,  was  opposed  with  great  propriety  to  the 
impetuosity  of  the  French.  In  the  mean  time,  De  Foix  despatched 
courier  after  courier  to  inform  the  king  of  the  danger  which  was  approach- 
ing. Francis,  whose  forces  were  either  employed  in  the  Low-Countries, 
or  assembling  on  the  frontiers  of  Spain,  and  who  did  not  expect  so  sudden 
an  attack  in  that  quarter,  sent  ambassadors  to  his  allies  the  Swiss,  to  pro- 
cure from  them  the  immediate  levy  of  an  additional  body  of  troops  ;  and 
commanded  Lautrec  to  repair  forthwith  to  his  government.  That  general, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  great  neglect  of  economy  in  the 
administration  of  the  king's  finances,  and  who  knew  how  much  the  troops 
in  the  Milanese  had  already  suffered  from  the  want  of  their  pay,  refused  to 
set  out  unless  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thousand  crowns  was  immediately 
put  into  his  hands.  But  the  king,  Louise  of  Savoy  his  mother,  and  Sem- 
blancy,  the  superintendent  of  finances,  having  promised,  even  with  an 
oath,  that  on  his  arrival  at  Milan  he  should  find  remittances  for  the  sum 
which  he  demanded ;  upon  the  faith  of  this,  he  departed.  Unhappily 
for  France,  Louise,  a  woman  deceitful,  vindictive,  rapacious,  and  capable 
of  sacrificing  any  thing  to  the  gratification  of  her  passions,  but  who  had 
acquired  an  absolute  ascendant  over  her  son  by  her  maternal  tenderness, 
her  care  of  his  education,  and  her  great  abilities,  was  resolved  not  to 
perform  this  promise.  Lautrec  having  incurred  her  displeasure  by  his 
naughtiness  in  neglecting  to  pay  court  to  her,  and  by  the  freedom  with 
which  he  had  talked  concerning  some  of  her  adventures  in  gallantry,  she, 
in  order  to  deprive  him  of  the  honour  which  he  might  have  gained  by  a 
successful  defence  of  the  Milanese,  seized  the  three  hundred  thousand 
crowns  destined  for  that  service,  and  detained  them  for  her  own  use. 

Lautrec,-  notwithstanding  this  cruel  disappointment,  found  means  to 
assemble  a  considerable  army,  though  far  inferior  in  number  to  that  of  the 
confederates.  He  adopted  the  plan  of  defence  most  suitable  to  his 
situation,  avoiding  a  pitched  battle  with  the  greatest  care,  while  he 
harassed  the  enemy  continually  with  his  light  troops,  beat  up  their  quar- 
ters, intercepted  their  convoys,  and  covered  or  relieved  every  place  which 
they  attempted  to  attack.  By  this  prudent  conduct,  he  not  only  retarded 
their  progress,  but  would  have  soon  wearied  out  the  pope,  who  had  hitherto 
defrayed  almost  the  whole  expense  of  the  war,  as  the  emperor,  whose 
revenues  in  Spain  were  dissipated  during  the  commotions  in  that  country, 
and  who  was  obliged  to  support  a  numerous  army  in  the  Netherlands, 
could  not  make  any  considerable  remittances  into  Italy.  But  an  unfore- 
seen accident  disconcerted  all  his  measures,  and  occasioned  a  fatal  reverse 
in  the  French  affairs.  A  body  of  twelve  thousand  Swiss  served  in  Lautrec's 
army  under  the  banners  of  the  republic,  with  which  France  was  in 
alliance.  In  consequence  of  a  law,  no  less  political  than  humane,  established 
among  the  cantons,  their  troops  were  never  hired  out  by  public  authority 
to  both  the  contending  parties  in  any  war.  This  law,  however,  the  love 
of  gain  had  sometimes  eluded,  and  private  persons  had  been  allowed  to 
enlist  m  what  service  they  pleased,  fhonerh  not  under  the  public  banners, 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  WS 

but  under  those  of  their  particular  officers.  The  cardinal  of  Sion,  who 
still  preserved  his  interest  among  his  countrymen,  and  his  enmity  to  France, 
having  prevailed  on  them  to  connive  at  a  levy  of  this  kind,  twelve  thousand 
Swiss,  instigated  by  him,  joined  the  army  of  the  confederates.  But  the 
leaders  in  the  cantons,  when  they  saw  so  many  of  their  countrymen 
marching  under  hostile  standards,  and  ready  to  turn  their  arms  against 
each  other,  became  so  sensible  of  the  infamy  to  which  they  would  be 
exposed  by  permitting  this,  as  well  as  the  loss  they  might  suffer,  that  they 
despatched  couriers,  commanding  their  people  to  leave  both  armies,  and 
to  return  forthwith  into  their  own  country.  The  cardinal  of  Sion,  however, 
had  the  address,  by  corrupting  the  messengers  appointed  to  carry  this 
order,  to  prevent  it  from  being  delivered  to  the  Swiss  in  the  service  of  the 
confederates;  but  being  intimated  in  due  form  to  those  in  the  French 
army,  they,  fatigued  with  the  length  of  the  campaign,  and  murmuring  for 
want  of  pay,  instantly  yielded  obedience,  in  spite  of  Lautrec's  remon- 
strances ana  entreaties. 

After  the  desertion  of  a  body  which  formed  the  strength  of  his  army, 
Lautrec  durst-no  longer  face  the  confederates.  He  retired  towards  Milan, 
encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Adda,  and  placed  his  chief  hopes  of  safety 
in  preventing  the  enemy  from  passing  that  river  ;  an  expedient  for  defend- 
ing a  country  so  precarious,  that  there  are  few  instances  of  its  being 
employed  with  success  against  any  general  of  experience  or  abilities. 
Accordingly  Colonna,  notwithstanding  Lautrec's  vigilance  and  activity, 
passed  the  Adda  with  little  loss,  and  obliged  him  to  shut  himself  up  within 
the  walls  of  Milan,  which  the  confederates  were  preparing  to  besiege. 
when  an  unknown  person,  who  never  afterwards  appeared  either  to  boast  of 
this  service,  or  to  claim  a  reward  for  it,  came  from  the  city,  and  acquainted 
Morone,  that  if  the  army  would  advance  that  night,  the  Ghibelline  or 
Imperial  faction,  would  put  them  in  possession  of  one  of  the  gates. 
Colonna,  though  no  friend  to  rash  enterprises,  allowed  the  marquis  de 
Pescara  to  advance  with  the  Spanish  infantry,  and  he  himself  followed 
with  the  rest  of  his  troops.  About  the  beginning  of  night,  Pescara  arrived 
at  the  Roman  gate  in  the  suburbs,  surprised  the  soldiers  whom  he  found 
there  ;  those  posted  in  the  fortifications  adjoining  to  it  immediately  fled ; 
the  marquis  seizing  the  works  which  they  abandoned,  and  pushing  forward 
incessantly,  though  with  no  less  caution  than  vigour,  became  master  of  the 
city  with  little  bloodshed,  and  almost  without  resistance  ;  the  victors 
being  as  much  astonished  as  the  vanquished  at  the  facility  and  success  of 
the  attempt.  Lautrec  retired  precipitately  towards  the  Venetian  territories 
with  the  remains  of  his  shattered  army  ;  the  cities  of  the  Milanese,  follow- 
ing the  fate  of  the  capital,  surrendered  to  the  confederates ;  Parma  and 
Placentia  were  united  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  of  all  their  conquests 
in  Lombardy  only  the  town  of  Cremona,  the  castle  of  Milan,  and  a  few 
considerable  forts,  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French.* 

Leo  received  the  accounts  of  this  rapid  succession  of  prosperous  events 
with  such  transports  of  joy,  as  brought  on  (if  we  may  believe  the  French 
historians)  a  slight  fever,  which  being  neglected,  occasioned  his  death  on 
the  second  of  December,  while  he  was  still  of  a  vigorous  age,  and  at  the 
height  of  his  glory.  By  this  unexpected  accident,  the  spirit  of  the  con- 
federacy was  broken,  and  its  operations  suspended.  The  cardinals  of 
Sion  and  Medici  left  the  army  that  they  might  be  present  in  the  conclave  : 
the  Swiss  were  recalled  by  their  superiors  ;  some  other  mercenaries  dis- 
banded for  want  of  pay ;  and  only  the  Spaniards  and  a  few  Germans  in 
the  emperor's  service,  remained  to  defend  the  Milanese.  But  Lautrec, 
destitute  both  of  men  and  of  money,  was  unable  to  improve  this  favoura- 

*  Guic.  l  xiv.  i°o.  &.c.    Mem.  de  Bellay,  42,  &c.    Galeacii  Capella  riv  reb.  er;<t.  pro  rest  it  m 
Franc.  S/brtite  Comment  ar>.  Srar  ium.  vol.  ii.  I8n.  &«• 


156  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  II. 

ble  opportunity  in  the  manner  which  he  would  have  wished.  The  vigi- 
lance of  Morone,  and  the  good  conduct  of  Colonna,  disappointed  his 
feeble  attempts  on  the  Milanese.  Guicciardini,  by  his  address  and  valour, 
repulsed  a  bolder  and  more  dangerous  attack  which  he  made  on  Parma.* 

Great  discord  prevailed  in  the  conclave  which  followed  upon  Leo's  death, 
and  all  the  arts  natural  to  men  grown  old  in  intrigue,  when  contending  for 
the  highest  prize  an  ecclesiastic  can  obtain,  were  practised.  Wolsey's 
name,  notwithstanding  all  the  emperor's  magnificent  promises  to  favour 
his  pretensions,  of  which  that  prelate  did  not  fail  to  remind  him,  was 
hardly  mentioned  in  the  conclave.  Julio  cardinal  de  Medici,  Leo's 
nephew,  who  was  more  eminent  than  any  other  member  of  the  sacred 
college  for  his  abilities,  his  wealth,  and  his  experience  in  transacting  great 
affairs,  had  already  secured  fifteen  voices,  a  number  sufficient  according  to 
the  forms  of  the  conclave,  to  exclude  any  other  candidate,  though  not  to 
carry  his  own  election.  As  he  was  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  all  the  aged 
cardinals  combined  against  him,  without  being  united  in  favour  of  any 
other  person.  While  these  factions  were  endeavouring  to  gain,  to  corrupt, 
or  to  weary  out  each  other,  Medici  and  his  adherents  voted  one  morning 
at  the  scrutiny,  which  according  to  form  was  made  every  day,  for  car- 
dinal Adrian  of  Utrecht,  who  at  that  time  governed  Spain  in  the  emperor's 
name.  This  they  did  merely  to  protract  time.  But  the  adverse  party 
instantly  closing  with  them,  to  their  own  amazement,  and  that  of  all  Europe, 
a  stranger  to  Italy,  unknown  to  the  persons  who  gave  their  suffrages  in  his 
favour,  and  unacquainted  with  the  manners  of  the  people,  or  the  interest 
of  the  state,  the  government  of  which  they  conferred  upon  him,  was  unani- 
mously raised  to  the  papal  throne  [January  9],  at  a  juncture  so  delicate 
and  critical,  as  would  have  demanded  all  the  sagacity  and  experience  of 
one  of  the  most  able  prelates  in  the  sacred  college.  The  cardinals  them- 
selves, unable  to  give  a  reason  for  this  strange  choice,  on  account  of  which, 
as  they  marched  in  procession  from  the  conclave,  they  were  loaded  with 
insults  and  curses  by  the  Roman  people,  ascribed  it  to  an  immediate 
impulse  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  may  be  imputed  with  great  certainty  to 
the  influence  of  Don  John  Manuel,  the  Imperial  ambassador,  who  by  his 
address  and  intrigues  facilitated  the  election  of  a  person  devoted  to  his 
master's  service,  from  gratitude,  from  interest,  and  from  inclination. t 

Beside  the  influence  which  Charles  acquired  by  Adrian's  promotion,  it 
threw  great  lustre  on  his  administration.  To  bestow  on  his  preceptor 
such  a  noble  recompense,  and  to  place  on  the  papal  throne  one  whom  he 
had  raised-  from  obscurity,  were  acts  of  uncommon  magnificence  and 
power.  Francis  observed,  with  the  sensibility  of  a  rival,  the  pre-eminence 
which  the  emperor  was  gaining,  and  resolved  to  exert  himself  with  fresh 
vigour,  in  order  to  wrest  from  him  his  late  conquests  in  Italy.  The  Swiss, 
that  they  might  make  some  reparation  to  the  French  king,  for  having  with- 
drawn their  troops  from  his  army  so  unseasonably  as  to  occasion  the  loss 
of  the  Milanese,  permitted  him  to  levy  ten  thousand  men  in  the  republic. 
Together  with  this  reinforcement,  Lautrec  received  from  the  king  a  small 
sum  of  money,  which  enabled  him  once  more  to  take  the  field  ;  and  after 
seizing  by  surprise,  or  force,  several  places  in  the  Milanese,  to  advance 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  capital.  The  confederate  army  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  obstruct  his  progress  ;  for  though  the  inhabitants  of  Milan,  by  the 
artifices  of  Morone,  and  by  the  popular  declamations  of  a  monk  whom  he 
employed,  were  inflamed  with  such  enthusiastic  zeal  against  the  French 
government,  that  they  consented  to  raise  extraordinary  contributions,  Co- 
lonna must  soon  have  abandoned  the  advantageous  camp  which  he  had 
chosen  at  Bicocca,  and  have  dismissed  his  troops  for  want  of  pay,  if  the 

*  Guic.  1.  xiv.  214.        t  Herm.  Moringi  Vita  Hndriani.  ap.  Casp.  Bnrman.  in  Anntert.  de  Hartr 
p.  52.     Conclave  Hadr.  Ibid.  p.  144,  &<\ 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V  .  157 

Swiss  in  the  French  service  had  not  once  more  extricated  him  out  of  his 
difficulties. 

The  insolence  or  caprice  of  those  mercenaries  was  often  no  less  fatal 
to  their  friends,  than  their  valour  and  discipline  were  formidable  to  their 
enemies.  Having  now  served  some  months  without  pay,  of  which  they 
complained  loudly,  a  sum  destined  for  their  use  was  sent  from  France 
under  a  convoy  of  horse ;  but  Morone,  whose  vigilant  eye  nothing- 
escaped,  posted  a  body  of  troops  in  their  way,  so  that  the  party  which 
escorted  the  money  durst  not  advance.  On  receiving  intelligence  of  this, 
the  Swiss  lost  all  patience,  and  officers  as  well  as  soldiers  crowding  around 
Lautrec,  threatened  with  one  voice  instantly  to  retire,  if  he  did  not  either 
advance  the  pay  which  was  due,  or  promise  to  lead  them  next  morning  to 
battle.  In  vain  did  Lautrec  remonstrate  against  these  demands,  repre- 
senting to  them  the  impossibility  of  the  former,  and  the  rashness  of  the 
latter,  which  must  be  attended  with  certain  destruction,  as  the  enemy 
occupied  a  camp  naturally  of  great  strength,  and  which  by  art  they  had 
rendered  almost  inaccessible.  The  Swiss,  deaf  to  reason,  and  persuaded 
that  their  valour  was  capable  of  surmounting  eveiy  obstacle,  renewed 
their  demand  with  greater  fierceness,  offering  themselves  to  form  the  van- 
guard, and  to  begin  the  attack.  Lautrec,  unable  to  overcome  their  obsti- 
nacy, complied  with  their  request,  hoping,  perhaps,  that  some  of  those 
unforeseen  accidents  which  so  often  determine  the  fate  of  battles,  might 
crown  this  rash  enterprise  with  undeserved  success  ;  and  convinced  that 
the  effects  of  a  defeat  could  not  be  more  fatal  than  those  which  would 
certainly  follow  upon  the  retreat  of  a  body  which  composed  one  half  of 
his  army.  Next  morning  [May]  the  Swiss  were  early  in  the  field,  and 
marched  with  the  greatest  intrepidity  against  an  enemy  deeply  intrenched 
on  every  side,  surrounded  with  artillery,  and  prepared  to  receive  them. 
As  they  advanced,  they  sustained  a  furious  cannonade  with  great  firmness, 
and  without  waiting  for  their  own  artillery,  rushed  impetuously  upon  the 
intrenchments.  But  after  incredible  efforts  of  valour,  which  were  seconded 
v>  ith  great  spirit  by  the  French,  having  lost  their  bravest  officers  and  best 
soldiers,  and  finding  that  they  could  make  no  impression  on  the  enemy's 
works,  they  sounded  a  retreat ;  leaving  the  field  of  battle,  however,  like 
men  repulsed,  but  not  vanquished,  in  close  array,  and  without  receiving 
any  molestation  from  the  enemy. 

Next  day,  such  as  survived  set  out  for  their  own  country  ;  and  Lautrec. 
despairing  of  being  able  to  make  any  farther  resistance,  retired  into  France, 
after  throwing  garrisons  into  Cremona  and  a  few  other  places  ;  all  which, 
except  the  citadel  of  Cremona,  Colonna  soon  obliged  to  surrender. 

Genoa,  however,  and  its  territories,  remaining  subject  to  France,  still 
gave  Francis  considerable  footing  in  Italy,  and  made  it  easy  for  him  to  exe- 
cute any  scheme  for  the  recovery  of  the  Milanese.  But  Colonna,  rendered 
enterprising  by  continual  success,  and  excited  by  the  solicitations  of  the 
faction  of  the  Adorni,  the  hereditary  enemies  of  the  Fregosi,  who  under  the 
protection  of  France  possessed  the  chief  authority  in  Genoa,  determined 
to  attempt  the  reduction  of  that  state  ;  and  accomplished  it  with  amazing 
facility.  He  became  master  of  Genoa  by  an  accident  as  unexpected  as 
that  which  had  given  him  possession  of  Milan  ;  and  almost  without  oppo- 
sition or  bloodshed,  the  power  of  the  Adorni,  and  the  authority  of  the  em- 
peror, were  established  in  Genoa.* 

Such  a  cruel  succession  of  misfortunes  affected  Francis  with  deep  con- 
cern, which  was  not  a  little  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  an  English  herald, 
who,  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  declared  war  in  form  against  France 
[May  29 j.  This  step  was  taken  in  consequence  of  the  treaty  which  Wol- 
sey  had  concluded  with  the  emperor  at  Brugus,  and  which  had  hitherto 

Vita  Ferdui.  Bavali,  p.  344.     Guic  l.xiv.233 


158  THE    KEIGN   OF   THE  [Book]]: 

been  kept  secret.  Francis,  though  he  had  reason  to  be  surprised  with  ihw 
denunciation,  after  having  been  at  such  pains  to  soothe  Henry  and  to  gain 
his  minister,  received  the  herald  with  great  composure  and  dignity  ;*  and 
without  abandoning  any  of  the  schemes  which  he  was  forming  against  the 
emperor,  began  vigorous  preparations  for  resisting  this  new  enemy.  His 
treasury,  however,  being  exhausted  by  the  efforts  which  he  had  already 
made,  as  well  as  by  the  sums  he  expended  on  his  pleasures,  he  had  recourse 
to  extraordinary  expedients  for  supplying  it.  Several  new  offices  were 
created,  and  exposed  to  sale  ;  the  royal  demesnes  were  alienated  :  unusual 
taxes  were  imposed  ;  and  the  tomb  of  St.  Martin  was  stripped  of  a  rail  of 
massive  silver,  with  which  Louis  XI.,  in  one  of  his  fits  of  devotion,  had 
encircled  it.  By  means  of  these  expedients  he  was  enabled  to  levy  a  con- 
siderable army,  and  to  put  the  frontier  towns  in  a  good  posture  of  defence. 

The  emperor,  meanwhile,  was  no  less  solicitous  to  draw  as  much  advan- 
tage as  possible  from  the  accession  of  such  a  powerful  ally  ;  and  the  pros- 
perous situation  of  his  affairs,  at  this  time,  permitting  him  to  set  out  for 
Spain,  where  his  presence  was  extremely  necessary,  he  visited  the  court 
of  England  in  his  way  to  that  country.  He  proposed  by  this  interview 
not  only  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friendship  which  united  him  with 
Henry,  and  to  excite  him  to  push  the  war  against  France  with  vigour,  but 
hoped  to  remove  any  disgust  or  resentment  that  Wolsey  might  have  con- 
ceived on  account  of  the  mortifying  disappointment  which  he  had  met  with 
in  the  late  conclave.  His  success  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions ;  and  by  his  artful  address,  during  a  residence  of  six  weeks  in  Eng- 
land, he  gained  not  only  the  king  and  the  minister,  but  the  nation  itself. 
Henry,  whose  vanity  was  sensibly  flattered  by  such  a  visft,  as  well  as  by 
the  studied  respect  with  which  the  emperor  treated  him  on  every  occa- 
sion, entered  warmly  into  all  his  schemes.  The  cardinal  foreseeing,  from 
Adrian's  age  and  infirmities,  a  sudden  vacancy  in  the  papal  see,  dissembled 
or  forgot  his  resentment ;  and,  as  Charles,  besides  augmenting  the  pen- 
sions which  he  had  already  settled  on  him,  renewed  his  promise  of  favouring 
his  pretensions  to  the  papacy,  with  all  his  interest,  he  endeavoured  to 
merit  the  former,  and  to  secure  the  accomplishment  of  the  latter,  by  fresh 
services.  The  nation,  sharing  in  the  glory  of  its  monarch,  and  pleased 
with  the  confidence  which  the  emperor  placed  in  the  English,  by  creating 
the  earl  of  Surrey  his  high-admiral,  discovered  no  less  inclination  to  com- 
mence hostilities  than  Henry  himself. 

In  order  to  give  Charles,  before  he  left  England,  a  proof  of  this  general 
ardour,  Surrey  sailed  with  such  forces  as  were  ready,  and  ravaged  the 
coasts  of  Normandy.  He  then  made  a  descent  on  Bretagne,  where  he 
plundered  and  burnt  Morlaix,  and  some  other  places  of  less  consequence. 
After  these  slight  excursions,  attended  with  greater  dishonour  than  damage 
to  France,  he  repaired  to  Calais,  and  took  the  command  of  the  principal 
army,  consisting  of  sixteen  thousand  men  ;  with  which,  having  joined  the 
Flemish  troops  under  the  Count  de  Buren,  he  advanced  into  Picardy. 
The  army  which  Francis  had  assembled  was  far  inferior  in  number  to 
these  united  bodies.  But  during  the  long  wars  between  the  two  nations, 
the  French  had  discovered  the  proper  method  of  defending  their  country 
.igainst  the  English.  They  had  been  taught  by  their  misfortunes  to  avoid 
a  pitched  battle  with  the  utmost  care,  and  to  endeavour,  by  throwing  gar- 
risons into  every  place  capable  of  resistance,  by  watching  all  the  enemy's 
motions,  by  intercepting  their  convoys,  attacking  their  advanced  posts,  and 
harassing  them  continually  with  their  numerous  cavalry,  to  ruin  them  with 
the  length  of  the  war,  or  to  beat  them  by  piece-meal.  This  plan  the  duke 
of  Vendome,  the  French  general  in  Picardy,  pursued  with  no  less  pm- 
l'5ncr  than  success  :  and  not  only  prevented  Surrey  from  taking  any  town 

i  journal  $<  Louise  deSai  'i"  n  130. 


E  Al  F £  K O  K   C  HARLES   V.  1S9 

of  importance,  but  obliged  him  to  retire  with  Lis  army  greatly  reduced  by 
fatigue,  by  want  of  provisions,  and  by  the  loss  which  it  had  sustained  in 
several  unsuccessful  skirmishes. 

Thus  ended  the  second  campaign,  in  a  war  the  most  general  that  had 
hitherto  been  kindled  in  Europe  ;  and  though  Francis,  by  his  mother's 
ill-timed  resentment,  by  the  disgusting  insolence  of  his  general,  and  the 
caprice  of  the  mercenary  troops  which  he  employed,  had  lost  his  conquests 
in  Italy,  yet  all  the  powers  combined  against  him  had  not  been  able  to 
make  any  impression  on  his  hereditary  dominions  ;  and  wherever  they 
either  intended  or  attempted  an  attack,  he  was  well  prepared  to  receive 
them. 

While  the  Christian  princes  were  thus  wasting  each  other's  strength, 
Solyman  the  Magnificent  entered  Hungary  with  a  numerous  army,  and 
investing  Belgrade,  which  was  deemed  the  chief  barrier  of  that  kingdom 
against  the  Turkish  arms,  soon  forced  it  to  surrender.  Encouraged  by 
this  success,  he  turned  his  victorious  arms  against  the  island  of  Rhodes, 
the  seat,  at  that  time,  of  the  knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  This  small 
state  he  attacked  with  such  a  numerous  army  as  the  lords  of  Asia  have 
been  accustomed  in  every  age  to  bring  into  the  field.  Two  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  and  a  fleet  of  four  hundred  sail,  appeared  against  a  town  de- 
fended by  a  garrison  consisting  of  five  thousand  soldiers,  and  six  hundred 
knights,  under  the  command  of  Villiers  de  L'lsle  Adam,  the  grand  master, 
whose  wisdom  and  valour  rendered  him  worthy  of  that  station  at  such  a 
dangerous  juncture.  No  sooner  did  he  begin  to  suspect  the  destination  of 
Solyman's  vast  armaments,  than  he  despatched  messengers  to  all  the 
Christian  courts,  imploring  their  aid  against  the  common  enemy.  But 
though  every  prince  in  that  age  acknowledged  Rhodes  to  be  the  great 
bulwark  of  Christendom  in  the  east,  and  trusted  to  the  gallantry  of  its 
knights  as  the  best  security  against  the  progress  of  the  Ottoman  arms  ; 
though  Adrian,  with  a  zeal  which  became  the  head  and  father  of  the 
church,  exhorted  the  contending  powers  to  forget  their  private  quarrels, 
and,  by  uniting  their  arms,  to  prevent  the  Infidels  from  destroying  a  society 
which  did  honour  to  the  Christian  name  ;  yet  so  violent  and  implacable 
was  the  animosity  of  both  parties,  that  regardless  of  the  danger  to  which 
they  exposed  all  Europe,  and  unmoved  by  the  entreaties  of  the  grand 
master,  or  the  admonitions  of  the  pope,  they  suffered  Solyman  to  carry  on 
his  operations  against  Rhodes  without  disturbance.  The  grand  master, 
after  incredible  efforts  of  courage,  of  patience,  and  of  military  conduct 
during  a  siege  of  six  months  ;  after  sustaining  many  assaults,  and  disputing 
every  post  with  amazing  obstinacy,  was  obliged  at  last  to  yield  to  num- 
bers ;  and  having  obtained  an  honourable  capitulation  from  the  sultan,  who 
admired  and  respected  his  virtue,  he  surrendered  the  town,  which  was 
reduced  to  a  heap  of  rubbish,  and  destitute  of  every  resource.*  Charles 
and  Francis,  ashamed  of  having  occasioned  such  a  loss  to  Christendom  by 
their  ambitious  contests,  endeavoured  to  throw  the  blame  of  it  on  each 
other,  while  all  Europe,  with  greater  justice,  imputed  it  equally  to  both. 
The  emperor,  by  way  of  reparation,  granted  the  knights  of  St.  John  the 
small  island  of  Malta,  in  which  they  fixed  their  residence,  retaining, 
though  with  less  power  and  splendour,  their  ancient  spirit  and  implacable 
enmity  to  the  Infidels. 

*  Fontanua  de  Bello  Rhodio,  ap.  Scard.  Script.  Kcr.  Corman.  vol.  ii.  p.  88.    P.  Bane.  Hj^t.  d'Al. 
'em.  torn.  viii.  p.  57. 


I6«i  THF  REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  Hi. 


BOOK   III. 

^  Charles,  having  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  hostilities  begun  between 
France  and  England,  took  leave  of  Henry,  and  arrived  in  Spain  on  the 
■seventeenth  of  June.  He  found  that  country  just  beginning  to  recover 
order  and  strength  after  the  miseries  of  a  civil  war,  to  which  it  had  been 
exposed  during  his  absence  ;  an  account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  which, 
as  it  was  but  little  connected  with  the  other  events  which  happened  in 
Europe,  hath  been  reserved  to  this  place. 

No  sooner  was  it  known  that  the  Cortes  assembled  in  Galicia  had  voted 
the  emperor  a  free  gift,  without  obtaining  the  redress  of  any  one  grievance, 
than  it  excited  universal  indignation.  The  citizens  of  Toledo,  who  con- 
sidered themselves,  on  account  of  the  great  privileges  which  they  enjoyed, 
as  the  guardians  of  the  liberties  of  the  Castilian  commons,  finding  that  no 
regard  was  paid  to  the  remonstrances  of  their  deputies  against  that  uncon- 
stitutional grant,  took  arms  with  tumultuary  violence,  and  seizing  the  gates 
of  the  city,  which  were  fortified,  attacked  the  alcazar,  or  castle,  which 
they  soon  obliged  the  governor  to  surrender.  Emboldened  by  this  success, 
they  deprived  of  all  authority  every  person  whom  they  suspected  of  any 
attachment  to  the  court,  established  a  popular  form  of  government,  com- 
posed of  deputies  from  the  several  parishes  in  the  city,  and  levied  troops 
in  their  own  defence.  The  chief  leader  of  the  people  in  these  insurrections 
was  Don  John  de  Padilla,  the  eldest  son  of  the  commendator  of  Castile, 
a  young  nobleman  of  a  generous  temper,  of  undaunted  courage,  and  pos- 
sessed of  the  talents  as  well  as  of  the  ambition  which,  in  times  of  civil 
discord,  raise  men  to  power  and  eminence.* 

The  resentment  of  the  citizens  of  Segovia  produced  effects  still  more 
fatal.  Tordesillas,  one  of  the  representatives  in  the  late  Cortes,  had  voted 
for  the  donative,  and  being  a  bold  and  haughty  man,  ventured  upon  his 
return,  to  call  together  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  great  church,  that  he 
might  give  them,  according  to  custom,  an  account  of  his  conduct  in  that 
assembly.  But  the  multitude,  unable  to  bear  his  insolence,  in  attempting 
to  justify  what  they  thought  inexcusable,  burst  open  the  gates  of  the 
church,  with  the  utmost  fury,  and  seizing  the  unhappy  Tordesillas,  dragged 
him  through  the  streets,  with  a  thousand  curses  and  insults,  towards  the 
place  of  public  execution.  In  vain  did  the  dean  and  canons  come  forth  in 
procession  with  the  holy  Sacrament,  in  order  to  appease  their  rage.  In 
vain  did  the  monks  of  those  monasteries  by  which  they  passed,  conjure 
them  on  their  knees,  to  spare  his  life,  or  at  least  to  allow  him  time  to  confess, 
and  to  receive  absolution  of  his  sins.  Without  listening  to  the  dictates 
cither  of  humanity  or  religion,  they  cried  out  "  That  the  hangman  alone 
could  absolve  such  a  traitor  to  his  country  ;"  they  then  hurried  him  along 
with  greater  violence  ;  and  perceiving  that  he  had  expired  under  their 
hands,  they  hung  him  up  with  his  head  downwards  on  the  common  gibbet. t 
The  same  spirit  seized  the  inhabitants  of  Burgos,  Zamora,  and  several 
other  cities ;  and  though  their  representatives,  taking  warning  from  the 
late  of  Tordesillas,  had  been  so  wise  as  to  save  themselves  by  a  timely 
liight,  they  were  burnt  in  effigy,  their  houses  razed  to  the  ground,  and  their 
eftects  consumed  with  fire  ;  and  such  was  the  horror  which  the  people 
had  conceived  against  them,  as  betrayers  of  the  public  liberty,  that  not  one 
in  those  licentious  multitudes  would  touch  any  thing,  however  valuable, 
which  had  belonged  to  thein.J 

*  Sandov.  r  77  ?P.  Mart.  Bp  673  S  Sandov.  103     r.  Mart.  Ep  674 


KMFEROR   CHARLES    V.  ici 

Adrian,  at  that  time  recent  of  Spain,  had  scarcely  fixed  the  scat  of  his 
government  at  Valladolid,  when  lie  was  alarmed  with  an  account  of  tin  •■ 
insurrections.  He  immediately  assembled  the  privy  council  [June  5, 1520}, 
to  deliberate  concerning  the  proper  method  of  suppressing  them.  The 
counsellors  differed  in  opinion ;  some  insisting  that  it  was  necessary  to 
check  this  audacious  spirit  in  its  infancy  by  a  severe  execution  of  justice  ; 
others  advising  to  treat  with  lenity  a  people  who  had  some  reason  to  be 
incensed,  and  not  to  drive  them  beyond  all  the  bounds  of  duty  by  an  ill- 
timed  rigour.  The  sentiments  of  the  former  being  warmly  supported  by 
the  archbishop  of  Granada,  president  of  the  council,  a  person  of  great 
authority,  but  choleric  and  impetuous,  were  approved  by  Adrian,  whose 
zeal  to  support  his  master's  authority  hurried  him  into  a  measure,  to  which, 
from  his  natural  caution  and  timidity,  he  would  otherwise  have  been  averse. 
He  commanded  Ronquillo,  one  of  the  king's  judges,  to  repair  instantly  to 
Segovia,  which  had  set  the  first  example  ot  mutiny,  and  to  proceed  against 
the  delinquents  according  to  law  ;  and  lest  the  people  should  be  so  out- 
rageous as  to  resist  his  authority,  a  considerable  body  of  troops  were* 
appointed  to  attend  him.  The  Segovians,  foreseeing  what  they  might 
expect  from  a  judge  so  well  known  for  his  austere  and  unforgiving  temper* 
took  arms  with  one  consent,  and  having  mustered  twelve  thousand  men, 
shut  their  gates  against  him.  Ronquillo,  enraged  at  this  insult,  denounced 
them  rebels  and  outlaws,  and  his  troops  seizing  all  the  avenues  to  the 
town,  hoped  that  it  would  soon  be  obliged  to  surrender  for  want  of  pro- 
visions. The  inhabitants,  however,  defended  themselves  with  vigour,  and 
having  received  a  considerable  reinforcement  from  Toledo,  under  the 
command  of  Padilla,  attacked  Ronquillo,  and  forced  him  to  retire  with 
the  loss  of  his  baggage,  and  military  chest.* 

Upon  this,  Adrian  ordered  Antonio  de  Fonseca,  whom  the  emperor  had 
appointed  commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  in  Castile,  to  assemble  an 
army,  and  to  besiege  Segovia  in  form.  But  the  inhabitants  of  Medina  del 
Campo,  where  Cardinal  Ximenes  had  established  a  vast  magazine  of 
military  stores,  would  not  suffer  him  to  draw  from  it  a  train  of  battering 
cannon,  or  to  destroy  their  countrymen  with  those  arms  which  had  been 
prepared  against  the  enemies  of  the  kingdom.  Fonseca,  who  could  not 
execute  his  orders  without  artillery,  determined  to  seize  the  magazine  by 
force  ;  and  the  citizens  standing  on  their  defence,  he  assaulted  the  town 
with  great  briskness  [Aug.  21]  ;  but  his  troops  were  so  warmly  received, 
that,  despairing  of  carrying  the  place,  he  set  fire  to  some  of  the  houses, 
in  hopes  that  the  citizens  would  abandon  the  walls,  in  order  to  save  their 
families  and  effects.  Instead  of  that  the  expedient  to  which  he  had 
recourse  served  only  to  increase  their  fury,  and  he  was  repulsed  with  great 
disgrace,  while  the  flames,  spreading  from  street  to  street,  reduced  to  ashes 
almost  the  whole  town,  one  of  the  most  considerable  at  that  lime  in  Spain, 
and  the  great  mart  for  the  manufactures  of  Segovia  and  several  other 
cities.  As  the  warehouses  were  then  filled  with  goods  for  the  approaching 
fair,  the  loss  was  immense,  and  was  felt  universally.  This,  added  to  the 
impression  which  such  a  cruel  action  made  on  a  people  long  unaccustomed 
to  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  enraged  the  Castilians  almost  to  madness. 
Fonseca  became  the  object  of  general  hatred,  and  was  branded  with  the 
name  of  incendiary,  and  enemy  to  his  country.  Even  the  citizens  of  Val- 
ladolid, whom  the  presence  of  the  cardinal  had  hitherto  restrained,  de- 
clared that  they  could  no  longer  remain  inactive  spectators  of  the  sufferings 
of  their  countrymen.  Taking  arms  with  no  less  fury  than  the  other  cities, 
they  burnt  Fonseca's  house  to  the  ground,  elected  new  magistrates,  raised 
soldiers,  appointed  officers  to  command  them,  and  guarded  their  walls  with 
as  much  diligence  as  if  an  enemy  had  been  ready  to  attack  them. 

*  San'dov.  1J2.    P.  Mart,  Ep.  67P.    Miniaca.  Contin.  p.  15. 

Vol.  II.— 21 


162  THE   RE  1  G.N    OF  THE  [Hook  III. 

The  cardinal,  though  virtuous  and  disinterested,  and  capable  of  governing 
the  kingdom  with  honour,  in  times  of  tranquillity,  possessed  neither  the 
courage  nor  the  sagacity  necessary  at  such  a  dangerous  j unci uiv.  Finding 
himself  unable  to  check  these  outrages  committed  under  his  own  eye,  he 
attempted  to  appease  the  people,  by  protesting  that  Fonseca  had  exceeded 
his  orders,  and  had  by  his  rash  conduct  offended  him,  as  much  as  he  had 
injured  them.  This  condescension,  the  effect  of  irresolution  and  timidity, 
rendered  the  malecontents  bolder  and  more  insolent ;  and  the  cardinal 
having  soon  afterwards  recalled  Fonseca,  and  dismissed  his  troops,  which 
he  could  no  longer  afford  to  pay,  as  the  treasury,  drained  by  the  rapacious- 
ness  of  the  Flemish  ministers,  had  received  no  supply  from  the  great 
cities,  which  were  all  in  arms,  the  people  were  left  at  full  liberty  to  act 
without  control,  and  scarcely  any  shadow  of  power  remained  in  his  hands. 

Nor  were  the  proceedings  of  the  commons  the  effects  merely  of  popu- 
lar, and  tumultuary  rage  ;  they  aimed  at  obtaining  redress  of  their  political 
grievances,  and  an  establishment  of  public  liberty  on  a  secure  basis, 
objects  worthy  of  all  the  zeal  which  they  discovered  in  contending  for 
them.  The  feudal  government  in  Spain  was  at  that  time  in  a  state  more 
favourable  to  liberty  than  in  any  other  of  the  great  European  kingdoms. 
This  was  owing  chiefly  to  the  number  of  great  cities  in  that  country,  a 
circumstance  I  have  already  taken  notice  of,  and  which  contributes  more 
than  any  other  to  mitigate  the  rigour  of  the  feudal  institutions,  and  to 
introduce  a  more  liberal  and  equal  torm  of  government.  The  inhabitants 
of  every  city  formed  a  great  corporation,  with  valuable  immunities  and 
privileges  ;  they  were  delivered  from  a  state  of  subjection  and  vassalage  • 
they  were  admitted  to  a  considerable  share  in  the  legislature  ;  they  bad 
acquired  the  arts  of  industry,  without  which  cities  cannot  subsist ;  they 
had  accumulated  wealth,  by  engaging  in  commerce  ;  and  being  i'ree  and 
independent  themselves,  were  ever  ready  to  act  as  the  guardians  ot  the 
public  freedom  and  independence.  The  genius  of  the  internal  govern- 
ment established  among  the  inhabitants  of  cities,  which,  even  in  countries 
where  despotic  power  prevails  most,  is  democratical  and  republican,  ren- 
dered the  idea  of  liberty  famijiar  arid  dear  to  them.  Their  representatives 
in  the  Cortes  were  accustomed,  with  equal  spirit,  to  check  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  king  and  the  oppression  of  the  nobles.  They  endeavoured  to 
extend  the  privileges  of  their  own  order ;  they  laboured  to  shake  off  the 
remaining  incumbrances  with  which  the  spirit  of  feudal  policy,  favourable 
only  to  the  nobles,  had  burdened  them  ;  and,  conscious  of  being  one  of 
the  most  considerable  orders  in  the  state,  were  ambitious  of  becoming  the 
most  powerful. 

The.  present  juncture  appeared  favourable  for  pushing  any  new  claim. 
Their  sovereign  was  absent  from  his  dominions  ;  by  the  ill  conduct  of  his 
ministers  he  had  lost  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  subjects  ;  the,  people, 
exasperated  by  many  injuries,  had  taken  arms,  though  without  concert, 
almost  by  general  consent  ;  they  were  animated  with  rage  capable  ot 
carrying  them  to  the  most  violent  extremes  ;  the  royal  treasury  was 
exhausted  ;  the  kingdom  destitute  of  troops  ;  and  the  government  com- 
mitted to  a  stranger,  of  great  virtue  indeed,  but  of  abilities  unequal  to 
such  a  trust.  The  first  care  of  Padilla,  and  the  other  popular  leaders 
who  observed  and  determined  to  improve  these  circumstances,  was  to 
establish  some  form  of  union  or  association  among  the  malecontents,  that 
they  might  act  with  greater  regularity,  and  pursue  one  common  end  ;  and 
as  the  different  cities  had  been  prompted  to  take  arms  by  the  same  motive-, 
and  were  accustomed  to  consider  themselves  as  a  distinct  body  from  the 
rest  of  the  subjects,  they  did  not  find  this  difficult.  A  general  convention 
was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Avila.  Deputies  appeared  there  in  name 
of  almost  all  the  cities  entitled  to  have  representatives  in  the  Cortes. 
They  all  bound  themselves,  bv  solemn  oath,  to  live  and  die  in  the  scrvio 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  163 

of  the  king,  and  in  defence  of  the  privileges  of  their  order  5  and  assuming 
the  name  of  the  holy  Junta,  or  association,  proceeded  to  deliberate  con- 
cerning the  state  ot  the  nation,  and  the  proper  method  of  redressing 
its  grievances.  The  first  that  naturally  presented  itself,  was  the  nomina- 
tion of  a  foreigner  to  be  regent  ;  this  they  declared  with  one  voice  to  bo 
a  violation  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom,  and  resolved  to  send 
a  deputation  of  their  members  to  Adrian,  requiring  him  in  their  name  to 
lay  aside  all  the  ensigns  of  his  office,  and  to  abstain  for  the  future  from 
the  exercise  of  a  jurisdiction  which  they  had  pronounced  illegal.* 

While  they  were  preparing  to  execute  this  bold  resolution,  Padilla 
accomplished  an  enterprise  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  cause.  After 
relieving  Segovia,  he  marched  suddenly  to  Tordesillas,  [Aug.  29],  the 
pla  e  where  the  unhappy  queen  Joanna  had  resided  since  the  death  of  her 
husband,  and  being  favoured  by  the  inhabitants,  was  admitted  into  the 
town,  and  became  master  of  her  person,  for  the  security  of  which  Adrian 
had  neglected  to  take  proper  precautions.!  Padilla  waited  immediately 
upon  the  queen,  and  accosting  her  with  that  profound  respect,  which  she 
exacted  from  the  few  persons  whom  she  deigned  to  admit  into  her  pre- 
sence, acquainted  her  at  large  with  the  miserable  condition  of  her  Cas- 
tilian  subjects  under  the  government  of  her  son,  who  being  destitute  of 
experience  himself,  permitted  his  foreign  ministers  to  treat  them  with  such 
rigour  as  had  obliged  them  to  take  arms  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  their 
country.  The  queen,  as  if  she  had  been  awakened  out  of  a  lethargy, 
expressed  great  astonishment  at  what  he  said,  and  told  him,  that  as  she  had 
never  heard,  until  that  moment,  of  the  death  of  her  father,  or  known  the 
sufferings  of  her  people,  no  blame  could  be  imputed  to  her,  but  that  now 
she  would  take  care  to  provide  a  sufficient  remedy  ;  and  in  the  mean  time, 
added  she,  let  it  be  your  concern  to  do  what  is  necessary  for  the  public 
welfare.  Padilla,  too  eager  in  forming  a  conclusion  agreeable  to  his 
wishes,  mistook  this  lucid  interval  of  reason  for  a  perfect  return  of  that 
faculty ;  and  acquainting  the  Junta  with  what  had  happened,  advised  them 
to  remove  to  Tordesillas,  and  to  hold  their  meetings  in  that  place.  This 
was  instantly  done  ;  but  though  Joanna  received  very  graciously  an  address 
of  the  Junta,  beseeching  her  to  take  upon  herself  the  government  of  the 
kingdom,  and  in  token  of  her  compliance  admitted  all  the  deputies  to  kiss 
her  hand  ;  though  she  was  present  at  a  tournament  held  on  that  occasion, 
and  seemed  highly  satisfied  with  both  these  ceremonies,  which  were  con- 
ducted with  great  magnificence  in  order  to  please  her,  she  soon  relapsed 
into  her  former  melancholy  and  sullenness,  and  could  never  be  brought, 
by  any  arguments  or  entreaties,  to  sign  any  one  paper  necessary  for  the 
despatch  of  business.^ 

The  Junta,  concealing  as  much  as  possible  this  last  circumstance,  carried 
on  all  their  deliberations  in  the  name  of  Joanna  ;  and  as  the  Castilians,  who 
idolized  the  name  of  Isabella,  retained  a  wonderful  attachment  to  her 
daughter,  no  sooner  was  it  known  that  she  had  consented  to  assume  the 
reins  of  government,  than  the  people  expressed  the  most  universal  and 
immoderate  joy ;  and  believing  her  recovery  to  be  complete,  ascribed  it 
to  a  miraculous  interposition  of  Heaven,  in  order  to  rescue  their  country 
from  the  oppression  of  foreigners.  The  Junta,  conscious  of  the  reputation 
and  power  which  they  had  acquired  by  seeming  to  act  under  the  royal 
authority,  were  no  longer  satisfied  with  requiring  Adrian  to  resign  the 
office  oi  regent ;  they  detached  Padilla  to  Valladolid  with  a  considerable 
body  of  troops,  ordering  him  to  seize  such  members  of  the  council  as 
were  still  in  that  city,  to  conduct  thein  to  Tordesillas,  and  to  bring  away 
the  seals  of  the  kingdom,  the  public  archives,  and  treasury  books.     Padilla, 

*  P.  Mart.  F|>.  601.  t  Vila  dell'  lmper.  Carl.  V.  dell'  A  If.  Ulloa.  Veil.  1509.  r  «"■  Tliiiinna, 
Contin.  p.  17.        ►  Snndov   164.    P.  Mart.  Ep.  88 


164  THE   KE1UN    OF   THE  [Book  111. 

who  was  received  by  the  citizens  as  the  deliverer  of  his  country,  executed 
his  commission  with  great  exactness  ;  permitting  Adrian,  however,  still  to 
reside  in  Valladol id,  though  only  as  a  private  person,  and  without  any 
shadow  of  power.* 

The  emperor,  to  whom  frequent  accounts  of  these  transactions  were 
transmitted  while  he  was  still  in  Flanders,  was  sensible  oi  his  own  im- 
prudence and  that  of  his  ministers,  in  having  despised  too  long  the  murmurs 
and  remonstrances  of  the  Castilians.  He  beheld,  with  deep  concern,  a 
kingdom,  the  most  valuable  of  any  he  possessed,  and  in  which  lay  the 
strength  and  sinews  of  his  power,  just  ready  to  disown  his  authority,  ami 
on  the  point  of  being  plunged  in  all  the  miseries  of  civil  war.  But  though 
his  presence  might  have  averted  this  calamity,  he  could  not,  at  that  time, 
visit  Spain  without  endangering  the  Imperial  crown,  and  allowing  the 
French  king  full  leisure  to  execute  his  ambitious  schemes.  The  only 
point  now  to  be  deliberated  upon,  was,  whether  he  should  attempt  to  gain 
the  nialecontents  by  indulgence  and  concessions,  or  prepare  directly  to 
suppress  them  by  iorce  ;  and  he  resolved  to  make  trial  of  the  former, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  if  that  should  fail  of  success,  he  prepared  for  the 
latter.  For  this  purpose,  he  issued  circular  letters  to  all  the  cities  of 
Castile,  exhorting  them  in  most  gentle  terms,  and  with  assurances  of  full 
pardon,  to  lay  down  their  arms  ;  he  promised  such  cities  as  had  continued 
Faithful,  not  to  exact  from  them  the  subsidy  granted  in  the  late  Cortes,  and 
offered  the  same  favour  to  such  as  returned  to  their  duty  ;  he  engaged  that 
no  odice  should  be  conferred  for  the  future  upon  any  but  native  Castilians. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  wrote  to  the  nobles,  exciting  them  to  appear  with 
vigour  in  defence  of  their  own  rights,  and  those  of  the  crown,  against  the 
exorbitant  claims  of  the  commons  ;  he  appointed  the  high  admiral  Don 
Fadrique  Enriquez,  and  the  high  constable  of  Castile,  Don  Inigo  de  Velasco, 
two  noblemen  of  great  abilities  as  well  as  influence,  regents  of  the  king- 
dom in  conjunction  with  Adrian  ;  and  he  gave  them  full  power  and 
instructions,  if  the  obstinacy  of  the  malecontents  should  render  it  necessary ,, 
to  vindicate  the  royal  authority  by  force  of  arms.j 

These  concessions,  which,*at  the  time  of  his  leaving  Spain,  would  have 
fully  satisfied  the  people,  came  now  too  late  to  produce  any  effect.  The 
Junta,  relying  on  the  unanimity  with  which  the  nation  submitted  to  their 
authority,  elated  with  the  success  which  had  hitherto  accompanied  all 
their  undertakings,  and  seeing  no  military  force  collected  to  defeat  or 
obstruct  their  designs,  aimed  at  a  more  thorough  reformation  of  political 
abuses.  They  had  been  employed  for  some  time  in  preparing  a  remon- 
strance containing  a  large  enumeration,  not  only  of  the  grievances  of  which 
they  craved  redress,  but  of  such  new  regulations  as  they  thought  necessary 
for  the  security  of  their  liberties.  This  remonstrance,  which  is  divided 
into  many  articles  relating  to  all  the  different  members,  of  which  the  con- 
stitution was  composed,  as  well  as  the  various  departments  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  government,  furnishes  us  with  more  authentic  evidence  concerning 
the  intentions  of  the  Junta,  than  can  be  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  the 
later  Spanish  historians,  who  lived  in  times  when  it  became  fashionable 
and  even  necessary  to  represent  the  conduct  of  the  malecontents  in  the 
worst  light,  and  as  flowing  from  the  worst  motives.  After  a  long  preamble 
concerning  the  various  calamities  under  which  the  nation  groaned,  and  the 
errors  and  corruption  in  government  to  which  these  were  to  be  imputed,  they 
take  notice  of  the  exemplary  patience  wherewith  the  people  had  endured 
them,  until  self-preservation,  and  the  duty  which  they  owed  to  their  coun- 
try, had  obliged  them  to  assemble,  in  order  to  provide  in  a  legal  manner 
tor  their  own  safety,  and  that  of  the  constitution  :  For  this  purpose,  they 

*  Samlov.  174.    P.  Mart.  Ep.  753.        f  P-  Heuler.  Rer.  Austr.  lilt.  viii.  c.  fi  p.  18e. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V,  165 

demanded  that  the  king  -would  be  pleased  to  return  to  his  Spanish  domi- 
nions and  reside  there,  as  all  their  former  monarchs  had  done  ;  that  he 
would  not  marry  but  with  consent  of  the  Cortes ;  that  if  he  should  be 
obliged  at  any  time  to  leave  the  kingdom,  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  appoint 
any  foreigner  to  be  regent ;  that  the  present  nomination  of  cardinal  Adrian 
to  that  office  shall  instantly  be  declared  void  ;  that  he  would  not,  at  his 
return,  bring  along  with  him  any  Elemings  or  other  strangers  ;  that  no 
foreign  troops  shall,  on  any  pretence  whatever,  be  introduced  into  the 
kingdom  ;  that  none  but  natives  shall  be  capable  of  holding  an}*  office  or 
benefice  either  in  church  or  state  ;  that  no  foreigner  shall  be  naturalized  ; 
that  free  quarters  shall  not  be  granted  to  soldiers,  nor  to  the  members  off 
the  king's  household,  for  any  longer  time  than  six  days,  and  that  only 
when  the  court  is  in  a  progress;  that  all  the  taxes  shall  be  reduced  to  (lie 
same  state  they  were  in  at  the  death  of  queen  Isabella  ;  that  all  alienations 
of  the  royal  demesnes  or  revenues  since  that  queen's  death  shall  be  resumed  ; 
that  all  new  offices  created  since  that  period  shall  be  abolished  ;  that  the 
subsidy  granted  by  the  late  Cortes  in  Galicia,  shall  not  be  exacted  ;  that 
in  all  future  Cortes  each  city  shall  send  one  representative  of  the  clergy, 
one  of  the  gentry,  and  one  of  the  commons,  each  to  be  elected  by  his 
own  order ;  that  the  crown  shall  not  influence  or  direct  any  city  with 
regard  to  the  choice  of  its  representatives  ;  that  no  member  ot  the  Cortes 
shall  receive  an  office  or  pension  from  the  king,  either  for  himself  or  for  any 
of  his  family,  under  pain  of  death,  and  confiscation  of  his  goods  ;  that  each 
city  or  community  shall  pay  a  competent  salary  to  its  representative,  for 
his  maintenance  during  his  attendance  on  the  Cortes ;  that  the  Cortes  shall 
assemble  once  in  three  years  at  least,  whether  summoned  by  the  king  or 
not,  and  shall  then  inquire  into  the  observation  of  the  articles  now  agreed 
upon,  and  deliberate  concerning  public  affairs  ;  that  the  rewards  which 
have  been  given  or  promised  to  any  of  the  members  of  the  Cortes  held  in 
Galicia,  shall  be  revoked  ;  that  it  shall  be  declared  a  capital  crime  to  send 
gold,silver,orjewelsoutof  thekingdom  ;  thatjudges  shall  have  fixed  salaries 
assigned  them,  and  shall  not  receive  any  share  of  the  fines  and  forfeitures 
of  persons  condemned  by  them  ;  that  no  grant  of  the  goods  of  persons 
accused  shall  be  valid,  if  given  before  sentence  was  pronounced  against 
them ;  that  all  privileges  which  the  nobles  have  at  any  time  obtained,  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  commons,  shall  be  revoked  ;  that  the  government  of 
cities  or  towns  shall  not  be  put  into  the  hands  of  noblemen  ;  that  the  pos- 
sessions of  the  nobility  shall  be  subject  to  all  public  taxes  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  those  of  the  commons  ;  that  an  inquiry  be  made  into  the  conduct 
of  such  as  have  been  intrusted  with  the  management  of  the  royal  patri- 
mony since  the  accession  of  Ferdinand  ;  and  if  the  king  do  not  within 
thirty  days  appoint  persons  properly  qualified  for  that  service,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  the  Cortes  to  nominate  them  ;  that  indulgences  shall  not  be 
preached  or  dispersed  in  the  kingdom  until  the  cause  of  publishing  them 
be  examined  and  approved  of  by  the  Cortes;  that  all  the  money  arising 
Irom  the  sale  of  indulgences  shall  be  faithfully  employed  in  carrying  on  war 
against  the  infidels ;  that  such  prelates  as  do  not  reside  in  their  diocesses 
six  months  in  the  year,  shall  forfeit  their  revenues  during  the  time  they 
are  absent ;  that  the  ecclesiastical  judges  and  their  officers  shall  not  exact 
greater  fees  than  those  which  are  paid  in  the  secular  courts ;  that  the 
present  archbishop  of  Toledo,  being  a  foreigner,  be  compelled  to  resign 
that  dignity,  which  shall  be  conferred  upon  a  Castilian  ;  that  the  king 
shall  ratify  and  hold,  as  good  service  done  to  him  and  to  the  kingdom,  all 
the  proceedings  of  the  Junta,  and  pardon  any  irregularities  which  the 
cities  may  have  committed  from  an  excess  of  zeal  in  a  good  cause :  that 
he  shall  promise  and  swear  in  the  most  solemn  manner  to  observe  all  these 
articles,  and  on  no  occasion  attempt  either  to  Hnde.  nr*  to  repeal  them  ; 


i66  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  [Book   III. 

and  liiat  he  shall  never  solicit  the  pope  or  any  other  prelate  to  grant  him 
a  dispensation  or  absolution  from  this  oath  and  promise.* 

Such  were  the  chief  articles  presented  by  the  Junta  to  their  sovereign. 
As  the  feudal  institutions  in  the  several  kingdoms  of  Europe  were  originally 
Ihe  same,  the  genius  of  those  governments  which  arose  from  them  bore  a 
strong  resemblance  to  each  other,  and  the  regulations  which  the  Castilians 
attempted  to  establish  on  this  occasion,  differ  little  from  those  which  other 
nations  have  laboured  to  procure,  in  their  struggles  with  their  monarchs  for 
liberty.  The  grievances  complained  of,  and  the  remedies  proposed  by 
the  English  commons  in  their  contests  with  the  princes  of  the  house  of 
Stuart,  particularly  resemble  those  upon  which  the  Junta  now  insisted. 
But  the  principles  of  liberty  seem  to  have  been  better  understood,  at  this 
period,  by  the  Castilians,  than  by  any  other  people  in  Europe  ;  they  had 
acquired  more  liberal  ideas  with  respect  to  their  own  rights  and  privi- 
leges ;  they  had  formed  more  bold  and  generous  sentiments  concerning 
Sovernment ;  and  discovered  an  extent  of  political  knowledge  to  which  the 
Inglish  themselves  did.not  attain  until  more  than  a  century  afterwards. 
It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  reformation  among  the 
Castilians,  hitherto  unrestrained  by  authority,  and  emboldened  by  success, 
became  too  impetuous,  and  prompted  the  Junta  to  propose  innovations 
which,  by  alarming  the  other  members  of  the  constitution,  proved  fatal  to 
their  cause.  The  nobles,  who,  instead  of  obstructing,  had  favoured  or 
connived  at  their  proceedings,  while  they  confined  their  demands  of  redress 
to  such  grievances  as  had  been  occasioned  by  the  king's  want  of  experience, 
and  by  the  imprudence  and  rapaciousness  of  his  foreign  ministers,  were 
filled  with  indignation  when  -the  Junta  began  to  touch  the  privileges  of 
their  order,  and  plainly  saw  that  the  measures  of  the  commons  tended  no 
less  to  break  the  power  of  the  aristocracy,  than  to  limit  the  prerogatives  of 
the  crown.  The  resentment  which  they  had  conceived  on  account  of 
Adrian's  promotion  to  the  regency,  abated  considerably  upon  the  emperor's 
raising  the  constable  and  admiral  to  joint  power  with  him  in  that  office  ; 
and  as  their  pride  and  dignity  were  less  hurt  by  suffering  the  prince  to 
possess  an  extensive  prerogative,  than  by  admitting  the  high  pretensions 
of  the  people,  they  determined  to  give  their  sovereign  the  assistance 
which  he  had  demanded  of  them,  and  began  to  assemble  their  vassals  for 
that  purpose. 

The  Junta,  meanwhile,  expected  with  impatience  the  emperor's  answer 
to  their  remonstrance,  which  they  had  appointed  some  of  their  number  to 
present.  "The  members  intrusted  with  this  commission  set  out  imme- 
diately for  Germany  [Oct.  20],  but  having  received  at  different  places 
certain  intelligence  from  court,  that  they  could  not  venture  to  appear  there 
without  endangering  their  lives,  they  stopped  short  in  their  journey,  and 
acquainted  the  Junta  of  the  information  which  bad  been  given  them.t 
This  excited  such  violent  passions  as  transported  the  whole  party  beyond 
all  bounds  of  prudence  or  of  moderation.  That  a  king  of  Castile  should 
deny  his  subjects  access  into  his  presence,  or  refuse  to  listen  to  their  humble 
petitions,  was  represented  as  an  act  of  tyranny  so  unprecedented  and 
intolerable,  that  nothing  now  remained  but  with  arms  in  their  hands  to 
drive  away  that  ravenous  band  of  foreigners  which  encompassed  the  throne, 
who,  after  having  devoured  the  wealth  of  the  kingdom,  found  it  necessary 
to  prevent  the  cries  of  an  injured  people  from  reaching  the  ears  of  their 
sovereign.  Many  insisted  warmly  on  approving  a  motion  which  had  for- 
merly been  made,  for  depriving  Charles,  during  the  life  of  his  mother,  of 
the  regal  titles  and  authority  which  had  been  too  rashly  conferred  upon  him, 
from  a  false  supposition  of  her  total  inability  for  government.  Some  pro- 
posed to  provide   a  proper  person  to  assist  her  in  the  administration  of 

'  Sandov  20G.     r.  Mnrt   En.  6S0.  t  Sandov   1-K?. 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.  167 

public  affairs,  by  marrying  the  queen  to  the  prince  of  Calabria,  the  heir 
< .it  Ihe  Aragonese  kings  of  Naples,  who  had  been  detained  in  prison  sines 
the  time  that  Eerdinand  had  dispossessed  his  ancestors  of  their  crown.  All 
agreed,  that  as  the  hopes  of  obtaining  redress  and  security,  merely  by 
presenting  their  requests  to  their  sovereign,  had  kept  them  too  long  in  a 
state  of  inaction,  and  prevented  them  from  taking  advantage  of  the  una- 
nimity with  which  the  nation  declared  in  their  favour,  it  was  now  neces- 
sary to  collect  their  whole  force,  and  to  exert  themselves  with  vigour,  in 
opposing  this  fatal  combination  of  the  king  and  nobility  against  their 
liberties.* 

They  soon  took  the  field  with  twenty  thousand  men.  Violent  disputes 
arose  concerning  the  command  of  this  army.  Padilla,  the  darling  of  the 
people  and  soldiers,  was  the  only  person  whom  they  thought  worthy  of 
this  honour.  But  Don  Pedro  de  Giron,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Conde  de 
Uruena,  a  young  nobleman  of  the  first  order,  having  lately  joined  the 
commons  out  of  private  resentment  against  the  emperor,  the  respect  due  to 
his  birth,  together  with  a  secret  desire  of  disappointing  Padilla,  of  whose 
popularity  many  members  of  the  Junta  had  become  jealous,  procured  him 
the  office  of  general  [Nov.  23] ;  though  he  soon  gave  them  a  fatal  proof 
that  he  possessed  neither  the  experience,  the  abilities,  nor  the  steadiness, 
which  that  important  station  required. 

The  regents,  meanwhile,  appointed  Rioseco  as  the  place  of  rendezvous 
for  their  troops,  which,  though  far  inferior  to  those  of  the  commons  in 
number,  excelled  them  greatly  in  discipline  and  in  valour.  They  had 
drawn  a  considerable  body  of  regular  and  veteran  infantry  out  of  Navarre. 
Their  cavalry,  which  formed  the  chief  strength  of  their  army,  consisted 
mostly  of  gentlemen  accustomed  to  the  military  life,  and  animated  with 
the  martial  spirit  peculiar  to  their  order  in  that  age.  The  infantiy  of  the 
Junta  was  formed  entirely  of  citizens  and  mechanics,  little  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  arms.  The  small  body  of  cavalry  which  they  had  been  able  to 
raise  was  composed  of  persons  of  ignoble  birth,  and  perfect  strangers  to 
the  service  into  which  they  entered.  The  character  of  the  generals 
differed  no  less  than  that  of  their  troops.  The  royalists  were  commanded 
by  the  Conde  de  Haro,  the  constable's  eldest  son,  an  officer  of  great  expe- 
rience and  of  distinguished  abilities.  , 

Giron  marched  with  his  army  directly  to  Rioseco,  and  seizing  the 
villages  and  passes  around  it,  hoped  that  the  royalists  would  be  obliged 
cither  to  surrender  for  want  of  provisions,  or  to  fight  with  disadvantage 
before  all  their  troops  were  assembled.  But  he  had  not  the  abilities,  nor 
his  troops  the  patience  and  discipline,  necessary  for  the  execution  of  such 
a  scheme.  The  Conde  de  Haro  found  little  difficulty  in  conducting  a 
considerable  reinforcement  through  all  his  posts  into  the  town  ;  and  Giron, 
despairing  of  being  able  to  reduce  it,  advanced  suddenly  to  Villa-panda, 
a  place  belonging  to  the  constable,  in  which  the  enemy  had  their  chief 
magazine  of  provisions.  By  this  ill-judged  motion,  he  left  Tordesillas 
open  to  the  royalists,  whom  the  Conde  de  Haro  led  thither  in  the  night, 
with  the  utmost  secrecy  and  despatch  ;  and  attacking  the  town  [Dec.  5], 
in  which Giron  had  left  no  other  garrison  than  a  regiment  of  priests  raised 
by  the  bishop  of  Zamora,  he,  by  break  of  day,  forced  his  way  into  it  after 
a  desperate  resistance,  became  master  of  the  queen's  person,  took  prisoners 
many  members  of  the  Junta,  and  recovered  the  great  seal,  with  the  other 
ensigns  of  government. 

By  this  tatal  blow,  the  Junta  lost  all  the  reputation  and  authority  which 
they  had  derived  from  seeming  to  act  by  the  queen's  commands  ;  such  of 
the  nobles  as  had  hitherto  been  wavering  or  undetermined  in  their  choice, 
now  joined  the  regents  with  all  their  forces  ;  and  a  universal  consternation 

"  J".  Mart.  Ep.  Pftg. 


16K  THE    REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  llf. 

seized  the  partisans  of  the  commons.  This  was  much  increased  by  the 
suspicions  they  began  to  entertain  of  Giron,  whom  they  loudly  accused  of 
having  betrayed  Tordesillas  to  the  enemy;  and  though  that  charge  seems 
to  have  been  destitute  of  foundation,  the  success  ot  the  royalists  being 
owing  to  Giron's  ill  conduct  rather  than  to  his  treachery,  he  so  entirely- 
lost  credit  with  his  party,  that  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  retired  to 
one  of  his  castles.* 

Such  members  of  the  Junta  as  had  escaped  the  enemy's  hands  at 
Tordesillas,  fled  to  Valladolid  ;  and  as  it  would  have  required  a  long  time 
to  supply  the  places  of  those  who  were  prisoners  by  a  new  election,  they 
made  choice  among  themselves  of  a  small  number  of  persons,  to  whom 
they  committed  the  supreme  direction  of  affairs.  Their  anny,  which  grew 
stronger  every  day  by  the  arrival  of  troops  from  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  marched  likewise  to  Valladolid  ;  and  Padilla  being  appointed 
commander  in  chief,  the  spirits  of  the  soldiery  revived,  and  the  whole  party 
forgetting  the  late  misfortune,  continued  to  express  the  same  ardent  zeal 
for  the  liberties  of  their  country,  and  the  same  implacable  animosity  against 
their  oppressors. 

What  they  stood  most  in  need  of,  was  money  to  pay  their  troops.     A 

freat  part  of  the  current  coin  had  been  carried  out  of  the  kingdom  by  the 
lemings  ;  the  stated  taxes  levied  in  times  of  peace  were  inconsiderable  ; 
commerce  of  every  kind  being  interrupted  by  the  war,  the  sum  which  it 
yielded  decreased  daily;  and  the  Junta  were  afraid  of  disgusting  the 
people  by  burdening  them  with  new  impositions,  to  which,  in  that  age, 
they  were  little  accustomed.  But  from  this  difficulty  they  were  extricated 
by  Donna  Maria  Pacheco,  Padilla's  wife,  a  woman  of  noble  birth,  of  great 
abilities,  of  boundless  ambition,  and  animated  with  the  most  ardent  zeal  in 
support  of  the  cause  of  the  Junta.  She,  with  a  boldness  superior  to  those 
superstitious  fears  which  often  influence  her  sex,  proposed  to  seize  all  the 
rich  and  magnificent  ornaments  in  the  cathedral  of  loledo  ;  but  lest  that 
action,  by  its  appearance  of  impiety,  might  offend  the  people,  she  and  her 
retinue  marched  to  the  church  in  solemn  procession,  in  mourning  habits, 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  beating  their  breasts,  and  falling  on  their  knees, 
implored  the  pardon  of  the  saints  whose  shrines  she  was  about  to  violate. 
By  this  artifice,  which  screened  her  from  the  imputation  of  sacrilege,  and 
persuaded  the  people  that  necessity  and  zeal  for  a  good  cause  had  con- 
strained her,  though  with  reluctance,  to  venture  upon  this  action,  she  stripped 
the  cathedral  of  whatever  was  valuable,  and  procured  a  considerable  supply 
of  money  for  the  Junta. t  The  regents,  no  less  at  a  loss  how  to  maintain 
their  troops,  the  revenues  of  the  crown  having  either  been  dissipated  by 
the  Flemings,  or  seized  by  the  commons,  were  obliged  to  take  the  queen  s 
jewels,  together  with  the  plate  belonging  to  the  nobility,  and  apply  them 
to  that  purpose  ;  and  when  those  failed,  they  obtained  a  small  sum  by  way 
of  loan  from  the  king  of  Poitugal.J 

The  nobility  discovered  great  unwillingness  to  proceed  to  extremities 
with  the  Junta.  They  were  animated  with  no  less  hatred  than  the  com- 
mons against  the  Flemings  ;  they  approved  much  of  several  articles  in  tho 
remonstrance  ;  they  thought  the  juncture  favourable,  not  only  for  redressing 
past  grievances,  but  for  rendering  the  constitution  more  perfect  and  secure 
by  new  regulations  ;  they  were  afraid,  that  while  the  two  orders,  of  which 
the  legislature  was  composed,  wasted  each  other's  strength  by  mutual 
hostilities,  the  crown  would  rise  to  power  on  the  ruin  or  weakness  of  both, 
and  encroach  no  less  on  the  independence  of  the  nobles,  than  on  the  privi- 
leges of  the  commons.  To  this  disposition  were  owing  the  frequent 
overtures  of  peace  which  the  regents  made  to  the  Junta,  and  the  continual 

*  Miscellaneous  Tracts  \>v  Or.  Mich.  Oeildes,  vol.  i.  27i».  t  Sandov.  309.  Diet.  <3e  Bavle.  art. 
Pudilla         t  V.  Mart  Ep.718. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  169 

negotiations  they  carried  on  during  the  progress  of  their  military  operations. 
Nor  were  the  terms  which  they  offered  unreasonable  ;  for  on  condition  that 
the  Junta  would  pass  from  a  few  articles  most  subversive  of  the  royal 
authority,  or  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of  the  nobility,  they  engaged  to 
procure  the  emperor's  consent  to  their  other  demands,  which  if  he,  through 
the  influence  of  evil  counsellors,  should  refuse,  several  of  the  nobles  pro- 
mised to  join  with  the  commons  in  their  endeavours  to  extort  it.*  Such 
divisions,  however,  prevailed  among  the  members  of  the  Junta,  as  pre- 
vented their  deliberating  calmly,  or  judging  with  prudence.  Some  of 
the  cities  which  had  entered  into  the  confederacy,  were  filled  with  that 
mean  jealousy  and  distrust  of  each  other,  which  rivalship  in  commerce  or 
in  grandeur  is  apt  to  inspire;  the  constable,  by  his  influence  and  promises, 
had  prevailed  on  the  inhabitants  of  Burgos  to  abandon  the  Junta,  and  other 
noblemen  had  shaken  the  fidelity  of  some  of  the  lesser  cities  ;  no  person 
had  arisen  among  the  commons  of  such  superior  abilities  or  elevation  of 
mind  as  to  acquire  the  direction  of  their  affairs;  Padilla,  their  general, 
was  a  man  of  popular  qualities,  but  distrusted  for  that  reason  by  those  of 
highest  rank  who  adhered  to  the  Junta ;  the  conduct  of  Giron  led  the 
people  to  view,  with  suspicion,  every  person  of  noble  birth  who  joined 
their  party  ;  so  that  the  strongest  marks  of  irresolution,  mutual  distrust, 
and  mediocrity  of  genius,  appeared  in  all  their  proceedings  at  this  time. 
After  many  consultations  held  concerning  the  terms  proposed  by  the  regents, 
they  suffered  themselves  to  be  so  carried  away  by  resentment  against  the 
nobility,  that,  rejecting  all  thoughts  of  accommodation,  they  threatened  to 
strip  them  of  the  crown  lands,  which  they  or  their  ancestors  had  usurped, 
and  to  re-annex  these  to  the  royal  domain.  Upon  this  preposterous  scheme, 
which  would  at  once  have  annihilated  all  the  liberties  for  which  they  had 
been  struggling,  by  rendering  the  kings  of  Castile  absolute  and  independent 
on  their  subjects,  they  were  so  intent,  that  they  now  exclaimed  with  less 
vehemence  against  the  exactions  of  the  foreign  ministers,  than  against  the 
exorbitant  power  and  wealth  of  the  nobles,  and  seemed  to  hope  that 
they  might  make  peace  with  Charles,  by  offering-  to  enrich  him  with 
their  spoils. 

The  success  which  Padilla  had  met  with  in  several  small  encounters,  and 
in  reducing  some  inconsiderable  towns,  helped  to  precipitate  the  members 
of  the  Junta  into  this  measure,  filling  them  with  such  confidence  in  the 
valour  of  their  troops,  that  they  hoped  for  an  easy  victory  over  the  roy- 
alists. Padilla,  that  his  army  misfit  not  remain  inactive  while  flushed 
with  good  fortune,  laid  siege  to  Torrelobaton,  a  place  of  greater  strength 
and  importance  than  any  that  he  had  hitherto  ventured  to  attack,  and 
which  was  defended  by  a  sufficient  garrison ;  and  though  the  besieged 
made  a  desperate  resistance,  and  the  admiral  attempted  to  relieve  them, 
he  took  the  town  by  storm  [March  1, 1531],  and  gave  it  up  to  be  plundered 
by  his  soldiers.  If  he  had  marched  instantly  with  his  victorious  army  to 
Tordesillas,  the  head  quarters  of  the  royalists,  he  could  hardly  have  failed 
of  making  an  effectual  impression  on  their  troops,  whom  he  would  have 
found  in  astonishment  at  the  briskness  of  his  operations,  and  far  from  being 
of  sufficient  strength  to  give  him  battle.  But  the  fickleness  and  imprudence 
of  the  Junta  prevented  his  taking  this  step.  Incapable,  like  all  popular 
associations,  either  of  carrying  on  war  or  of  making  peace,  they  listened 
again  to  overtures  of  accommodation,  and  even  agreed  to  a  short  suspen- 
sion of  arms.  This  negotiation  terminated  in  nothing;  but  while  it  was 
carrying  on,  many  of  Padilla's  soldiers,  unacquainted  with  the  restraints 
of  discipline,  went  off  with  the  booty  which  they  had  got  at  Torrelobaton ; 
and  others,  wearied  out  by  the  unusual  length  of  the  campaign,  deserted.f 
The  constable  too  had  leisure  to  assemble  his  forces  at  Burgos,  and  to  pre~ 

*  P.  Mart.  Ep.  695.  713.     r.  jddfB'a  Tracts,  i.  161.  +  Snnrlnv.  336. 

Vnr.  II.—  22 


1/0  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  Hi. 

pare  every  thing  for  taking  the  field  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  truce  expired,  Ik 
effected  a  junction  with  the  Conde  de  Haro,  in  spite  of  all  Padiila's  efforts 
to  prevent  it.  They  advanced  immediately  towards  Torrelobaton ;  and 
Padilla,  finding  the  number  of  his  troops  so  diminished  that  he  durst  not 
risk  a  battle,  attempted  to  retreat  to  Toro,  which,  if  he  could  have  accom- 
plished, the  invasion  of  Navarre  at  that  juncture  by  the  French,  and  the 
necessity  which  the  regents  must  have  been  under  of  detaching  men  to 
that  kingdom,  might  have  saved  him  from  danger.  But  Haro,  sensible; 
how  fatal  the  consequences  would  be  of  suffering  him  to  escape,  marched 
with  such  rapidity  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  that  he  came  up  with  him 
near  Villalar  [April  23],  and,  without  waiting  for  his  infantry,  advanced  to 
the  attack.  Padiila's  army,  fatigued  and  disheartened  by  their  precipitant 
retreat,  which  they  could  not  distinguish  from  a  flight,  happened  at  that 
time  to  be  passing  over  a  ploughed  field,  on  which  such  a  violent  rain  had 
fallen,  that  the  soldiers  sunk  almost  to  the  knees  at  every  step,  and  remained 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  some  field-pieces  which  the  royalists  had  brought 
along  with  them.  All  these  circumstances  so  disconcerted  and  intimidated 
raw  soldiers,  without  facing  the  enemy,  or  making  an}r  resistance,  they  fled 
in  the  utmost  confusion.  Padilla  exerted  himself  with  extraordinary 
courage  and  activity  in  order  to  rally  them,  though  in  vain  ;  fear  rendering 
them  deaf  both  to  his  threats  and  entreaties ;  upon  which,  finding  matters 
irretrievable,  and  resolving  not  to  survive  the  disgrace  of  that  day,  and  the 
ruin  of  his  party,  he  rushed  into  the  thickest  at  the  enemy;  but  being 
wounded  and  dismounted,  he  was  taken  prisoner.  His  principal  officers 
shared  the  same  fate ;  the  common  soldiers  were  allowed  to  depart  unhurt, 
the  nobles  being  too  generous  to  kill  men  who  threw  down  their  arms.* 

The  resentment  of  his  enemies  did  not  suffer  Padilla  to  linger  long  in 
expectation  of  what  should  befall  him.  Next  day  he  was  condemned  to 
lose  his  head,  though  without  any  regular  trial,  the  notoriety  of  the  crime 
being  supposed  sufficient  to  supersede  the  formality  of  a  legal  process. 
He  was  led  instantly  to  execution,  together  with  Don  John  Bravo,  and 
Don  Francis  Maldonada,  the  former  commander  of  the  Segovians,  and  the 
latter  of  the  troops  of  Salamanca.  Padilla  viewed  the  approach  of  death 
with  calm  but  undaunted  fortitude;  and  when  Bravo,  his  fellow-sufferer, 
expressed  some  indignation  at  hearing  himself  proclaimed  a  traitor,  he 
checked  him,  by  observing,  "  That  yesterday  was  the  time  to  have  dis- 
played the  spirit  of  gentlemen,  this  day  to  die  with  the  meekness  of  Chris- 
tians." Being  permitted  to  write  to  his  Avife  and  to  the  community  of 
Toledo,  the  place  of  his  nativity,  he  addressed  the  former  with  a  manly 
and  virtuous  tenderness,  and  the  latter  with  the  exultation  natural  to  one 
who  considered  himself  as  'a  martyr  for  the  liberties  of  his  country. t 

*  Sandov.  3-15,  &x.  P.  Mart.  Ep.  720.  Miniana,  Contin.  p.  26.  Epitome  de  la  Vide  y  Hechos 
del  Emper.  Carlos  V.  por  D.  Juan  Anton,  de  Vera  y  Zuniga,  4to,  Madi.  11)27.  p.  19. 

t  The  strain  of  these  letters  is  so  eloquent  and  high  spirited,  that  I  have  translated  them  for  the 
entertainment  of  my  readers. 

The  letter  of  Don  John  Padilla  to  his  wife. 

"  Senora, 
If  your  grief  did  not  afflict  me  more  than  my  own  death,  I  should  deem  myself  perfectly  happy. 
For  the  end  of  life  being  certain  to  all  men,  the  Almighty  confers  a  mark  of  distinguishing  favour 
upon  that  person,  for  whom  he  appoints  a  death  such  as  mine,  which,  though  lamented  by  many,  is 
nevertheless  acceptable  unto  him.     It  would  require  more  time  than  I  now  have,  to  write"  any  tiling 
that  could  afford  you  consolation.    That  my  enemies  will  not  grant  me,  nor  do  I  wish  to  delay  the 
reception  of  that  crown  which  1  hope  to  enjoy.     You  may  bewail  your  own  loss,  but  not  my  death, 
which,  being  so  honourable,  ought  not  to  be  lamented  by  any.    My  soul,  for  nothing  else  is  left  to 
me,  I  bequeath  to  you.    You  will  receive  it,  as  the  thing  in  this  world  which  you  valued  most.     1 
do  not  write  to  my  father  Pero  Lopez,  because  I  dare  not ;  for  though  I  have  shown  myself  to  be 
his  son  in  daring  to  lose  my  life,  I  have  not  been  the  heir  of  his  good  fortune.    I  will  not  attempt  to 
say  any  thing  more,  that  I  may  not  tire  the  executioner,  who  waits  for  me,  and  that  I  may  not  i 
a  suspicion,  that,  in  order  to  prolong  my  life,  I  lengthen  out  my  leUer.     My  sen  ant  Sflata,  an  ej 
witness,  and  to  whom  I  have  communicated  my  most  secret  thoughts,  will  inform  you  of  what  i 
cannot  now  write ;  anil  thus  1  rest,  experti*!!:  the  instrument  of  your  grief,  and  of  my  d<  Ilveranci  " 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  171 

Alter  this,  he  submitted  quietly  to  his  fate.  Most  of  the  Spanish  historians, 
accustomed  to  ideas  of  government  and  of  regal  power,  very  different  from 
those  upon  which  he  acted,  have  heen  so  eager  to  testify  their  disappro- 
bation of  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged,  that  they  have  neglected,  or 
have  been  afraid  to  do  justice  to  his  virtues ;  and  by  blackening  his  memory, 
have  endeavoured  to  deprive  him  of  that  pity  which  is  seldom  denied  to 
illustrious  sufferers. 

The  victory  at  Villalar  proved  as  decisive  as  it  was  complete.  Valla- 
dolid,  the  most  zealous  of  all  the  associated  cities,  opened  its  gates 
immediately  to  the  conquerors,  and  being  treated  with  great  clemency  by 
the  regents,  Medina  del  Campo,  Segovia,  and  many  other  towns,  followed 
its  example.  This  sudden  dissolution  of  a  confederacy,  formed  no:  upon 
slight  disgusts,  or  upon  trilling  motives,  into  which  the  whole  body  of  the 
people  had  entered,  and  which  had  been  allowed  time  to  acquire  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  order  and1  consistence  by  establishing  a  regular  plan 
of  government,  is  the  strongest  proof  either  of  the  inability  of  its  leaders, 
or  of  some  secret  discord  reigning  among  its  members.  Though  part  of 
that  army  by  which  they  had  been  subdued  was  obliged,  a  few  days  after 
the  battle,  to  march  towards  Navarre,  in  order  to  check  the  progress  of 
the  French  in  that  kingdom,  nothing  could  prevail  on  the  dejected  com- 
mons of  Castile  to  take  arms  again,  and  to  embrace  such  a  favourable 
opportunity  of  acquiring  those  rights  and  privileges  for  which  they  had 
appeared  so  zealous.  The  city  of  Toledo  alone,  animated  by  Donna 
Maria  Pacheco,  Padilla's  widow,  who,  instead  of  bewailing  her  husband 
with  a  womanish  sorrow,  prepared  to  revenge  his  death,  and  to  prosecute 
that  cause  in  defence  of  which  he  had  suffered,  must  be  excepted.  Respect 
for  her  sex,  or  admiration  for  her  courage  and  abilities,  as  well  as  sympathy 
with  her  misfortunes,  and  veneration  tor  the  memory  of  her  husband,  se- 
cured her  the  same  ascendant  over  the  people  which  he  had  possessed. 
The  prudence  and  vigour  with  which  she  acted,  justified  that  confidence 
they  placed  in  her.  She  wrote  to  the  French  general  in  Navarre,  encou- 
raging him  to  invade  Castile  by  the  offer  of  powerful  assistance.  She 
endeavoured  by.  her  letters  and  emissaries  to  revive  the  spirit  and  hopes 
of  the  other  cities.  She  raised  soldiers,  and  exacted  a  great  sum  from  the 
clergy  belonging  to  the  cathedral,  in  order  to  defray  the  expense  of  keeping 
them  on  foot.*  She  employed  every  artifice  that  could  interest  or.  inflame 
the  populace.  For  this  purpose  she  ordered  crucifixes  to  be  used  by  her 
troops  instead  of  colours,  as  if  they  had  been  at  war  with  infidels  and 
rnemies  of  religion ;  she  marched  through  the  streets  of  Toledo  with  her 
son,  a  young  child,  clad  in  deep  mourning,  seated  on  a  mule,  having  a 
standard  carried  before  him,  representing  the  manner  of  his  father's  exe- 
cution.! By  all  these  means  she  kept  the  minds  of  the  people  in  such 
perpetual  agitation  as  prevented  their  passions  from  subsiding,  and  rendered 
them  insensible  of  the  dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed,  by  standing 

His  Letter  to  the  City  of  Toledo. 

"  To  thee,  (lie  crown  of  Spain,  and  the  light  of  the  whole  world,  free  from  the  time  of  Uie  mighty 
Goths:  to  thee,  who,  by  shedding  the  blood  of  strangers,  as  well  as  thy  own  blood,  hast  recovered 
liberty  for  thyself  and  thy  neighbouring  cities,  thy  legitimate  son,  Juan  de  Padilla,  gives  information, 
how  by  the  blood  of  his"  body,  thy  ancient  victories  are  to  be  refreshed.  If  fate  hath  not  permitted 
my  actions  to  be  placed  among  your  successful  and  celebrated  exploits,  the  fault  hath  been  in  my  ill 
fortune,  not  in  my  good  will.  This  I  request  of  thee,  as  of  a  mother,  to  accept,  since  God  hath  given 
me  nothing  more  to  lose  for  thy  sake,  than  that  which  I  am  now  to  relinquish.  I  am  more  solicitous 
about  thy  good  opinion  than  about  my  own  life.  The  shirtings  of  fortune,  which  never  stands  still, 
are  many.  But  this  I  see  with  infinite  consolation,  that  I,  the  least  of  thy  children,  suffer  death 
for  thee;  and  that  thou  hast  nursed  at  thy  breasts  such  as  may  take  vengeance  for  my  wrongs. 
Many  tongues  will  relate  the  manner  of  my  death,  of  which  I  am  still  ignorant,  though  I  know  it 
to  be  near.  My  end  will  testify  what  was  my  desire.  My  soul  I  recommend  to  thee  as  to  the 
patroness  of  Christianity.  Of  my  body  I  say  nothing,  for  it  is  not  mine.  lean  write  nothing  more, 
for  at  this  very  moment  I  feel  the  knife  at  my  throat,  with  greater  dread  of  thy  displeasure,  than 
apprehension  of  my  own  pain."     Sandov.  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  47P. 

*  P.  Mart.  Ep  727.  +  Sandov  375 


172  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  Book  III. 

alone  in  opposition  to  the  royal  authority.  While  the  army  was  employed 
in  Navarre,  the  regents  were  unable  to  attempt  the  reduction  of  Toledo 
by  force  ;  and  all  their  endeavours,  either  to  diminish  Donna  Maria's 
credit  with  the  people,  or  to  gain  her  by  large  promises  and  the  solicitations 
of  her  brother  the  Marquis  de  Mondeiar,  proved  ineffectual.  Upon  the 
expulsion  of  the  French  out  of  Navarre,  part  of  the  army  returned  into 
Castile,  and  invested  Toledo.  Even  this  made  no  impression  on  the 
intrepid  and  obstinate  courage  of  Donna  Maria.  She  defended  the  town 
with  vigour,  her  troops  in  several  sallies  beat  the  royalists,  and  no  progress 
was  made  towards  reducing  the  place,  until  the  clergy,  whom  she  had 
highly  offended  by  invading  their  property,  ceased  to  support  her.  As 
soon  as  they  received  information  of  the  death  of  William  de  Cro)r,  arch- 
bishop of  Toledo,  whose  possession  of  that  see  was  their  chief  grievance, 
and  that  the  emperor  had  named  a'Castilian  to  succeed  him,  they  openly 
turned  against  her,  and  persuaded  the  people  that  she  had  acquired  such 
influence  over  them  by  the  force  of  enchantments,  that  she  was  assisted 
by  a  familiar  darnon  which  attended  her  in  the  form  of  a  Negro-maid,  and 
that  by  its  suggestions  she  regulated  every  part  of  her  conduct.*  The 
credulous  multitude,  whom  (heir  impatience  of  a  long  blockade,  and 
despair  of  obtaining  succours  either  from  the  cities  formerly  in  confederacy 
with  them,  or  from  the  French,  rendered  des;rous  of  peace,  took  arms 
against  her,  and  driving  her  out  of  the  city,  surrendered  it  to  the  royalists 
[October  26l.  She  retired  to  the  citadel,  which  she  defended  with 
amazing  fortitude  four  months  longer ;  and  wben  reduced  to  the  last  ex- 
tremities, she  made  her  escape  in  disguise  [February  10],  and  fled  to  Por- 
tugal, where  she  had  many  relations.! 

Tjpc-n  her  flight  the  citadel  surrendered.  Tranquillity  was  re-established 
In  Castile  ;  and  this  bold  attempt  of  the  commons,  like  all  unsuccessful 
insurrections,  contributed  to  confirm  and  extend  the  power  of  the  crown, 
which  it  was  intended  to  moderate  and  abridge.  The  Cortes  still  con- 
tinued to  make  a  part  of  the  Castilian  constitution,  and  was  summoned  to 
meet  whenever  the  king  stood  in  need  of  money  ;  but  instead  of  adhering 
to  their  ancient  and  cautious  form  of  examining  and  redressing  public 
grievances,  before  they  proceeded  to  grant  any  supply,  the  more  courtly 
custom  of  voting  a  donative  in  the  first  place  was  introduced,  and  the 
sovereign  having  obtained  all  that  he  wanted,  never  allowed  them  to  enter 
into  any  inquiry,  or  to  attempt  any  reformation  injurious  to  his  authority. 
The  privileges  which  the  cities  had  enjoyed  were  gradually  circum- 
scribed or  abolished  ;  their  commerce  began  from  this  period  to  decline, 
and  becoming  less  wealthy  and  less  populous,  they  lost  that  power  and 
influence  which  they  had  acquired  in  the  Cortes. 

While  Castile  was  exposed  to  the  calamities  of  civil  war  ;  the  kingdom 
of  Valencia  was  torn  by  intestine  commotions  still  more  violent.  The 
association  which  had  been  formed  in  the  city  of  Valencia  in  the  year  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty,  and  which  was  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  the  Germanada,  continued:  to  subsist  after  the  emperor's  departure 
from  Spain.  The  members  of  it,  upon  pretext  of  defending  the  coasts 
against  the  descents  of  the  corsairs  of  Barbary.  and  under  sanction  of  that 
permission  which  Charles  had  rashly  granted  them,  refused  to  lay  down 
their  arms.  But  as  the  grievances  which  the  Valencians  aimed  at  re- 
dressing, proceeded  from  the  arrogance  and  exactions  of  the  nobility, 
rather  than  from  any  unwarrantable  exercise  of  the  royal  prerogative,  their 
resentment  turned  chiefly  against  the  former.  As  soon  as  they  were 
allowed  the  use  of  arms,  and  became  conscious  of  their  own  strength,  they 
grew  impatient  to  take  vengeance  of  their  oppressors.  They  drove  the 
nobles  out  of  most  of  the  cities,  plundered  their  houses,  wasted  their  lands, 

P   Marl.  Ep. 737.  f  Sandov.  Sir..'  P  Mart.  Rp.  754.     Ferrrr.  viii.  SW 


I :  M  P  E  R  O  R   C  H  A  H  L  E  S    V .  1 73 

and  assaulted  their  castles.  They  then  proceeded  to  elect  thirteen  per- 
sons, one  from  each  company  of  tradesmen  established  in  Valencia,  and 
committed  the  administration  of  government  to  them,  under  pretext  that 
they  would  reform  the  laws,  establish  one  uniform  mode  of  dispensing 
justice  without  partiality  or  regard  to  the  distinction  of  ranks,  and  thus 
restore  men  to  some  degree  of  their  original  equality. 

The  nobles  were  obliged  to  take  arms  in  self-defence.  Hostilities 
began,  and  were  carried  on  with  all  the  rancour  with  which  resentment 
at  oppression  inspired  the  one  party,  and  the  idea  of  insulted  dignity  ani- 
mated the  other.  As  no  person  of  honourable  birth,  or  of  liberal  education, 
joined  the  Germanada,  the  councils  as  well  as  troops  of  the  confederacy 
were  conducted  by  low  mechanics,  who  acquired  the  confidence  of  an 
enraged  multitude  chiefly  by  the  fierceness  of  their  zeal  and  the  extrava- 
gance of  their  proceedings.  Among  such  men,  the  laws  introduced  in 
civilized  nations,  in  order  to  restrain  or  moderate  the  violence  of  war, 
were  unknown  or  despised ;  and  they  run  into  the  wildest  excesses  of 
cruelty  and  outrage. 

The  emperor,  occupied  with  suppressing  the  insurrection  in  Castile, 
which  more  immediately  threatened  the  subversion  of  his  power  and  pre- 
rogative, was  unable  to  give  much  attention  to  the  tumults  in  Valencia,  and 
leit  the  nobility  of  that  kingdom  to  fight  their  own  battles.  His  viceroy, 
the  Conde  de  Mel  i  to,  had  the  supreme  command  of  the  forces  which  the 
nobles  raised  among  the  vassals.  The  Germanada  carried  on  the  war 
during  the  years  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty  and  twenty-one 
with  a  more  persevering  courage  than  could  have  been  expected  from  a 
body  so  tumultuary,  under  the  conduct  of  such  leaders.  They  defeated 
the  nobility  in  several  actions,  which,  though  not  considerable,  were 
extremely  sharp.  They  repulsed  them  in  their  attempts  to  reduce  differ- 
ent towns.  But  the  nobles  by  their  superior  skill  in  war,  and  at  the  head 
of  troops  more  accustomed  to  service,  gained  the  advantage  in  most  of  the 
rencounters.  At  length  .they  were  joined  by  a  body  of  Castilian  cavalry, 
which  the  regents  despatched  towards  Valencia,  soon  after  their  victory 
over  Padilla  at  Villalar,  and  by  their  assistance  the  Valencian  nobles 
acquired  such  superiority  that  they  entirely  broke  and  ruined  the  Ger- 
manada. The  leaders  of  die  party  were  put  to  death  almost  without 
any  formality  of  legal  trial,  and  suffered  such  cruel  punishments  as  the 
sense  of  recent  injuries  prompted  their  adversaries  to  inflict.  The  govern- 
ment of  Valencia  was  re-established  in  its  ancient  form.* 

In  Aragon,  violent  symptoms  of  the  same  spirit  of  disaffection  and  sedi- 
tion which  reigned  in  the  other  kingdoms  of  Spain,  began  to  appear,  but 
by  the  prudent  conduct  of  the  viceroy,  Don  John  de  Lanusa,  they  were 
so  far  composed,  as  to  prevent  their  breaking  out  into  any  open  insurrec- 
tion. But  in  the  island  of  Majorca,  annexed  to  the  crown  of  Aragon,  the 
same  causes  which  had  excited  the  commotion  in  Valencia,  produced 
effects  no  less  violent.  The  people,  impatient  of  the  hardships  which  they 
had  endured  under  the  rigid  jurisdiction  of  the  nobility,  took  arms  in  a 
tumultuary  manner  [March  19,  1521]  ;  deposed  their  viceroy,  drove  him 
out  of  the  island;  and  massacred  every  gentleman  Avho  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  fall  into  their  hands*  The  obstinacy  with  which  the  people  of 
Majorca  persisted  in  their  rebellion,  was  equal  to  the  rage  with  which 
they  began  it.  Many  and  vigorous  efforts  were  requisite  in  order  to  reduce 
them  to  obedience;  and  tranquillity -was  re-established  in  every  part  of 
Spain,  before  the  Majorcans  could  be  brought  to  submit  to  their  sovereign.! 

While  the  spirit  of  disaffection  was  so  general  among  the  Spaniards,  and 

*  Argensola  Annales  de  Aragon,  cap.  75.90.  99.  118.  Paves  Annnles  de  Aragonrcap.  5.  12, 
&c.  P.  Mart.  Kp.  lib.  xixiii.et  x*xiv.  passim  Ferrer.  Ilint.d'Kspagne,  viii. 54-2.  504,  4cc.  T  Argen- 
sola  Annales  de  Aragon,  c.  113.  Ferrer.  Hist.  viii.  543,  .Saves  Annales  de  Arasoo.  c.  7.  11.  14.  7*;. 
31.    Ferreraa  Hint.  d'F..«pagTje,  viii.  579,  &c.  609- 


174  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  .  lif. 

so  many  causes  concurred  in  precipitating  them  into  such  violent  measures, 

in  order  to  obtain  the  redress  of  their  grievances,  it  may  appear  Btrange, 
that   the  maleeontents  in  the  different  kingdoms  should  have  carried  on 

their  operations  without  any  mutual  concert,  or  even  any  intercourse  with 
each  other.  By  uniting  their  councils  and  arms,  they  might  have  acted 
both  with  greater  force  and  with  more  effect.  The  appearance  of  a 
national  confederacy  would  have  rendered  it  no  less  respectable  among 
the  people  than  formidable  to  the  crown  ;  and  the  emperor,  unable  to 
resist  such  a  combination,  must  have  complied  with  any  terms  which  the 
members  of  it  should  have  thought  fit  to  prescribe.  Many  things,  how- 
ever, prevented  the  Spaniards  from  forming  themselves  into  one  body,  and 
pursuing  common  measures.  The  people  of  the  different  kingdoms  in 
.Spain,  though  they  were  become  the  subjects  of  the  same  sovereign, 
retained,  in  lull  force,  their  national  antipathy  to  each  other.  The  remem- 
brance of  their  ancient  rivalship  and  hostilities  was  still  lively,  and  the 
sense  of  reciprocal  injuries  so  strong,  as  to  prevent  them  from  acting  with 
confidence  and  concert.  Each  nation  chose  rather  to  depend  on  its  own 
efforts,  and  to  maintain  the  struggle  alone,  than  to  implore  the  aid  of 
neighbours  whom  they  distrusted  and  hated.  At  the  same  time  the  forms 
of  government  in  the  several  kingdoms  of  Spain  were  so  different,  and  the 
grievances  of  which  they  complained,  as  well  as  the  alterations  and  amend- 
ments in  policy  which  they  attempted  to  introduce,  so  various,  that  it  was 
not  easy  to  bring  them  to  unite  in  any  common  plan.  To  this  disunion 
Charles  was  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  his  Spanish  crowns;  and 
while  each  of  the  kingdoms  followed  separate  measures,  they  were  all 
obliged  at  last  to  conform  to  the  will  of  their  sovereign. 

The  arrival  of  the  emperor  in  Spain  filled  his  subjects  who  had  been  in 
arms  against  him  with  deep  apprehensions,  from  which  he  soon  delivered 
them  by  an  act  of  clemency  no  less  prudent  than  generous.  After  a 
rebellion  so  general,  scarcely  twenty  persons,  among  so  many  criminals 
obnoxious  to  the  law,  had  been  punished  capitally  in  Castile.  Though 
strongly  solicited  by  his  council,  Charles  refused  to  shed  any  more  blood 
by  the  hands  of  the  executioner;  and  published  a  general  pardon  [October 
28],  extending  to  all  crimes  committed  since  the  commencement  of  the 
insurrections,  from  which  only  fourscore  persons  were  excepted.  Even 
these  he  seems  to  have  named,  rather  with  an  intention  to  intimidate 
others,  than  from  any  inclination  to  seize  them;  for  when  an  officious  cour- 
tier offered  to  inform  him  where  one  of  the  most  considerable  among  them 
was  concealed,  he  avoided  it  by  a  good-natured  pleasantry;  "Go,"  says 
he,  "  I  have~  now  no  reason  to  be  afraid  of  that  man,  but  he  has  some  cause 
to  keep  at  a  distance  from  me,  and  you  would  be  better  employed  in 
telling  him  that  I  am  here,  than  in  acquainting  me  with  the  place  of  his 
retreat."*  By  this  appearance  of  magnanimity,  as  well  36  by  his  care  to 
avoid  every  thing  which  had  disgusted  the  Castilians  during  his  former 
residence  among  them;  by  his  address  in  assuming  their  manners,  in 
speaking  their  language,  and  in  complying  with  all  their  humours  and 
customs,  he  acquired  an  ascendant  over  them  which  hardly  any  of  their 
native  monarchs  had  ever  attained,  and  brought  them  to  support  him  in  all 
bis  enterprises  with  a  zeal  and  valour  to  which  he  owed  more  of  his  suc- 
cess and  grandeur.t 

About  the  time  that  Charles  landed  in  Spain,  Adrian  set  out  for  Italy  to 
take  possession  of  his  new  dignity.  But  though  the  Roman  people  longed 
•  xtrcmely  for  his  arrival,  they  could  not,  on  his  first  appearance,  conceal 
their  surprise  and  disappointment.  After  being  accustomed  to  the  princely 
JiiDgnificence  of  Julius,  and  the  elegant  splendour  of  Leo,  they  beheld  with 

*  Sandov.  377,  &c.    Vida  del  Kmper.  Carlo?,  por  Don  Juan      Anton,  de  Vera  y  Zuniea,  p.  30. 
fJlloa  Vita  deCnrloV.p.85. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  175 

contempt  an  old  man  of  an  humble  deportment,  and  of  austere  manners,  an 
oneiny  to  pomp,  destitute  of  taste  in  the  arts,  anil  unadorned  with  any  of 
the  external  accomplishments  which  the  vulgar  expect  in  those  raised  to 
eminent  stations.*  Nor  did  his  political  views  and  maxims  seem  less 
strange  and  astonishing  to  the  pontifical  ministers.  He  acknowledged  and 
bewailed  the  corruptions  which  abounded  in  the  church,  as  well  as  in  the 
court  of  Rome,  and  prepared  to  reform  both ;  he  discovered  no  intention 
of  aggrandizing  his  family;  he  even  scrupled  at  retaining  such  territories 
as  some  of  his  predecessors  had  acquired  by  violence  or  fraud,  rather  than 
by  any  legal  title,  and  for  that  reason  he  invested  Francesco  Maria  de 
Rovere  anew  in  the  dutchy  of  Urbino,  of  which  Leo  had  stripped  him. 
and  surrendered  to  the  duke  of  Ferrara,  several  places  wrested  from  him 
by  the  church. t  To  men  little  habituated  to  see  princes  regulate  their 
conduct  by  the  maxims  of  morality  and  the  principles  of  justice,  these 
actions  of  the  new  pope  appeared  incontestable  proofs  of  his  weakness  or 
inexperience.  Adrian,  who  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  the  complex  and 
intricate  system  of  Italian  politics,  and  who  could  place  no  confidence  in 
persons  whose  subtile  refinements  in  business  suited  so  ill  with  the  natural 
simplicity  and  candour  of  his  own  character,  being  often  embarrassed  and 
irresolute  in  his  deliberations,  the  opinion  of  his  incapacity  daily  increased, 
until  both  his  person  and  government  became  objects  of  ridicule  among 
his  subjects.J 

Adrian,  though  devoted  to  the  emperor,  endeavoured  to  assume  the 
impartiality  which  became  the  common  father  of  Christendom,  and 
laboured  to  reconcile  the  contending  princes*  in  order  that  they  might  unite 
in  a  league  against  Solyman,  whose  conquest  of  Rhodes  rendered  him 
more  formidable  than  ever  to  Europe. 6  But  this  was  an  undertaking  far 
beyond  his  abilities.  To  examine  such  a  variety  of  pretensions,  to  adjust 
such  a  number  of  interfering  interests,  to  extinguish  the  passions  which 
ambition,  emulation,  and  mutual  injuries  had  kindled,  to  bring  so  many 
hostile  powers  to  pursue  the  same  scheme  with  unanimity  and  vigour, 
required  not  only  uprightness  of  intention,  but  great  superiority  both  of 
understanding  and  address.  The  Italian  states  were  no  less  desirous  of 
peace  than  the  pope.  The  Imperial  army  under  Colonna  was  still  kept 
on  foot:  but  as  the  emperor's  revenues  in  Spain,  in  Naples,  and  in  the  Low- 
Countries,  were  either  exhausted  or  applied  to  some  other  purpose,  it 
depended  entirely  for  pay  and  subsistence  on  the  Italians.  A  great  part 
of  it  was  quartered  in  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  monthly  contributions  were 
levied  upon  the  Florentines,  the  Milanese,  the  Genoese,  and  Lucchese,  by 
the  viceroy  of  Naples;  and  though  all  exclaimed  against  such  oppression, 
and  were  impatient  to  be  delivered  from  it,  the  dread  of  worse  conse- 
quences from  the  rage  of  the  army,  or  the  resentment  of  the  emperor, 
obliged  them  to  submit. || 

152-J.]  So  much  regard,  however,  was  paid  to  the  pope's  exhortations, 
and  to  a  bull  which  be  issued,  requiring  all  Christian  princes  to  consent  to 
a  truce  for  three  years,  that  the  Imperial,  the  French,  and  English  ambas- 
sadors at  Rome,  were  empowered  by  their  respective  courts  to  treat  of 
that  matter ;  hut  while  they  wasted  their  time  in  fruitless  negotiations, 
their  masters  continued  their  preparations  for  war.  The  Venetians,  who 
bad  hitherto  adhered  with  great  firmness  to  their  alliance  with  Francis, 
being  now  convinced  that  his  affairs  in  Italy  were  in  a  desperate  situation, 
entered  into  a  league  against  him  with  the  emperor  [June  28]  ;  to  which 
Adrian,  at  the  instigation  of  his  countryman  and  friend  Charles  deLannov. 
viceroy  of  Naples,  who  persuaded  him  that  the  only  obstacles  to  peace 
arose  from  the  ambition  of  the  French  king,  soon  after  acceded.     The 

*  Guic.  I.  xv.  238.    .lovii  \  ite  Adrianl,  177.    Bellefor.  Epltr.desFrinc.  Hi.  f  Guic.  lib  xv 

240.  t  Jov.  Vita  Adr.  118.     F.  Mart.  Kp.  771.    RuscelU  Lettrea  dc  Princ.  vol.  1. 87  06 .101 

fbr.Epitr.p.86.  ||  (J.iir.  i  it. 938. 


176  THE    KEIGN    OF    THE  [Book  III. 

other  Italian  states  followed  their  example  ;  and  Francis  was  left  without 
a  single  ally  to  resist  the  efforts  of  so  many  enemies,  whose  armies  threat- 
ened, and  whose  territories  encompassed,  his  dominions  on  every  side.* 

The  dread  of  this  powerful  confederacy,  it  was  thought,  would  have 
obliged  Francis  to  keep  wholly  on  the  defensive,  or  at  least  have  prevented 
his  entertaining  any  thoughts  of  marching  into  Italy.  But  it  was  the  cha- 
racter of  that  prince,  too  apt  to  become  remiss,  and  even  negligent  on 
ordinary  occasions,  to  rouse  at  the  approach  of  danger,  and  not  only  to 
encounter  it  with  spirit  and  intrepidity,  qualities  which  never  forsook  him, 
but  to  provide  against  it  with  diligence  and  industry.  Before  his  enemies 
were  ready  to  execute  any  of  their  schemes,  Francis  had  assembled  a 
numerous  army.  His  authority  over  his  own  subjects  was  far  greater 
than  that  which  Charles  or  Henry  possessed  over  theirs.  They  depended 
on  their  diets,  their  Cortes,  and  their  parliaments,  for  money,  which  was 
usually  granted  them  in  small  sums,  very  slowly,  and  with  much  reluc- 
tance. The  taxes  he  could  impose  were  more  considerable,  and  levied 
with  greater  despatch  ;  so  that  on  this,  as  well  as  on  other  occasions,  he 
brought  his  armies  into  the  field  while  they  were  only  devising  ways  and 
means  for  raising  theirs.  Sensible  of  this  advantage,  Francis  hoped  to 
disconcert  all  the  emperor's  schemes  by  marching  in  person  into  the  Mi- 
lanese ;  and  this  bold  measure,  the  more  formidable  because  unexpected, 
could  scarcely  have  failed  of  producing  that  effect.  But  when  the  van- 
guard of  his  army  had  already  reached  Lyons,  and  he  himself  was  has- 
tening after  it  with  a  second  division  of  his  troops,  the  discovery  of  a 
domestic  conspiracy,  which  threatened  the  ruin  of  the  kingdom,  obliged 
him  to  stop  short,  and  to  alter  his  measures. 

The  author  of  this  dangerous  plot  was  Charles  duke  of  Bourbon,  lord 
high  constable,  whose  noble  birth,  vast  fortune,  and  high  office,  raised  him 
to  be  the  most  powerful  subject  in  France,  as  his  great  talents,  equally 
suited  to  the  field  or  the  council,  and  his  signal  services  to  the  crown,  ren- 
dered him  the  most  illustrious  and  deserving.  The  near  resemblance 
between  the  king  and  him  in  many  of  their  qualities,  both  being  fond  of 
war,  and  ambitious  to  excel  in  manly  exercises,  as  well  as  their  equality 
in  age,  and  their  proximity  of  blood,  ought  naturally  to  have  secured  to 
him  a  considerable  share  in  that  monarch  s  favour.  But  unhappily  Louise, 
the  king's  mother,  had  contracted  a  violent  aversion  to  the  house  of  Bour- 
bon, for  no  better  reason  than  because  Anne  of  Bretagne,  the  queen  of 
Louis  the  XII.,  with  whom  she  lived  in  perpetual  enmity,  had  discovered 
a  peculiar  attachment  to  that  branch  of  the  royal  family  ;  and  had  taught 
her  son,  who  was  too  susceptible  of  any  impression  which  his  mother 
gave  him,  to  view  all  the  constable's  actions  with  a  mean  and  unbecoming 
jealousy.  His  distinguished  merit  at  the  battle  of  Marignano  had  not 
been  sufficiently  rewarded  ;  he  had  been  recalled  from  the  government  of 
Milan  upon  very  frivolous  pretences,  and  had  met  with  a  cold  reception, 
which  his  prudent  conduct  in  that  difficult  station  did  not  deserve  ;  the 
pa)rment  of  his  pensions  had  been  suspended  without  any  good  cause  ; 
and  during  the  campaign  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-one. 
the  king,  as  has  already  been  related,  had  affronted  him  in  presence  of 
the  whole  army,  by  giving  the  command  of  the  van  to  the  duke  of  Alen- 
con.  The  constable,  at  hrst,  bore  these  indignities  with  greater  modera- 
tion than  could  have  been  expected  from  a  high-spirited  prince,  conscious 
of  what  was  due  to  his  rank  and  to  his  services.  Such  a  multiplicity  ol 
injuries,  however,  exhausted  his  patience  ;  and  inspiring  him  with  thoughts 
oi  revenge,  he  retired  from  court,  and  began  to  hold  a  secret  correspond- 
•  nce  with  some  of  the  emperor's  ministers. 

ibout  that  time  the  duchess  of  Bourbon  happened  to  die  without  leaving 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    \.  1*7 

any  children.  Louise,  of  a  disposition  no  less  amorous  than  vindictive, 
and  still  susceptihle  of  the  tender  passions  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  began 
to  view  the  constable,  a  prince  as  amiable  as  he  was  accomplished,  with 
other  eyes  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  great  disparity  of  their  years,  she 
formed  the  scheme  of  marrying  him.  bourbon,  who  might  have  expected 
every  thing  to  which  an  ambitious  mind  can  aspire,  from  the  doating  fond- 
ness of  a  woman  who  governed  her  son  and  the  kingdom,  being  incapable 
either  of  imitating  the  queen  in  her  sudden  transition  from  hatred  to  love, 
or  of  dissembling  so  meanly  as  to  pretend  affection  for  one  who  had  per- 
secuted him  so  long  with  unprovoked  malice,  not  only  rejected  the  match, 
but  embittered  his  refusal  by  some  severe  raillery  on  Louise's  person  and 
character.  She,  finding  herself  not  only  contemned  but  insulted,  her  dU- 
appointed  love  turned  into  hatred,  and  since  she  could  not  marry,  she 
resolved  to  ruin  Bourbon. 

,  For  this  purpose  she  consulted  with  chancellor  Du  Prat,  a  man  who,  by 
abase  prostitution  of  great  talents  and  of  superior  skill  in  his  profession, 
had  risen  to  that  high  office.  By  his  advice,  a  law-suit  was  commenced 
against  the  constable,  for  the  whole  estate  belonging  to  the  house  of  Bour- 
bon. Part  of  it  was  claimed  in  the  king's  name,  as  having  fallen  to  th?; 
crown  ;  part  in  that  of  Louise,  as  the  nearest  heir  in  blood  of  the  deceased 
duchess.  Both  these  claims  were  equally  destitute  of  any  foundation  in 
justice  ;  but  Louise,  by  her  solicitations  and  authority,  and  Du  Prat,  by 
employing  all  the  artifices  and  chicanery  of  law,  prevailed  on  the  judges' 
to  order  the  estate  to  be  sequestered.  This  unjust  decision  drove  the  con 
stable  to  despair,  and  to  measures  which  despair  alone  could  have  dic- 
tated. He  renewed  his  intrigues  in  the  Imperial  court,  and  flattering  him- 
self that  the  injuries  which  he  had  suffered  would  justify  his  having 
recourse  to  any  means  in  order  to  obtain  revenge,  he  offered  to  transfer 
his  allegiance  from  his  natural  sovereign  to  the  emperor,  and  to  assist  him 
in  the  conquest  of  France.  Charles,  as  well  as  the  king  of  England,  to 
whom  the  secret  was  communicated,*  expecting  prodigious  advantages 
from  his  revolt,  were  ready  to  receive  him  with  open  arms,  and  spared 
neither  promises  nor  allurements  which  might  help  to  confirm  him  in  his 
resolution.  The  emperor  offered  him  in  marriage  his  sister  Eleanor,  the 
widow  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  with  an  ample  portion.  He  was  included 
as  a  principal  in  the  treaty  between  Charles  and  Henry.  The  counties  of 
Provence  and  Dauphine  were  to  be  settled  on  him  with  the  title  of  king. 
The  emperor  engaged  to  enter  France  by  the  Pyrenees  ;  and  Henry,  sup- 
ported by  the  Flemings,  to  invade  Picardy  ;  while  twelve  thousand  Ger- 
mans, levied  at  their  common  charge,  were  to  penetrate  into  Burgundy, 
and  to  act  in  concert  with  Bourbon,  who  undertook  to  raise  six  thousand 
men  among  his  friends  and  vassals  in  the  heart  of  the  kingdom.  The  exe- 
cution of  this  deep-laid  and  dangerous  plot  was  suspended,  until  the  king 
should  cross  the  Alps  with  the  only  army  capable  of  defending  his  domi- 
nions; and  as  he  was  far  advanced  in  his  march  for  that  purpose,  France 
was  on  the  brink  of  destruction.! 

Happily  for  that  kingdom,  a  negotiation  which  had  now  been  carrying 
on  for  several  months,  though  conducted  with  the  most  profound  secrecy, 
and  communicated  only  to  a  few  chosen  confidents,  could  not  altogether 
escape  the  observation  of  the  rest  of  the  constable's  numerous  retainers, 
rendered  more  inquisitive  by  finding  that  they  were  distrusted.  Two  of 
these  gave  the  king  some  intimation  of  a  mysterious  correspondence  be- 
tween their  master  and  the  count  de  Koeux,  a  Flemish  nobleman  of  great 
confidence  with  the  emperor.  Francis,  who  could  not  bring  himself  to 
suspect  that  the  first  prince  of  the  blood  would  be  so  base  as  to  betray  the. 

f  Kvmcr's  Feeder,  xiii.  794.  '  Tbumi  Illflt  lib  i  c,  10     Heutcr.  Iter.  Atutr.  lib.  vjij.  r.  IP, 

.  .„,-._ 

Vol.  II—  23 


178  THE  REIGN  OF   T H E  [Book  111. 

kingdom  to  its  enemies,  immediately  repaired  to  Motilities,  where  the  con- 
stable was  in  bed,  feigning  indisposition  that  he  might  not  be  obliged  to 
accompany  the  king  into  Italy,  and  acquainted  him  of  the  intelligence 
which  he  had  received.  Bourbon,  with  great  solemnity,  and  the  most  im- 
posing affectation  of  ingenuity  and  candour,  asserted  his  own  innocence  ; 
and  as  his  health,  he  said,  was  now  more  contirmed,  he  promised  to  join 
the  army  within  a  few  days.  Francis,  open  and  candid  himself,  and  too 
apt  to  be  deceived  by  the  appearance  of  those  virtues  in  others,  gave  such 
credit  to  what  he  said,  that  he  refused  to  arrest  him,  although  advised  to 
take  that  precaution  by  his  wisest  counsellors ;  and  as  if  the  danger  had 
been  over,  he  continued  his  march  towards  Lyons.  The  constable  set  out 
soon  after  [September],  seemingly  with  an  intention  to  follow  him  ;  but 
turning  suddenly  to  the  left,  he  crossed  the  Rhone,  and  after  infinite  fatigue 
and  peril,  escaped  all  the  parties  which  the  king,  who  became  sensible  too 
late  of  his  own  credulity,  sent  out  to  intercept  him,  and  reached  Italy  in 
safety.* 

Francis  took  every  possible  precaution  to  prevent  the  bad  effects  of  the 
irreparable  error  which  he  had  committed.  He  put  garrisons  in  all  the 
places  of  strength  in  the  constable's  territories.  He  seized  all  the  gentle- 
men whom  he  could  suspect  of  being  his  associates  ;  and  as  he  had  not 
hitherto  discovered  the  whole  extent  of  the  conspirator's  schemes,  nor  knew 
how  far  the  infection  had  spread  among  his  subjects,  he  was  afraid  that 
his  absence  might  encourage  them  to  make  some  desperate  attempt,  and 
for  that  reason  relinquished  his  intention  of  leading  his  army  in  person  into 

Ital7- 

He  did  not,  however,  abandon  his  design  on  the  Milanese,  but  appointed 
Admiral  Bonnivet  to  take  the  supreme  command  in  his  stead,  and  to  march 
into  that  country  with  an  army  thirty  thousand  strong.  Bonnivet  did  not 
owe  this  preferment  to  his  abilities  as  a  general  ;  for  of  all  the  talents 
requisite  to  form  a  great  commander,  he  possessed  only  personal  courage, 
the  lowest  and  the  most  common.  But  he  was  the  most  accomplished 
gentleman  in  the  French  court,  of  agreeable  manners  and  insinuating 
address,  and  a  sprightly  conversation ;  and  Francis,  who  lived  in  great 
familiarity  with  his  courtiers,  was  so  charmed  with  these  qualities,  that  he 
honoured  him  on  all  occasions,  with  the  most  partial  and  distinguishing 
marks  of  his  favour.  He  was,  besides,  the  implacable  enemy  of 
Bourbon ;  and  as  the  king  hardly  knew  whom  to  trust  at  that  juncture, 
he  thought  the  chief  command  could  be  lodged  no  where  so  safely  as 
in  his  hands. 

Colonna,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  defence  of  the  Milanese,  his  own 
conquest,  was  in  no  condition  to  resist  such  a  formidable  army.  He  was 
destitute  of  money  sufficient  to  pay  his  troops,  which  were  reduced  to  a 
small  number,  by  sickness  or  desertion,  and  had,  for  that  reason,  been 
obliged  to  neglect  eveiy  precaution  necessary  for  the  security  of  the 
country.  The  only  plan  which  he  formed  was  to  defend  the  passage  of 
the  river  Tesino  against  the  French  ;  and  as  if  he  had  forgotten  how 
easily  he  himself  had  disconcerted  a  similar  scheme  formed  by  Lautrec. 
he  promised  with  great  confidence  on  its  being  effectual.  But  in  spite  of 
all  his  caution,  it  succeeded  no  better  with  him  than  with  Lautrec.  Bon- 
nivet passed  the  river  without  loss,  at  a  ford  which  had  been  neglected, 
and  the  Imperialists  retired  to  Milan,  preparing  to  abandon  the  town  as 
soon  as  the  French  should  appear  before  it.  By  an  unaccountable  negli- 
gence, which  Guicciardini  imputes  to  infatuation,!  Bonnivet  did  not  advance 
tor  three  or  four  days,  and  lost  the  opportunity  with  which  his  good  fortune 

{iresented  him.     The  citizens  recovered  from  their  consternation  j  Co- 
onna,  still  active  at  the  age  of  fourscore,  and  Morone,  whose  enmity  to 

*  Mem.de  R<'!bv.  o.  64,  &<-..    Paequier  Recherche*  d»  i.t  Fran^.  p.  4-1         J  Gulc.  lib.  tv.  854. 


EMFEROR   CHARLES    V.  179 

France  rendered  him  indefatigable,  were  employed  night  and  day  in 
repairing  the  fortifications,  in  amassing  provisions,  in  collecting  troops  from 
every  quarter ;  and  by  the  time  the  French  approached,  had  put  the  city 
in  a  condition  to  stand  a  siege.  Bonnivet,  after  some  fruitless  attempts  on 
the  town,  which  harassed  his  own  troops  more  than  the  enemy,  was 
obliged,  by  the  inclemency  of  the  season,  to  retire  into  winter  quarters. 

During  these  transactions,  pope  Adrian  died  ;  an  event  so  much  to  the 
'•atislaction  of  the  Roman  people,  whose  hatred  or  contempt  of  him  aug- 
mented every  day,  that  the  night  after  his  decease  they  adorned  the  door 
of  his  chief  physician's  house  with  garlands,  adding  this  inscription,  TO 
THE  DELIVERER  OF  HIS  COUNTRY*  The  cardinal  de  Medici 
instantly  renewed  his  pretensions  to  the  papal  dignity,  and  entered  the 
conclave  with  high  expectations  on  his  own  part,  and  a  general  opinion  of 
the  people  that  they  would  be  successful.  But  though  supported  by  the 
Imperial  faction,  possessed  of  great  personal  interest,  and  capable  of  all 
the  artifices,  refinements,  and  corruption  which  reign  in  those  assemblies, 
the  obstinacy  and  intrigues  of  his  rivals  protracted  the  conclave  to  the 
unusual  length  of  fifty  days.  The  address  and  perseverance  of  the  car- 
dinal at  last  surmounted  every  obstacle.  He  was  raised  to  the  head  of 
the  church  [November  28],  and  assumed  the  government  of  it  by  the 
name  of  Clement  VII.  The  choice  was  universally  approved  of.  High 
expectations  were  conceived  of  a  pope,  whose  great  talents,  and  long  ex- 
perience in  business,  seemed  to  qualify  him  no  less  for  defending  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  church,  exposed  to  imminent  danger  by  the  progress 
of  Luther's  opinions,  than  for  conducting  its  political  operations  with  the 
prudence  requisite  at  such  a  difficult  juncture  ;  and  who,  besides  these 
advantages,  rendered  the  ecclesiastical  state  more  respectable,  by  having 
in  his  hands  the  government  of  Florence,  together  with  the  wealth  of  the 
family  of  Medici. t 

Cardinal  Wolsey,  not  disheartened  by  the  disappointment  of  his  ambi- 
tious views  at  the  former  election,  had  entertained  more  sanguine  hopes  of 
success  on  this  occasion.  Henry  wrote  to  the  emperor,  reminding  him  of 
his  engagements  to  second  the  pretensions  of  his  minister.  Wolsey  be- 
stirred himself  with  activity  suitable  to  the  importance  of  the  prize  for 
which  he  contended,  and  instructed  his  agents  at  Rome  to  spare  neither 
promises  nor  bribes  in  order  to  gain  his  end.  But  Charles  had  either 
amused  him  with  vain  hopes  which  he  never  intended  to  gratify,  or  he" 
judged  it  impolitic  to  oppose  a  candidate  who  had  such  a  prospect  of  suc- 
ceeding as  Medici  ;  or  perhaps  the  cardinals  durst  not  venture  to  provoke 
the  people  of  Rome,  while  their  indignation  against  Adrian's  memory  was 
still  fresh,  by  placing  another  Ultra-montane  on  the  papal  throne.  Wolsey, 
alter  all  his  expectations  and  endeavours,  had  the  mortification  to  see  a  pope 
elected,  of  such  an  age,  and  of  so  vigorous  a  constitution,  that  he  could  not 
derive  much  comfort  to  himself  from  the  chance  of  surviving  him.  This 
second  proof  fully  convinced  Wolsey  of  the  emperor's  insincerity,  and  it 
excited  in  him  all  the  resentment  which  a  haughty  mind  feels  on  being  at 
once  disappointed  and  deceived  ;  and  though  Clement  endeavoured  to 
soothe  his  vindictive  nature  by  granting  him  a  commission  to  be  legate  in 
England  during  life,  with  such  ample  powers  as  vested  in  him  almost  the 
whole  papal  jurisdiction  in  that  kingdom,  the  injury  he  had  now  received 
made  such  an  impression  as  entirely  dissolved  the  tie  which  had  united 
him  to  Charles,  and  from  that  moment  he  meditated  revenge.  It  was 
necessary,  however,  to  conceal  his  intention  from  his  master,  and  to  suspend 
the  execution  of  it,  until,  by  a  dexterous  improvement  of  the  incidents 
which  might  occur,  he  should  be  abl^  gradually  to  alienate  the  king's 
affections  from  the  emperor.     For  this  reason  he  was  so  far  from  express* 

*  JOVll  Vil     V<fr.  131  r.''i:r.  |    R  9Q3 


I8u  iilL  REIGN  ut   THE  [Book HI. 

ing  any  uneasiness  on  account  of  the  repulse  which  he  had  met  with,  that 
he  abounded  on  every  occasion,  private  as  well  as  public,  in  declarations 
of  his  high  satisfaction  with  Clement's  promotion.* 

Henry  had,  during  the  campaign,  fulfilled,  with  great  sincerity,  what- 
ever he  was  bound  to  perform  by  the  league  against  France,  though  more 
slowly  than  he  could  have  wished.  His  thoughtless  profusion,  and  total 
neglect  of  economy,  reduced  him  often  to  great  straits  for  money.  The 
operations  of  war  were  now  carried  on  in  Europe  in  a  manner  very  different 
from  that  which  had  long  prevailed.  Instead  of  armies  suddenly  assem- 
bled, which  under  distinct  chieftains  followed  their  prince  into  the  field  for 
a  short  space,  and  served  at  their  own  cost,  troops  were  now  levied  at 
great  charges,  and  received  regularly  considerable  pay.  Instead  of  impa- 
tience on  both  sides  to  bring  every  quarrel  to  the  issue  of  a  battle,  which 
commonly  decided  the  fate  of  open  countries,  and  allowed  the  barons., 
together  with  their  vassals,  to  return  to  their  ordinary  occupations  ;  towns 
were  fortified  with  great  art,  and  defended  with  much  obstinacy  ;  war, 
from  a  very  simple,  became  a  very  intricate  science  ;  and  campaigns  grew 
of  course  to  be  more  tedious  and  less  decisive.  The  expense  which  these 
alterations  in  the  military  system  necessarily  created,  appeared  intolerable 
to  nations  hitherto  unaccustomed  with  the  burden  of  heavy  taxes.  Hence 
proceeded  the  frugal,  and  even  parsimonious  spirit  of  the  English  parlia- 
ments in  that  age,  which  Henry,  with  all  his  authority,  was  seldom  able 
to  overcome.  The  commons,  having-  refused  at  this  time  to  grant  him  the 
supplies  which  he  demanded,  he  had  recourse  to  tfie  ample  and  almost 
unlimited  prerogative  which  the  kings  of  England  then  possessed,  and  by 
a  violent  and  unusual  exertion  of  it,  raised  the  money  he  wanted.  This, 
however,  wasted  so  much  time,  that  it  was  late  in  the  season  [Sept.  20], 
before  his  army,  under  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  could  take  the  field.  Being 
joined  by  a  considerable  body  of  Flemings,  Suffolk  marched  into  Picardy, 
and  Francis,  from  his  extravagant  eagerness  to  recover  the  Milanese,  having 
left  that  frontier  almost  unguarded,  he  penetrated  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the 
river  Oyse,  within  eleven  leagues  of  Paris,  filling  that  capital  with  con- 
sternation. But  the  arrival  of  .some  troops  detached  by  the  king,  who  was 
still  at  Lyons ;  the  active  gallantry  of  the  French  officers,  who  allowed 
the  allies  no  respite  night  or  day  ;  the  rigour  of  a  most  unnatural  season, 
together  with  scarcity  of  provisions,  compelled  Suffolk  to  retire  [Novem- 
ber] ;  and  La  Tremouille,  who  commanded  in  those  parts,  had  the  glory 
not  only  of  having  checked  the  progress  of  a  formidable  army  with  a 
handful  of  men,  but  of  driving  them  with  ignominy  out  of  the  French 
territories. f 

The  emperor's  attempts  upon  Burgundy  and  Guienne  were  not  more 
fortunate,  though  in  both  these  provinces  Francis  was  equally  unprepared 
to  resist  them.  The  conduct  and  valour  of  his  generals  supplied  his  want 
of  foresight ;  the  Germans,  who  made  an  irruption  into  one  of  these  pro- 
vinces, and  the  Spaniards,  who  attacked  the  other,  were  repulsed  with 
great  disgrace. 

Thus  ended  the  year  1523,  during  which  Francis's  good  fortune  and 
success  had  been  such  as  gave  all  Europe  a  high  idea  of  his  power  and 
resources.  He  had  discovered  and  disconcerted  a  dangerous  conspiracy, 
the  author  of  which  he  had  driven  into  exile,  almost  without  an  attendant  ; 
he  had  rendered  abortive  all  the  schemes  of  the  powerful  confederacy 
formed  against  him  ;  he  had  protected  his  dominions  when  attacked  on 
three  different  sides;  and  though  his  army  in  the  Milanese  had  not  made 
such  progress  as  might  have  been  expected  from  its  superiority  to  the 
enemy  in  number,  he  had  recovered,  and  still  kept  possession  of,  one  hall 
of  that  dutchy. 

*  FMdea's  Life  of  Wolse.v,  494,  See.     Herbert.  (  Herbert.    Mem.de  Bell  v- 13,  *« 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  WI 

1524.]  The  ensuing  year  opened  with  events  more  disastrous  to  France. 
Fontarabia  was  lost  by  the  cowardice  or  treachery  of  its  governor  [Feb. 
27].  In  Italy,  the  allies  resolved  on  an  early  and  vigorous  effort,  in  order 
to  dispossess  Bonnivet  of  that  paitof  the  Milanese  which  lies  beyond  the 
Tesino.  Clement,  who,  under  the  pontificates  of  Leo  and  Adrian,  had 
discovered  an  implacable  enmity  to  France,  began  now  to  view  the  power 
which  the  emperor  was  daily  acquiring  in  Italy,  with  so  much  jealousy, 
that  he  refused  to  accede,  as  his  predecessors  had  done,  to  the  league 
rigainst  Francis,  and  forgetting  private  passions  and  animosities,  laboured, 
■»\  ith  the  zeal  which  became  his  character,  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation 
among  the  contending  parties.  But  all  his  endeavours  were  ineffectual  ; 
a  numerous  army,  to  which  each  of  the  allies  furnished  their  contingent  of 
troops,  was  assembled  at  Milan  by  the  beginning  of  March.  Lannoy,  vice- 
roy of  Naples,  took  the  command  of  it  upon  Colonna's  death,  though  the 
chief  direction  of  military  operations  was  committed  to  Bourbon  and  the 
Marquis  de  Pescara ;  the  latter  the  ablest  and  most  enterprising  of  the 
Imperial  generals  ;  the  former  inspired  by  his  resentment  with  new  acti- 
vity and  invention,  and  acquainted  so  thoroughly  with  the  characters  of  the 
French  commanders,  the  genius  of  their  troops,  and  the  strength  as  well  as 
weakness  of  their  armies,  as  to  be  of  infinite  service  to  the  party  which 
he  had  joined.  But  all  these  advantages  were  nearly  lost  through  the 
emperor  s  inability  to  raise  money  sufficient  for  executing  the  various  and 
extensive  plans  which  he  had  formed.  When  his  troops  were  commanded 
to  march,  they  mutinied  against  their  leaders,  demanding  the  pay  which 
was  due  to  them  for  some  months ;  and  disregarding  both  the  menaces 
and  entreaties  of  their  officers,  threatened  to  pillage  the  city  of  Milan,  if 
they  did  not  instantly  receive  satisfaction.  Out  of  this  difficulty  the  gene- 
rals of  the  allies  were  extricated  by  Morone,  who  prevailing  on  his  coun- 
trymen, over  whom  his  influence  was  prodigious,  to  advance  the  sum  that 
was  requisite,  the  army  took  the  field.* 

Bonnivet  was  destitute  of  troops  to  oppose  this  army,  and  still  more  of 
the  talents  which  could  render  him  an  equal  match  for  its  leaders.  After 
various  movements  and  encounters,  described  with  great  accuracy  by  the 
contemporary  historians,  a  detail  of  which  would  now  be  equally  uninter- 
esting and  uninstructive,  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  strong  camp  in 
which  he  had  intrenched  himself  at  Biagrassa.  Soon  after,  partly  by  his 
own  misconduct,  partly  by  the  activity  of  the  enemy,  who  harassed  and 
ruined  bis  army  by  continual  skirmishes,  while  they  carefully  declined  a 
battle  which  he  often  offered  them  ;  and  partly  by  the  caprice  of  6000 
Swiss,  who  refused  to  join  his  army,  though  within  a  day's  march  of  it ; 
he  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  attempting  a  retreat  into  France,  through 
the  valley  of  Aost.  Just  as  he  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Sessia,  and 
began  to  pass  that  river,  Bourbon  and  Pescara  appeared  with  the  vanguard 
of  the  allies,  and  attacked  his  rear  with  great  fury.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  charge,  Bonnivet,  while  exerting  himself  with  much  valour,  was 
wounded  so  .dangerously ,  that  he  was  obliged  to  quit  the  field;  and  the 
conduct  of  the  rear  was  committed  to  the  chevalier  Bayard,  who,  though 
so  much  a  stranger  to  the  arts  of  a  court  that  he  never  rose  to  the  chief 
command,  was  always  called,  in  times  of  real  danger,  to  the  post  of 
greatest  difficulty  and  importance.  He  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  men  a'  arms,  and  animating  them  by  his  presence  and  example 
to  sustain  the  whole  shock  of  the  enemy's  troops,  he  gained  time  for 
the  rest  of  his  countrymen  to  make  good  their  retreat.  But  in  this  service 
he  received  a  wound  which  he  immediately  perceived  to  be  mortal,  and 
being  unable  to  continue  any  longer  on  horseback,  he  ordered  one  of  his 
attendants  to  place  him  under  a  tree,  with  his  face  towards  the  enemy; 

*  finir.  !.  \v  9CT     TnpHIa  190 


188  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Book III. 

(hen  fifing  his  eyes  on  the  guard  of  his  sword,  which  he  held  up  instead 
of  a  cross,  lit;  addressed  his  prayers  to  God,  and  in  this  posture,  which 
became  Ids  character  both  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  Christian,  he  calmly 
waited  the  approach  of  death'.  Bourbon,  who  led  the  foremost  of  the 
enemy's  troops,  found  him  in  this  situation,  and  expressed  regret  and  pity 
at  the  sight.  "  Pity  not  me,"  cried  the  high-spirited  chevalier,  "1  die  as 
a  man  of  honour  ought,  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty  ;  they  indeed  are 
objects  of  pity,  who  fight  against  their  king,  their  country,  and  their  oath." 
The  Marquis  de  Pescara,  passing  soon  after,  manifested  his  admiration  of 
Bayard's  virtues,  as  well  as  his  sorrow  for  his  fate,  with  the  generosity  of 
a  gallant  enemy  ;  and  finding  that  he  could  not  be  removed  with  safety 
from  that  spot,  ordered  a  tent  to  be  pitched  there,  and  appointed  proper 
persons  to  attend  him.  He  died,  notwithstanding  their  care,  as  his  ances- 
tors for  several  generations  bad  done,  in  the  held  of  battle.  Pescara 
ordered  his  body  to  be  embalmed,  and  sent  to  his  relations ;  and  such  was 
the  respect  paid  to  military  merit  in  that  age,  that  the  duke  of  Savoy  com- 
manded it  to  be  received  with  royal  honours  in  all  the  cities  of  his  domi- 
nions ;  in  Dauphine,  Bayard's  native  country,  the  people  of  all  ranks  came 
out  in  a  solemn  procession  to  meet  it.* 

Bonnivet  led  back  the  shattered  remains  of  his  army  into  France  ;  and 
in  one  short  campaign,  Francis  was  stripped  of  all  he  had  possessed  in 
Italy,  and  left  without  one  ally  in  that  country. 

While  the  war,  kindled  by  the  emulation  ol  Charles  and  Francis,  spread 
over  so  many  countries  of  Europe,  Germany  enjoyed  a  profound  tran- 
quillity, extremely  favourable  to  the  reformation,  which  continued  to  make 
progress  daily.  During  Luther's  confinement  in  his  retreat  at  Wartburg, 
Carlostadius,  one  of  his  disciples,  animated  with  the  same  zeal,  but  pos- 
sessed of  less  prudence  and  moderation  than  his  master,  began  to  propagate, 
wild  and  dangerous  opinions,  chiefly  among  the  lower  people.  Encouraged 
by  his  exhortations,  they  rose  in  several  villages  of  Saxony,  broke  into  the 
churches  with  tumultuary  violence,  and  threw  down  and  destroyed  the 
images  with  which  they  were  adorned.  Those  irregular  and  outrageous 
proceedings  were  so  repugnant  to  all  the  elector's  cautious  maxims,  that, 
if  they  had  not  received  a  timely  check,  they  could  hardly  have  failed 
of  alienating  from  the  reformers  a  prince,  no  less  jealous  of  his  own 
authority,  than  afraid  of  giving  offence  to  the  emperor,  and  other  patrons 
of  the  ancient  opinions.  Luther,  sensible  of  the  danger,  immediately 
quitted  his  retreat,  without  waiting  for  Frederic's  permission,  and  returned 
to  VVittemberg  [March  6,  1522].  Happily  for  the  reformation,  the  vene- 
ration for  his  person  and  authority  was  still  so  great,  that  his  appearance 
alone  suppressed  that  spirit  of  extravagance  which  began  to  seize  his 
party.  Carlostadius  and  his  fanatical  followers,  struck  dumb  by  his  rebukes, 
submitted  at  once,  and  declared  that  they  heard  the  voice  of  an  angel,  not 
of  a  man.t 

Before  Luther  left  his  retreat,  he  had  begun  to  translate  the  Bible  into 
the  German  tongue,  an  undertaking  of  no  less  difficulty  than  importance, 
of  which  he  was  extremely  fond  ;  and  for  which  he  was  well  qualified  : 
he  had  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  original  languages  ;  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  style  and  sentiments  of  the  inspired  writers  ;  and 
though  his  compositions  in  Latin  were  rude  and  barbarous,  he  was  reckoned 
a  great  master  of  the  purity  of  his  mother  tongue,  and  could  express  him- 
self with  all  the  elegance  of  which  it  is  capable.  By  his  own  assiduous 
application,  together  with  the  assistance  of  Melancthon  and  several  other 
of  his  disciples,  he  finished  part  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  year  1522  ; 
and  the  publication  of  it  proved  more  fatal  to  the  church  of  Rome,  than 

•  Bclltlor.  Eiiitr.  p.  7:1.    Mem.  de  Bcllay,  "5.    CEuv  de  Brant,  torn.  vi.  108.  &r.     rrtsqnior  Rechei 
ches,  p.  .Wfi  t  Sleid.  Hiflt.  5L     St'ckend.  195 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  183 

that  of  all  his  own  works.  It  was  read  with  wonderful  avidity  and 
attention  by  persons  of  eveiy  rank.  They  were  astonished  at  discovering 
how  contrary  the  precepts  of  the  Author  of  our  religion  are,  to  the  inven- 
tions of  those  priests  who  pretended  to  be  his  vicegerents;  and  having 
now  in  their  hand  the  rule  of  faith,  they  thought  themselves  qualified,  by 
applying  it,  to  judge  of  the  established  opinions,  and  to  pronounce  when 
they  were  conformable  to  the  standard,  or  when  they  departed  from  it. 
The  great  advantages  arising  from  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible. 
encouraged  the  advocates  for  reformation,  in  the  other  countries  of  Europe, 
1o  imitate  his  example,  and  to  publish  versions  of  the  Scriptures  in  their 
respective  languages. 

About  (his  time,  Nuremberg,  Frankfort,  Hamburg,  and  several  other 
free  cities  in  Germany,  of  the  first  rank,  openly  embraced  the  reformed 
religion,  and  by  the  authority  of  their  magistrates  abolished  the  mass,  and 
the  other  superstitious  rites  of  popery.*  The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  the 
dukes  of  Brunswick  and  Lunenburg,  and  prince  of  Anhalt,  became  avowed 
patrons  of  Luther's  opinions,  and  countenanced  the  preaching  of  them 
among  their  subjects. 

The  court  of  Rome  beheld  this  growing  defection  with  great  concern  ; 
and  Adrian's  first  care  after  his  arrival  in  Italy,  had  been  to  deliberate 
with  the  cardinals,  concerning  the  proper  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  it. 
He  was  profoundly  skilled  in  scholastic  theology,  and  having  been  early 
celebrated  on  that  account,  he  still  retained  such  an  excessive  admiration 
of  the  science  to  which  he  was  first  indebted  for  his  reputation  and  success 
in  life,  that  he  considered  Luther's  invectives  against  the  schoolmen,  par- 
ticularly Thomas  Aquinas,  as  little  less  than  blasphemy.  All  the  tenets 
of  that  doctor  appeared  to  him  so  clear  and  irrefragable,  that  he  supposed 
every  person  who  called  in  question  or  contradicted  them,  to  be  either 
blinded  by  ignorance,  or  to  be  acting  in  opposition  to  the  conviction  of 
his  own  mind :  Of  course,  no  pope  was  ever  more  bigoted  or  inflexible 
with  regard  to  points  of  doctrine  than  Adrian  ;  he  not  only  maintained 
them  as  Leo  had  done,  because  they  were  ancient,  or  because  it  was  dan- 
gerous for  the  church  to  allow  of  innovations,  but  he  adhered  to  them  with 
the  zeal  of  a  theologian,  and  with  the  tenaciousness  of  a  disputant.  At 
the  same  time  his  own  manners  being  extremely  simple,  and  uninfected 
with  any  of  the  vices  which  reigned  in  the  court  of  Rome,  he  was  as  sen- 
sible of  its  corruptions  as  the  reformers  themselves,  and  viewed  them  with 
no  less  indignation.  The  brief  which  he  addressed  to  the  diet  of  the  em- 
l>irc  assembled  at  Nuremberg  [November,  1522],  and  the  instructions 
which  he  gave  Cheregato,  the  nuncio  whom  he  sent  thither,  were  framed 
agreeably  to  these  views.  On  the  one  hand,  he  condemned  Luther's 
opinions  with  more  asperity  and  rancour  of  expression  than  Leo  had  ever 
used  ;  he  severely  censured  the  princes  of  Germany  for  suffering  him  to 
spread  his  pernicious  tenets,  by  their  neglecting  to  execute  the  edict  of 
the  diet  at  Worms,  and  required  them,  if  Luther  did  not  instantly  retract 
his  errors,  to  destroy  him  with  fire  as  a  gangrened  and  incurable  member, 
in  like  manner  as  Dathan  and  Abiram  had  been  cut  off  by  Moses,  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  by  the  apostles,  and  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  by 
their  ancestors.!  On  the  other  hand,  he  with  great  candour,  and  in  the 
most  explicit  terms,  acknowledged  the  corruptions  of  the  Roman  court  to 
be  the  source  from  which  had  flowed  most  of  the  evils  that  the  church 
now  felt  or  dreaded  ;  he  promised  to  exert  all  bis  authority  towards 
reforming  these  abuses,  with  as  much  despatch  as  the  nature  and  inveteracy 
of  the  disorders  would  admit ;  and  he  requested  of  them  to  give  him  their 
advice  with  regard  to  the  most  effectual  means  of  suppressing  that  new 
heresy  which  had  sprung  up  among  them.| 

*  f-VrkoTiJ.  241      Chvlif  I  Ointi'i.  Knmtzil,  S03.  *  F.w-c.  Ber.  expot.  &  fnficnd.  34.5 

i  Ibid.  345. 


184  THE   Kj:H.N    UF    THE  [Book  Hi. 

The  members  of  the  diet,  after  praising  Ihe  pope's  pious  and  laudable 
intentions,  excused  themselves  from  not  executing  the  edict  of  Worms,  by 
alleging  that  the  prodigious  increase  of  Luther's  followers,  as  well  as  the 
aversion  to  the  court  of  Rome  among  their  other  subjects  on  account  of 
it-  innumerable  exactions,  rendered  such  an  attempt  not  only  dangerous, 
but  impossible.  They  affirmed  that  the  grievances  of  Germany,  which 
did  not  arise  from  imaginary  injuries,  but  from  impositions  no  less  real 
than  intolerable,  as  his  holiness  would  learn  from  a  catalogue  of  them 
which  they  intended  to  lay  before  him,  called  now  for  some  new  and  effi- 
cacious remedy ;  and  in  their  opinion,  the  only  remedy  adequate  to  the 
disease,  or  which  afforded  them  any  hopes  of  seeing  the  church  restored 
to  soundness  and  vigour,  was  a  general  council.  Such  a  council,  there- 
fore, they  advised  him,  after  obtaining  the  emperor's  consent,  to  assemble 
without  delay  in  one  of  the  great  cities  in  Germany,  that  all  whv.  had  right 
to  be  present  might  deliberate  with  freedom,  and  propose  their  opinions 
with  such  boldness,  as  the  dangerous  situation  of  religion  at  this  juncture 
required.* 

The  nuncio,  more  artful  than  his  master,  and  better  acquainted  with 
the  political  views  and  interests  of  the  Roman  court,  was  startled  at  the 
proposition  of  a  council  ;  and  easily  foresaw  how  dangerous  such  an  assem- 
bly might  prove,  at  a  time  when  many  openly  denied  the  papal  authority, 
and  the  reverence  and  submission  yieided  to  it  visibly  declined  among  all. 
For  that  reason  he  employed  his  utmost  address  in  order  to  prevail  on 
the  members  of  the  diet  to  proceed  themselves  with  greater  severity 
against  the  Lutheran  heresy,  and  to  relinquish  their  proposal  concerning  a 
general  council  to  be  held  in  Germany.  They,  perceiving  the  nuncio  to 
be  more  solicitous  about  the  interest  of  the  Roman  court,  than  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  empire,  or  purity  of  the  church,  remained  inflexible,  and 
continued  to  prepare  the  catalogue  of  their  grievances  to  be  presented  to 
the  pope.t  'The  nuncio,  that  he  might  not  be  the  bearer  of  a  remonstrance 
so  disagreeable  to  his  court,  left  Nuremberg  abruptly,  without  taking  leave 
of  the  diet.l 

The  secular  princes  accordingly,  for  the  ecclesiastics,  although  they 
gave  no  opposition,  did  not  think  it  decent  to  join  with  them,  drew  up  the 
list  (so  famous  in  the  German  annals]  of  a  hundred  grievances,  which  the 
empire  imputed  to  the  iniquitous  dominion  of  the  papal  see.  This  list 
contained  grievances  much  of  the  same  nature  with  that  prepared  under 
the  reign  of  Maximilian.  It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  each  of  them ; 
they  complained  of  the  sums  exacted  for  dispensations,  absolutions,  and 
indulgences ;  of  the  expense  arising  from  the  law-suits  carried  by  appeal 
to  Rome  ;  of  the  innumerable  abuses  occasioned  by  reservations,  com- 
mendams,  and  annates  ;  of  the  exemption  from  civil  jurisdiction  which 
the  clergy  had  obtained ;  of  the  arts  by  which  they  brought  all  secular 
causes  under  the  cognizance  of  the  ecclesiastical  judges ;  of  the  indecent 
and  profligate  lives  which  not  a  few  of  the  clergy  led;  and  of  various 
other  particulars,  many  of  which  have  already  been  mentioned,  among  the 
circumstances  that  contributed  to  the  favourable  reception,  or4o  the  quick 
progress  of  Luther's  doctrines.  In  the  end  they  concluded,  that  if  the 
holy  see  did  not  speedily  deliver  them  from  those  intolerable  burdens, 
they  had  determined  to  endure  them  no  longer,  and  would  employ  the 
power  and  authority  with  which  God  had  intrusted  them,  in  order  to 
procure  relief.^ 

Instead  of  such  severities  against  Luther  and  his  followers  as  the  nuncio 
had  recommended,  the  recess  or  edict  of  the  diet  [March  6,1623]  contain- 
ed only  a  general  injunction  to  all  ranks  of  men  to  wait  with  patience  for 
tin   lit  terminations  of  the  council  which  was  to  be  assembled,  and  in  th<; 

'  Fascic.  Bet.  expat,  &  tVmi.nrt.  34G.        '  \\M.  349.        J  H>id.  376.        ft  Ibid.  354, 


EMPEROR   UlIAREES   \.  llio 

mean  time  not  to  publish  any  new  opinions  contrary  to  the  established 
doctrines  of  the  church  ;  together  with  an  admonition  to  all  preachers  to 
abstain  trom  matters  of  controversy  in  their  discourses  to  the  people,  and 
to  confine  themselves  to  the  plain  and  instructive  truths  of  religion.* 

The  reformers  derived  great  advantage  from  the  transactions  of  this 
diet,  as  they  afforded  them  the  fullest  and  most  authentic  evidence  that 
gross  corruptions  prevailed  in  the  court  of  Rome,  and  that  the  empire  was 
loaded  by  the  clergy  with  insupportable  burdens.  With  regard  to  the 
former,  they  had  now  the  testimony  of  the  pope  himself,  that  their  invec- 
tives and  accusations  were  not  malicious  or  ill-founded.  As  to  the  latter, 
the  representatives  of  the  Germanic  body,  in  an  assembly  where  the 
patrons  of  the  new  opinions  were  far  from  being  the  most  numerous  or 
powerful,  had  pointed  out  as  the  chief  grievances  of  the  empire,  those 
very  practices  of  the  Romish  church  against  which  Luther  and  his  disci- 
ples were  accustomed  to  declaim.  Accordingly,  in  all  their  controversial 
writings  after  this  period,  they  often  appealed  to  Adrian's  declaration,  and 
to  the  hundred  grievances,  in  confirmation  of  whatever  they  advanced 
concerning  the  dissolute  manners,  or  insatiable  ambition  and  rapaciousness. 
of  the  papal  court. 

At  Rome,  Adrian's  conduct  was  considered  as  a  proof  of  the  most  child- 
ish simplicity  and  imprudence.  Men  trained  up  amidst  the  artifices  and 
corruptions  of  the  papal  court,  and  accustomed  to  judge  of  actions  not  by 
what  was  just,  but  by  what  was  useful,  were  astonished  at  a  pontiff,  who, 
departing  from  the  wise  maxims  of  his  predecessors,  acknowledged  disor- 
ders which  he  ought  to  have  concealed ;  and  forgetting  his  own  dignity, 
asked  advice  of  those  to  whom  he  was  entitled  to  prescribe.  By  such  an 
excess  of  impolitic  sincerity,  they  were  afraid  that,  instead  of  reclaiming 
the  enemies  of  the  church,  he  would  render  them  more  presumptuous,  and 
instead  of  extinguishing  heresy,  would  weaken  the  foundations  of  the 
papal  power,  or  stop  the  chief  sources  from  which  wealth  flowed  into  the 
church. t  For  this  reason  the  cardinals  and  other  ecclesiastics  of  greatest 
eminence  in  the  papal  court  industriously  opposed  all  his  schemes  of  re- 
formation, and  by  throwing  objections  and  difficulties  in  his  way,  endea- 
voured to  retard  or  to  defeat  the  execution  of  them.  Adrian,  amazed,  on 
the  one  hand,  at  the  obstinacy  of  the  Lutherans,  disgusted,  on  the  other, 
with  the  manners  and  maxims  of  the  Italians,  and  finding  himself  unable 
to  correct  either  the  one  or  the  other,  often  lamented  his  own  situation, 
and  often  looked  back  with  pleasure  on  that  period  of  his  life  when  he 
was  only  dean  of  Louvain,  a  more  humble  but  happier  station,  in  which 
little  was  expected  from  him,  and  there  was  nothing  to  frustrate  his  good 
intentions.^ 

Clement  VII.,  his  successor,  excelled  Adrian  as  much  in  the  arts  of 
government,  as  he  was  inferior  to  him  in  purity  of  life,  or  uprightness  of 
intention.  He  was  animated  not  only  with  the  aversion  which  all  popes 
naturally  bear  to  a  council,  but  havfng  gained  his  own  election  by  means 
very  uncanonical,  he  was  afraid  of  an  assembly  that  might  subject  it  to  a 
scrutiny  which  it  could  not  stand.  He  determined,  therefore,  by  every 
possible  means  to  elude  the  demands  of  the  Germans,  both  with  respect 
to  the  calling  of  a  council,  and  reforming  abuses  in  the  papal  court,  which 
the  rashness  and  incapacity  of  his  predecessor  had  brought  upon  him. 
For  this  purpose  he  made  choice  of  cardinal  Campeggio,  an  artful  man, 
often  intrusted  by  his  predecessors  with  negotiations  ot  importance,  as  his 
nuncio  to  the  diet  of  the  empire  assembled  again  at  Nuremberg. 

Campeggio,  without  taking  any  notice  of  what  had  passed  in  the  last 
meeting,  exhorted  the  diet  [February],  in  a  long  discourse,  to  execute  the 

•  Fasrio.  fU-r.  rxpot.  &.  tufiend.  3le  *  F.  P?.nl.  Hist  of  ComiO.  p.  26>.     P?.llavic.  Higt.  S» 

'  Juvii  Vit.  Adr.  p.  118. 
Vor,.  II.— 24 


186  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  IV. 

edict  of  Worms  with  vigour,  as  the  only  effectual  means  of  suppressing 
Lut  er's  doctrines.  The  diet,  in  return,  desired  to  know  the  pope  s  inten- 
tions concerning  the  council,  and  the  redress  of  the  hundred  grievances. 
The  former,  the  nuncio  endeavoured  to  elude  by  general  and  unmeaning 
declarations  of  the  pope's  resolution  to  pursue  such  measures  as  would  be 
for  the  greatest  good  of  the  church-  With  regard  to  the  latter,  as  Adrian 
was  dead  before  the  catalogue  of  grievances  reached  Rome,  and  of  con- 
sequence it  had  not  been  regularly  laid  before  the  present  pope,  Campeg- 
gio  took  advantage  of  this  circumstance  to  decline  making  any  definitive 
answer  to  them  in  Clement's  name ;  though,  at  the  same  time,  he  observed 
that  their  catalogue  of  grievances  contained  many  particulars  extremely 
indecent  and  undutiful,  and  that  the  publishing  it  by  their  own  authority 
was  highly  disrespectful  to  the  Roman  see.  In  the  end  he  renewed  his 
demand  of  their  proceeding  with  vigour  against  Luther  and  his  adherents. 
But  though  an  ambassador  from  the  emperor,  who  was  at  that  time  very 
solicitous  to  gain  the  pope,  warmly  seconded  the  nuncio,  with  many  pro- 
fessions of  his  master's  zeal  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  papal  see. 
the  recess  of  the  diet  [April  IS]  was  conceived  in  terms  of  almost  the  same 
import  with  the  former,  without  enjoining  any  additional  severity  against 
Luther  and  his  party.* 

Before  he  left  Germany,  Campeggio,  in  order  to  amuse  and  soothe  the 
people,  published  certain  articles  tor  the  amendment  of  some  disorders 
and  abuses  which  prevailed  among  the  inferior  clergy  ;  but  this  partial 
reformation,  which  fell  so  far  short  of  the  expectations  of  the  Lutherans, 
and  of  the  demands  of  the  diet,  gave  no  satisfaction,  and  produced  little 
effect.  The  nuncio,  with  a  cautious  hand,  tenderly  lopped  a  few  branches ; 
the  Germans  aimed  a  deeper  blow,  and  by  striking  at  the  root  wished  to 
exterminate  the  evil.t 


BOOK  IV. 


The  expulsion  of  the  French,  both  out  of  the  Milanese  and  the  republic 
of  Genoa,  was  considered  by  the  Italians  as  the  termination  of  the  war 
between  Charles  and  Francis ;  and  as  they  began  immediately  to  be 
apprehensive  of  the  emperor,  when  they  saw  no  power  remaining  in  Italy 
capable  either  to  control  or  oppose  him,  they  longed  ardently  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  peace.  Having  procured  the  restoration  of  Sforza  to  his 
paternal  dominions,  which  had  been  their  chief  motive  for  entering  into 
confederacy  with  Charles,  they  plainly  discovered  their  intention  to  con- 
tribute no  longer  towards  increasing  the  emperor's  superiority  over  his 
rival,  which  was  already  become  the  object  ot  their  jealousy.  The  pope 
especially,  whose  natural  timidity  increased  his  suspicions  of  Charles's  de- 
signs, endeavoured  by  his  remonstrances  to  inspire  him  with  moderation 
and  incline  him  to  peace. 

But  the  emperor,  intoxicated  with  success,  and  urged  on  by  his  own 
ambition,  no  less  than  by  Bourbon's  desire  of  revenge,  contemned  Clement's 
admonitions,  and  declared  his  resolution  of  ordering  his  army  to  pass  the 
Alps,  and  to  invade  Provence,  a  part  ot  his  rival's  dominions,  where,  as  he 
least  dreaded  an  attack,  he  was  least  prepared  to  resist  it.  His  most  ex- 
perienced ministers  dissuaded  him  from  undertaking  such  an  enterprise 
with  a  feeble  army,  and  an  exhausted  treasury  :  but  he  relied  so  much  on 
having  obtained  the  concurrence  of  the  king  of  England,  and  on  the  hopes 

•  Secfcend.286.    Sleid.'Hlrt.  6«.       t  Fecund.  29?. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  187 

which  Bourbon,  with  the  confidence  and  credulity  natural  to  exiles,  enter- 
tained of  being  joined  by  a  numerous  body  of  his  partisans  as  soon  as  the 
Imperial  troops  should  enter  France,  that  he  persisted  obstinately  in  the 
measure.  Henry  undertook  to  furnish  a  hundred  thousand  ducats  towards 
defraying  the  expense  of  the  expedition  during  the  first  month,  and  had  it 
in  his  choice  either  to  continue  the  payment  of  that  sum  monthly,  or  to 
invade  Picardy  before  the  end  of  July  with  an  army  capable  of  acting 
with  vigour.  The  emperor  engaged  to  attack  Guienne  at  the  same  time 
with  a  considerable  body  of  men ;  and  if  these  enterprises  proved  suc- 
cessful, they  agreed,  that  Bourbon,  besides  the  territories  which  he  had 
lost,  should  beput  in  possession  of  Provence,  with  the  title  of  king,  and 
should  do  homage  to  Henry,  as  the  lawful  king  of  France,  for  his  new 
dominions.  Of  all  the  parts  of  this  extensive  but  extravagant  project,  the 
invasion  of  Provence  was  the  only  one  which  was  executed.  For  although 
Bourbon,  with  a  scrupulous  delicacy,  altogether  unexpected  after  the  part 
which  he  had  acted,  positively  refused  to  acknowledge  Henry's  title  to  the 
crown  of  France,  and  thereby  absolved  him  from  any  obligation  to  promote 
the  enterprise,  Charles's  eagerness  to  carry  his  own  plan  into  execution  did 
not  in  any  degree  abate.  The  army  which  he  employed  for  that  purpose 
amounted  only  to  eighteen  thousand  men ;  the  command  of  which  wa> 
given  to  the  marquis  de  Pescara,  with  instructions  to  pay  the  greatest  de- 
ference to  Bourbon's  advice  in  all  his  operations.  Pescara  passed  the  Alps 
without  opposition,  and  entering  Provence  [August  19],  laid  siege  to  Mar- 
seilles. Bourbon  had  advised  him  rather  to  march  towards  Lyons,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  which  city  his  territories  were  situated,  and  where  of 
course  his  influence  was  most  extensive  ;  but  the  emperor  was  so  desirous 
to  get  possession  of  a  port,  which  would  at  all  times  secure  him  an  easy 
entrance  into  France,  that  by  his  authority  he  overruled  the  constable's 
opinion,  and  directed  Pescara  to  make  the  reduction  of  Marseilles  his  chief 
object.* 

Francis,  who  foresaw,  but  was  unable  to  prevent  this  attempt,  took  the 
most  proper  precautions  to  defeat  it.  He  laid  waste  the  adjacent  country, 
in  order  to  render  it  more  difficult  for  the  enemy  to  subsist  their  army ;  he 
razed  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  strengthened  its  fortifications,  and  threw  into 
it  a  numerous  garrison  under  the  command  of  brave  and  experienced 
officers.  To  these,  nine  thousand  of  the  citizens,  whom  their  dread  of  the 
Spanish  yoke  inspired  with  contempt  of  danger,  joined  themselves  ;  by 
their  united  courage  and  industry,  all  the  efforts  of  Pescara's  military  skill, 
and  of  Bourbon's  activity  and  revenge,  were  rendered  abortive.  Francis, 
meanwhile,  had  leisure  to  assemble  a  powerful  army  under  the  walls  ot 
Avignon,  and  no  sooner  began  to  advance  towards  Marseilles,  than  the  Im- 
perial troops,  exhausted  by  the  fatigues  of  a  siege  which  had  lasted  forty 
days,  weakened  by  diseases,  and  almost  destitute  of  provisions,  retired 
[Sept.  19]  with  precipitation  towards  Italy 4 

If,  during  these  operations  of  the  army  in  Provence,  either  Charles  or 
Henry  had  attacked  France  in  the  manner  which  they  had  projected,  that 
kingdom  must  have  been  exposed  to  the  most  imminent  danger.  But  on 
this,  as  well  as  on  many  other  occasions,  the  emperor  found  that  the  extent 
of  his  revenues  was  not  adequate  to  the  greatness  of  his  schemes,  or  the 
ardour  of  his  ambition  ;  and  the  want  of  money  obliged  him,  though  with 
much  reluctance,  to  circumscribe  his  plan,  and  to  leave  part  of  it  unexe- 
cuted. Henry,  disgusted  at  Bourbon's  refusing  to  recognise  his  right  to  the 
crown  of  France  ;  alarmed  at  the  motions  of  the  Scots,  whom  the  solicita- 
tions of  the  French  king  had  persuaded  to  march  towards  the  borders  of 
England  ;  and  no  longer  incited  by  his  minister,  who  was  become  extremely 

'Guic.  I  xv.  273.  fcc.  M™.  do  BHIav.  p.  80.       +  fiuic.1.  xv  277.  Ulloa  Vita  doll  Parln  V.p.O?. 


188  THE   REIGIv    OF   THE  [Book  IV. 

cool  with  regard  to  all  the  emperor's  interests,  took  DO  measures  to  support 
an  enterprise,  of  which,  as  of  all  new  undertakings,  he  had  been  at  first  ex- 
cessively fond.* 

If  the  king  of  France  had  been  satisfied  with  having  delivered  his  sub- 
jects from  this  formidable  invasion,  if  he  had  thought  it  enough  to  show  all 
Europe  the  facility  with  which  the  internal  strength  of  his  dominion-  enabled 
him  to  resist  the  invasion  of  a  foreign  enemy,  even  when  seconded  by  the 
abilities  and  powerful  eflbrts  of  a  rebellious  subject,  the  campaign,  not- 
withstanding the  loss  of  the  Milanese,  would  have  been  far  from  ending 
ingloriously.  But  Francis,  animated  with  courage  more  becoming  a  soldier 
than  a  general ;  pushed  on  by  ambition,  enterprising  rather  than  considerate : 
and  too  apt  to  be  elated  with  success ;  was  fond  of  every  undertaking  that 
seemed  bold  and  adventurous.  Such  an  undertaking,  the  situation  of  his 
affairs,  at  that  juncture,  naturally  presented  to  his  view.  He  had  under  his 
command  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  best  appointed  armies  France  had 
ever  brought  into  the  field,  which  he  could  not  think  of  disbanding  without 
having  employed  it  in  any  active  service.  The  Imperial  troops  had  been 
obliged  to  retire  almost  ruined  by  hard  duty,  and  disheartened  with  ill 
success ;  the  Milanese  had  been  left  altogether  without  defence ;  it  was 
not  impossible  to  reach  that  country  before  Pescara,  with  his  shattered 
forces,  could  arrive  there  ;  or  if  fear  should  add  speed  to  their  retreat,  they 
were  in  no  condition  to  make  head  against  his  fresh  mid  numerous  troops  ; 
and  Milan  would  now,  as  in  former  instances,  submit  without  resistance  to 
a  bold  invader.  These  considerations,  which  were  not  destitute  of  plausi- 
bility, appeared  to  his  sanguine  temper  to  be  of  the  utmost  weight.  In  vain 
did  his  wisest  ministers  and  generals  represent  to  him  the  danger  of  taking 
the  field  at  a  season  so  far  advanced,  with  an  army  composed  chiefly  of 
Swiss  and  Germans,  to  whose  caprices  he  would  be  subject  in  all  his  opera- 
tions, and  on  whose  fidelity  his  safety  must  absolutely  depend.  In  vain 
did  Louise  of  Savoy  advance  by  hasty  journeys  towards  Provence,  that  she 
might  exert  all  her  authority  in  dissuading  her  son  from  such  a  rash  enter- 
prise. Francis  disregarded  the  remonstrances  of  his  subjects  ;  and  that  he 
might  save  himself  the  pain  of  an  interview  with  his  mother,  whose  counsels 
he  had  determined  to  reject,  he  began  his  march  before  her  arrival ;  ap- 
pointing her,  however,  by  way  of  atonement  lor  that  neglect,  to  be  regent 
of  the  kingdom  during  his  absence.  Bonnivet,  by  his  persuasions,  contri- 
buted not  a  little  to  confirm  Francis  in  this  resolution.  That  favourite, 
who  strongly  resembled  his  master  in  all  the  defective  parts  of  his  character, 
was  led,  by  his  natural  impetuosity,  warmly  to  approve  of  such  an  enter- 
prise ;  and  being  prompted  besides  by  his  impatience  to  revisit  a  Milanese 
lady,  of  whom  he  had  been  deeply  enamoured  during  his  late  expedition, 
he  is  said,  by  his  flattering  descriptions  of  her  beauty  and  accomplishments, 
to  have  inspired  Francis,  who  was  extremely  susceptible  of  such  passions, 
with  an  equal  desire  of  seeing  her.f 

The  French  passed  the  Alps  at  Mount  Cenis ;  and  as  their  success  de- 
pended on  despatch,  they  advanced  with  the  greatest  diligence.  Pescara, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  take  a  longer  and  more  difficult  route  by  Monaco 
and  Final,  was  soon  informed  of  their  intention ;  and  being  sensible  that 
nothing  but  the  presence  of  his  troops  could  save  the  Milanese,  marched 
with  such  rapidity,  that  he  reached  Alva  on  the  same  day  that  the  French 
arrived  at  Vercelli.  Francis,  instructed  by  Bonnivet's  error  in  the  former 
campaign,  advanced  directly  towards  Milan,  where  the  unexpected  ap- 
proach of  an  enemy  so  powerful  occasioned  such  a  consternation  and  dis- 
order, that  although  Pescara  entered  the  city  with  some  of  his  best  troops, 
he  found  that  the  defence  of  it  could  not  be  undertaken  with  any  probability 

•  FidriVs's  Life  of  Wolsey.  Append.  No.  70,  71,  72.         f  Oeuvr.  d*  Brant,  torn.  vi.  <2!K 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  189 

01  success  ;  and  having  thrown  a  garrison  into  the  citadel,  retired  through 
one  gate,  while  the  French  were  admitted  at  another.* 

These  brisk  motions  of  the  French  monarch  disconcerted  all  the  schemes 
of  defence  which  the  Imperialists  had  formed.  Never,  indeed,  did  generals 
attempt  to  oppose  a  formidable  invasion  under  such  circumstances  of  disad- 
vantage. Though  Charles  possessed  dominions  more  extensive  than  any 
other  prince  in  Europe,  and  had,  at  this  time,  no  other  army  but  that  which 
was  employed  in  Lombardy,  which  did  not  amount  to  sixteen  thousand 
men,  his  prerogative  in  all  his  different  states  was  so  limited,  and  his  sub- 
jects, without  whose  consent  he  could  raise  no  taxes,  discovered  such  un- 
willingness to  burden  themselves  with  new  or  extraordinary  impositions, 
that  even  this  small  body  of  troops  was  in  want  of  pay,  of  ammunition,  of 
provisions,  and  of  clothing.  In  such  a  situation,  it  required  all  the  wisdom 
of  Lannoy,  the  intrepidity  of  Pescara,  and  the  implacable  resentment  of 
Bourbon,  to  preserve  them  from  sinking  under  despair,  and  to  inspire  them 
with  resolution  to  attempt,  or  sagacity  to  discover,  what  was  essential  to 
their  safety.  To  the  efforts  of  their  genius,  and  the  activity  of  their  zeal, 
the  emperor  was  more  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  his  Italian  dominions 
than  to  his  own  power.  Lannoy,  by  mortgaging  the  revenues  of  Naples, 
procured  some  money,  which  was  immediately  applied  towards  providing 
the  army  with  whatever  was  most  necessary  .f  Pescara,  who  was  beloved 
and  almost  adored  by  the  Spanish  troops,  exhorted  them  to  show  the  world, 
by  their  engaging  to  serve  the  emperor  in  that  dangerous  exigency,  without 
making  any  immediate  demand  of  pay,  that  they  were  animated  with  sen- 
timents of  honour  very  different  from  those  of  mercenary  soldiers  ;  to  which 
proposition  that  gallant  body  of  men,  with  an  unexampled  generosity,  gave 
their  consent.J  Bourbon  having  raised  a  considerable  sum  by  pawning  his 
jewels,  set  out  for  Germany,  where  his  influence  was  great,  that  by  his  pre- 
sence he  might  hasten  the  levying  of  troops  for  the  Imperial  service.§ 

Francis,  by  a  fatal  error,  allowed  the  emperor's  generals  time  to  derive 
advantage  from  all  these  operations.  Instead  of  pursuing  the  enemy,  who 
retired  to  Lodi  on  the  Adda,  an  untenable  post,  which  Pescara  had  re- 
solved to  abandon  on  the  approach  of  the  French,  he,  in  compliance  with 
the  opinion  of  Bonnivet,  though  contrary  to  that  of  his  other  generals,  laid 
siege  to  Pavia  on  the  Tesino  [Oct.  28]  ;  a  town,  indeed,  of  great  im- 
portance, the  possession  of  which  would  have  opened  to  him  all  the  fertile 
country  lying  on  the  banks  of  that  river.  But  the  fortifications  of  the 
place  were  strong ;  it  was  dangerous  to  undertake  a  difficult  siege,  at  so 
late  a  season  ;  and  the  Imperial  generals,  sensible  of  its  consequence,  had 
thrown  into  the  town  a  garrison  composed  of  six  thousand  veterans,  under 
the  command  of  Antonio  de  Leyva,  an  officer  of  high  rank,  of  great  ex- 
perience, of  a  patient  but  enterprising  courage,  fertile  in  resources,  am- 
bitious of  distinguishing  himself,  and  capable,  for  that  reason,  as  well  as 
from  his  having  been  long  accustomed  both  to  obey  and  to  command,  ot 
suffering  or  performing  any  thing  in  order  to  procure  success. 

Francis  prosecuted  the  siege  with  obstinacy  equal  to  the  rashness  with 
which  he  had  undertaken  it.  During  three  months  every  thing  known  to 
the  engineers  of  that  age,  or  that  could  be  effected  by  the  valour  of  his 
troops,  was  attempted,  in  order  to  reduce  the  place  ;  while  Lannoy  and 
Pescara,  unable  to  obstruct  his  operations,  were  obliged  to  remain  in  such 
an  ignominious  state  of  inaction,  that  a  pasquinade  was  published  at  Rome, 
offering  a  reward  to  any  person  who  could  find  the  Imperial  army,  lost  in 
the  month  of  October  in  the  mountains  between  France  and  Lombardy, 
and  which  had  not  been  heard  of  since  that  time.l! 

*  Mem.  de  Bellay,  p.  81.  Uuic.  I.  xv.  27.4.  1  Guic.  1.  xv.  280.  +  Jovii  Vit.  Davali,  lib.  xv.  p. 
336.  Sandov.  vol.  i.  6-21.  CIIoh  Vita  dell  Carlo  V.  p.  94,  &r.  Vila  del  Emper.  Carlo?  V .  per  Vera  v 
y.uniga. p.  36,        ft  Mem.  deBellnv.  p.  83.  H  Sandov.  i.  608 


19a  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [BookIV. 

Leyva,  well  acquainted  with  the  difficulties  under  which  his  countrymen 
laboured,  and  the  impossibility  of  their  facing,  in  the  field,  such  ■>  powerful 
army  as  formed  the  siege  of  Pavia,  placed  his  only  hopes  of  safety  in  his 
own  vigilance  and  valour.  The  efforts  of  both  were  extraordinary,  and 
in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  place,  with  the  defence  of  which 
he  was  intrusted.  He  interrupted  the  approaches  of  the  French  by 
frequent  and  furious  sallies.  Behind  the  breaches  made  by  their  artillery, 
he  erected  new  works,  which  appeared  to  be  scarcely  interior  in  strength 
to  the  original  fortifications.  He  repulsed  the  besiegers  in  all  their  assaults  ; 
and  by  his  own  example,  brought  not  only  the  garrison,  but  the  inhabitants, 
to  bear  the  most  severe  fatigues,  and  to  encounter  the  greatest  dangers 
without  murmuring.  The  rigour  of  the  season  conspired  with  his 
endeavours  in  retarding  the  progress  of  the  French.  Francis  attempting  to 
become  master  of  the  town,  by  diverting  the  course  of  the  Tesino,  which 
is  its  chief  defence  on  one  side,  a  sudden  inundation  of  the  river  destroyed, 
in  one  day,  the  labour  of  many  weeks,  and  swept  away  all  the  mounds 
which  his  army  had  raised  with  infinite  toil,  as  well  as  at  great  expense.* 

Notwithstanding  the  slow  progress  of  the  besiegers,  and  the  glory  which 
Leyva  acquired  by  his  gallant  defence,  it  was  not  doubted  but  that  the 
town  would  at  last  be  obliged  to  surrender.  The  pope,  who  already  con- 
sidered the  French  arms  as  superior  in  Italy,  became  impatient  to  dis- 
engage himself  from  his  connections  with  the  emperor,  of  whose  designs- 
he  was  extremely  jealous,  and  to  enter  into  terms  of  friendship  with  Francis. 
As  Clement's  timid  and  cautious  temper  rendered  him  incapable  of  fol- 
lowing the  bold  plan  which  Leo  had  formed,  of  delivering  Italy  from  the 
yoke  of  both  the  rivals,  he  returned  to  the  more  obvious  and  practicable 
scheme  of  employing  the  power  of  the  one  to  balance  and  to  restrain  that 
of  the  other.  For  this  reason,  he  did  not  dissemble  his  satisfaction  at  seeing 
the  French  king  recover  Milan,  as  he  hoped  that  the  dread  of  such  a  neigh- 
bour would  be  some  check  upon  the  emperor's  ambition,  which  no  power 
in  Italy  was  now  able  to  control.  He  laboured  hard  to  bring  about  a 
peace  that  would  secure  Francis  in  the  possession  of  his  new  conquests ; 
and  as  Charles,  who  was  always  inflexible  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
schemes,  rejected  the  proposition  with  disdain,  and  with  bitter  exclamations 
against  the  pope,  by  whose  persuasions,  while  cardinal  de  Medici,  he  had 
been  induced  to  invade  the  Milanese,  Clement  immediately  concluded  a 
treaty  of  neutrality  with  the  king  of  France,  in  which  the  republic  of 
Florence  was  included.! 

Francis  having  by  this  transaction  deprived  the  emperor  of  his  two  most 
powerful  allies,  ana  at  the  same  time  having  secured  a  passage  for  his  own 
troops  through  their  territories,  formed  a  scheme  of  attacking  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  hoping  either  to  overrun  that  country,  which  was  left  altogether 
without  defence,  or  that  at  least  such  an  unexpected  invasion  would  oblige 
the  viceroy  to  recall  part  of  the  Imperial  army  out  of  the  Milanese ;  for 
this  purpose  he  ordered  six  thousand  men  to  march  under  the  command  of 
John  Stuart  duke  of  Albany.  But  Pescara  foreseeing  that  the  effect  of  this 
diversion  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  operations  of  the  armies  in  the 
Milanese,  persuaded  Lannoy  to  disregard  Albany's  motions,^  and  to  bend 
His  whole  force  against  the  king  himself,  so  that  Francis  not  only  weakened 
his  army  very  unseasonably  by  this  great  detachment,  but  incurred  the 
reproach  of  engaging  too  rashly  in  chimerical  and  extravagant  projects. 

By  this  time  the  garrison  of  Pavia  was  reduced  to  extremity  ;  their  am- 
munition and  provisions  began  to  fail ;  the  Germans,  of  whom  it  was  chiefly 
composed,  having  received  no  pay  for  seven  months,§  threatened  to  deliver 
the  town  into  the  enemy's  hands,  and  could  hardly  be  restrained  from 

*  Guic.  I.  xv.  280.    TJIIna  Vita  di  Carlo  V.  p.  95.  t  Guic  I.  xv.  382.  265.  i  Ibid.  2&r>. 

<S  Geld.  Polit.  Imperial:  875. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  191 

mutiny  by  all  Leyva's  address  and  authority.  The  Imperial  generals, 
who  were  no  strangers  to  his  situation,  saw  the  necessity  of  marching 
without  loss  of  time  to  his  relief  [1525].  This  they  had  now  in  their 
power  :  twelve  thousand  Germans,  whom  the  zeal  and  activity  of  Bourbon 
taught  to  move  with  unusual  rapidity,  had  entered  Lombardy  under  his 
command,  and  rendered  the  Imperial  army  nearly  equal  to  that  ot  the 
French,  greatly  diminished  by  the  absence  of  the  body  under  Albany,  as 
well  as  by  the  fatigues  of  the  siege,  and  the  rigour  of  the  season.  But  the 
more  their  troops  increased  in  number,  the  more  sensibly  did  the  Impe- 
rialists feel  the  distress  arising  from  want  of  money.  Far  from  having 
funds  for  paying  a  powerful  army,  they  had  scarcely  what  was  sufficient 
for  defraying  the  charges  of  conducting  their  artillery,  and  of  carrying 
their  ammunition  and  provisions.  The  abilities  of  the  generals,  however, 
supplied  every  defect.  By  their  own  example,  as  well  as  by  magnificent 
promises  in  name  of  the  emperor,  they  prevailed  on  the  troops  of  all  the 
different  nations  which  composed  their  army,  to  take  the  field  without  pay ; 
they  engaged  to  lead  them  directly  towards  the  enemy ;  and  flattered 
tbem  with  the  certain  prospect  of  victory,  which  would  at  once  enrich 
them  with  such  royal  spoils  as  would  be  an  ample  reward  for  all  their 
services.  The  soldiers,  sensible  that,  by  quitting  the  army,  they  would 
forfeit  the  great  arrears  due  to  them,  and  eager  to  get  possession  of  the 
promised  treasures,  demanded  a  battle  with  all  the  impatience  of  adven- 
turers, who  fight  only  for  plunder.* 

The  Imperial  generals,  without  suffering  the  ardour  of  their  troops  to 
cool,  advanced  immediately  toward  the  French  camp  [Feb.  3],  On  the 
first  intelligence  of  their  approach,  Francis  called  a  council  of  war,  to 
deliberate  what  course  he  ought  to  take.  All  his  officers  of  greatest  ex- 
perience were  unanimous  in  advising  him  to  retire,  and  to  decline  a  battle 
with  an  enemy  who  courted  it  from  despair.  The  Imperialists,  they 
observed,  would  either  be  obliged  in  a  few  weeks  to  disband  an  army, 
which  they  were  unable  to  pay,  and  which  they  kept  together  only  by 
the  hope  of  plunder ;  or  the  soldiers,  enraged  at  the  non-performance  of 
the  promises  to  which  they  had  trusted,  would  rise  in  some  furious  mutiny 
which  would  allow  their  generals  to  think  of  nothing  but  their  own  safety ; 
that,  meanwhile,  he  might  encamp  in  some  strong  post,  and  waiting  in 
safety  the  arrival  of  fresh  troops  from  France  and  Switzerland,  might, 
before  the  end  of  Spring,  take  possession  of  all  the  Milanese,  without 
danger  or  bloodshed.  But  in  opposition  to  them,  Bonnivet,  whose  destiny 
it  was  to  give  counsels  fatal  to  France  during  the  whole  campaign,  repre- 
sented the  ignominy  that  it  would  reflect  on  their  sovereign,  if  he  should 
abandon  a  siege  which  he  had  prosecuted  so  long,  or  turn  his  back  before 
an  enemy  to  whom  he  was  still  superior  in  number;  and  insisted  on  the 
necessity  of  fighting  the  Imperialists  rather  than  relinquish  an  undertaking, 
on  the  success  of  which  the  king's  future  fame  depended.  Unfortunately, 
Francis's  notions  of  honour  were  delicate  to  an  excess  that  bordered  on 
what  was  romantic.  Having  often  said  that  he  would  take  Pavia,  or 
perish  in  the  attempt,  he  thought  himself  bound  not  to  depart  from  that 
resolution ;  and  rather  than  expose  himself  to  the  slightest  imputation,  he 
chose  to  forego  all  the  advantages  which  were  the  certain  consequences  of 
a  retreat,  and  determined  to  wait  for  the  Imperialists  before  the  walls  of 
Pavia. | 

The  Imperial  generals  found  the  French  so  strongly  entrenched,  that 
notwithstanding  the  powerful  motives  which  urged  them  on,  they  hesi- 
tated long  before  they  ventured  to  attack  them  ;  but  at  last  the  necessities 
of  the  besieged,  and  the  murmurs  of  their  own  soldiers,  obliged  them  to 

*  Eryci  Peuteani  Hist.  Cisiltina.  p.p.  Gra-vii  Tho<s.  Antiquil.  T.  tal.  iii.  p.  1170.  1179.  f  Q\i'r. 

\rv.  2P1. 


192  THE   REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  IV. 

put  every  thing  to  hazard.  Never  did  armies  engage  with  greater  ardour, 
or  with  a  higher  opinion  of  the  importance  of  the  battle  which  they  were 
going  to  fight  [Feb.  24]  ;  never  were  troops  more  strongly  animated  with 
emulation,  national  antipathy,  mutual  resentment,  and  all  the  passions  which 
inspire  obstinate  bravery.  On  the  one  hand,  a  gallant  young  monarch, 
seconded  by  a  generous  nobility,  and  followed  by  subjects  to  whose  natural 
impetuosity,  indignation  at  the  opposition  which  they  had  encountered, 
added  new  force,  contended  for  victory  and  honour.  On  the  other  side, 
troops  more  completely  disciplined,  and  conducted  by  generals  of  greater 
abilities,  fought  from  necessity,  with  courage  heightened  by  despair.  The 
Imperialists,  however,  were  unable  to  resist  the  first  efforts  of  the  French 
valour,  and  their  firmest  battalions  began  to  give  way.  But  the  fortune  of 
the  day  was  quickly  changed.  The  Swiss  in  the  service  of  France,  un- 
mindful of  the  reputation  of  their  country  for  fidelity  and  martial  glory, 
abandoned  their  post  in  a  cowardly  manner.  Leyva,  with  his  garrison, 
sallied  out  and  attacked  the  rear  of  the  French,  during  the  heat  of  the 
action,  with  such  fury  as  threw  them  into  confusion  ;  and  Pescara  falling 
on  their  cavalry  with  the  Imperial  horse,  among  whom  he  had  prudently 
intermingled  a  considerable  number  of  Spanish  foot,  armed  with  the  heavy 
muskets  then  in  use,  broke  this  formidable  body  by  an  unusual  method  of 
attack,  against  which  they  were  wholly  unprovided.  The  rout  became 
universal ;  and  resistance  ceased  in  almost  every  part,  but  where  the  king 
was  in  person,  who  fought  now,  not  for  fame  or  victory,  but  for  safety. 
Though  wounded  in  several  places,  and  thrown  from  his  horse,  which  vras 
killed  under  him,  Francis  defended  himself  on  foot  with  an  heroic  courage. 
Many  of  his  bravest  officers  gathering  round  him,  and  endeavouring  to 
save  his  life  at  the  expense  of  their  own,  fell  at  his  feet.  Among  these  was 
Bonnivet,  the  author  of  this  great  calamity,  who  alone  died  unlamented. 
The  king,  exhausted  with  fatigue,  and  scarcely  capable  of  further  re- 
sistance, was  left  almost  alone,  exposed  to  the  fury  of  some  Spanish  soldiers, 
strangers  to  his  rank,  and  enraged  at  his  obstinacy.  At  that  moment  came 
up  romperant,  a  French  gentleman,  who  had  entered  together  with 
Bourbon  into  the  emperor's  service,  and  placing  himself  by  the  side  of  the 
monarch  against  whom  he  had  rebelled,  assisted  in  protecting  him  from 
the  violence  of  the  soldiers  ;  at  the  same  time  beseeching  him  to  surrender 
to  Bourbon,  who  was  not  far  distant.  Imminent  as  the  danger  was  which 
now  surrounded  Francis,  he  rejected  with  indignation  the  thoughts  of  an 
action  which  would  have  afforded  such  matter  of  triumph  to  his  traitorous 
subject;  and  calling  for  Lannoy,  who  happened  likewise  to  be  near  at 
hand,  gave  up  his  sword  to  him,  which  he,  kneeling  to  kiss  the  king's  hand, 
received  with  profound  respect ;  and  taking  his  own  sword  from  his  side, 
presented  it  to  him,  saying,  That  it  did  not  become  so  great  a  monarch  to 
remain  disarmed  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  emperor's  subjects.* 

Ten  thousand  men  fell  on  this  day,  one  of  the  most  fatal  France  had 
ever  seen.  Among  these  were  many  noblemen  of  the  highest  distinction, 
who  chose  rather  to  perish  than  to  turn  their  backs  with  dishonour.  Not 
a  few  were  taken  prisoners,  of  whom  the  most  illustrious  was  Henry 
d'Albret,  the  unfortunate  king  of  Navarre.  A  small  body  of  the  rear- 
guard made  its  escape,  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of  Alencon ;  the 
teeble  garrison  of  Milan,  on  the  first  news  of  the  defeat,  retired  without 
being  pursued,  by  another  road ;  and  in  two  weeks  after  the  battle,  not  a 
Frenchman  remained  in  Italy. 

Lannoy,  though  he  treated  Francis  with  all  the  outward  marks  of  honour 
due  to  his  rank  and  character,  guarded  him  with  the  utmost  attention.  He 
was  solicitous,  not  only  to  prevent  any  possibility  of  his  escaping,  but  afraid 

*  Guic.  1.  xv.  292.  Oeuv.  dc  Brant,  vi.  355.  Mem.  de  Bellay,  p.  00.  Sandov.  Hist.  i.  638  &c 
V.  Mart.Ep.  80i.  «in.    Riisr^ii  i.cttHrc  rf»  Principi.  ii.  p.  7ft.    UUoa  Vita  del  Carlo  V  P  * 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    \.  193 

that  his  own  troops  might  seize  his  person,  and  detain  it  as  the  best  security 
for  the  payment  of  their  arrears.  In  order  to  provide  against  both  these 
dangers,  he  conducted  Francis  the  day  after  the  battle,  to  the  strong  castle 
of  Pizzichitone  near  Cremona,  committing  him  to  the  custody  of  Don  Fer- 
dinand Alarcon,  general  of  the  Spanish  infantry,  an  officer  of  great  bravery 
and  of  strict  honour,  but  remarkable  for  that  severe  and  scrupulous  vigilance 
which  such  a  trust  required. 

Francis,  who  formed  a  judgment  of  the  emperor's  dispositions  by  his 
own,  was  extremely  desirous  that  Charles  should  be  informed  of  his  situa- 
tion, fondly  hoping  that,  from  his  generosity  or  sympathy,  he  should  obtain 
speedy  relief.  The  Imperial  generals  were  no  less  impatient  to  give  their 
sovereign  an  early  account  of  the  decisive  victory  which  they  had  gained, 
and  to  receive  his  instructions  with  regard  to  their  future  conduct.  As  the 
most  certain  and  expeditious  method  of  conveying  intelligence  to  Spain,  at 
that  season  of  the  year,  was  by  land,  Francis  gave  the  commendador  Pen- 
nalosa,  who  was  charged  with  Lannoy's  despatches,  a  passport  to  travel 
through  France. 

Charles  received  the  account  of  this  signal  and  unexpected  success  that 
had  crowned  his  arms,  with  a  moderation,  which,  if  it  had  been  real,  would 
have  done  him  more  honour  than  the  greatest  victory.  Without  uttering 
one  word  expressive  of  exultation,  or  of  intemperate  joy,  he  retired  imme- 
diately into  his  chapel  [Mar.  10],  and  having  spent  an  hour  in  offering  up  his 
thanksgivings  to  Heaven,  returned  to  the  presence-chamber,  which  by  that 
time  was  filled  with  grandees  and  foreign  ambassadors,  assembled  in  order 
to  congratulate  him.  He  accepted  of  their  compliments  with  a  modest 
deportment ;  he  lamented  the  misfortune  of  the  captive  king,  as  a  striking 
example  of  the  sad  reverse  of  fortune,  to  which  the  most  powerful  monarchs 
are  subject ;  he  forbade  any  public  rejoicings,  as  indecent  in  a  war  carried 
on  among  Christians,  reserving  them  until  he  should  obtain  a  victory 
equally  illustrious  over  the  Infidels ;  and  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  the 
advantage  which  he  had  gained,  only  as  it  would  prove  the  occasion  of 
restoring  peace  to  Christendom.* 

Charles,  however,  had  already  begun  to  form  schemes  in  his  own  mind, 
which  little  suited  such  external  appearances.  Ambition,  not  generosity, 
was  the  ruling  passion  in  his  mind ;  and  the  victory  at  Pavia  opened  such 
new  and  unbounded  prospects  of  gratifying  it,  as  allured  him  with  irre- 
sistible force :  but  it  being  no  easy  matter  to  execute  thevast  designs  which 
he  meditated,  he  thought  it  necessary,  while  proper  measures  were  taking 
for  that  purpose,  to  affect  the  greatest  moderation,  hoping  under  that  veil 
to  conceal  his  real  intentions  from  the  other  princes  of  Europe. 

Meanwhile,  France  was  filled  with  consternation.  The  king  himself 
had  early  transmitted  an  account  of  the  rout  of  Pavia  in  a  letter  to  his 
mother,  delivered  by  Pennalosa,  which  contained  only  these  words, 
"Madam,  all  is  lost,  except  our  honour."  The  officers  who  made  their 
escape,  when  they  arrived  from  Italy,  brought  such  a  melancholy  detail  of 
particulars  as  made  all  ranks  of  men  sensibly  feel  the  greatness  and  extent 
of  the  calamity.  France,  without  its  sovereign,  without  money  in  her 
treasury,  without  an  army,  without  generals  to  command  it,  and.  encom- 
passed on  all  sides  by  a  victorious  and  active  enemy,  seemed  to  be  on  the 
very  brink  of  destruction.  But  on  that  occasion  the  great  abilities  of 
Louise  the  regent  saved  the  kingdom,  which  the  violence  of  her  passions 
had  more  than  once  exposed  to  the  greatest  danger.  Instead  of  giving 
herself  up  to  such  lamentations  as  were  natural  to  a  woman  so  remarkable 
for  her  maternal  tenderness,  she  discovered  all  the  foresight,  and  exerted 
all  the  activity  of  a  consummate  politician.  She  assembled  the  nobles  at 
Lyons,  and  animated  them  by  her  example  no  less  than  by  her  words,  with 

*  Pamlnv.  Hfat.f.  64 1     ''Do?  Vita  Sell  Carlo  v.  p  i  i<> 

Vol,  ».— 25 


Ita  THE   REiGiN    OF   THE  [Book  IV. 

such  zeal  in  defence  of  their  country,  as  its  present  situation  required.  .She 
collected  the  remains  of  the  army  which  had  served  in  Italy,  ransomed 
the  prisoners,  paid  the  arrears,  and  put  them  in  a  condition  to  take  the  field. 
She  levied  new  troops,  provided  for  the  security  of  the  frontiers,  and 
raised  sums  sufficient  for  defraying  these  extraordinary  expenses.  Her 
chief  care,  however,  was  to  appease  the  resentment,  or  to  gain  the  friendship 
of  the  king  of  England ;  and  from  that  quarter,  the  first  ray  of  comfort 
broke  in  upon  the  French. 

Though  f lenry,  in  entering  into  alliances  with  Charles  or  Francis,  seldom 
followed  any  regular  or  concerted  plan  of  policy,  but  was  influenced  chiefly 
by  the  caprice  of  temporary  passions,  such  occurrences  often  happened  as 
recalled  his  attention  towards  that  equal  balance  of  power  which  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  between  the  two  contending  potentates,  the  preservation 
of  which  he  always  boasted  to  be  his  peculiar  office.  He  had  expected 
that  his  union  with  the  emperor  might  afford  him  an  opportunity  of 
recovering  some  part  of  those  territories  in  France  which  had  belonged  to 
his  ancestors,  and  for  the  sake  of  such  an  acquisition  he  did  not  scruple  to 
give  his  assistance  towards  raising  Charles  to  a  considerable  pre-eminence 
above  Francis.  He  had  never  dreamt,  however,  of  any  event  so  decisive 
and  so  fatal  as  the  victory  at  Favia,  which  seemed  not  only  to  have  broken, 
but  to  have  annihilated  the  power  of  one  of  the  rivals ;  so  that  the  prospect 
of  the  sudden  and  entire  revolution  which  this  would  occasion  in  the  poli- 
tical system,  filled  him  with  the  most  disquieting  apprehensions.  He  saw 
all  Europe  in  danger  of  being  overrun  by  an  ambitious  prince,  to  whose 
power  there  now  remained  no  counterpoise ;  and  though  he  himself  might 
at  first  be  admitted,  in  quality  of  an  ally,  to  some  share  in  the  spoils  of  the 
captive  monarch,  it  was  easy  to  discern,  that  with  regard  to  the  manner  of 
making  the  partition,  as  well  as  his  security  for  keeping  possession  of  what 
should  be  allotted  him,  he  must  absolutely  depend  upon  the  will  of  a  con- 
federate, to  whose  forces  his  own  bore  no  proportion.  He  was  sensible, 
that  if  Charles  were  permitted  to  add  any  considerable  part  of  France  to  the 
vast  dominions  of  which  he  was  already  master,  his  neighbourhood  would 
be  much  more  formidable  to  England  than  that  of  the  ancient  French  kings  ; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  the-  proper  balance  on  the  continent,  to  which 
England  owed  both  its  safety  and  importance,  would  be  entirely  lost. 
Concern  for  the  situation  of  the  unhappy  monarch  co-operated  with  these 
political  considerations  ;  his  gallant  behaviour  in  the  battle  of  Pavia  had 
excited  a  high  degree  of  admiration,  which  never  fails  of  augmenting  sym- 
pathy ;  and  Henry,  naturally  susceptible  of  generous  sentiments,  was  fond 
of  appearing  as  the  deliverer  of  a  vanquished  enemy  from  a  state  of  cap- 
tivity. The  passions  of  the  English  minister  seconded  the  inclinations  of 
the  monarch.  Wolsey,  who  had  not  forgotten  the  disappointment  of  his 
hopes  in  two  successive  conclaves,  which  he  imputed  chiefly  to  the  empe- 
ror, thought  this  a  proper  opportunity  of  taking  revenge  ;  and  Louise, 
courting  the  friendship  of  England  with  such  flattering  submissions  as  were 
no  less  agreeable  to  the  king  than  to  the  cardinal,  Henry  gave  her  secret 
assurances  that  he  would  not  lend  his  aid  towards  oppressing  France,  in 
its  present  helpless  state,  and  obliged  her  to  promise  that  she  would  not  con- 
sent to  dismember  the  kingdom,  even  in  order  to  procure  her  son's  liberty.* 

But  as  Henry's  connections  with  the  emperor  made  it  necessary  to  act 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  save  appearances,  he  ordered  public  rejoicings  to 
be  made  in  his  dominions  for  the  success  of  the  Imperial  arms ;  and,  as  it 
be  had  been  eager  to  seize  the  present  opportunity  of  ruining  the  French 
monarchy,  he  sent  ambassadors  to  Madrid,  to  congratulate  with  Charles 
upon  his  victory  ;  to  put  him  in  mind,  that  he,  as  his  ally,  engaged  in  one 
common  cause,  was  entitled  to  partake  in  the  fruits  of  it :  and  to  require 

'   Alan,  dp  fjriisv.  14     Gnic.  1  ivi.  318      H 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  196 

ttiat,  h»  compliance  with  the  terms  of  their  confederacy,  he  would  invade 
Guienne  with  a  powerful  army,  in  order  to  give  him  possession  of  that 
province.  At  the  same  time,  he  offered  to  send  the  princess  Mary  into 
Spain  or  the  Low-Countries,  that  she  might  be  educated  under  the  empe- 
ror's direction,  until  the  conclusion  of  the  marriage  agreed  on  between 
them;  and  in  return  for  that  mark  of  his  confidence,  he  insisted  that  Francis 
should  be  delivered  to  him,  in  consequence  of  that  article  in  the  treaty  of 
Bruges,  whereby  each  of  the  contracting  parties  was  bound  to  surrender 
all  usurpers  to  him  whose  rights  they  had  invaded.  It  was  impossible 
that  Henry  could  expect  that  the  emperor  would  listen  to  these  extravagant 
demands,  which  it  was  neither  his  interest,  nor  in  his  power  to  grant. 
They  appear  ev  idently  to  have  been  made  with  no  other  intention  than  to 
furnish  him  with  a  decent  pretext  for  entering  into  such  engagements  with 
France  as  the  juncture  required.* 

It  was  among  the  Italian  states,  however,  that  the  victory  of  Pavia 
occasioned  the  greatest  alarm  and  terror.  That  balance  of  power  on 
which  they  relied  for  their  security,  and  which  it  had  been  the  constant 
object  of  all  their  negotiations  and  refinements  to  maintain,  was  destroyed 
in  a  moment.  They  were,  exposed  by  their  situation  to  feel  the  first  effects 
of  the  uncontrolled  authority  which  Charles  had  acquired.  They  observed 
many  symptoms  of  a  boundless  ambition  in  that  young  prince,  and  were 
sensible  that,  as  emperor  or  king  of  Naples,  he  might  not  only  form  dan- 
gerous pretensions  upon  each  ol  their  territories,  but  might  invade  them 
with  great  advantage.  They  deliberated,  therefore,  with  great  solicitude 
concerning  the  means  of  raising  such  a  force  as  might  obstruct  his  pro- 
gress.! But  their  consultations,  conducted  with  little  union,  and  executed 
with  less  vigour,  had  no  effect.  Clement,  instead  of  pursuing  the  measures 
which  he  -had  concerted  with  the  Venetians  for  securing  the  liberty  of 
Italy,  was  so  intimidated  by  Lannoy's  threats,  or  overcome  by  his  pro- 
mises, that  he  entered  into  a  separate  treaty  [April  1],  binding  himself  to 
advance  a  considerable  sum  to  the  emperor,  in  return  for  certain  emolu- 
ments which  he  was  to  receive  from  him.  The  money  was  instantly  paid  ; 
but  Charles  afterwards  refused  to  ratify  the  treaty  ;  and  the  pope  remained 
exposed  at  once  to  infamy  and  to  ridicule  ;  to  the  former,  because  he  had 
deserted  the  public  cause  for  his  private  interest  5  to  the  latter,  because  he 
had  been  a  loser  by  that  unworthy  action. J 

How  dishonourable  soever  the  artifice  might  be  which  was  employed 
in  order  to  defraud  the  pope  of  this  sum,  k  came  very  seasonably  into  the 
viceroy's  hands,  and  put  it  in  his  power  to  extricate  himself  out  of  an 
imminent  danger.  Soon  after  the  defeat  of  the  French  army,  the  German 
troops,  which  had  defended  Pavia  with  such  meritorious  courage  and  per- 
severance, growing  insolent  upon  the  fame  that  they  had  acquired,  and 
impatient  of  relying  any  longer  on  fruitless  promises,  with  which  tbey  had 
been  so  often  amused,  rendered  themselves  masters  of  the  town,  with  a 
resolution  to  keep  possession  of  it  as  a  security  for  the  payment  of  their 
arrears  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  army  discovered  a  much  stronger  inclination 
to  assist,  than  to  punish  the  mutineers.  By  dividing  among  them  the 
money  exacted  from  the  pope,  Lannoy  quieted  the  tumultuous  Germans  ; 
but  though  this  satisfied  their  present  demands,  he  had  so  little  prospector* 
being  able  to  pay  them  or  his  other  forces  regularly  for  the  future,  and  was 
under  such  continual  apprehensions  of  their  seizing  the  person  of  the  cap- 
tive king,  that,  not  long  after,  he  was  obliged  to  dismiss  all  the  Germans 
and  Italians  in  the  Imperial  service. §  Thus,  from  a  circumstance  that  now 
appears  very  singular,  but  arising  naturally  from  the  constitution  of  most 

*  Herbert,  p.  C4.  t  Guic.  1.  xvi.  300.  Ruscelli  Lcttere  de  Princ.  ii.  74.  76,  fcc.  Thuani  Hist 
lib.  j.  c  11.  +  Guie.  lib.  xvi.  305.    Mauioceni  llistor.  Venct.  ap  Istunclii  dtll  cose  Vcnez.  V 

»31    130.  $  Guic.  1.  ivi.  p.  311-2. 


196  T  U  E   K  E 1UN    O  F   T  li  J .  Book  1  \  . 

European  governments  in  the  sixteenth  century,  while  Charles  was  sus- 
pected by  all  his  neighbours  of  aiming  at  universal  monarchy,  ami  while 
he  was  really  forming  vast   projects  ol  this  kind,  his   revenues   wen 
limited,  that  he  could  not  keep  on  loot  his  victorious  army,  though  it  did 
not  exceed  twenty-four  thousand  men. 

During-  these  transactions,  Charles,  whose  pretensions  to  moderation  and 
disinterestedness  were  soon  forgotten,  deliberated,  with  the  utmost  soli- 
citude, how  he  might  derive  the  greatest  advantages  from  the  misfortune 
of  his  adversary.  Some  of  his  counsellors  advised  him  to  treat  Francis 
with  the  magnanimity  that  became  a  victorious  prince,  and,  instead  of 
taking  advantage  of  his  situation,  to  impose  rigorous  conditions,  to  dismiss 
him  on  such  equal  terms,  as  would  bind  him  for  ever  to  his  interest  by  the 
ties  of  gratitude  and  affection,  more  forcible  as  well  as  more  permanent 
than  any  which  could  be  formed  by  extorted  oaths  and  involuntary  stipu- 
lations. Such  an  exertion  of  generosity  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  expected  in 
the  conduct  of  political  affairs,  and  it  was  far  too  refined  for  that  prince  to 
whom  it  was  proposed.  The  more  obvious,  but  less  splendid  scheme,  of 
endeavouring  to  make  the  utmost  of  Francis's  calamity,  had  a  greater  number 
in  the  council  to  recommend  it,  and  suited  better  with  the  emperor's 
genius.  But  though  Charles  adopted  this  plan,  he  seems  not  to  have 
executed  it  in  the  most  proper  manner,  instead  of  making  one  great 
effort  to  penetrate  into  France  with  all  the  forces  of  Spain  and  the  Low- 
Countries  ;  instead  of  crushing  the  Italian  states  before  they  recovered 
from  the  consternation  which  the  success  of  his  arms  had  occasioned,  he 
had  recourse  to  the  artifices  of  intrigue  and  negotiation.  This  proceeded 
partly  from  necessity,  partly  from  the  natural  disposition  of  his  mind.  The 
situation  of  his  finances  at  that  time  rendered  it  extremely  difficult  to 
carry  on  any  extraordinary  armament ;  and  he  himself  having  never  ap- 
peared at  the  head  of  his  armies,  the  command  of  which  he  had  hitherto 
committed  to  his  generals,  was  averse  to  bold  and  martial  counsels,  and 
trusted  more  to  the  arts  with  which  he  was  acquainted.  He  laid,  besides, 
too  much  stress  upon  the  victory  of  Pavia,  as  if  by  that  event  the  strength 
of  France  had  been  annihilated,  its  resources  exhausted,  and  the  kingdom 
itself,  no  less  than  the  person  of  its  monarch,  had  been  subjected  to  his 
power. 

Full  of  this  opinion,  he  determined  to  set  the  highest  price  upon  Francis's 
freedom,  and  having  ordered  the  count  de  Roeux  to  visit  the  captive  king 
in  his  name,  he  instructed  him  to  propose  the  following  articles  as  th& 
conditions- on  which  he  would  grant  him  his  liberty  :  that  he  should  restore 
Burgundy  to  the  emperor,  from  whose  ancestors  it  had  been  unjustly 
wrested  ;  that  he  should  surrender  Provence  and  Dauphine,  that  they 
might  be  erected  into  an  independent  kingdom  for  the  constable  Bourbon  ; 
that  he  should  make  full  satisfaction  to  the  king  of  England  for  all  his 
claims,  and  finally  renounce  the  pretensions  of  France  to  Naples,  Milan, 
or  any  other  territory  in  Italy.  When  Francis,  who  had  hitherto  flattered 
himself,  that  he  should  be  treated  by  the  emperor  with  the  generosity 
becoming  one  great  prince  towards  another,  heard  these  rigorous  condi- 
tions, he  was  so  transported  with  indignation,  that,  drawing  his  dagger 
hastily,  he  cried  out,  "  'Twere  better  that  a  king  should  die  thus." 
Alarcon,  alarmed  at  his  vehemence,  laid  hold  on  his  hand  .  but  though  he 
soon  recovered  greater  composure,  he  still  declared,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  that  he  would  rather  remain  a  prisoner  during  life,  than  purchase 
liberty  by  such  ignominious  concessions.* 

This  mortifying  discovery  of  the  emperor's  intentions  greatly  augmented 
Francis's  chagrin  and  impatience  under  his  confinement,  ana  must  have 
driven  him  to  absolute  despair,  if  he  had  not  laid  hold  of  the  only  thin? 

"  AUin  fa  Bellav.  94     Ferreraa  Hist.  ix.  43 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  197 

which  could  still  administer  any  comfort  to  him.  He  persuaded  himself, 
that  the  conditions  which  Roeux  had  proposed  did  not  flow  originally  from 
Charles  himself,  but  were  dictated  by  the  rigorous  policy  of  his  Spanish 
council ;  and  that  therefore  he  might  hope,  in  one  personal  interview  with 
him,  to  do  more  towards  hastening  his  own  deliverance,  than  could  be 
effected  by  long  negotiations  passing  through  the  subordinate  hands  of  his 
ministers.  Relying  on  this  supposition,  which  proceeded  from  too  favoura- 
ble an  opinion  of  the  emperor's  character,  he  offered  to  visit  him  in  Spain, 
and  was  willing  to  be  carried  ihitheras  a  spectacle  to  that  haughty  nation. 
Lannoy  employed  all  his  address  to  confirm  him  in  these  sentiments  ;  and 
concerted  with  him  in  secret  the  manner  of  executing  this  resolution. 
Francis  was  so  eager  on  a  scheme  which  seemed  to  open  some  prospect  of 
liberty,  that  he  furnished  the  galleys  necessary  for  conveying  him  to  Spain, 
Charles  being  at  that  time  unable  to  fit  out  a  squadron  for  that  purpose. 
The  viceroy,  without  communicating  his  intentions  either  to  Bourbon  or 
Pescara,  conducted  his  prisoner  towards  Genoa,  under  pretence  of  trans- 
porting him  by  sea  to  Naples  ;  though  soon  after  they  set  sail,  he  ordered 
the  pilots  to  steer  directly  for  Spain  ;  but  the  wind  happening  to  carry  them 
near  the  French  coast,  the  unfortunate  monarch  had  a  full  prospect  of  his 
own  dominions,  towards  which  he  cast  many  a  sorrowful  and  desiring 
look.  They  landed,  however,  in  a  few  days  at  Barcelona,  and  soon  after 
Francis  was  lodged  [Aug.  24],  by  the  emperor's  command,  in  the  Alcazar 
of  Madrid,  under  the  care  of  the  vigilant  Alarcon,  who  guarded  him  with 
as  much  circumspection  as  ever.* 

A  few  days  after  Francis's  arrival  at  Madrid,  and  when  he  began  to  be 
sensible  of  his  having  relied  without  foundation  on  the  emperor's  generosity, 
Henry  VIII.  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  regent  of  France,  which  afforded 
him  some  hope  of  liberty  from  another  quarter.  Henry's  extravagant  de- 
mands had  been  received  at  Madrid  with  that  neglect  which  they  deserved, 
and  which  he  probably  expected.  Charles,  intoxicated  with  prosperity, 
no  longer  courted  him  in  that  respectful  and  submissive  manner  which 
pleased  his  haughty  temper.  Wolsey,  no  less  haughty  than  his  master,  was 
highiy  irritated  at  the  emperor's  discontinuing  his  wonted  caresses  and  pro- 
fessions of  friendship  to  himself.  These  slight  offences,  added  to  the 
weighty  considerations  formerly  mentioned,  induced  Henry  to  enter  into  a 
defensive  alliance  with  Louise,  in  which  all  the  differences  between  him  and 
her  son  were  adjusted  ;  at  the  same  time  he  engaged  Uiat  he  would  employ 
his  best  offices  in  order  to  procure  the  deliverance  of  his  new  ally  from  a 
state  of  captivity.! 

While  the  open  defection  of  such  a  powerful  confederate  affected  Charles 
with  deep  concern,  a  secret  conspiracy  was  carrying  on  in  Italy,  which 
threatened  him  with  consequences  still  more  fatal.  The  restless  and  in- 
triguing genius  of  Morone,  chancellor  of  Milan,  gave  rise  to  this.  His 
revenge  had  been  amply  gratified  by  the  expulsion  of  the  French  out  of 
Italy,  and  his  vanity  no  less  soothed  by  the  re-establishment  of  Sforza,  to 
whose  interest  he  had  attached  himself  in  the  dutchy  of  Milan.  The  delays, 
however,  and  evasions  of  the  Imperial  court,  in  granting  Sforza  the  investi- 
ture of  his  new  acquired  territories,  had  long  alarmed  Morone  ;  these  were 
repeated  so  often,  and  with  such  apparent  artifice,  as  became  a  full  proof  to 
his  suspicious  mind  that  the  emperor  intended  to  strip  his  master  of  that 
rich  country  which  he  had  conquered  in  his  name.  Though  Charles,  in 
order  to  quiet  the  pope  and  Venetians,  no  less  jealous  of  his  designs  than 
Morone,  gave  Sforza,  at  last,  the  investiture  which  had  been  so  long  de- 
sired ;  the  charter  was  clogged  with  so  many  reservations,  and  subjected 
him  to  such  grievous  burdens,  as  rendered  the  duke  of  Milan  a  dependent 

*  Mem.  de  Bellay,  95.    P.  Mart.  F;>.  ult.    Guk  lrt>  xvi.  323.  1  Herbert.    Fiddeu's  Life  of 

Wolsey.  337 


198  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  IV. 

on  the  emperor,  rather  than  a  vassal  of  the  empire,  and  afforded  him  hardly 
any  other  security  for  his  possessions  than  the  good  pleasure  of  an  ambitious 
superior.  Such  an  accession  of  power  as  would  have  accrued  from  the  ad- 
dition of  the  Milanese  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  Avas  considered  by  Morone 
as  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  Italy,  no  less  than  to  his  own  importance.  Full  of 
this  idea  he  began  to  revolve  in  his  mind  the  possibility  of  rescuing  Italy 
from  the  yoke  of  foreigners  ;  the  darling  scheme,  as  has  been  already  ob- 
served, of  the  Italian  politicians  in  that  age,  and  which  it  was  the  great 
object  of  their  ambition  to  accomplish.  If  to  the  glory  of  having  been  the 
chief  instrument  of  driving  the  French  out  of  Milan,  he  could  add  that  of 
delivering  Naples  from  the  dominion  of  the  Spaniards,  he  thought  that 
nothing  would  be  wanting  to  complete  his  fame.  His  fertile  genius  soon 
suggested  to  him  a  project  for  that  purpose  ;  a  difficult,  indeed,  and  daring 
one,  but  for  that  very  reason  more  agreeable  to  his  bold  and  enterprising 
temper. 

Bourbon  and  Pescara  were  equally  enraged  at  Lannoy's  carrying  the 
French  king  into  Spain  without  their  knowledge.  The  former,  being  afraid 
that  the  two  monarchs  might,  in  his  absence,  conclude  some  treaty,  in  which 
his  interests  would  be  entirely  sacrificed,  hastened  to  Madrid,  in  order  to 
guard  against  that  danger.  The  latter,  on  whom  the  command  of  the  army 
now  devolved,  was  obliged  to  remain  in  Italy ;  but  in  every  company,  he 
gave  vent  to  his  indignation  against  the  viceroy,  in  expressions  full  of  ran- 
cour and  contempt ;  he  accused  him,  in  a  letter  to  the  emperor,  of  cowardice 
in  the  time  of  danger,  and  of  insolence  after  victory,  towards  the  obtaining 
of  which  he  had  contributed  nothing  either  by  his  valour  or  his  conduct ; 
nor  did  he  abstain  from  bitter  complaints  against  the  emperor  himself,  who 
had  not  discovered,  as  he  imagined,  a  sufficient  sense  oi  his  merit,  nor  be- 
stowed any  adequate  reward  on  his  services.  It  was  on  this  disgust  of 
Pescara,  that  Morone  founded  his  whole  system.  He  knew  the  boundless 
ambition  of  his  nature,  the  great  extent  of  his  abilities  in  peace  as  well  as 
war,  and  the  intrepidity  of  his  mind,  capable  alike  of  undertaking  and  of 
executing  the  most  desperate  designs.  The  cantonment  of  the  Spanish 
troops  on  the  frontier  of  the  Milanese  gave  occasion  to  many  interviews 
between  him  and  Morone,  in  which  the  latter  took  care  frequently  to  turn 
the  conversation  to  the  transactions  subsequent  to  the  battle  of  Pavia,  a  sub- 
ject upon  which  the  marquis  always  entered  willingly  and  with  passion; 
and  Morone,  observing  his  resentment  to  be  uniformly  violent,  artfully 
pointed  out  and  aggravated  every  circumstance  that  could  increase  its  fury. 
He  painted,  in  the  strongest  colours,  the  emperor's  want  of  discernment,  as 
well  as  of  gratitude,  in  preferring  Lannoy  to  him,  and  in  allowing  that  pre- 
sumptuous Fleming  to  dispose  of  the  captive  king,  without  consulting  the 
man  to  whose  bravery  and  wisdom  Charles  was  indebted  for  the  glory  of 
having  a  formidable  rival  in  his  power.  Having  warned  him  by  such  dis- 
courses, he  then  began  to  insinuate,  that  now  was  the  time  to  be  avenged 
for  these  insults,  and  to  acquire  immortal  renown  as  the  deliverer  of  his 
country  from  the  oppression  of  strangers  ;  that  the  states  of  Italy,  weary  of 
the  ignominious  and  intolerable  dominion  of  barbarians,  were  at  last  ready 
to  combine  in  order  to  vindicate  their  own  independence  ;  that  their  eyes 
were  fixed  on  him  as  the  only  leader  whose  genius  and  good  fortune  could 
ensure  the  happy  success  of  that  noble  enterprise  ;  that  the  attempt  was  no 
less  practicable  than  glorious,  it  being  in  his  power  to  disperse  the  Spanish 
infantry,  the  only  body  of  the  emperor's  troops  that  remained  in  Italy, 
through  the  villages  of  the  Milanese,  that,  in  one  night,  they  might  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  people,  who,  having  suffered  much  by  their  exactions  and 
insolence,  would  gladly  undertake  this  service  ;  that  he  might  then,  without 
opposition,  take  possession  of  the  throne  of  Naples,  the  station  destined  for 
him,  and  a  reward  not  unworthy  the  restorer  of  liberty  to  Italy ;  that  the 
pope,  of  whom  that  kingdom  held,  and  whose  predecessors  had  disposed  o1" 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  199 

it  on  many  former  occasions,  would  willingly  grant  him  the  right  of  investi- 
ture ;  that  the  Venetians,  the  Florentines,  the  duke  of  Milan,  to  whom  he  had 
communicated  the  scheme  together  with  the  French,  would  be  the  guaran- 
tees of  his  right ;  that  the  Neapolitans  would  naturally  prefer  the  govern- 
ment of  one  of  their  countrymen,  whom  they  loved  and  admired,  to  that 
odious  dominion  of  strangers,  to  which  they  had  been  so  long  subjected  ; 
and  that  the  emperor,  astonished  at  a  blow  so  unexpected,  would  find  that 
he  had  neither  troops  nor  money  to  resist  such  a  powerful  confederacy.* 

Pescara,  amazed  at  the  boldness  and  extent  of  the  scheme,  listened  atten- 
tively to  Morone,  but  with  the  countenance  of  a  man  lost  in  profound  and 
anxious  thought.  On  the  one  hand,  the  infamy  of  betraying  his  sovereign, 
under  whom  he  hore  such  high  command,  deterred  him  from  the  attempt ; 
on  the  other,  the  prospect  of  obtaining  a  crown  allured  him  to  venture  upon 
it.  After  continuing  a  short  space  in  suspense,  the  least  commendable 
motives,  as  is  usual  after  such  deliberations,  prevailed,  and  ambition 
triumphed  over  honour.  In  order,  however,  to  throw  a  colour  of  decency 
on  his  conduct,  he  insisted  that  some  learned  casuists  should  give  their 
opinion,  "  Whether  it  was  lawful  for  a  subject  to  take  arms  against  his  im- 
mediate sovereign,  in  obedience  to  the  lord  paramount  of  whom  the  kingdom 
itself  was  held 7"  Such  a  resolution  of  the  case  as  he  expected  was  soon 
obtained  from  the  divines  and  civilians  both  of  home  and  Milan  ;  the  nego- 
tiation went  forward  ;  and  measures  seemed  to  be  taking  with  great  spirit 
for  the  speedy  execution  of  the  design. 

During  this  interval,  Pescara,  either  shocked  at  the  treachery  of  the  action 
that  he  was  going  to  commit,  or  despairing  of  its  success,  began  to  entertain 
thoughts  of  abandoning  the  engagements  which  he  had  come  under.  The 
indisposition  of  Sforza,  who  happened  at  that  time  to  be  taken  ill  of  a  dis- 
temper which  was  thought  mortal,  confirmed  his  resolution,  and  determined 
him  to  make  known  the  whole  conspiracy  to  the  emperor,  deemed  it  more 
prudent  to  expect  the  dutchy  of  Milan  from  him  as  the  reward  of  this  dis- 
covery, than  to  aim  at  a  kingdom  to  be  purchased  by  a  series  of  crimes. 
This  resolution,  however,  proved  the  source  of  actions  hardly  less  criminal 
and  ignominious.  The  emperor,  who  had  already  received  full  information 
concerning  the  conspiracy  from  other  hands,  seemed  to  be  highly  pleased 
with  Pescara's  fidelity,  and  commanded  him  to  continue  his  intrigues  for 
some  time  with  the  pope  and  Sforza,  both  that  he  might  discover  their  in- 
tentions more  fully,  and  that  he  might  be  able  to  convict  them  of  the  crime 
with  greater  certainty.  Pescara,  conscious  of  guilt,  as  well  as  sensible  how 
suspicious  his  long  silence  must  have  appeared  at  Madrid,  durst  not  decline 
that  dishonourable  office  ;  and  was  obliged  to  act  the  meanest  and  most 
disgraceful  of  all  parts,  that  of  seducing  with  a  purpose  to  betray.  Con- 
sidering the  abilities  of  the  persons  with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  the  part  was 
scarcely  less  difficult  than  base  ;  but  he  acted  it  with  such  address,  as  to 
deceive  even  the  penetrating  eye  of  Morone,  who,  relying  with  lull  confi- 
dence on  his  sincerity,  visited  him  at  Novara,  in  order  to  put  the  last  hand 
to  their  machinations.  Pescara  received  him  in  an  apartment  where  Antonio 
de  Leyva  was  placed  behind  the  tapestry,  that  he  might  overhear  and  bear 
witness  to  their  conversation ;  as  Morone  was  about  to  take  leave,  that 
officer  suddenly  appeared^  and  to  his  astonishment  arrested  him  prisoner  in 
the  emperor's  name.  He  was  conducted  to  the  castle  of  Pavia ;  and  Pes- 
cara, who  had  so  lately  been  his  accomplice,  had  now  the  assurance  to  in- 
terrogate him  as  his  judge.  At  the  same  time,  the  emperor  declared  Sforza 
to  have  forfeited  all  right  to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  by  his  engaging  in  a 
conspiracy  against  the  sovereign  of  whom  he  held ;  Pescara,  by  his  com- 
mand, seized  on  every  place  in  the  Milanese,  except  the  castles  of  Cremona 

*  (Juic.  lib.  xvi.  325.  Jovit  Vila  Pavali,  p.  417.  Oruv.  do  Brantomo,  iv.  171.  Ruscelli  Lettere 
de  Princ.  ii.  91.     Thuani  Hisf  lib  i.e.  11.     P   Hciitpr.  Her.  AustT.  lib.  ix.  c.  3.  p-  S07. 


m  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  I\ . 

r<nd  Milan,  which  the  unfortunate  duke  attempting  to  defend,  were  closely 
blockaded  by  the  Imperial  troops.* 

But  though  this  unsuccessful  conspiracy,  instead  of  stripping  the  emperor 
of  what  he  already  possessed  in  Italy,  contributed  to  extend  his  dominions 
in  that  country,  it  showed  him  the  necessity  of  coming  to  some  agreement 
with  the  French  king,  unless  he  chose  to  draw  on  himself  a  confederacy  of 
all  Europe,  which  the  progress  of  his  arms  and  his  ambition,  now  as  un- 
disguised as  it  was  boundless,  filled  with  general  alarm.  He  had  not 
hitherto  treated  Francis  with  the  generosity  which  that  monarch  expected, 
and  hardly  with  the  decency  due  to  his  station.  Instead  of  displaying  the 
sentiments  becoming  a  great  prince,  Charles,  by  his  mode  of  treating 
Francis,  seems  to  have  acted  with  the  mercenary  art  of  a  corsair,  who,  by 
the  rigorous  usage  of  his  prisoners,  endeavours  to  draw  from  them  a  higher 
price  for  their  ransom.  The  captive  king  was  confined  in  an  old  castle, 
under  a  keeper  whose  formal  austerity  of  manners  rendered  his  vigilance 
still  more  disgusting.  He  was  allowed  no  exercise  but  that  of  riding  on  a 
mule,  surrounded  with  armed  guards  on  horseback.  Charles,  on  pretence 
<>t  its  being  necessary  to  attend  the  Cortes  assembled  in  Toledo,  had  gone 
to  reside  in  that  city,  and  suffered  several  weeks  to  elapse  without  visiting 
Francis,  though  he  solicited  an  interview  with  the  most  pressing  and  sub- 
missive importunity.  So  many  indignities  made  a  deep  impression  on  a 
high-spirited  prince  ;  he  began  to  lose  all  relish  for  his  usual  amusements  ; 
his  natural  gayety  of  temper  forsook  him  ;  and  after  languishing  for  some 
time,  he  was  seized  with  a  dangerous  fever,  during  the  violence  of  which 
he  complained  constantly  of  the  unexpected  and  unprincely  rigour  with 
which  he  had  been  treated,  often  exclaiming,  that  now  the  emperor  would 
have  the  satisfaction  of  his  dying  a  prisoner  in  his  hands,  without  having 
once  deigned  to  see  his  face.  The  physicians,  at  last,  despaired  of  his 
life,  and  informed  the  emperor  that  they  saw  no  hope  of  his  recovery,  unless 
he  were  gratified  with  regard  to  that  point  on  which  he  seemed  to  be  so 
strongly  bent.  Charles,  solicitous  to  preserve  a  life  with  which  all  his 
prospects  of  farther  advantage  from  the  victory  of  Pavia  must  have  termi- 
nated, immediately  consulted  his  ministers  concerning  the  course  to  be 
taken.  In  vain  did  the  chancellor  Gattinara,  the  most  able  among  them, 
represent  to  him  the  indecency  of  his  visiting  Francis,  if  he  did  not  intend 
to  set  him  at  liberty  immediately  upon  equal  terms ;  in  vain  did  he  point  out 
the  infamy  to  which  he  would  be  exposed,  if  avarice  or  ambition  should 
prevail  on  him  to  give  the  captive  monarch  this  mark  of  attention  and  sym- 
pathy, for  which  humanity  and  generosity  had  pleaded  so  long  without 
effect.  The  emperor,  less  delicate,  or  less  solicitous  about  reputation  than 
his  minister,  set  out  for  Madrid  to  visit  his  prisoner  [Sept.  28].  The  inter- 
view was  short ;  Francis  being  too  weak  to  bear  a  long  conversation,  Charles 
accosted  him  in  terms  full  of  affection  and  respect,  and  gave  him  such  pro- 
mises of  speedy  deliverance  and  princely  treatment,  as  would  have  reflected 
the  greatest  honour  upon  him  if  they  had  flowed  from  another  source. 
Francis  grasped  at  them  with  the  eagerness  natural  in  his  situation  ;  and 
cheered  with  this  gleam  of  hope,  began  to  revive  from  that  moment,  re- 
covering rapidly  his  wonted  health.! 

He  had  soon  the  mortification  to  find,  that  his  confidence  in  the  emperor 
Mas  not  better  founded  than  formerly.  Charles  returned  instantly  to 
Toledo  ;  all  negotiations  were  carried  on  by  his  ministers  ;  and  Francis 
was  kept  in  as  strict  custody  as  ever.  A  new  indignity,  and  that  very  galling, 
w;is  added  to  all  those  he  had  already  suffered:  Bourbon  arriving  in 
Spain  about  this  time,  Charles,  who  had  so  long  refused  to  visit  the  king 
oi  France,  received  his  rebellious  subject  with  the  most  studied  respect 

*  Guic  lib.  I7i.  389.    Jovii  Hist.  319.    Capclla.  lib.  v.  n.  200.         t  fi»ic- 1,  xvi.  339.    Sandovi 

Hint,  i  r>t>r>. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  201 

[Nov.  15 j.  He  met  him  without  the  gates  of  Toledo,  embraced  him  with 
the  greatest  affection,  and  placing  him  on  his  left  hand,  conducted  him  to 
his  apartment.  These  marks  ot  honour  to  him,  were  so  many  insults  to 
the  unfortunate  monarch  ;  which  he  felt  in  a  very  sensible  manner.  It 
afforded  him  some  consolation,  however,  to  observe,  that  the  sentiments 
of  the  Spaniards  differed  widely  from  those  of  their  sovereign.  That 
generous  people  detested  Bourbon's  crime.  Notwithstanding  his  great 
talents  and  important  services,  they  shunned  all  intercourse  with  him,  to 
such  a  degree,  that  Charles  having  desired  the  Marquis  de  Villena  to  per- 
mit Bourbon  to  reside  in  his  palace  while  the  court  remained  in  Toledo, 
he  politely  replied,  "  That  he  could  not  refuse  gratifying  his  sovereign  in 
that  request ;"  but  added,  with  a  Castilian  dignity  of  mind,  that  the  em- 
peror must  not  be  surprised  if,  the  moment  the  constable  departed,  he 
should  burn  to  the  ground  a  house  which,  having  been  polluted  by  the 
presence  of  a  traitor,  became  an  unfit  habitation  for  a  man  of  honour.* 

Charles  himself,  nevertheless,  seemed  to  have  it  much  at  heart  to  reward 
Bourbon's  services  in  a  signal  manner.  But  as  he  insisted,  in  the  first 
place,  on  the  accomplishment  of  the  emperor's  promise  of  giving  him  in 
marriage  his  sister  Eleanora,  queen-dowager  of  Portugal,  the  honour  of 
which  alliance  had  been  one  of  his  chief  inducements  to  rebel  against  his 
lawful  sovereign  ;  as  Francis,  in  order  to  prevent  such  a  dangerous  union, 
had  offered,  before  he  left  Italy,  to  marry  that  princess ;  and  as  Eleanora 
herself  discovered  an  inclination  rather  to  match  with  a  powerful  monarch, 
than  with  his  exiled  subject ;  all  these  interfering  circumstances  created 
great  embarrassment  to  Charles,  and  left  him  hardly  any  hope  of  extricating 
himself  with  decency.  But  the  death  of  Pescara,  who,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six,  left  behind  him  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  greatest 
generals  and  ablest  politicians  of  that  century,  happened  opportunely  at 
this  juncture  [December]  for  his  relief.  By  that  event,  the  command  of 
the  army  in  Italy  became  vacant,  and  Charles,  always  fertile  in  resources, 
persuaded  Bourbon,  who  was  in  no  condition  to  dispute  his  will,  to  accept 
the  office  of  general  in  chief  there,  together  with  a  grant  of  the  dutchy  of 
Milan  forfeited  by  Sforza  :  and  in  return  for  these  to  relinquish  all  hopes 
of  marrying  the  queen  of  Portugal. | 

The  chief  obstacle  that  stood  in  the  way  of  Francis's  liberty  was  the 
emperor's  continuing  to  insist  so  peremptorily  on  the  restitution  of  Bur- 
gundy, as  a  preliminary  to  that  event.  Francis  often  declared,  that  he 
would  never  consent  to  dismember  his  kingdom ;  and  that  even  if  he 
should  so  far  forget  the  duties  of  a  monarch,  as  to  come  to  such  a  resolu- 
tion, the  fundamental  laws  of  the  nation  would  prevent  its  taking  effect. 
On  his  part  he  was  willing  to  make  an  absolute  cession  to  the  emperor  of 
all  his  pretensions  in  Italy  and  the  Low-Countries  ;  he  promised  to  restore 
to  Bourbon  all  his  lands  which  had  been  confiscated  ;  he  renewed  his  pro- 
posal of  marrying  the  emperor's  sister,  the  queen-dowager  of  Portugal : 
and  engaged  to  pay  a  great  sum  by  way  of  ransom  for  his  own  person. 
But  all  mutual  esteem  and  confidence  between  the  two  monarchs  were 
now  entirely  lost ;  there  appeared,  on  the  one  hand,  a  rapacious  ambition 
labouring  to  avail  itself  of  every  favourable  circumstance  ;  on  the  other, 
suspicion  and  resentment,  standing  perpetually  on  their  guard ;  so  that 
the  prospect  of  bringing  their  negotiation  to  an  issue  seemed  to  be  far 
distant.  The  dutchess  of  Alencon,  the  French  king's  sister,  whom  Charles 
permitted  to  visit  her  brother  in  his  confinement,  employed  all  her  address, 
in  order  to  procure  his  liberty  on  more  reasonable  terms.  Henry  of 
England  interposed  his  good  offices  to  the  same  purpose  ;  but  both  with 
so  little  success,  that  Francis  in  despair  took  suddenly  the  resolution  of 
resigning  his  crown,  with  all  its  rights  and  prerogatives,  to  his  son  the 

*  Guic.  I.  xvi.  333.  f  Saratov.  IIi*t.  i.  67fi.     Ceuv.  de  i'irant.  iv.  249 

Vol.  II.—  2fi 


202  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  H . 

dauphin,  determined  rather  to  end  his  days  in  prison,  than  to  purchase  his 
freedom  by  concessions  unworthy  of  a  king.  The  deed  for  this  purpose 
he  signed  with  legal  formality  in  Madrid,  empowering  his  sister  to  carry 
it  into  France,  that  it  might  be  registered  in  all  the  parliaments  of  the 
kingdom ;  and  at  the  same  time  intimating  his  intention  to  the  emperor, 
he  desired  him  to  name  the  place  of  his  confinement,  and  to  assign  him  a 
proper  number  of  attendants  during  the  remainder  of  his  days.* 

This  resolution  of  the  French  king  had  great  effect ;  Charles  began  to 
be  sensible  that  by  pushing  rigour  to  excess  he  might  defeat  his  own 
measures  ;  and  instead  of  the  vast  advantages  which  he  hoped  to  draw 
from  ransoming  a  powerful  monarch,  he  might  at  last  find  in  his  hands  a 
prince  without  dominions  or  revenues.  About  the  same  time,  one  of  the 
king  of  Navarre's  domestics  happened,  by  an  extraordinary  exertion  of 
fidelity,  courage,  and  address,  to  procure  his  master  an  opportunity  of 
escaping  from  the  prison  in  which  he  had  been  confined  ever  since  the 
battle  of  Pavia.  This  convinced  the  emperor,  that  the  most  vigilant  atten- 
tion of  his  officers  might  be  eluded  by  the  ingenuity  or  boldness  of  Francis 
or  his  attendants,  and  one  unlucky  hour  might  deprive  him  of  all  the 
advantages  which  he  had  been  so  solicitous  to  obtain.  By  these  considera- 
tions, he  was  induced  to  abate  somewhat  of  his  former  demands.  On  the 
other  hand,  Francis's  impatience  under  confinement  daily  increased  ;  and 
having  received  certain  intelligence  of  a  powerful  league  forming  against 
his  rival  in  Italy,  he  grew  more  compliant  with  regard  to  concessions, 
trusting  that,  if  he  could  once  obtain  his  liberty,  he  would  soon  be  in  a 
condition  to  resume  whatever  he  had  yielded. 

1526.]  Such  being  the  views  and  sentiments  of  the  two  monarchs,  the 
treaty  which  procured  Francis  his  liberty  was  signed  at  Madrid  on 
the  fourteenth  of  January,  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-six. 
The  article  with  regard  to  Burgundy,  which  had  hitherto  created 
the  greatest  difficulty,  was  compromised,  Francis  engaging  to  restore 
that  dutchy  with  all  it  dependencies  in  full  sovereignty  to  the  emperor; 
and  Charles  consenting  that  this  restitution  should  not  be  made  until 
the  king  was  set  at  liberty  ;  in  order  to  secure  the  performance  of  this,  as 
well  as  the  other  conditions  in  the  treaty,  Francis  agreed  that  at  the  same 
instant  when  he  himself  should  be  released,  he  would  deliver  as  hostages 
to  the  emperor,  his  eldest  son  the  dauphin,  his  second  son  the  duke  of 
Orleans,  or  in  lieu  of  the  latter,  twelve  of  his  principal  nobility,  to  be 
named  by  Charles.  The  other  articles  swelled  to  a  great  number,  and, 
though  not  of  such  importance,  were  extremely  rigorous.  Among  these 
the  most  remarkable  were,  that  Francis  should  renounce  all  his  pretensions 
in  Italy  ;  that  he  should  disclaim  any  title  which  he  had  to  the  sovereignty 
of  Flanders  and  Artois  ;  that,  within  six  weeks  after  his  release,  he  should 
restore  to  Bourbon,  and  his  adherents,  all  their  goods,  moveable  and  im- 
moveable, and  make  them  full  reparation  for  the  damages  which  they  had 
sustained  by  the  confiscation  of  them  ;  that  he  should  use  his  interest  with 
Henry  d'Albret  to  relinquish  his  pretensions  to  the  crown  of  Navarre, 
and  should  not  for  the  future  assist  him  in  any  attempt  to  recover  it ;  that 
there  should  be  established  between  the  emperor  and  Francis  a  league  of 
perpetual  friendship  and  confederacy,  with  a  promise  of  mutual  assistance 
in  every  case  of  necessity  ;  that,  in  corroboration  of  this  union,  Francis 
should  marry  the  emperor's  sister,  the  queen-dowager  of  Portugal ;  that 
Francis  should  cause  all  the  articles  of  this  treaty  to  be  ratified  by  the 
states,  and  registered  in  the  parliaments  of  his  kingdom ;  that  upon  the 
emperor's  receiving  this  ratification  the  hostages  should  be  set  at  liberty  ; 
but  in  their  place,  the  duke  of  Angouleme,  the  king's  third  son,  should  be 
delivered  to  Charles,  that,  in  order  to  manifest,  as  well  as  to  strengthen 

"This  papfr  ii  pnhliKhnrl  in  Memoires  Historiqaee,  <Src.  par  M.  I' Abbe  Rnyrtn),  torn.  ii.  p   15] 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V-  20.5 

the  amity  between  the  two  monarch?,  he  might  be  educated  at  the  Impe- 
rial court ;  and  that  if  Francis  did  not,  within  the  time  limited,  fulfil  the 
stipulations  in  the  treaty,  he  should  promise,  upon  his  honour  and  oath, 
to  return  into  Spain,  and  to  surrender  himself  again  a  prisoner  to  the 
emperor.* 

By  this  treaty,  Charles  flattered  himself  that  he  had  not  only  effectually 
humbled  his  rival,  but  that  he  had  taken  such  precautions  as  wouid  for 
ever  prevent  his  re-attaining  any  formidable  degree  of  power.  The  opi- 
nion, which  the  wisest  politicians  formed  concerning  it,  was  very  different ; 
they  could  not  persuade  themselves  that  Francis,  alter  obtaining  his  liberty, 
would  execute  articles  against  which  he  had  struggled  so  long,  and  to 
which,  notwithstanding  all  that  he  felt  during  a  long  and  rigorous  confine- 
ment, he  had  consented  with  the  utmost  reluctance.  Ambition  and  resent- 
ment, they  knew,  would  conspire  in  prompting  him  to  violate  the  hard 
conditions  to  which  he  had  been  constrained  to  submit ;  nor  would  argu- 
ments and  casuistry  be  wanting  to  represent  that  which  was  so  manifestly 
advantageous,  to  be  necessary  and  just.  If  one  part  of  Francis's  conduct 
had  been  known  at  that  time,  this  opinion  might  have  been  founded,  not  in 
conjecture,  but  in  certainty.  A  few  hours  before  he  signed  the  treaty,  he 
assembled  such  of  his  counsellors  as  were  then  in  Madrid,  and  having 
exacted  from  them  a  solemn  oath  of  secrecy,  he  made  a  long  enumeration 
in  their  presence  of  the  dishonourable  arts,  as  well  as  unprincely  rigour, 
which  the  emperor  had  employed  in  order  to  ensnare  or  intimidate  him. 
For  that  reason,  he  took  a  formal  protest  in  the  hands  of  notaries,  that  his 
consent  to  the  treaty  should  be  considered  as  an  involuntary  deed,  and  be 
deemed  null  and  void.j  By  this  disingenuous  artifice,  for  which  even  the 
treatment  that  he  had  met  with  was  no  apology,  Francis  endeavoured  to 
satisfy  his  honour  and  conscience  in  signing  the  treaty,  and  to  provide  at 
the  same  time  a  pretext  on  which  to  break  it. 

Great,  meanwhile,  were  the  outward  demonstrations  of  love  and  confi- 
dence between  the  two  nionarchs  ;  they  appeared  often  together  in  public  ; 
they  frequently  had  long  conferences  in  private  ;  they  travelled  in  the  same 
litter,  and  joined  in  the  same  amusements.  But  amidst  these  signs  of 
peace  and  friendship,  the  emperor  still  harboured  suspicion  in  his  mind. 
Though  the  ceremonies  of  the  marriage  between  Francis  and  the  queen 
of  Portugal  were  performed  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty, 
Charles  would  not  permit  him  to  consummate  it  until  the  return  of  the 
ratification  from  France.  Even  then  Francis  was  not  allowed  to  be  at  full 
liberty;  his  guards  were  still  continued  ;  though  caressed  as  a  brother-in- 
law,  he  was  still  watched  like  a  prisoner ;  and  it  was  obvious  to  attentive 
observers,  that  a  union,  in  the  very  beginning  of  which  there  might  be 
discerned  such  symptoms  of  jealousy  and  distrust,  could  not  be  cordial,  or 
of  long  continuance.}; 

About  a  month  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  the  regent's  ratification 
of  it  was  brought  from  France  ;  and  that  wise  princess,  preferring,  on  this 
occasion,  the  public  good  to  domestic  affection,  informed  her  son,  that, 
instead  of  the  twelve  noblemen  named  in  the  treaty,  she  had  sent  the  duke 
of  Orleans  along  with  his  brother  the  dauphin  to  the  frontier,  as  the  king- 
dom could  suffer  nothing  by  the  absence  of  a  child,  but  must  be  left 
almost  incapable  of  defence,  if  deprived  of  its  ablest  statesmen  and  most 
experienced  generals,  whom  Charles  had  artfully  included  in  his  nomina- 
tion. At  last  Francis  took  leave  of  die  emperor,  whose  suspicion  of  the 
king's  sincerity  increasing,  as  the  time  of  putting  it  to  the  proof  approached, 
he  endeavoured  to  bind  hiin  still  faster  by  exacting  new  promises,  which, 
after  those  he  had  already  made,  the  French  monarch  was  not  slow  to 

*  Recueil  des  Trait,  torn.  ii.  112.    Ulloa  Vita  dell  Carlo  V.  n.  193,  &c.  t  Kerueil  dps  Trait, 

torn.  ii.  p.  10..        i  Guir.  1.  ivi.  353. 


204  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  IV. 

grant.  He  set  out  from  Madrid,  a  place  which  the  remembrance  of  many 
afflicting  circumstances  rendered  peculiarly  odious  to  him,  with  the  joy 
natural  on  such  an  occasion,  and  began  the  long-wished-for  journey  towards 
his  own  dominions.  He  was  escorted  by  a  body  of  horse  under  the  com- 
mand of  Alarcon,  who,  as  the  king  drew  near  the  frontiers  of  France, 
guarded  him  with  more  scrupulous  exactness  than  ever.  When  he  arrived 
at  the  river  Andaye,  which  separates  the  two  kingdoms,  Lautrec  appeared 
on  the  opposite  bank  with  a  guard  of  horse  equal  in  number  to  Alarcon's. 
An  empty  bark  was  moored  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  ;  the  attendants 
drew  up  in  order  on  the  opposite  banks  ;  at  the  same  instant,  Lannoy  with 
eight  gentlemen  put  off  from  the  Spanish,  and  Lautrec  with  the  same  num- 
ber from  the  French  side  of  the  river ;  the  former  had  the  king  in  his 
boat ;  the  latter,  the  dauphin  and  duke  of  Orleans  ;  they  met  in  the  empty 
vessel  ;  the  exchange  was  made  in  a  moment :  Francis,  after  a  short  em- 
brace of  his  children,  leaped  into  Lautrec's  boat,  and  reached  the  French 
shore.  He  mounted  at  that  instant  a  Turkish  horse,  waved  his  hand  over 
his  head,  and  with  a  joyful  voice  crying  aloud  several  times,  "  I  am  yet  a 
king,"  galloped  full  speed  to  St.  John  de  Luz,  and  from  thence  to  Bay- 
onne.  This  event,  no  less  impatiently  desired  by  the  French  nation  than 
by  their  monarch,  happened  on  the  eighteenth  of  March,  a  year  and 
twenty-two  days  after  the  fatal  battle  of  ravia.* 

Soon  after  the  emperor  had  taken  leave  of  Francis,  and  permitted  him 
to  begin  his  journey  towards  his  own  dominions,  he  set  out  for  Seville,  in 
order  to  solemnize  his  marriage  with  Isabella,  the  daughter  of  Emanuel, 
the  late  king  of  Portugal,  and  the  sister  of  John  III.,  who  had  succeeded 
him  in  the  throne  of  that  kingdom.  Isabella  was  a  princess  of  uncommon 
beauty  and  accomplishments  ;  and  as  the  Cortes,  both  in  Castile  and  Ara- 
gon,  had  warmly  solicited  their  sovereign  to  marry,  the  choice  of  a  wife, 
so  nearly  allied  to  the  royal  blood  of  both  kingdoms,  was  extremely  ac- 
ceptable to  his  subjects.  The  Portuguese,  fond  of  this  new  connection 
with  the  first  monarch  in  Christendom,  granted  him  an  extraordinary  dowry 
with  Isabella,  amounting  to  nine  hundred  thousand  crowns,  a  sum  which, 
from  the  situation  of  his  affairs  at  this  juncture,  was  of  no  small  consequence 
to  the  emperor.  The  marriage  "was  celebrated  [March  12]  with  that 
splendour  and  gayety  which  became  a  great  and  youthful  prince.  Charles 
lived  with  Isabella  in  perfect  harmony,  and  treated  her  on  all  occasions 
with  much  distinction  and  regard.! 

During  these  transactions,  Charles  could  hardly  give  any  attention  to 
the  affairs  of  Germany,  though  it  was  torn  in  pieces  by  commotions,  which 
threatened  the  most  dangerous  consequences.  By  the  feudal  institutions,^ 
which  still  subsisted  almost  unimpaired  in  the  empire,  the  property  of 
lands  was  vested  in  the  princes  and  free  barons.  Their  vassals  held  of 
them  by  the  strictest  and  most  limited  tenures ;  while  the  great  body  of 
the  people  was  kept  in  a  state  but  little  removed  from  absolute  servitude. 
In  some  places  of  Germany,  people  of  the  lowest  class  were  so  entirely  in 
the  power  of  their  masters,  as  to  be  subject  to  personal  and  domestic 
slavery,  the  most  rigorous  form  of  that  wretched  state.  In  other  provinces, 
particularly  in  Bohemia  and  Lusatia,  the  peasants  were  bound  to  remain 
on  the  lands  to  which  they  belonged,  and  making  part  of  the  estate,  were 
transferred  like  any  other  property  from  one  hand  to  another.  Even  in 
Suabia,  and  the  countries  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  where  their  condition 
was  most  tolerable,  the  peasants  not  only  paid  the  full  rent  of  their  farms 
to  the  landlord,  but  if  they  chose  either  to  change  the  place  of  their 
abode,  or  to  follow  a  new  profession,  before  they  could  accomplish  what 
they  desired,  they  were  obliged  to  purchase  this  privilege  at  a  certain 

*  Sandov.  Hist,  i.735.  Cuic.  1.  xvi.  355.  t  TT"oa  Vita  di  Carlo  V.  p.  J06.  Brlcsrius  Com. 
B«r.  Oallic  p.  5K5.    Spalatinu*  ap.  Struv.  Corp   Hist.  Omn.  ii.  J*wi . 


EM  PERDU  (J  11  Alt  LEb   V.  s!i>5 

price.  Besides  this,  all  grants  of  lands  to  peasants  expired  at  their  death, 
without  descending  to  their  posterity.  Upon  that  event,  the  landlord  had 
a  right  to  the  hest  of  their  cattle,  as  well  as  of  their  furniture  ;  and  their 
heirs,  in  order  to  ohtain  a  renewal  of  the  grant,  were  obliged  to  pay  large 
sums  by  way  of  fine.  These  exactions,  though  grievous,  were  borne  with 
patience,  because  they  were  customary  and  ancient :  but  when  the  pro- 
gress of  elegance  and  luxury,  as  well  as  the  changes  introduced  into  the 
art  of  war,  came  to  increase  the  expense  of  government,  and  made  it  ne- 
cessary for  princes  to  levy  occasional  or  stated  taxes  on  their  subjects,  such 
impositions  being  new,  appeared  intolerable ;  and  in  Germany,  these  duties 
being  laid  chiefly  upon  beer,  wine,  and  other  necessaries  of  life,  affected 
the  common  people  in  the  most  sensible  manner.  The  addition  of  such  a 
load  to  their  former  burdens,  drove  them  to  despair.  It  was  to  the  valour 
inspired  by  resentment  against  impositions  of  this  kind  that  the  Swiss  owed 
the  acquisition  ot  their  liberty  in  the  fourteenth  century.  The  same  cause 
had  excited  the  peasants  in  several  other  provinces  of  Germany  to  rebel^ 
against  their  superiors  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  centuries ;  and  though  these  insurrections  were  not  attended 
with  like  success,  they  could  not,  however,  be  quelled  without  much  diffi- 
culty and  bloodshed.* 

By  these  checks,  the  spirit  of  the  peasants  was  overawed  rather  than 
subdued ;  and  their  grievances  multiplying  continually,  they  ran  to  arms, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-six,  with  the  most  fran- 
tic rage.  Their  first  appearance  was  near  Ulm  in  Suabia.  The  peasants 
in  the  adjacent  country  flocKed  to  their  standard  with  the  ardour  and  im- 
patience natural  to  men,  who  having  groaned  long  under  oppression,  beheld 
at  last  some  prospect  of  deliverance;  and  the  contagion  spreading  from 
province  to  province,  reached  almost  every  part  of  Germany.  Wherever 
they  came,  they  plundered  the  monasteries  ;  wasted  the  lands  of  their 
superiors  ;  razed  their  castles,  and  massacred  without  mercy  all  persons  of 
noble  birth,  who  were  so  unhappy  as  to  fall  into  their  hands. j  Having 
intimidated  their  oppressors,  as  they  imagined,  by  the  violence  of  these 
proceedings,  they  began  to  consider  what  would  be  the  most  proper  and 
effectual  method  of  securing  themselves  for  the  future  from  their  tyrannical 
exactions.  With  this  view,  they  drew  up  and  published  a  memorial,  con- 
taining all  their  demands,  and  declared,  that  while  arms  were  in  then; 
hands,  they  would  either  persuade  or  oblige  the  nobles  to  give  them  fieri] 
satisfaction  with  regard  to  these.  The  chief  articles  were,  that  they 
might  have  liberty  to  choose  their  own  pastors  ;  that  they  might  be  freed 
from  the  payment  of  all  tithes  except  those  of  corn  ;  that  they  might  no 
longer  be  considered  as  the  slaves  or  bondmen  of  their  superiors  ;  that  the 
liberty  of  hunting  and  fishing  might  be  common  ;  that  the  great  forests 
might  not  be  regarded  as  private  property,  but  be  open  for  the  use  of  all ; 
that  they  might  be  delivered  from  the  unusual  burden  of  taxes  under  which 
they  laboured;  that  the  administration  of  justice  might  be  rendered  less 
rigorous  and  more  impartial  ;  that  the  encroachments  of  the  nobles  upon 
meadows  and  commons  might  be  restrained.! 

Many  of  these  demands  were  extremely  reasonable  ;  and  being  urged  by 
such  formidable  numbers,  should  have  met  with  some  redress.  But  those 
unwieldy  bodies,  assembled  in  different  places,  had  neither  union,  nor 
conduct,  nor  vigour.  Being  led  by  persons  of  the  lowest  rank,  without 
skill  in  war,  or  knowledge  of  what  was  necessary  for  accomplishing  their 
designs;  all  their  exploits  were  distinguished  only  by  a  brutal  and 
unmeaning  fury.  To  oppose  this,  the  princes  and  nobles  of  Suabia  and  the 
Lower  Rhine  raised  such  of  their  vassals  as  still  continued  faithful,  and 

*  Seekend.  lib,  ii.  p.  2. 5.       r  IMr.  Crinltua  ile  hello  Rr.sllcsno,  an.  Freher.  Pmpt.  P«r.  Gma 
IrgAt  17!7,  vol.  iii.  p.  343  {  Field.  Hist,  p  00 


206  THE   REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  IV  . 

attacking  some  of  the  mutineers  with  open  force,  and  others  by  surprise, 
cut  to  pieces  or  dispersed  all  who  infested  those  provinces;  so  that  the 
peasants,  after  ruining  the  open  country,  and  losing  upwards  of  twenty 
thousand  of  their  associates  in  the  field,  were  obliged  to  return  to  their 
habitations  with  less  hope  than  ever  of  relief  from  their  grievances.* 

These  commotions  happened  at  first  in  provinces  of  Germany  where 
Luther's  opinions  had  made  little  progress;  and  being  excited  wholly  by 
political  causes,  had  no  connection  with  the  disputed  points  in  religion. 
But  the  phrenzy  reaching  at  last  those  countries  in  which  the  reformation 
was  established,  derived  new  strength  from  circumstances ipeculiar  to  them, 
and  rose  to  a  still  greater  pitch  of  extravagance.  The  reformation, 
wherever  it  was  received,  increased  that  bold  and  innovating  spirit  to  which 
it  owed  its  birth.  Men  who  had  the  courage  to  overturn  a  system  sup- 
ported by  every  thing  which  can  command  respect  or  reverence,  were 
not  to  be  overawed  by  any  authority,  how  great  or  venerable  soever. 
After  having  been  accustomed  to  consider  themselves  as  judges  of  the  most 
important  doctrines  in  religion,  to  examine  these  freely,  and  to  reject,  with- 
out scruple,  what  appeared  to  them  erroneous,  it  was  natural  for  them  to 
turn  the  same  daring  and  inquisitive  eye  towards  government,  and  to  think 
of  rectifying  whatever  disorders  or  imperfections  were  discovered  there. 
As  religious  abuses  had  been  reformed  in  several  places  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  magistrate,  it  was  an  easy  transition  to  attempt  the  redress  of 
political  grievances  in  the  same  manner. 

No  sooner,  then,  did  the  spirit  of  revolt  break  out  in  Thuringia,  a 
province  subject  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were 
mostly  converts  to  Lutheranism,  than  it  assumed  a  new  and  more  danger- 
ous form.  Thomas  Muncer,  one  of  Luther's  disciples,  having  established 
himself  in  that  country,  had  acquired  a  wonderful  ascendant  over  the  minds 
of  the  people.  He  propagated  among  them  the  wildest  and  most  enthu- 
siastic notions,  but  such  as  tended  manifestly  to  inspire  them  with  boldness, 
and  lead  them  to  sedition.  "Luther,"  he  told  them,  '"had  done  more  hurt 
than  service  to  religion.  He  had,  indeed,  rescued  the  church  from  the 
yoke  of  popery,  but  his  doctrines  encouraged,  and  his  life  set  an  example 
of,  the  utmost  licentiousness  of  manners.  In  order  to  avoid  vice,  (says  he; 
men  must  practise  perpetual  mortification.  They  must  put  on  a  grave 
countenance,  speak  little,  wear  a  plain  garb,  and  be  serious  in  their  whole 
deportment.  Such  as  prepare  their  hearts  in  this  manner,  may  expect  that 
the  Supreme  Being  will  direct  all  their  steps,  and  by  some  visible  sign 
discover  his  will  to  them  ;  if  that  illumination  be  at  any  time  withheld,  we 
may  expostulate  with  the  Almighty,  who  deals  with  us  so  harshly,  and 
remind  him  of  his  promises.  This  expostulation  and  anger  will  be  highly 
acceptable  to  God,  and  will  at  last  prevail  on  him  to  guide  us  with  the 
same  unerring  hand  which  conducted  the  patriarchs  of  old.  Let  us  beware, 
however,  of  offending  him  by  our  arrogance ;  but  as  all  men  are  equal  in  his 
eye,  let  them  return  to  that  condition  of  equality  in  which  he  formed  them, 
and  having  all  things  in  common,  let  them  live  together  like  brethren, 
without  any  marks  of  subordination  or  pre-eminence."! 

Extravagant  as  these  tenets  were,  they  flattered  so  many  passions  in  the 
human- heart,  as  to  make  a  deep  impression.  To  aim  at  nothing  more  than 
abridging  the  power  of  the  nobility,  was  now  considered  as  a  trifling  and 
partial  reformation,  not  worth  the  contending  for;  it  was  proposed  to  level 
every  distinction  among  mankind,  and  by  abolishing  property  to  reduce 
them  to  their  natural  state  of  equality,  in  which  all  should  receive  their 
subsistence  from  one  common  stock.  Muncer  assured  them,  that  the 
design  was  approved  of  by  Heaven,  and  that  the  Almighty  had  in  a  dream 

*  Serkfnd.  lib.  ii.  p.  10.  P<tr.  Goodnlios  de  Ruslicanorum  Tumultu  hi  Oiiiianis.  Scard.  ap. 
Script,  vol.  ii.  p.  131.  Sec  \  Seckcnd.  lib  ii.   >   '"■     Sleid   Hist  p.  83. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  £07 

ascertained  him  of  its  success.  The  peasants  set  about  the  execution  of  it, 
not  only  with  the  rage  which  animated  those  of  their  order  in  other  parts 
of  Germany,  but  with  the  ardour  which  enthusiasm  inspires.  They  deposed 
the  magistrates  in  all  the  cities  of  which  they  were  masters ;  seized  the 
lands  of  the  nobles,  and  obliged  such  of  them  as  they  got  into  their  hands 
to  put  on  the  dress  commonly  worn  by  peasants,  and  instead  of  their  former 
titles,  to  be  satisfied  with  the  appellation  given  to  people  in  the  lowest 
class  of  life.  Great  numbers  engaged  in  this  wild  undertaking ;  but  Muncer, 
their  leader  and  their  prophet,  was  destitute  of  the  abilities  necessary  for 
conducting  it.  He  had  all  the  extravagance,  but  not  the  courage,  which 
enthusiasts  usually  possess.  It  was  with  difficulty  he  could  be  persuaded 
to  take  the  field ;  and  though  he  soon  drew  together  eight  thousand  men, 
he  suffered  himself  to  be  surrounded  by  a  body  of  cavalry,  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  duke  of  Bruns- 
wick. These  princes,  unwilling  to  shed  the  blood  of  their  deluded  sub- 
jects, sent  a  young  nobleman  to  their  camp,  with  the  offer  of  a  general 
pardon,  if  they  would  immediately  lay  down  their  arms,  and  deliver  up 
the  authors  of  the  sedition.  Muncer,  alarmed  at  this,  began  to  harangue 
his  followers  with  his  usual  vehemence,  exhorting  them  not  to  trust  these 
deceitful  promises  of  their  oppressors,  nor  to  desert  the  cause  of  God,  and 
of  Christian  liberty. 

But  the  sense  of  present  danger  making  a  deeper  impression  on  the 
peasants  than  his  eloquence,  confusion  and  terror  were  visible  in  every 
face,  when  a  rainbow,  which  was  the  emblem  that  the  mutineers  had 
painted  on  their  colours,  happening  to  appear  in  the  clouds,  Muncer,  with 
admirable  presence  of  mind,  laid  hold  of  that  incident,  and  suddenly  raising 
his  eyes  and  hands  towards  Heaven,  "  Behold,"  cries  he,  with  an  elevated 
voice,  "  the  sign  which  God  has  given.  There  is  the  pledge  of  your  safety, 
and  a  token  that  the  wicked  shall  be  destroyed."  The  fanatical  multitude 
set  up  instantly  a  great  shout,  as  if  victory  had  been  certain;  and  passing 
in  a  moment  from  one  extreme  to  another,  massacred  the  unfortunate  noble- 
man who  had  come  with  the  offer  of  pardon,  and  demanded  to  be  led 
towards  the  enemy.  The  princes,  enraged  at  this  shocking  violation  of 
the  laws  of  war,  advanced  with  no  less  impetuosity,  and  began  the  attack 
[May  15] ;  but  the  behaviour  of  the  peasants  in  the  combat  was  not  such 
as  might  have  been  expected  either  from  their  ferocity  or  confidence  of 
success;  an  undisciplined  rabble  was  no  equal  match  for  well-trained 
troops;  above  five  thousand  were  slain  in  the  field,  almost  without  making- 
resistance;  the  rest  fled,  and  among  the  foremost  Muncer  their  general. 
He  was  taken  next  day,  and  being  condemned  to  such  punishments  as  his 
crimes  had  deserved,  he  suffered  them  with  a  poor  and  dastardly  spirit. 
His  death  put  an  end  to  the  insurrections  of  the  peasants,  which  had  filled 
Germany  with  such  terror;*  but  the  enthusiastic  notions  which  he  had 
scattered  were  not  extirpated,  and  produced,  not  long  after,  effects  more 
memorable,  as  well  as  more  extravagant. 

During  these  commotions,  Luther  acted  with  exemplary  prudence  and 
moderation;  like  a  common  parent,  solicitous  about  the  welfare  of  both 
parties,  without  sparing  the  faults  or  errors  of  either.  On  the  one  hand,  he 
addressed  a  monitory  discourse  to  the  nobles,  exhorting  them  to  treat  their 
dependents  with  greater  humanity  and  indulgence.  On  the  other,  he 
severely  censured  the  seditious  spirit  of  the  peasants,  advising  them  not  to 
murmur  at  hardships  inseparable  from  their  condition,  nor  to  seek  for 
redress  by  any  but  legal  means. t 

Luther  s  famous  marriage  with  Catharine  a  Boria,  a  nun  of  a  noble 
family,  who,  having  thrown  off  the  veil,  had  fled  from  the  cloister,  hap- 

- 

*  Sleid.  Hirt.  p.  8-1.    Seckend.  lib.  ji.  p.  12.    Giiodalius  Tumult.  Rugtican  155  *  Sksd 

Hist.  p.  67 


208  THE  KElGi\    OF   THE  [Book IV. 

gened  this  year,  and  was  far  from  meeting  with  the  same  approbation. 
!ven  his  most  devoted  followers  thought  this  step  indecent,  at  a  time  when 
his  country  was  involved  in  so  many  calamities  ;  while  his  enemies  never 
mentioned  it  with  any  softer  appellation  than  that  of  incestuous  or  profane. 
Luther  himself  was  sensible  of  the  impression  which  it  had  made  to  bis 
disadvantage;  but  being  satisfied  with  his  own  conduct,  he  bore  the  cen- 
Mire  of  his  friends,  and  the  reproaches  of  his  adversaries,  with  his  usual 
fortitude.* 

This  year  the  reformation  lost  its  first  protector,  Frederic,  elector  of 
Saxony;  but  the  blow  was  the  less  sensibly  felt,  as  he  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother  John  [May  5],  a  more  avowed  and  zealous,  though  less  able 
patron  of  Luther  and  his  doctrines. 

Another  event  happened  about  the  same  time,  which,  as  it  occasioned  a 
considerable  change  in  the  state  of  Germany,  must  be  traced  back  to  its 
source.  While  the  frenzy  of  the  Crusades  possessed  all  Europe  during 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  several  orders  of  religious  knighthood 
were  founded  in  defence  of  the  Christian  faith  against  heathens  and 
infidels.  Among  these  the  Teutonic  order  in  Germany  was  one  of  the 
most  illustrious,  the  knights  of  which  distinguished  themselves  greatly  in 
all  the  enterprises  carried  on  in  the  Holy  Land.  Being  driven  at  last  trom 
their  settlements  in  the  east,  they  were  obliged  to  return  to  their  native 
country.  Their  zeal  and  valour  were  too  impetuous  to  remain  long 
inactive.  They  invaded,  on  very  slight  pretences,  the  province  of  Prussia, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  were  still  idolaters ;  and  having  completed  the 
conquest  of  it  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  held  it  many 
years  as  a  fief  depending  on  the  crown  of  Poland.  Fierce  contests  arose 
during  this  period,  between  the  grand  masters  of  the  order  and  the  king3 
of  Poland ;  the  former  struggling  for  independence,  while  the  latter 
asserted  their  right  of  sovereignty  with  great  firmness.  Albert,  a  prince 
of  the  house  of  Brandenburgh,  who  was  elected  grand  master  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eleven,  engaging  keenly  in  this  quarrel, 
maintained  a  long  war  with  Sigismund  king  of  Poland  ;  but  having  become 
an  early  convert  to  Luther's  doctrines,  this  gradually  lessened  his  zeal  for 
the  interests  of  his  fraternity,  s*o  that  he  took  the  opportunity  of  the  con- 
tusions in  the  empire,  and  the  absence  of  the  emperor,  to  conclude  a  treaty 
with  Sigismund,  greatly  to  his  own  private  emolument.  By  it,  that  part 
of  Prussia  which  belonged  to  the  Teutonic  order,  was  erected  into  a 
secular  and  hereditary  dutchy,  and  the  investiture  of  it  granted  to  Albert, 
who,  in  return,  bound  himself  to  do  homage  for  it  to  the  kings  of  Poland 
as  their  vassal.  Immediately  after  this  he  made  public  profession  of  the 
reformed  religion,  and  married  a  princess  of  Denmark.  The  Teutonic 
knights  exclaimed  so  loudly  against  the  treachery  of  their  grand  master, 
that  he  was  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire  ;  but  he  still  kept  possession 
oi  the  province  which  he  had  usurped,  and  transmitted  it  to  his  posterity. 
In  process  of  time,  this  rich  inheritance  fell  to  the  electoral  branch  of  the 
family,  all  dependence  on  the  crown  of  Poland  was  shaken  off,  and  the 
margraves  of  Brandenburgh,  having  assumed  the  title  of  kings  of  Prussia, 
have  not  only  risen  to  an  equality  with  the  first  princes  in  Germany,  but 
take  their  rank  among  the  £reat  monarchs  of  Europe,  j 

Upon  the  return  ot  the  French  king  to  his  dominions,  the  eyes  of  all 
the  powers  in  Europe  were  fixed  upon  him,  that,  by  observing  his  first 
motions,  they  might  form  a  judgment  concerning  his  subsequent  conduct. 
They  were  not  held  long  in  suspense.  Francis,  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at 
Bayonne,  wrote  to  the  king  of  England,  thanking  him  for  the  zeal  and 
affection  wherewith  he  had  interposed  in  his  favour,  to  which  he  acknow- 

*  Seckend.  lib.  ii.  p.  15  t  Sleid.  Hist.  p"3     rfi-flVI  Miros<rlcniisi  ?.r  Droit  Puhl.  p 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   \.  20* 

ledgcd  that  he  owed  the  recovery  of  his  liberty.  Next  day  the  emperor's 
ambassadors  demanded  audience,  and,  in  their  master's  name,  required 
him  to  issue  such  orders  as  Were  necessary  for  carrying  the  treaty  of 
Madrid  into  immediate  and  full  execution  ;  he  coldly  answered,  that  though, 
for  his  own  part,  he  determined  religiously  to  perform  all  that  he  had 
promised,  the  treaty  contained  so  many  articles  relative  not  to  himself 
alone,  but  affecting  the  interests  of  the  French  monarchy,  that  he  could 
not  take  any  further  step  without  consulting  the  states  of  his  kingdom,  and 
that  some  time  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  reconcile  their  minds  to 
the  hard  conditions  which  he  had  consented  to  ratify.*  This  reply  was 
considered  as  no  obscure  discovery  of  his  being  resolved  to  elude  the 
treaty  ;  and  the  compliment  paid  to  Henry  appeared  a  very  proper  step 
towards  securing  the  assistance  of  that  monarch  in  the  war  with  the  em- 
peror, to  which  such  a  resolution  would  certainly  give  rise.  These  cir- 
cumstances, added  to  the  explicit  declarations  which  Francis  made  in 
secret  to  the  ambassadors  from  several  of  the  Italian  powers,  fully  satisfied 
them  that  their  conjectures  with  regarc1  to  his  conduct  had  been  just,  and 
that,  instead  of  intending  to  execute  an  unreasonable  treaty,  he  was  eager 
to  seize  the  first  opportunity  of  revenging  those  injuries  which  had  com- 
pelled him  to  feign  an  approbation  of  it.  Even  the  doubts,  and  fears,  and 
scruples,  which  used,  on  other  occasions,  to  hold  Clement  in  a  state  of 
uncertainty,  were  dissipated  by  Francis's  seeming  impatience  to  break 
through  all  his  engagements  with  the  emperor.  The  situation,  indeed,  of 
affairs  in  Italy  at  that  time,  did  not  allow  the  pope  to  hesitate  long.  Sforza 
was  still  besieged  by  the  Imperialists  in  the  castle  of  Milan.  That  feeble 
prince,  deprived  now  of  Morone's  advice,  and  unprovided  with  every 
thing  necessary  for  defence,  found  means  to  inform  Clement  and  the  Ve- 
netians, that  he  must  soon  surrender  if  they  did  not  come  to  his  relief. 
The  Imperial  troops,  as  they  had  received  no  pay  since  the  battle  of 
Pavia,  lived  at  discretion  in  the  Milanese,  levying  such  exorbitant  contri- 
butions in  that  dutchy,  as  amounted,  if  \ve  may  rely  on  Guicciardini's  cal- 
culation, to  no  less  a  sum  than  five  thousand  ducats  a-day  ;t  nor  was  it  to 
be  doubted  but  that  the  soldiers,  as  soon  as  the  castle  should  submit,  would 
choose  to  leave  a  ruined  country  which  hardly  afforded  them  subsistence, 
that  they  might  take  possession  of  more  comfortable  quarters  in  the  fertile 
and  untouched  territories  of  the  pope  and  Venetians.  The  assistance  of 
the  French  king  was  the  only  thing  which  could  either  save  Sforza,  or 
enable  them  to  protect  their  own  dominions  from  the  insults  of  the  Im- 
perial troops. 

For  these  reasons,  the  pope,  the  Venetians,  and  duke  of  Milan,  Were 
rqually  impatient  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  Francis,  who,  on  his  part, 
was  no  less  desirous  of  acquiring  such  a  considerable  accession  both  of 
strength  and  reputation  as  such  a  confederacy  would  bring  along  with  it. 
The  chief  objects  of  this  alliance,  which  was  concluded  at  Cognac,  on  the 
twenty -second  of  May,  though  kept  secret  for  some  time,  were  to  oblige 
the  emperor  to  set  at  liberty  the  French  king's  sons,  upon  payment  of  a 
reasonable  ransom  ;  and  to  re-establish  Sforza  in  the  quiet  possession  of 
the  Milanese.  If  Charles  should  refuse  either  of  these,  the  contracting 
parties  bound  themselves  to  bring  into  'he  field  an  army  of  thirty-five 
thousand  men,  with  which,  after  driving  the  Spaniards  out  of  the  Milanese, 
they  would  attack  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The  king  of  England  was 
declared  protector  of  this  league,  which  they  dignified  with  the  name  of 
Holy,  because  the  pope  was  at  the  head  of  it ;  and  in  order  to  allure  Henry 
more  effectually,  a  principality  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  of  thirty  thou- 
sand ducats  yearly  revenue,  was  to  be  settled  on  him  ;  and  lands  to  the 
value  of  ten  thousand  ducats  on  Wolsey  hi*  favourite.^ 

*Mem.deBellay.p.  97.  fGttk    l.xvii.  36U  JP  Hculcr  Rer.  Aufltr.  lib.  ix.  c.3.  p. 

217.     Recneil  des  Trait,  ii   121. 

Vol.     II.— 27 


210  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book    IV. 

No  sooner  was  this  league  concluded,  than  Clement,  by  the  plenitude  of 
his  papal  power,  absolved  Francis  from  the  oath  which  he  had  taken  to 
observe  the  treaty  of  Madrid.*  This  right,  how  pernicious  soever  in  its 
effects,  and  destructive  of  that  integrity  which  is  the  basis  of  all  transactions 
among  men,  was  the  natural  consequences  of  the  powers  which  the  popes 
arrogated  as  the  infallible  vicegerents  of  Christ  upon  earth.  But  as,  in 
virtue  of  this  pretended  prerogative,  they  had  often  dispensed  with  obli- 
gations which  were  held  sacred,  the  interest  of  some  men,  and  the  cre- 
dulity of  others,  led  them  to  imagine,  that  the  decisions  of  a  sovereign 
pontiff  authorized  or  justified  actions  which  would,  otherwise,  have  been 
criminal  and  impious. 

The  discovery  of  Francis's  intention  to  elude  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  filled 
the  emperor  with  a  variety  of  disquieting  thoughts.  He  had  treated  an 
unfortunate  prince  in  the  most  ungenerous  manner  ;  he  had  displayed  an 
insatiable  ambition  in  all  his  negotiations  with  his  prisoner  ;  he  knew  what 
censures  the  former  had  drawn  upon  him,  and  what  apprehensions  the 
latter  had  excited  in  every  court  of  Europe  ;  nor  had  he  reaped  from  the 
measures  which  he  pursued,  any  of  those  advantages  which  politicians  are 
apt  to  consider  as  an  excuse  for  the  most  criminal  conduct,  and  a  compen- 
sation for  the  severest  reproaches.  Francis  was  now  out  of  his  hands,  and 
not  one  of  all  the  mighty  consequences,  which  he  had  expected  from  the 
treaty  that  set  him  at  liberty,  was  likely  to  take  place.  His  rashness  in 
relying  so  far  on  his  own  judgment  as  to  trust  to  the  sincerity  of  the  French 
king,  in  opposition  to  the  sentiments  of  his  wisest  ministers,  was  now 
apparent ;  and  he  easily  conjectured,  that  the  same  confederacy,  the  dread 
of  which  had  induced  him  to  set  Francis  at  liberty,  would  now  be  formed 
against  him  with  that  gallant  and  incensed  monarch  at  its  head.  Self- 
condemnation  and  shame,  on  account  of  what  was  past,  with  anxious 
apprehensions  concerning  what  might  happen,  were  the  necessary  result  of 
these  reflections  on  his  own  conduct  and  situation.  Charles,  however,  was 
naturally  firm  and  inflexible  in  all  his  measures.  To  have  receded  sud- 
denly from  any  article  in  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  would  have  been  a  plain 
confession  of  imprudence,  and  a  palpable  symptom  of  fear;  he  deter- 
mined, therefore,  that  it  was  most  suitable  to  his  dignity,  to  insist,  what- 
ever might  be  the  consequences,  on  the  strict  execution  of  the  treaty,  and 
particularly  not  to  accept  of  any  thing  which  might  be  offered  as  an 
equivalent  for  the  restitution  of  Burgundy.! 

In  consequence  of  this  resolution,  he  appointed  Lannoy  and  Alarcon  to 
repair,  as  his  ambassadors,  to  the  court  of  France,  and  formally  to  summon 
the  king,  either  to  execute  the  treaty  with  the  sincerity  that  became  him, 
or  to  return  according  to  his  oath,  a  prisoner  to  Madrid.  Instead  of  giving 
them  an  immediate  answer,  Francis  admitted  the  deputies  of  the  states  of 
Burgundy  to  an  audience  in  their  presence.  They  humbly  represented 
to  him,  that  he  had  exceeded  the  powers  vested  in  a  king  of  France, 
when  he  consented  to  alienate  their  country  from  the  crown,  the  domains 
of  which  he  was  bound  by  his  coronation  oath  to  preserve  entire  and  un- 
impaired. Francis,  in  return,  thanked  them  for  their  attachment  to  his 
crown,  and  entreated  them,  though  very  faintly,  to  remember  the  obligations 
which  he  lay  under  to  fulfil  his  engagements  with  the  emperor.  The 
deputies,  assuming  a  higher  tone,  declared,  that  they  would  not  obey 
commands  which  they  considered  as  illegal ;  and,  if  he  should  abandon 
them  to  the  enemies  of  France,  they  had  resolved  to  defend  themselves  to 
the  best  of  their  power,  with  a  firm  purpose  rather  to  perish  than  submit 
to  a  foreign  dominion.  Upon  which  Francis,  turning  towards  the  Imperial 
ambassadors,  represented  to  them  the  impossibility  of  performing  what  he 
had  undertaken,  and  offered,  in  lieu  of  Burgundy,  to  pay  the  emperor  two 

*  Golitesa.  Polit.  Imperial,  p.  1005.    Pnllar.  Hist  p.  TO.  t  Gule.t.  xvii.  36R 


EMPERQK  CHARLES   V.  2U 

millions  oi  crowns.  The  viceroy  and  Alarcon,  who  easily  perceived,  that 
the  scene  to  which  they  had  been  witnesses,  was  concerted  between  the 
king  and  his  subjects  in  order  to  impose  upon  them,  signified  to  him  their 
master's  fixed  resolution  not  to  depart  in  the  smallest  point  from  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  and  withdrew.*  Before  they  left  the  kingdom,  they  had  the 
mortification  to  hear  the  holy  league  against  the  emperor  published  with 
great  solemnity  [June  11]. 

Charles  no  sooner  received  an  account  of  this  confederacy  than  he 
exclaimed,  in  the  most  public  manner,  and  in  the  harshest  terms,  against 
Francis,  as  a  prince  void  of  faith  and  of  honour.  He  complained  no  less 
of  Clement,  whom  he  solicited  in  vain  to  abandon  his  new  allies ;  he 
accused  him  of  ingratitude ;  he  taxed  him  with  an  ambition  unbecoming 
his  character ;  he  threatened  him  not  only  with  all  the  vengeance  which 
the  power  of  an  emperor  can  inflict,  but,  by  appealing  to  a  general  council, 
called  up  before  his  eyes  all  the  terrors  arising  from  the  authority  of  those 
assemblies  so  formidable  to  the  papal  see.  It  was  necessary,  however, 
to  oppose  something  else  than  reproaches  and  threats  to  the  powerful  com- 
bination formed  against  him  ;  and  the  emperor,  prompted  by  so  many 
passions,  did  not  fail  to  exert  himself  with  unusual  vigour,  in  order  to  send 
supplies,  not  only  of  men,  but  of  money,  which  were  still  more  needed, 
into  Italy. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  efforts  of  the  confederates  bore  no  proportion  to 
that  animosity  against  the  emperor,  with  which  they  seemed  to  enter  into 
the  holy  league.  Francis,  it  was  thought,  would  have  infused  spirit  and 
vigour  into  the  whole  body.  He  had  his  lost  honour  to  repair,  many 
injuries  to  revenge,  and  the  station  among  the  princes  of  Europe,  from 
which  he  had  fallen,  to  recover.  From  all  these  powerful  incitements, 
added  to  the  natural  impetuosity  of  his  temper,  a  war  more  fierce  and 
bloody  than  any  that  he  had  hitherto  made  upon  his  rival,  was  expected. 
But  Francis  had  gone  through  such  a  scene  of  distress,  and  the  impression 
it  had  made  was  still  so  fresh  in  his  memory,  that  he  was  become  diffident 
of  himself,  distrustful  of  fortune,  and  desirous  of  tranquillity.  To  procure 
the  release  of  his  sons,  and  to  avoid  the  restitution  of  Burgundy  by  paying 
some  reasonable  equivalent,  were  his  chief  objects ;  and  for  the  sake  of 
these,  he  would  willingly  have  sacrificed  Sforza,  and  the  liberties  of  Italy, 
to  the  emperor.  He  flattered  himself,  that  the  dread  of  the  confederac}r 
which  he  had  formed  would  of  itself  induce  Charles  to  listen  to  what  was 
equitable  ;  and  was  afraid  of  employing  any  considerable  force  for  the 
relief  of  the  Milanese,  lest  his  allies,  whom  he  had  often  found  to  be  more 
attentive  to  their  own  interest  than  punctual  in  fulfilling  their  engagements, 
should  abandon  him  as  soon  as  the  Imperialists  were  driven  out  of  that 
country,  and  deprive  his  negotiations  with  the  emperor  of  that  weight, 
which  they  derived  from  his Tbeing  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  league.  In 
the  mean  time  the  castle  of  Milan  was  pressed  more  closely  than  ever,  and 
Sforza  was  now  reduced  to  the  last  extremity.  The  pope  and  Venetians, 
trusting  to  Francis's  concurrence,  commanded  their  troops  to  take  the 
field,  in  order  to  relieve  him  ;  and  an  army  more  than  sufficient  for  that 
service  was  soon  formed.  The  Milanese,  passionately  attached  to  their 
unfortunate  duke,  and  no  less  exasperated  against  the  Imperialists,  who 
had  oppressed  them  so  cruelly,  were  ready  to  aid  the  confederates  in  all 
their  enterprises.  But  the  duke  d'Urbino,  their  general,  naturally  slow 
and  indecisive,  and  restrained,  besides,  by  his  ancient  enmity  to  the  family 
of  Medici,  from  taking  any  step  that  might  aggrandize  or  add  reputation 
to  the  pope,t  lost  some  opportunities  of  attacking  the  Imperialists  and 
raising  the  siege,  and  refused  to  improve  others.  These  delays  gave 
Bourbon  time  to  bring  up  a  reinforcement  of  fresh  troops  and  a  supply  of 

•  Belcar.  Comment,  de  Rel).  Gal.  573.    Mem.  de  Bellay.  p.  97.  t  Gutc.  lib.  xvii.  382 


212  T HE    R  E  I G  N   () F    T  H E  [Book  1  \ 

money.  He  immediately  took  the  command  of  the  army  [July  24],  and 
pushed  on  the  siege  with  such  vigour,  as  quickly  obliged  Sforza  to  surrender, 
who  retiring  to  Lodi,  which  the  confederates  had  surprised,  left  Bourbon 
in  full  possession  of  the  rest  of  the  dutchy,  the  investiture  of  which  the 
emperor  had  promised  to  grant  him.* 

The  Italians  began  now  to  perceive  the  game  which  Francis  had  played, 
and  to  be  sensible  that,  notwithstanding  all  their  address  and  refinements 
in  negotiation,  which  they  boasted  of  as  talents  peculiarly  their  own,  they 
bad  for  once  been  over-reached  in  those  very  arts  by  a  tramontane  prince. 
He  had  hitherto  thrown  almost  the  whole  burden  of  the  war  upon  them, 
taking  advantage  of  their  efforts,  in  order  to  enforce  the  proposals  which 
he  often  renewed  at  the  court  of  Madrid  for  obtaining  the  liberty  of  his 
sons.  The  pope  and  Venetians  expostulated  and  complained  ;|  but  as 
they  were  not  able  to  rouse  Francis  from  bis  inactivity,  their  own  zeal  and 
vigour  gradually  abated,  and  Clement,  having  already  gone  farther  than 
his  timidity  usually  permitted  him,  began  to  accuse  himself  of  rashness, 
and  to  relapse  into  his  natural  state  of  doubt  and  uncertainty. 

All  the  emperor's  motions  depending  on  himself  alone,  were  more  brisk 
and  better  concerted.  The  narrowness  of  his  revenues,  indeed,  did  not 
allow  him  to  make  any  sudden  or  great  effort  in  the  field,  but  he  abundantly 
supplied  that  defect  by  his  intrigues  and  negotiations.  The  family  of 
Colonna,  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  Roman  barons,  had  adhered  uni- 
formly to  the  Ghibelline  or  Imperial  faction,  during  those  fierce  contentions 
between  the  popes  and  emperors,  which,  for  several  ages,  rilled  Italy  and 
Germany  with  discord  and  bloodshed.  Though  the  causes  which  at  first 
gave  birth  to  these  destructive  factions  existed  no  longer,  and  the  rage  with 
which  they  had  been  animated  was  in  a  great  measure  spent,  the  Colonnas 
still  retained  their  attachment  to  the  Imperial  interest,  and  by  placing 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  emperors,  secured  the  quiet  pos- 
session of  their  own  territories  and  privileges.  The  cardinal  Pompeo 
Colonna,  a  man  of  a  turbulent  and  ambitious  temper,  at  that  time  the  head 
of  the  family,  had  long  been  Clement's  rival,  to  whose  influence  in  the  last 
conclave  he  imputed  the  disappointment  of  all  his  schemes  for  attaining 
the  papal  dignity,  of  which,  from  his  known  connection  with  the  emperor, 
he  thought  himself  secure.  To  an  aspiring  mind,  this  was  an  injury  too 
great  to  be  forgiven  ;  and  though  he  had  dissembled  his  resentment  so  far 
as  to  vote  for  Clement  at  his  election,  and  to  accept  of  great  offices  in  his 
court,  he  waited  with  the  utmost  impatience  for  an  opportunity  of  being 
revenged.  Don  Hugo  de  Moncada,  the  Imperial  ambassador  at  Rome, 
who  was.no  stranger  to  these  sentiments,  easily  persuaded  him,  that  now 
was  the  time,  while  all  the  papal  troops  were  employed  in  Lombardy,  to 
attempt  something,  which  would  at  once  revenge  his  own  wrongs,  and  be 
of  essential  service  to  the  emperor  his  patron.  The  pope,  however,  whose 
timidity  rendered  him  quick-sighted,  was  so  attentive  to  the  operations, 
and  began  to  be  alarmed  so  early,  that  he  might  have  drawn  together 
troops  sufficient  to  have  disconcerted  all  Colonna's  measures.  But  Mon- 
cada amused  him  so  artfully  with  negotiations,  promises,  and  false  intelli- 
gence, that  he  lulled  asleep  all  his  suspicions,  and  prevented  his  taking 
any  of  the  precautions  necessary  for  his  safet}';  and  to  the  disgrace  of  a 
prince  possessed  of  great  power,  as  well  as  renowned  for  political  wisdom, 
Colonna  at  the  head  of  three  thousand  men,  seized  one  of  the  gates  of  his 
capital,  while  he,  imagining  himself  to  be  in  perfect  security,  was  altogether 
unprepared  for  resisting  such  a  feeble  enemy.  The  inhabitants  of  Rome 
permitted  Colonna's  troops,  from  whom  they  apprehended  no  Injury,  to 
advance  without  opposition  [Sept.  29]  ;  the  pope's  guards  were  dispersed 
in  a  moment ;  and  Clement  himself,  terrified  at  the  danger,  ashamed  of  hi? 

*  Cuic.  lib.  xvii.  370,  Ace.  *  BuseeUI  LetteM  H"  Princlpi,  ii.  i".  See.  159,  MO— 166 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  213 

own  credulity,  and  deserted  by  almost  every  person,  fled  with  precipitation 
into  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  which  was  immediately  invested.  The 
palace  of  the  Vatican,  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  houses  of  the 
pope's  ministers  and  servants,  were  plundered  in  the  most  licentious 
manner  ;  the  rest  of  the  city  was  left  unmolested.  Clement,  destitute  of 
every  thing  necessary  either  for  subsistence  or  defence,  was  soon  obliged 
to  demand  a  capitulation ;  and  Moncada,  being  admitted  into  the  castle, 
prescribed  to  him,  with  all  the  haughtiness  of  a  conqueror,  conditions 
whicb  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  reject.  The  chief  of  these  was,  that 
Clement  should  not  only  grant  a  full  pardon  to  the  Colonnas,  but  receive 
them  into  favour,  and  immediately  withdraw  all  the  troops  in  his  pay  from 
the  army  of  the  confederates  in  Lombardy.* 

The  Colonnas,  who  talked  of  nothing  less  than  of  deposing  Clement, 
and  of  placing  Pompeo,  their  kinsman,  in  the  vacant  chair  of  St.  Peter, 
exclaimed-  loudly  against  a  treaty  which  left  them  at  the  mercy  of  a 
pontiff  justly  incensed  against  them.  But  Moncada,  attentive  only  to  his 
master's  interest,  paid  little  regard  to  their  complaints,  and,  by  this  fortu- 
nate measure,  broke  entirely  the  power  of  the  confederates. 

While  the  army  of  the  confederates  suffered  such  a  considerable  diminu- 
tion, the  imperialists  received  two  great  reinforcements;  one  from  Spain, 
under  the  command  of  Lannoy  and  Alarcon,  which  amounted  to  six  thou- 
sand men ;  the  other  was  raised  in  the  empire  by  George  Fronsperg,  a 
German  nobleman,  who  having  served  in  Italy  with  great  reputation,  had 
acquired  such  influence  and  popularity,  that  multitudes  of  his  countrymen, 
fond  on  every  occasion  of  engaging  in  military  enterprises,  and  impatient 
at  that  juncture  to  escape  from  the  oppression  which  they  felt  in  religious 
as  well  as  civil  matters,  crowded  to  his  standard ;  so  that,  without  any 
other  gratuity  than  the  payment  of  a  crown  to  each  man,  fourteen  thousand 
enlisted  in  his  service.  To  these  the  archduke  Ferdinand  added  two  thou- 
sand horse,  levied  in  the  Austrian  dominions.  But  although  the  emperor 
had  raised  troops,  he  could  not  remit  the  sums  necessary  for  their  support. 
His  ordinary  revenues  were  exhausted ;  the  credit  of  princes,  during  the 
infancy  of  commerce,  was  not  extensive  ;  and  the  Cortes  of  Castile,  though 
every  art  had  been  tried  to  gain  them,  and  some  innovations  had  been  made 
in  the  constitution,  in  order  to  secure  their  concurrence,  peremptorily 
refused  to  grant  Charles  any  extraordinary  supply  ;t  so  that  the  more  his 
army  increased  in  number,  the  more  were  his  generals  embarrassed  and 
distressed.  Bourbon,  in  particular,  was  involved  in  such  difficulties,  that 
he  stood  in  need  of  all  his  address  and  courage  in  order  to  extricate  him- 
self. Large  sums  were  due  to  the  Spanish  troops  already  in  the  Milanese, 
when  Fronsperg  arrived  with  sixteen  thousand  hungry  Germans,  destitute 
of  every  thing.  Both  made  their  demands  with  equal  fierceness  ;  the 
former  claiming  their  arrears,  and  the  latter  the  pay  which  had  been  pro- 
mised them  on  their  entering  Lombardy.  Bourbon  was  altogether  inca- 
pable of  giving  satisfaction  to  either.  In  this  situation,  he  was  constrained 
to  commit  acts  of  violence  extremely  shocking  to  his  own  nature,  which 
was  generous  and  humane.  He  seized  the  principal  citizens  of  Milan,  and 
by  threats,  and  even  by  torture,  forced  from  them  a  considerable  sum  ; 
he  rifled  the  churches  of  all  their  plate  and  ornaments  ;  the  inadequate 
supply  which  these  afforded,  he  distributed  among  the  soldiers,  with 
so  many  soothing  expressions  of  his  sympathy  and  affection,  that,  though  it 
fell  far  short  of  the  sums  due  to  them,  it  appeased  their  present  murmurs.J 

Among  other  expedients  for  raising  money,  Bourbon  granted  his  life  and 
liberty  to  Morone,  who  having  been  kept  in  prixm  since  his  intrigue  with 
Pescara,  had  been  condemned  to  die  by  the  Spanish  judges  empowered  to 

*  Jovii  Vita  Pomp.  Colon.  C.uir..  1.  xvii.  407.  Ruscelli  Lcttero  de  Principi.  i.  p  104  1  San- 
dfly, j.  H14.  i  Kinainnnd.  Hist.  Merlin),  lib.  ix.  p.  717 


214  THE   REIGN   OF   T  H  E  [Book  IV. 

try  him.  For  this  remission  he  paid  twenty  thousand  ducats;  and 
such  were  his  singular  talents,  and  the  wonderful  ascendant  which  he 
always  acquired  over  the  minds  of  those  to  whom  he  had  access,  that  in 
a  few  days  from  being  Bourbon's  prisoner,  he  became  his  prime  confident, 
with  whom  he  consulted  in  all  affairs  of  importance.  To  his  insinuations 
must  be  imputed  the  suspicions  which  Bourbon  began  to  entertain,  that 
the  emperor  had  never  intended  to  grant  him  the  investiture  of  Milan, 
but  had  appointed  Leyva,  and  the  other  Spanish  generals,  rather  to  be 
spies  on  his  conduct,  than  to  co-operate  heartily  towards  the  execution  of 
his  schemes.  To  him  likewise,  as  he  still  retained,  at  the  age  of  four- 
score, all  the  enterprising  spirit  of  youth,  may  be  attributed  the  bold 
and  unexpected  measure  on  which  Bourbon  soon  after  ventured.* 

Such,  indeed,  were  the  exigencies  of  the  Imperial  troops  in  the  Milanese, 
that  it  became  indispensably  necessary  to  take  some  immediate  step  for 
their  relief.  The  arrears  of  the  soldiers  increased  daily;  the  emperor 
made  no  remittances  to  his  generals  ;  and  the  utmost  rigour  of  military 
extortion  could  draw  nothing  more  from  a  country  entirely  drained  and 
ruined.  In  this  situation  there  was  no  choice  left,  but  either  to  disband 
the  army,  or  to  march  for  subsistence  into  the  enemy's  country.  The  ter- 
ritories of  the  Venetians  lay  nearest  at  hand ;  but  they,  with  their  usual 
foresight  and  prudence,  had  taken  such  precautions  as  secured  them  from 
any  insult.  ISlotbing,  therefore,  remained  but  to  invade  the  dominions  of 
the  church,  or  of  the  Florentines  ;  and  Clement  had  of  late  acted  such  a 
part  as  merited  the  severest  vengeance  from  the  emperor.  No  sooner  did 
the  papal  troops  return  to  Rome,  after  the  insurrection  of  the  Colonnas, 
than,  without  paying  any  regard  to  the  treaty  with  Moncada,  he  degraded 
the  cardinal  Colonna,  excommunicated  the  rest  of  the  family,  seized  their 
places  of  strength,  and  wasted  their  lands  with  all  the  cruelty  which  the 
smart  of  a  recent  injury  naturally  excites.  After  this,  he  turned  his  arms 
against  Naples,  and,  as  his  operations  were  seconded  by  the  French  fleet, 
he  made  some  progress  towards  the  conquest  of  that  kingdom  ;  the  vice- 
roy being  no  less  destitute  than  the  other  Imperial  generals  of  the  money 
requisite  for  a  vigorous  defence.f 

1527.]  These  proceedings  of  the  pope  justified,  in  appearance,  the 
measures  which  Bourbon's  situation  rendered  necessary ;  and  he  set  about 
executing  them  under  such  disadvantages,  as  furnished  the  strongest  proof 
both  of  the  despair  to  which  he  was  reduced,  and  of  the  greatness  of  his 
abilities  which  were  able  to  surmount  so  many  obstacles.  Having  com- 
mitted the  government  of  Milan  to  Leyva,  whom  he  was  not  unwilling  to 
leave  behind,  he  began  his  march  in  the  depth  of  winter  [Jan.  30],  at  the 
head  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  composed  of  nations  differing  from 
each  other  in  language  and  manners  ;  without  money,  without  magazines, 
without  artillery,  without  carriages  ;  in  short,  without  any  of  those  things 
which  are  necessary  to  the  smallest  party,  and  which  seem  essential  to  the 
existence  and  motions  of  a  great  army.  His  route  lay  through  a  country 
cut  by  rivers  and  mountains,  in  which  the  roads  were  almost  impracticable  ; 
as  an  addition  to  his  difficulties,  the  enemy's  army,  superior  to  his  own  in 
number,  was  at  hand  to  watch  all  his  motions,  and  to  improve  every 
advantage.  But  his  troops,  impatient  of  their  present  hardships,  and 
allured  by  the  hopes  of  immense  booty,  without  considering  how  ill  pro- 
vided they  were  for  a  march,  followed  him  with  great  cheerfulness.  His 
first  scheme  was  to  have  made  himself  master  of  Placentia,  and  to  have 
gratified  his  soldiers  with  the  plunder  of  that  city ;  but  the  vigilance  of 
the  confederate  generals  rendered  the  design  abortive  ;  nor  had  he  better 
success  in  his  project  for  the  reduction  of  Bologna,  which  was  seasonably 
supplied  with  as  many  troops  as  secured  it  from  the  insults  of  an  army 

*  Guic.  1  xvii.  419.  ♦  Jovii  Vita  Pomp.  Colon.    Ouic.  1.  xviii.  424 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  Z1S 

which  had  neither  artillery  nor  ammunition.  Having  failed  in  both  these 
attempts  to  become  master  of  some  great  city,  he  was  under  a  necessity 
of  advancing.  But  he  had  now  been  two  months  in  the  field  ;  his  troops 
had  suffered  every  calamity  that  a  long  march,  together  with  the  uncommon 
rigour  of  the  season,  could  bring  upon  men  destitute  of  all  necessary 
accommodations  in  an  enemy's  country  ;  the  magnificent  promises  to  which 
they  trusted,  had  hitherto  proved  altogether  vain ;  they  saw  no  prospect 
of  relief;  their  patience  tried  to  the  utmost,  failed  at  last,  and  they  broke 
out  into  open  mutiny.  Some  officers,  who  rashly  attempted  to  restrain 
them,  fell  victims  to  their  fury  ;  Bourbon  himself,  not  daring  to  appear 
during  the  first  transports  of  their  rage,  was  obliged  to  fly  secretly  from 
his  quarters.*  But  this  sudden  ebullition  of  wrath  began  at  last  to  subside ; 
when  Bourbon,  who  possessed  in  a  wonderful  degree  the  art  of  governing 
the  minds  of  soldiers,  renewed  his  promises  with  more  confidence  than 
formerly,  and  assured  them  that  they  would  be  soon  accomplished.  He 
endeavoured  to  render  their  hardships  more  tolerable,  by  partaking  of  them 
himself ;  he  fared  no  better  than  the  meanest  sentinel  ;  he  marched  along 
with  them  on  foot ;  he  joined  them  in  singing  their  camp  ballads,  in  which, 
with  high  praises  of  his  valour,  they  mingled  many  strokes  of  military 
raillery  on  his  poverty ;  and  wherever  they  came,  he  allowed  them,  as  a 
foretaste  of  what  he  had  promised,  to  plunder  the  adjacent  villages  at 
discretion.  Encouraged  by  all  these  soothing  arts,  they  entirely  forgot 
their  sufferings  and  complaints,  and  followed  him  with  the  same  implicit 
confidence  as  formerly.! 

Bourbon,  meanwhile,  carefully  concealed  his  intentions.  Rome  and 
Florence,  not  knowing  on  which  the  blow  would  fall,  were  held  in  the 
most  disquieting  state  of  suspense.  Clement,  equally  solicitous  for  the 
safety  of  both,  fluctuated  in  more  than  his  usual  uncertainty  ;  and  while 
the  rapid  approach  of  danger  called  for  prompt  and  decisive  measures, 
he  spent  the  time  in  deliberations  which  came  to  no  issue,  or  in  taking 
resolutions,  which,  next  day,  his  restless  mind,  more  sagacious  in  discern- 
ing than  in  obviating  difficulties,  overturned,  without  being  able  to  fix  on 
what  should  be  substituted  in  their  place.  At  one  time  he  determined  to 
unite  himself  more  closely  than  ever  with  his  allies,  and  to  push  on  the 
war  with  vigour  ;  at  another,  he  inclined  to  bring  all  differences  to  a  final 
accommodation  by  a  treaty  with  Lannoy,  who,  knowing  his  passion  for 
negotiation,  solicited  him  incessantly  with  proposals  for  that  purpose. 
His  timidity  at  length  prevailed,  and  led  him  to  conclude  an  agreement 
with  Lannoy  [March  15],  of  which  the  following  were  the  chief  articles  : 
That  a  suspension  of  arms  should  take  place  between  the  Pontifical  and 
Imperial  troops  for  eight  months  ;  That  Clement  should  advance  sixty 
thousand  crowns  towards  satisfying  the  demands  of  the  Imperial  army ; 
That  the  Colonnas  should  be  alsolved  from  censure,  and  their  former 
dignities  and  possessions  be  restored  to  them  ;  That  the  viceroy  should 
come  to  Rome,  and  prevent  Bourbon  from  approaching  nearer  to  that  city, 
or  to  Florence.J  On  this  hasty  treaty,  which  deprived  him  of  all  hopes 
of  assistance  from  his  allies,  without  affording  him  any  solid  foundation  of 
security,  Clement  relied  so  firmly,  that,  like  a  man  extricated  at  once  out 
of  all  difficulties,  he  was  at  perfect  ease,  and  in  the  fulness  of  his  con- 
fidence disbanded  all  his  troops,  except  as  many  as  were  sufficient  to  guard 
his  own  person.  This  amazing  confidence  of  Clement's,  who  on  every 
other  occasion  was  fearful  and  suspicious  to  excess,  appeared  so  unac- 
countable to  Guicciardini,  who,  being  at  that  time  the  pontifical  cpmmis- 
sary-general  and  resident  in  the  confederate  army,  had  great  opportunities 
as  well  as  great  abilities,  for  observing  how  chimerical  all  his  hopes  were 

*  Guie.  1.  xviii.  434.     Jovii  Vit.  Color.  183  t  Qmvm  nt>  Brant,  vol.  iv.  p.  S16,  kr 

7  Goic.  I.  xviii   4M 


216  T  H  E   K  E  I  G  N   O  F    T  11  E  [Book  1\  . 

diat  he  imputes  the  pope's  conduct,  at  this  juncture,  wholly  to  infatuation, 
which  those  who  are  doomed  to  ruin  cannot  avoid.* 

Lannoy,  it  would  seem,  intended  to  have  executed  the  treaty  with  great 
sincerity ;  and  having  detached  Clement  from  the  confederacy,  wished  to 
turn  Bourbon's  arms  against  the  Venetians,  who,  of  all  the  powers  at  war 
with  the  emperor,  had  exerted  the  greatest  vigour.  With  this  view  he 
detached  a  courier  to  Bourbon,  informing  him  of  the  suspension  of  arms, 
which,  in  the  name  of  their  common  master,  he  had  concluded  with  the 
pope.  Bourbon  had  other  schemes,  and  he  bad  prosecuted  them  now  too 
far  to  think  of  retreating.  To  have  mentioned  a  retreat  to  his  soldiers 
would  have  been  dangerous  ;  his  command  was  independent  on  Lannoy ; 
he  was  fond  of  mortifying  a  man  whom  he  had  reasons  to  hate  ;  for  these 
reasons,  without  paying  the  least  regard  to  the  message,  he  continued  to 
ravage  the  ecclesiastical  territories,  and  to  advance  towards  Florence. 
Upon  this,  all  Clement's  terror  and  anxiety  returning  with  new  force,  he 
had  recourse  to  Lannoy,  and  entreated  and  conjured  him  to  put  a  stop  to 
Bourbon's  progress.  Lannoy  accordingly  set  out  for  his  camp,  but  durst 
not  approach  it  ;  Bourbon's  soldiers  having  got  notice  of  the  truce,  raged 
and  threatened,  demanding  the  accomplishment  of  the  promises  to  which 
they  had  trusted  ;  their  general  himself  could  hardly  restrain  them  ;  every 
person  in  Rome  perceived  that  nothing  remained  but  to  prepare  for 
resisting  a  slorm  which  it  was  now  impossible  to  dispel.  Clement  alone, 
relying  on  some  ambiguous  and  deceitful  professions  which  Bourbon  made 
of  nis  inclination  towards  peace,  sunk  back  into  his  former  security. f 

Bourbon,  on  his  part,  was  far  from  being  free  from  solicitude.  All  his 
attempts  on  any  place  of  importance  had  hitherto  miscarried  ;  and  Flo- 
rence, towards  which  he  had  been  approaching  for  some  time,  was,  by  the 
arrival  of  the  duke  d'Urbino's  army,  put  in  a  condition  to  set  his  power 
at  defiance.  As  it  now  became  necessary  to  change  his  route,  and  to  take 
instantly  some  new  resolution,  he  fixed  without  hesitation  on  one  which 
was  no  less  daring  in  itself,  than  it  was  impious,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  that  age.  This  was  to  assault  and  plunder  Rome.  Many  reasons, 
however,  prompted  him  to  it.  "He  was  fond  of  thwarting  Lannoy,  who 
had  undertaken  for  the  safety  of  that  city ;  he  imagined  that  the  emperor 
would  be  highly  pleased  to  see  Clement,  the  chief  author  of  the  league 
against  him,  humbled  ;  he  flattered  himself  that,  by  gratifying  the  rapacity 
of  his  soldiers  with  such  immense  booty,  he  would  attach  them  for  ever  to 
his  interest ;  or  (which  is  still  more  probable  than  any  of  these)  he  hoped 
that,  by  means  of  the  poAver  and  fame  which  he  would  acquire  from  the 
conquest  of  the  first  city  in  Christendom,  he  might  lay  the  foundation 
of  an  independent  power  ;  and  that,  after  shaking  off  all  connection  with 
the  emperor,  he  might  take  possession  of  Naples,  or  of  some  of  the  Italian 
states,  in  his  own  name.| 

Whatever  his  motives  were,  he  executed  his  resolution  with  a  rapidity 
equal  to  the  boldness  with  which  he  had  formed  it.  His  soldiers,  now 
that  they  had  their  prey  full  in  view,  complained  neither  of  fatigue,  nor 
famine,  nor  want  of  pay.  No  sooner  did  they  begin  to  move  from  Tus- 
cany towards  Rome,  than  the  pope,  sensible  at  last  how  fallacious  the  hopes 
had  been  on  which  he  reposed,  started  from  his  security  But  no  time 
now  remained  even  for  a  bold  and  decisive  pontiff  to  have  taken  proper 
measures,  or  to  have  formed  any  effectual  plan  of  defence.  Under  Cle- 
ment's feeble  conduct,  all  was  consternation,  disorder,  and  irresolution. 
He  collected,  however,  such  of  his  disbanded  soldiers  as  still  remained  in 
the  city ;  he  armed  the  artificers  of  Rome,  and  the  footmen  and  train- 
bearers  of  the  cardinals ;  he  repaired  the  breaches  in  the  walls  ;  he  began 

*  Guir.  I.  xviii.  44R.  f  Ibid.  1.  xviii.  437,  &r.     Mem.  do  rieilav.  p.  100.  1  Brant,  iv 

"371.  vi.  189.     Belearii,  Comment.  594. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    \.  217 

to  erect  new  works ;  he  excommunicated  Bourbon  and  all  his  troops, 
branding  the  Germans  with  the  name  of  Lutherans,  and  the  Spaniards  with 
that  of  Moors.*  Trusting  to  these  ineffectual  military  preparations,  or  to 
his  spiritual  arms,  which  were  still  more  despised  by  rapacious  soldiers, 
he  seems  to  have  laid  aside  his  natural  timidity,  and,  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  all  his  counsellors,  determined  to  wait  the  approach  of  an  enemy 
whom  he  might  easily  have  avoided  by  a  timely  retreat. 

Bourbon,  who  saw  the  necessity  of  despatch,  now  that  his  intentions 
were  known,  advanced  with  such  speed,  that  he  gained  several  marches 
on  the  duke  d'Urbino's  army,  and  encamped  in  the  plains  of  Rome  on  the 
evening  of  the  fifth  of  May.  From  thence  he  showed  his  soldiers  the 
palaces  and  churches  of  that  city,  into  which,  as  the  capital  of  the  Chris- 
tian commonwealth,  the  riches  of  all  Europe  had  flowed  during  many  cen- 
turies, without  having  been  once  violated  by  any  hostile  hand  ;  and  com- 
manding them  to  refresh  themselves  at  night,  as  a  preparation  for  the 
assault  next  day,  promised  them,  in  reward  of  their  toils  and  valour,  the 
possession  of  all  the  treasures  accumulated  there. 

Early  in  the  morning,  Bourbon,  who  had  determined  to  distinguish  that 
day  either  by  his  death  or  the  success  of  his  enterprise,  appeared  at  the 
head  of  his  troops,  clad  in  complete  armour,  above  which  he  wore  a  vest 
of  white  tissue,  that  he  might  be  more  conspicuous  both  to  his  friends  and 
to  his  enemies ;  and  as  all  depended  on  one  bold  impression,  he  led  them 
instantly  to  scale  the  walls.  Three  distinct  bodies,  one  of  Germans,  ano- 
ther of  Spaniards,  and  the  last  of  Ralians,  the  three  different  nations  of 
whom  the  army  was  composed,  were  appointed  to  this  service  ;  a  sepa- 
rate attack  was  assigned  to  each ;  and  the  whole  army  advanced  to  sup- 
port them  as  occasion  should  require.  A  thick  mist  concealed  their 
approach  until  they  reached  almost  the  brink  of  the  ditch,  which  surrounded 
the  suburbs  :  having  planted  their  ladders  in  a  moment,  each  brigade 
rushed  on  to  the  assault  with  an  impetuosity  heightened  by  national  emu- 
lation. They  were  received  at  first  with  fortitude  equal  to  their  own ; 
the  Swiss  in  the  pope's  guards,  and  the  veteran  soldiers  who  had  been 
assembled,  fought  with  a  courage  becoming  men  to  whom  the  defence  of 
the  noblest  city  in  the  world  was  intrusted.  Bourbon's  troops,  notwith- 
standing all  their  valour,  gained  no  ground,  and  even  began  to  give  way  ; 
when  their  leader,  perceiving  that  on  this  critical  moment  the  fate  of  the 
day  depended,  leaped  from  his  horse,  pressed  to  the  front,  snatched  a 
scaling  ladder  from  a  soldier,  planted  it  against  the  wall,  and  began  to 
mount  it,  encouraging  his  men  with  his  voice  and  hand  to  follow  him. 
But  at  that  very  instant,  a  musket  bullet  from  the  ramparts  pierced  his 
groin  with  a  wound,  which  he  immediately  felt  to  be  mortal  ;  but  he 
retained  so  much  presence  of  mind,  as  to  desire  those  who  were  near  him 
to  cover  his  body  with  a  cloak,  that  his  death  might  not  dishearten  his 
troops  ;  and  soon  after  he  expired  with  a  courage  worthy  of  a  better 
cause,  and  which  would  have  entitled  him  to  the  highest  praise,  if  he  had 
thus  fallen  in  defence  of  his  country,  not  at  the  head  of  its  enemies.! 

This  fatal  event  could  not  be  concealed  from  the  army  ;  the  soldiers 
soon  missed  their  general,  whom  they  were  accustomed  to  see  in  every 
time  of  danger;  but,  instead  of  being  disheartened  by  their  loss,  it  ani- 
mated them  with  new  valour ;  the  name  of  Bourbon  resounded  along  the 
line,  accompanied  with  the  cry  of  blood  and  revenge.  The  veterans  who 
defended  the  walls  were  soon  overpowered  by  numbers ;  the  untrained 
body  of  city  recruits  fled  at  the  sight  of  danger,  and  the  enemy,  with  irre- 
sistible violence,  rushed  into  the  town. 

During  the  combat,  Clement  was  employed  at  the  high  altar  of  St. 

♦  Seckend.  lib.   ii.  p.  68.  f  Mem.  de  Bollav.  101.      Gvfe.  lib.  xviii.  p.445.  &c.     CEuv.  rtr 

Brant,  iv.  257,  &r. 

Vol.  II.— 2K 


218  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  IV. 

Peter's  church  in  offering  up  to  Heaven  unavailing  prayers  for  victory. 
No  sooner  was  he  informed  that  his  troops  began  to  give  way,  than  he 
fled  with  precipitation ;  and  with  an  infatuation  still  more  amazing  than 
any  thing  already  mentioned,  instead  of  making  his  escape  by  the  oppo- 
site gate,  where  there  was  no  enemy  to  oppose  it,  he  shut  himself  up, 
together  with  thirteen  cardinals,  the  foreign  ambassadors,  and  many  per- 
sons of  distinction,  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  which,  from  his  late  mis- 
fortune, he  might  have  known  to  be  an  insecure  retreat.  In  his  way  from 
the  Vatican  to  that  fortress,  he  saw  his  troops  flying  before  an  enemy  who 
pursued  without  giving  quarter ;  he  heard  the.  cries  and  lamentations  of 
the  Roman  citizens,  and  beheld  the  beginning  of  those  calamities  which 
his  own  credulity  and  ill  conduct  had  brought  upon  his  subjects.* 

It  is  impossible  to  describe,  or  even  to  imagine,  the  misery  and  horror  of 
that  scene  which  followed.  Whatever  a  city  taken  by  storm  can  dread 
from  military  rage,  unrestrained  by  discipline  ;  whatever  excesses  the 
ferocity  of  the  Germans,  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards,  or  the  licentious- 
ness of  the  Italians  could  commit,  these  the  wretched  inhabitants  were 
obliged  to  suffer.  Churches,  palaces,  and  the  houses  of  private  persons, 
were  plundered  without  distinction.  No  age,  or  character,  or  sex,  was 
exempt  from  injury.  Cardinals,  nobles,  priests,  matrons,  virgins,  were  all 
the  prey  of  soldiers,  and  at  the  mercy  of  men  deaf  to  the  voice  of  human- 
ity. Nor  did  these  outrages  cease,  as  is  usual  in  towns  which  are  carried 
by  assault,  when  the  first  fury  of  the  storm  was  over  ;  the  Imperialists 
kept  possession  of  Rome  several  months ;  and,  during  all  that  time,  the 
insolence  and  brutality  of  the  soldiers  hardly  abated.  Their  booty  in 
ready  money  alone  amounted  to  a  million  of  ducats  ;  what  they  raised  by 
ransoms  and  exactions  far  exceeded  that  sum.  Rome,  though  taken  seve- 
ral different  times  by  the  northern  nations  who  overran  the  empire  in  the 
fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  was  never  treated  with  so  much  cruelty  by  the 
barbarous  and  heathen  Huns,  Vandals,  or  Goths,  as  now  by  the  bigoted 
subjects  of  a  Catholic  monarch.! 

After  Bourbon's  death,  the  command  of  the  Imperial  army  devolved  on 
Philibert  de  Chalons  prince  of  Orange,  who  with  difficulty  prevailed  on 
as  many  of  his  soldiers  to  desist  from  the  pillage  as  were  necessary  to 
invest  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo.  Clement  was  immediately  sensible  of 
his  error  in  having  retired  into  that  ill-provided  and  untenable  fort.  But 
as  the  Imperialists,  scorning  discipline,  and  intent  only  on  plunder,  pushed 
the  siege  with  little  vigour,  he  did  not  despair  of  holding  out  until  the  duke 
d'Urbino  could  come  to  his  relief.  That  general  advanced  at  the  head  of 
an  army  composed  of  Venetians,  Florentines,  and  Swiss,  in  the  pay  of 
France,  of  sufficient  strength  to  have  delivered  Clement  from  the  present 
danger.  But  d'Urbino,  preferring  the  indulgence  of  his  hatred  against 
the  family  of  Medici  to  the  glory  of  delivering  the  capital  of  Christendom, 
and  the  head  of  the  church,  pronounced  the  enterprise  to  be  too  hazar- 
dous ;  and  from  an  exquisite  refinement  in  revenge,  having  marched  for- 
ward so  far,  that  his  army  being  seen  from  the  ramparts  of  St.  Angelo, 
flattered  the  pope  with  the  prospect  of  certain  relief,  he  immediately 
wheeled  about  and  retired.!  Clement,  deprived  of  every  resource,  and 
reduced  to  such  extremity  of  famine  as  to  feed  on  ass's  flesh,§  was  obliged 
to  capitulate  [June  6]  on  such  conditions  as  the  conquerors  were  pleased 
to  prescribe.  He  agreed  to  pay  four  hundred  thousand  ducats  to  the  army  ; 
to  surrender  to  the  emperor  all  the  places  of- strength  belonging  to  the 
church;  and,  besides  giving  hostages,  to  remain  a  prisoner  himself  until 
the  chief  articles  were  performed.  He  was  committed  to  the  care  of 
Alarcon,  who,  by  his  severe  vigilance  in  guarding  Francis,  had  given  full 

*  Jov.  Vit-  Colon.  105.  t  Ibid.  166.      Guic.  lib.  xviii.  440,  &c.      Comment,  de  Capta  Urbe 

Roma,  ap.  Scardium,  ii.  230.      Ulloa  Vita  dell  Carlo  V.  p.  110,  &c.      Giannone  Hist,  of  Nap.  B 
TXli.  c.  3.  p.  507.         i  Giiir.  1.  *viii.  450.         «  Jov.  Vit.  Colon.  167. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  219 

proof  of  his  being  qualified  for  that  office  ;  and  thus,  by  a  singular  acci- 
dent, the  same  man  had  the  custody  of  the  two  most  illustrious  personages 
who  had  been  made  prisoners  in  Europe  during  several  ages. 

The  account  of  this  extraordinary  and  unexpected  event  was  no  less 
surprising  than  agreeable  to  the  emperor.  But  in  order  to  conceal  his  joy 
from  his  subjects,  who  were  filled  with  horror  at  the  success  and  crimes  of 
their  countrymen,  and  to  lessen  the  indignation  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  he 
declared  that  Rome  had  been  assaulted  without  any  order  from  him.  He 
wrote  to  all  the  princes  with  whom  he  was  in  alliance,  disclaiming  his 
having  had  any  knowledge  of  Bourbon's  intention.*  He  put  himself  and 
court  into  mourning  ;  commanded  the  rejoicings  which  had  been  ordered 
for  the  birth  of  his  son  Philip  to  be  stopped  ;  and  employed  an  artifice  no 
less  hypocritical  than  gross ;  he  appointed  prayers  and  processions  through- 
out all  Spain  for  the  recovery  of  the  pope's  liberty,  which,  by  an  order 
to  his  generals,  he  could  have  immediately  granted  him.j 

The  good  fortune  of  the  house  of  Austria  was  no  less  conspicuous  in 
another  part  of  Europe.  Solyman  having  invaded  Hungary  with  an  army 
of  three  hundred 'thousand  men,  Lewis  II.,  king  of  that  countiy  and  of 
Bohemia,  a  weak  and  inexperienced  prince,  advanced  rashly  to  meet  him 
with  a  body  of  men  which  did  not  amount  to  thirty  thousand.  With  an 
imprudence  still  more  unpardonable,  he  gave  the  command  ot  these  troops 
to  Paul  Tomorri,  a  Franciscan  monk,  archbishop  of  Golocza.  This  awk- 
ward general,  in  the  dress  of  his  order,  girt  with  its  cord,  marched  at  the 
head  of  the  troops ;  and,  hurried  on  by  his  own  presumption,  as  well  as  by 
the  impetuosity  of  nobles  who  despised  danger,  but  were  impatient  of  long 
service,  he  fought  the  battle  of  Mohacz  [August  29,  1526],  in  which  the 
king,  the  flower  of  the  Hungarian  nobility,  and  upwards  of  twenty  thousand 
men,  fell  the  victims  of  his  folly  and  ill  conduct.  Solyman,  after  his  victory, 
seized  and  kept  possession  of  several  towns  of  the  greatest  strength  in  the 
southern  provinces  of  Hungary,  and,  overrunning  the  rest  of  the  country, 
carried  near  two  hundred  thousand  persons  into  captivity.  As  Lewis  was 
the  last  male  of  the  royal  family  of  Jagellon,  the  archduke  Ferdinand 
claimed  both  his  crowns.  This  claim  was  founded  on  a  double  title ;  the 
one  derived  from  the  ancient  pretensions  of  the  house  of  Austria  to  both 
kingdoms;  the  other  from  the  right  of  his  wife,  the  only  sister  of  the 
deceased  monarch.  The  feudal  institutions,  however, subsisted  both  in  Hun- 
gary and  Bohemia  in  such  vigour,  and  the  nobles  possessed  such  extensive 
{)ower,  that  the  crowns  were  still  elective,  and  Ferdinand's  rights,  if  they 
>ad  not  been  powerfully  supported,  would  have  met  with  little  regard. 
But  his  own  personal  merit ;  the  respect  due  to  the  brother  of  the  greatest 
monarch  in  Christendom ;  the  necessity  of  choosing  a  prince  able  to  afford 
his  subjects  some  additional  protection  against  the  Turkish  arms,  which,  as 
they  had  recently  felt  their  power,  they  greatly  dreaded ;  together  with 
the  intrigues  of  his  sister,  who  had  been  married  to  the  late  king,  over- 
came the  prejudices  which  the  Hungarians  had  conceived  against  the  arch- 
duke as  a  foreigner;  and  though  a  considerable  party  voted  for  the  Vay- 
wode  of  Transylvania,  at  length  secured  Ferdinand  the  throne  of  that 
kingdom.  The  states  of  Bohemia  imitated  the  example  of  their  neigh- 
bour kingdom ;  but  iff  order  to  ascertain  and  secure  their  own  privileges, 
they  obliged  Ferdinand,  before  his  coronation,  to  subscribe  a  deed  which 
they  termed  a  Reverse,  declaring  that  he  held  that  crown  not  by  any  pre- 
vious right,  but  by  their  gratuitous  and  voluntary  election.  By  such  a  vast 
accession  of  territories,  the  hereditary  possession  of  which  they  secured  in 
process  of  time  to  their  family,  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Austria  attained 

*  Ruscelli  Lettere  di  Princini.  ii.  234.  tSlPid.MQ.    Sandov.  i.  822.    Manroc.  Hist.  Veneta, 

'ib.  iii.  221)  < 


92Q  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  V. 

that  pre-eminence  in  power  which  had  rendered  them  so  formidable  to  the 
rest  of  Germany.* 

The  dissensions  between  the  pope  and  emperor  proved  extremely 
favourable  to  the  progress  of  Lutheranism.  Charles,  exasperated  by  Cle- 
ment's conduct,  and  iully  employed  in  opposing  the  league  which  he  had 
formed  against  him,  had  little  inclination  and  less  leisure,  to  take  any 
measures  for  suppressing  the  new  opinions  in  Germany.  In  a  diet  of  the 
empire  held  at  Spires  [June  25,  1526],  the  state  of  religion  came  to  be 
considered ;  and  all  that  the  emperor  required  of  the  princes  was,  that  they 
would  wait  patiently,  and  without  encouraging  innovations,  for  the  meeting 
of  a  general  council  which  he  had  demanded  of  the  pope.  They,  in 
return,  acknowledged  the  convocation  of  a  council  to  be  the  proper  and 
regular  step  towards  reforming  abuses  in  the  church ;  but  contended  that 
a  national  council  held  in  Germany  would  be  more  effectual  for  that  pur- 
pose than  what  he  had  proposed.  To  his  advice,  concerning  the  dis- 
couragement of  innovations,  they  paid  so  little  regard,  that  even  during  the 
meeting  of  the  diet  at  Spires,  the  divines  who  attended  the  elector  of  Sax- 
ony and  landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel  thither,  preached  publicly,  and  admin- 
istered the  sacraments  according  to  the  rights  of  the  reformed  church. t 
The  emperor's  own  example  emboldened  the  Germans  to  treat  the  papal 
authority  with  little  reverence.  During  the  heat  of  his  resentment  against 
Clement,  he  had  published  a  long  reply  to  an  angry  brief,  which  the  pope 
had  intended  as  an  apology  for  his  own  conduct.  In  this  manifesto,  the 
emperor,  after  having  enumerated  many  instances  of  that  pontiff's  ingrati- 
tude, deceit,  and  ambition,  all  which  he  painted  in  the  strongest  and  most 
aggravated  colours,  appealed  from  him  to  a  general  council.  At  the  same 
time  he  wrote  to  the  college  of  cardinals,  complaining  of  Clement's  par- 
tiality and  injustice;  and  requiring  them,  if  he  refused  or  delayed  to  call 
a  council,  to  show  their  concern  for  the  peace  of  the  Christian  church,  so 
shamefully  neglected  by  its  chief,  pastor,  by  summoning  that  assembly  in 
their  own  name.J  This  manifesto,  little  inferior  in  virulence  to  the  invec- 
tives of  Luther  himself,  was.  dispersed  over  Germany  with  great  industry, 
and  being  eagerly  read  by  persons  of  every  rank,  did  much  more  than 
counterbalance  the  effect  of  all  Charles's  declarations  against  the  new 
opinions. 


BOOK   V. 


The  account  of  the  cruel  manner  in  which  the  pope  had  been  treated 
filled  all  Europe  with  astonishment  or  horror.  To  see  a  Christian  empe- 
ror, who  by  possessing  that  dignity  ought  to  have  been  the  protector  and 
advocate  of  the  holy  see,  lay  violent  hands  on  him  who  represented  Christ 
on  earth,  and  detain  his  sacred  person  in  a  rigorous  captivity,  was  con- 
sidered as  an  impiety  that  merited  the  severest  rengeance,  and  which 
called  for  the  immediate  interposition  of  every  dutiful  son  of  the  Church. 
Francis  and  Henry,  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  the  Imperial  arms  in  Italy, 
had  even  before  the  taking  of  Rome,  entered  into  a  closer  alliance ;  and  in 
order  to  give  some  check  to  the  emperor's  ambition,  had  agreed  to  make 
a  vigorous  diversion  in  the  Low-Countries.  The  force  of  every  motive 
which  had  influenced  them  at  that  time  was  now  increased ;  and  to  thei-e 

*  Steph.  Broderick  Procancelarii  Hungar.  Clades  in  Pampo.  Mohacz,  ap.  S<  ardiiim,  ii.  218. 
P.  Barre.Htst.  d' Allermgne.  torn.  viii.  part  i.  p.  WR       t  Sleid.  103.       1  Goldnst.  Pnlit.  Imper.  p.  9Q4 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    V.  221 

were  added  the  desire  of  rescuing  the  pope  out  of  the  emperor's  hands,  a 
measure  no  less  politic  than  it  appeared  to  he  pious.  This,  however,  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  abandon  their  hostile  intentions  against  the  Low- 
Countries,  and  to  make  Italy  the  seat  of  war,  as  it  was  by  vigorous  ope- 
rations there  they  might  contribute  most  effectually  towards  delivering 
Rome,  and  setting  Clement  at  liberty.  Francis  being  now  sensible  that,  in 
his  system  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  Italy,  the  spirit  of  refinement  had 
carried  him  too  far;  and  that  by  an  excess  of  remissness,  he  had  allowed 
Charles  to  attain  advantages  which  he  might  easily  have  prevented;  was 
eager  to  make  reparation  for  an  error,  of  which  he  was  not  often  guilty, 
by  an  activity  more  suitable  to  his  temper.  Henry  thought  his  interposi- 
tion necessary,  in  order  to  hinder  the  emperor  from  becoming  master  of  all 
Italy,  and  acquiring  by  that  means  such  superiority  of  power,  as  would 
enable  him  for  the  future  to  dictate  without  control  to  the  other  princes  of 
Europe.  VVoIsey,  whom  Francis  had  taken  care  to  secure  by  flattery  and 
presents,  the  certain  methods  of  gaining  his  favour,  neglected  nothing  that 
could  incense  his  master  against  the  emperor.  Besides  all  these  public 
considerations,  Henry  was  influenced  by  one  of  a  more  private  nature ; 
having  begun  about  this  time  to  form  his  great  scheme  of  divorcing 
Catherine  of  Aragon,  towards  the  execution  of  which  he  knew  that  the 
sanction  of  papal  authority  would  be  necessary,  he  was  desirous  to  acquire 
as  much  merit  as  possible  with  Clement,  by  appearing  to  be  the  chief 
instrument  of  his  deliverance. 

The  negotiation,  between  princes  thus  disposed,  was  not  tedious. 
Wolsey  himself  conducted  it,  on  the  part  of  his  sovereign,  with  unbounded 
powers.  Francis  treated  with  him  in  person  at  Amiens  [July  11],  where 
the  cardinal  appeared,  and  was  received  with  royal  magnificence.  A 
marriage  between  the  duke  of  Orleans  and  the  princess  Mary  was  agreed 
to  as  the  basis  of  the  confederacy ;  it  was  resolved  that  Italy  should  be  the 
theatre  of  war,  the  strength  of  the  army  which  should  take  the  field,  as 
well  as  the  contingent  of  troops  or  of  money,  which  each  prince  should 
furnish,  were  settled ;  and  if  the  emperor  did  not  accept  of  the  proposals 
which  they  were  jointly  to  make  him,  they  bound  themselves  immediately 
to  declare  war,  and  to  begin  hostilities  [Aug.  181.  Henry,  who  took 
every  resolution  with  impetuosity,  entered  so  eagerly  into  this  new  alliance, 
that,  in  order  to  give  Francis  the  strongest  proof  of  his  friendship  and  respect, 
he  formally  renounced  the  ancient  claim  of  the  English  monarchs  to  tin 
crown  of  France,  which  had  long  been  the  pride  and  ruin  of  the  nation ; 
as  a  full  compensation  for  which  he  accepted  a  pension  of  fifty  thousand 
crowns,  to  be  paid  annually  to  himself  and  his  successors.* 

The  pope,  being  unable  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  his  capitulation,  stili 
remained  a  prisoner  under  the  severe  custody  of  Alarcon.  The  Floren- 
tines no  sooner  heard  of  what  had  happened  at  Rome,  than  they  ran  to 
arms  in  a  tumultuous  manner;  expelled  the  cardinal  di  Cortona,  who 
governed  their  city  in  the  pope's  name ;  defaced  the  arms  of  the  Medici ; 
broke  in  pieces  the  statues  of  Leo  and  Clement ;  and  declaring  themselves 
a  free  state,  re-established  their  ancient  popular  government.  The  Vene- 
tians, taking  advantage  of  the  calamity  of  their  ally  the  pope,  seized 
Ravenna,  and  other  places  belonging  to  the  church,  under  pretext  of 
keeping  them  in  deposite.  The  dukes  of  Urbino  and  Ferrara  laid  hold 
likewise  on  part  of  the  spoils  of  the  unfortunate  pontiff,  whom  they  con- 
sidered as  irretrievably  ruined. | 

Lannoy,  on  the  other  hand,  laboured  to  derive  some  solid  benefit  from 
that  unforeseen  event,  which  gave  such  splendour  and  superiority  to  his 
master's  arms.  For  this  purpose  he  marched  to  Rome,  together  with 
Moncada,  and  the  marquis  del  Cuasto,  at  the  head  of  all  the  troops  which 

*  Herbert,  83,  &c.    Rym.  Fend.  siv.  203  J  fJnir.  1.  xviii.  453 


222  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [l,^ :,k  \ . 

they  could  assemble  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The  arrival  of  this  rein- 
forcement brought  new  calamities  on  the  unhappy  citizens  of  Rome  ;  for 
the  soldiers  envying  the  wealth  of  their  companions,  imitated  their  license, 
and  with  the  utmost  rapacity  gathered  the  gleanings,  which  had  escaped 
the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards  and  Germans.  There  was  not  now  any  army 
in  Italy  capable  of  making  head  against  the  Imperialists ;  and  nothing 
more  was  requisite  to  reduce  Bologna,  and  the  other  towns  in  the  eccle- 
siastical state,  than  to  have  appeared  before  them.  But  the  soldiers  having 
been  so  long  accustomed,  under  Bourbon,  to  an  entire  relaxation  of  disci- 
pline, and  having  tasted  the  sweets  of  living  at  discretion  in  a  great  city, 
almost  without  the  control  of  a  superior,  were  become  so  impatient  of  mili- 
tary subordination,  and  so  averse  to  service,  that  they  refused  to  leave 
Rome,  unless  all  their  arrears  were  paid  ;  a  condition  which  they  knew  to 
be  impossible.  At  the  same  time,  they  declared,  that  they  would  not  obey 
any  other  person  than  the  prince  of  Orange,  whom  the  army  had  chosen 
general.  Lannoy,  finding  that  it  was  no  longer  safe  for  him  to  remain 
among  licentious  troops,  who  despised  his  dignity,  and  hated  his  person, 
returned  to  Naples ;  soon  after  the  marquis  del  Guasto  and  Moncada  thought 
it  prudent  to  quit  Rome  for  the  same  reason.  The  prince  of  Orange,  a 
general  only  in  name,  and  by  the  most  precarious  of  all  tenures,  the  good 
will  of  soldiers,  whom  success  and  license  had  rendered  capricious,  was 
obliged  to  pay  more  attention  to  their  humours,  than  they  did  to  his  com- 
mands. Thus  the  emperor,  instead  of  reaping  any  of  the  advantages  which 
he  might  have  expected  from  the  reduction  of  Rome,  had  the  mortification 
to  see  the  most  formidable  body  of  troops  that  he  had  ever  brought  into 
the  field,  continue  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  from  which  it  was  impossible  to 
rouse  them.* 

This  gave  the  king  of  France  and  the  Venetians  leisure  to  form  new 
schemes,  and  to  enter  into  new  engagements  for  delivering  the  pope,  and 
preserving  the  liberties  of  Italy.  The  newly  restored  republic  of  Florence 
very  imprudently  joined  with  them,  and  Lautrec,  of  whose  abilities  the 
Italians  entertained  a  much  more  favourable  opinion  than  his  own  master, 
was,  in  order  to  gratify  them,  appointed  generalissimo  of  the  league.  It 
was  with  the  utmost  reluctance  he  undertook  that  office,  being  unwilling 
to  expose  himself  a  second  time  to  the  difficulties  and  disgraces,  which  the 
negligence  of  the  king,  or  the  malice  of  his  favourites,  might  bring  upon 
him.  The  best  troops  in  France  marched  under  his  command  ;  and  the 
king  of  England,  though  he  had  not  yet  declared  war  against  the  emperor, 
advanced  a  considerable  sum  towards  carrying  on  the  expedition.  Lau- 
trec's  first  operations  were  prudent,  vigorous,  and  successful.  By  the  as- 
sistance of  Andrew  Doria,  the  ablest  sea  officer  of  that  age,  he  rendered 
himself  master  of  Genoa,  and  re-established  in  that  republic  the  faction  of 
the  Fregosi,  together  with  the  dominion  of  France.  He  obliged  Alexan- 
dria to  surrender  after  a  short  siege,  and  reduced  all  the  country  on  that 
side  of  the  Tesino.  He  took  Pavia,  which  had  so  long  resisted  the  arms 
of  his  sovereign,  by  assault,  and  plundered  it  with  that  cruelty,  which  the 
memory  of  the  fatal  disaster  that  had  befallen  the  French  nation  before  its 
walls  naturally  inspired.  All  the  Milanese,  which  Antonio  de  Leyva  de- 
fended with  a  small  body  of  troops,  kept  together,  and  supported  by  his 
own  address  and  industry,  must  have  soon  submitted  to  his  power,  if  he 
had  continued  to  bend  the  force  of  his  arms  against  that  country.  But 
Lautrec  durst  not  complete  a  conquest  which  would  have  been  so  honour- 
able  to  himself,  and  of  such  advantage  to  the  league.  Francis  knew  his 
confederates  to  be  more  desirous  of  circumscribing  the  Imperial  power  in 
Italy,  than  of  acquiring  new  territories  for  him  ;  and  was  afraid,  that  if 
Sforza  were  once  re-established  in  Milan,  they  would  second  but  coldly 

*  Gnic  1-  '>'  Hi;  154. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  223 

the  attack  which  he  intended  to  make  on  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  For 
this  reason  he  instructed  Lautrec  not  to  push  his  operations  with  too  much 
vigour  in  Lombardy ;  and  happily  the  importunities  of  the  pope,  and  the 
solicitations  of  the  Florentines,  the  one  for  relief,  and  the  other  for  protec- 
tion, were  so  urgent  as  to  furnish  him  with  a  decent  pretext  for  marching 
forward,  without  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Venetians  and  Sforza, 
who  insisted  on  his  laying  siege  to  Milan.* 

While  Lautrec  advanced  slowly  towards  Rome,  the  emperor  had  time 
to  deliberate  concerning  the  disposal  of  the  pope's  person,  who  still  re- 
mained a  prisoner  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo.  Notwithstanding  the 
specious  veil  of  religion,  with  which. he  usually  endeavoured  to  cover  his 
actions,  Charles,  in  many  instances,  appears  to  have  been  but  little  under 
the  influence  of  religious  considerations,  and  had  frequently,  on  this  occa- 
sion, expressed  an  inclination  to  transport  the  pope  into  Spain,  that  he 
might  indulge  his  ambition  with  the  spectacle  of  the  two  most  illustrious 
personages  in  Europe  successively  prisoners  in  his  court.  But  the  fear  of 
giving  new  offence  to  all  Christendom,  and  of  filling  his  own  subjects  with 
horror,  obliged  him  to  forego  that  satisfaction.!  The  progress  of  the  con- 
federates made  it  now  necessary,  either  to  set  the  pope  at  liberty,  or  to  re- 
move him  to  some  place  of  confinement  more  secure  than  the  castle  of  St. 
Angelo.  Many  considerations  induced  him  to  prefer  the  former,  particularly 
his  want  of  the  money,  requisite  as  well  for  recruiting  his  army,  as  for  pay- 
ing off  the  vast  arrears  due  to  it.  In  order  to  obtain  this,  he  had  assembled 
the  Cortes  of  Castile  at  Valladolid  about  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and 
having  laid  before  them  the  state  of  his  affairs,  and  represented  the  neces- 
sity of  making  great  preparations  to  resist  the  enemies,  whom  envy  at  the 
success  which  had  crowned  his  arms  would  unite  against  him,  he  demanded 
a  large  supply  in  the  most  pressing  terms  [Feb.  11]  ;  but  the  Cortes,  as  the 
nation  was  already  exhausted  by  extraordinary  donatives,  refused  to  load  it 
with  any  new  burden,  and  in  spite  of  all  his  endeavours  to  gain  or  to  intimi- 
date the  members,  persisted  in  this  resolution.^  No  resource,  therefore, 
remained,  but  the  extorting  from  Clement  by  way  of  ransom,  a  sum  suffi- 
cient for  discharging  what  was  due  to  his  troops,  without  which  it  was  vain 
to  mention  to  them  their  leaving  Rome. 

Nor  was  the  pope  inactive  on  his  part,  or  his  intrigues  unsuccessful  to- 
wards hastening  such  a  treaty.  By  flattery,  and  the  appearance  of  un- 
bounded confidence,  he  disarmed  the  resentment  of  cardinal  Colonna,  and 
wrought  upon  his  vanity,  which  made  him  desirous  of  showing  the  world, 
that  as  his  power  had  at  first  depressed  the  pope,  it  could  now  raise  him 
to  his  former  dignity.  By  favours  and  promises  he  gained  Morone,  who, 
by  one  of  those  whimsical  revolutions  which  occur  so  often  in  his  life,  and 
which  so  strongly  display  his  character,  had  now  recovered  his  credit  and 
authority  with  the  Imperialists.  The  address  and  influence  of  two  such 
men  easily  removed  all  the  obstacles  which  retarded  an  accommodation, 
and  brought  the  treaty  for  Clement's  liberty  to  a  conclusion,  upon  conditions 
hard  indeed,  but  not  more  severe  than  a  prince  in  his  situation  had  reason 
to  expect.  He  was  obliged  to  advance,  in  ready  money,  a  hundred  thou- 
sand crowns  for  the  use  of  the  army ;  to  pay  the  same  sum  at  the  distance 
of  a  fortnight ;  and  at  the  end  of  three  months,  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
more.  He  engaged  not  to  take  part  in  the  war  against  Charles,  either  in 
Lombardy  or  in  Naples  ;  he  granted  him  a  bull  of  cruzado,  and  the  tenth 
of  ecclesiastical  revenues  in  Spain  ;  and  he  not  only  gave  hostages,  but  put 
the  emperor  in  possession  of  several  towns,  as  a  security  for  the  perform- 
ance of  these  articles.§  Having  raised  the  first  moiety  by  a  sale  of  eccle- 
siastical dignities  and  benefices,  and  other  expedients  equally  uncanonical, 

*  Guic.  1.  xviii.  461.  Bellay,  107,  &c.  Mauroc.  Hist.  Venct.  lib.  iii.  238  t  Guic  I.  xvijl.  45T. 
i  Sarotov.  i.  p.  814.        «  Guic.  1.  rviii.  467,  &c. 


224  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  V. 

a  day  was  fixed  for  delivering  him  from  imprisonment  [Dec.  6].  But 
Clement,  impatient  to  be  free,  after  a  tedious  confinement  of  six  months, 
as  well  as  full  of  the  suspicion  and  distrust  natural  to  the  unfortunate,  was 
so  much  afraid  that  the  Imperialists  might  still  throw  in -obstacles  to  put 
off  his  deliverance,  that  he  disguised  himself,  on  the  night  preceding  the 
day  when  he  was  to  be  set  free,  in  the  habit  of  a  merchant,  and  Alarcon 
having  remitted  somewhat  of  his  vigilance  upon  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty,  he  made  his  escape  undiscovered.  He  arrived  before  next  morning 
at  Orvietto,  without  any  attendants  but  a  single  officer  ;  and  from  thence 
wrote  a  letter  of  thanks  to  Lautrec,  as  the  chief  instrument  of  procuring  him 
liberty.* 

During  these  transactions,  the  ambassadors  of  France  and  England  re- 
paired to  Spain,  in  consequence  of  the  treaty  which  VVolsey  had  concluded 
with  the  French  king.  The  emperor,  unwilling  to  draw  on  himself  the  united 
forces  of  the  two  monarchs,  discovered  an  inclination  to  relax  somewhat  the 
rigour  of  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  to  which,  hitherto,  he  had  adhered  inflexibly. 
He  offered  to  accept  of  the  two  millions  of  crowns,  which  Francis  had  pro- 
posed to  pay  as  an  equivalent  for  the  dutchy  of  Burgundy,  and  to  set  his 
sons  at  liberty,  on  condition  that  he  would  recall  his  army  out  of  Italy,  and 
restore  Genoa,  together  with  the  other  conquests  which  he  had  made  in 
that  country.  With  regard  to  Sforza,  he  insisted  that  his  fate  should  be 
determined  by  the  judges  appointed  to  inquire  into  his  crimes.  These  pro- 
positions being  made  to  Henry,  he  transmitted  them  to  his  ally  the  French 
king,  whom  it  more  nearly  concerned  to  examine  and  to  answer  them ; 
and  it  Francis  had  been  sincerely  solicitous  either  to  conclude  peace  or 
preserve  consistency  in  his  own  conduct,  he  ought  instantl}'  to  have  closed 
with  overtures  which  differed  but  little  from  "the  propositions  which  he 
himself  had  formerly  made.t  But  his  views  were  now  much  changed  ;  his 
alliance  with  Henry,  Lautrec's  progress  in  Italy,  and  the  superiority  of  his 
army  there  above  that  of  the  emperor,  hardly  left  him  room  to  doubt  of  the 
success  of  his  enterprise  against  Naples.  Full  of  those  sanguine  hopes,  he 
was  at  no  loss  to  find  pretexts  for  rejecting  or  evading  what  the  emperor 
had  proposed.  Under  the  appearance  of  sympathy  with  Sforza,  for  whose 
interests  he  had  not  hitherto  discovered  much  solicitude,  he  again  demanded 
the  full  and  unconditional  re-establishment  of  that  unfortunate  prince  in  his 
dominions.  Under  colour  of  its  being  imprudent  to  rely  on  the  emperor's 
sincerity,  he  insisted  that  his  sons  should  be  set  at  liberty  before  the  French 
troops  left  Italy,  or  surrendered  Genoa.  The  unreasonableness  of  these  de- 
mands, as  well  as  the  reproachful  insinuation  with  which  they  were  accom- 
panied, irritated  Charles  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  could  hardly  listen  to 
them  with  patience  ;  and  repenting  of  his  moderation,  which  had  made  so 
little  impression  on  his  enemies,  declared  that  he  would  not  depart  in  the 
smallest  article  from  the  conditions  which  he  had  now  offered.  Upon  this 
the  French  and  English  ambassadors  (for  Henry  had  been  drawn  unaccount- 
ably to  concur  with  Francis  in  these  strange  propositions)  demanded  and 
obtained  their  audience  of  leave. J 

Next  day  [Jan.  22,  1528],  two  heralds  who  had  accompanied  the  am- 
bassadors on  purpose,  though  they  had  hitherto  concealed  their  character, 
having  assumed  the  ensigns  of  their  office,  appeared  in  the  emperor's  court, 
and  being  admitted  into  his  presence,  they,  in  the  name  of  their  respective 
masters,  and  with  all  the  solemnities  customary  on  such  occasions,  de- 
nounced war  against  him.  Charles  received  both  with  a  dignity  suitable 
to  his  own  rank,  but  spoke  to  each  in  a  tone  adapted  to  the  sentiments 
Avhich  he  entertained  of  their  respective  sovereigns.  He  accepted  the 
defiance  of  the  English  monarch  with  a  firmness  tempered  by  some  degree 

*  Guic.  1.  iviii.  467,  &c.  .low  Vit.  Colon.  100.  JIauror.  Ili.^t.  Vcnct.  lib.  iii.  252.  *  Rccuoil 
des  Traitez,ii.  249.  ;  flym.  xiv-2uo.     Hrrl>crt8r>.   Guir.  I.  xviii  4~; 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  225 

of  decency  and  respect.  His  reply  to  the  French  king  abounded  with 
that  acrimony  of  expression,  which  personal  rivalship,  exasperated  by  the 
memory  of  many  injuries  inflicted  as  well  as  suffered,  naturally  suggests. 
He  desired  the  French  herald  to  acquaint  his  sovereign,  that  he  would 
henceforth  consider  him  not  only  as  a  hase  violator  of  public  faith,  but  as 
a  stranger  to  the  honour  and  integrity  becoming  a  gentleman.  Francis, 
too  high-spirited  to  bear  such  an  imputation,  had  recourse  to  an  uncommon 
expedient  in  order  to  vindicate  his  character.  He  instantly  sent  back  the 
herald  with  a  cartel  of  defiance,  in  which  he  gave  the  emperor  the  lie  in 
form,  challenged  him  to  single  combat,  requiring  him  to  name  the  time 
and  place  of  the  encounter,  and  the  weapons  with  which  he  chose  to 
fight.  Charles,  as  he  was  not  inferior  to  his  rival  in  spirit  or  bravery, 
readily  accepted  the  challenge  ;  but  after  several  messages  concerning  the 
arrangement  of  all  the  circumstances  relative  to  the  combat,  accompanied 
with  "mutual  reproaches,  bordering  on  the  most  indecent  scurrility,  all 
thoughts  of  this  duel,  more  becoming  the  heroes  of  romance  than  the  two 
greatest  monarchs  of  their  age,  were  entirely  laid  aside.* 

The  example  of  two  personages  so  illustrious  drew  such  general  atten- 
tion, and  carried  with  it  so  much  authority,  that  it  had  considerable  influ- 
ence in  producing  an  important  change  in  manners  all  over  Europe. 
Duels,  as  has  already  been  observed,  had  long  been  permitted  by  the  laws 
of  all  the  European  nations,  and.  forming  a  part  ot  their  jurisprudence, 
were  authorized  by  the  magistrate  on  many  occasions,  as  the  most  proper 
method  of  terminating  questions  with  regard  to  property,  or  of  deciding 
those  which  respected  crimes.  But  single  combats  being  considered  as 
solemn  appeals  to  the  omniscience  and  justice  of  the  Supreme  Being,  they 
were  allowed  only  in  public  causes,  according  to  the  prescription  of  law, 
and  carried  on  in  a  judicial  form.  Men  accustomed  to  this  manner  of  de- 
cisions in  a  court  of  justice,  were  naturally  led  to  apply  it  to  personal  and 
private  quarrels.  Duels,  which  at  first  could  be  appointed  by  the  civil 
judge  alone,  were  fought  without  the  interposition  of  his  authority,  and  in 
cases  to  which  the  laws  did  not  extend.  The  transaction  between  Charles 
and  Francis  strongly  countenanced  this  practice.  Upon  every  affront,  or 
injury,  which  seemed  to  touch  his  honour,  a  gentleman  thought  himself 
entitled  to  draw  his  sword,  and  to  call  on  his  adversary  to  give  him  satis- 
faction. Such  an  opinion  becoming  prevalent  among  men  of  fierce  courage, 
of  high  spirit,  and  of  rude  manners,  when  offence  was  otten  given,  and 
revenge  was  always  prompt,  produced  most  fatal  consequences.  Much 
of  the  best  blood  in  Christendom  was  shed  ;  many  useful  lives  were  sacri- 
ficed ;  and,  at  some  periods,  war  itself  had  hardly  been  more  destructive 
than  these  private  contests  of  honour.  So  powerful,  however,  is  the  domi- 
nion of  fashion,  that  neither  the  terror  of  penal  laws,  nor  reverence  for 
religion,  have  been  able  entirely  to  abolish  a  practice  unknown  among 
the  ancients,  and  not  justifiable  by  any  principle  of  reason  ;  though  at  the 
same  time,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  to  this  absurd  custom,  we  must 
ascribe  in  some  degree  the  extraordinary  gentleness  and  complaisance  of 
modern  manners,  and  that  respectful  attention  of  one  man  to  another, 
which  at  present  render  the  social  intercourses  of  life  far  more  agreeable 
and  decent,  than  among  the  most  civilized  nations  of  antiquity. 

While  the  two  monarchs  seemed  so  eager  to  terminate  their  quarrel  by 
a  personal  combat,  Lautrec  continued  his  operations,  which  promised  to 
be  more  decisive.  His  army,  which  was  now  increased  to  thirty-five 
thousand  men,  advanced  by  great  marches  towards  Naples  [Feb.].  The 
terror  of  their  approach,  as  well  as  the  remonstrances  and  the  entreaties 
of  the  prince  of  Orange,  prevailed  at  last  on  the  Imperial  troops,  though 
with  difficulty,  to  quit  Rome  of  which  they  had  kept  possession  during 

*  Rcciieil  des  Traii^z.  2.    Mem  do  Bollav,  103.  &c.    Sa'odov.  Hi§?,  i.  857. 
Vol.  II  —  29 


ffe6  THE   REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  V 

ten  months.  But  of  that  flourishing  army  which  had  entered  the  city., 
scarcely  one  half  remained ;  the  rest,  cut  off  by  the  plague,  or  wasted  by 
diseases,  the  effects  of  their  inactivity,  intemperance,  and  debauchery, 
fell  victims  to  their  own  crimes.*  Lautrec  made  the  greatest  efforts  to 
attack  them  in  their  retreat  towards  the  Neapolitan  territories,  which  would 
have  finished  the  war  at  one  blow.  But  the  prudence  of  their  leaders 
disappointed  all  his  measures,  and  conducted  them  with  little  loss  to 
Naples.  The  people  of  that  kingdom,  extremely  impatient  to  shake  off 
the  Spanish  yoke,  received  the  French  with  open  arms,  wherever  they 
appeared  to  take  possession  ;  and,  Gaeta  and  Naples  excepted,  hardly  any 
place  of  importance  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Imperialists.  Trie 
preservation  of  the  former  was  owing  to  the  strength  of  its  fortifications, 
that  of  the  latter  to  the  presence  of  the  Imperial  army.  Lautrec,  how- 
ever, sat  down  before  Naples ;  but  finding  it  vain  to  think  of  reducing  a 
city  by  force  while  defended  by  a  whole  army,  he  was  obliged  to  employ 
the  slower,  but  less  dangerous  method  of  blockade  ;  and  having  taken 
measures  which  appeared  to  him  effectual,  he  confidently  assured  his 
master,  that  famine  would  soon  compel  the  besieged  to  capitulate.  These 
hopes  were  strongly  confirmed  by  the  defeat  of  a  vigorous  attempt  made 
by  the  enemy  in  order  to  recover  the  command  of  the  sea.  The  galleys 
of  Andrew  Doria,  under  the  command  of  his  nephew  Philippino,  guarded 
the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  Moncada,  who  had  succeeded  Lannoy  in  the 
viceroyalty,  rigged  out  a  number  of  galleys  superior  to  Doria's,  manned 
them  with  a  chosen  body  of  Spanish  veterans,  and  going  on  board  himself, 
together  with  the  marquis  del  Guasto,  attacked  Philippino  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Venetian  and  French  fleets.  But  the  Genoese,  admiral,  by 
his  superior  skill  in  naval  operations,  easily  triumphed  over  the  valour 
and  number  of  the  Spaniards.  The  viceroy  was.  killed,  most  of  his  fleet 
destroyed,  and  Guasto,  with  many  officers  of  distinction,  being  taken  pri- 
soners, were  put  on  board  the  captive  galleys,  and  sent  by  Philippino  as 
trophies  of  his  victory  to  his  uncle.f 

Notwithstanding  this  flattering  prospect  of  success,  many  circumstances 
concurred  to  frustrate  Lautrec's  expectations.  Clement,  though  he  always 
acknowledged  his  being  indebted  to  Francis  for  the  recovery  of  his  liberty, 
and  often  complained  of  the  cruel  treatment  which  he  had  met  with  from 
the  emperor,  was  not  influenced  at  this  juncture  by  principles  of  gratitude, 
nor,  which  is  more  extraordinary,  was  he  swayed  by  the  desire  of  revenge. 
His  past  misfortunes  rendered  him  more  cautious  than  ever,  and  his  recol- 
lection of  the  errors  which  he  had  committed,  increased  the  natural  irreso- 
lution of  his  mind.  While  he  amused  Francis  with  promises,  he  secretly 
negotiated  with  Charles  ;  and  being  solicitous,  above  all  things,  to  re- 
establish his  family  in  Florence  with  its  ancient  authority,  which  he  could 
not  expect  from  Francis,  who  had  entered  into  strict  alliance  with  the  new 
republic,  he  leaned  rather  to  the  side  of  his  enemy  than  to  that  of  his  bene- 
factor, and  gave  Lautrec  no  assistance  towards  carrying  on  his  operations. 
The  Venetians,  viewing  with  jealousy  the  progress  of  the  French  arms, 
were  intent  only  upon  recovering  such  maritime  towns  in  the  Neapolitan 
dominions  as  were  to  be  possessed  by  their  republic,  while  they  were 
altogether  careless  about  the  reduction  of  Naples,  on  which  the  success  of 
the  common  cause  depended.^  The  king  of  England,  instead  of  being 
able,  as  had  been  projected,  to  embarrass  the  emperor  by  attacking  his 
territories  in  the  Low-Countries,  found  his  subjects  so  averse  to  an  unne- 
cessary war,  which  would  have  ruined  the  trade  of  the  nation,  that  in 
order  to  silence  their  clamours  and  put  a  stop  to  the  insurrections  ready  to 
break  out  among  them,  he  was  compelled  to  conclude  a  truce  for  eight 

*  Guic.  l.  xviii.  478.  tGal6l.xfic.ti7.    P.  Heater.  lib.  X.  c  &>  231.  t  Goic.  I 

xix.  491. 


EM  PER  Oft    CHARLES   \.  za: 

months  with  the  governess  of  the  Netherlands.*  Francis  himself,  with 
the  same  unpardonable  inattention  of  which  he  had  formerly  been  guilty, 
and  for  which  he  had  suffered  so  severely,  neglected  to  make  proper  re- 
mittances to  Lautrec  for  the  support  of  his  army.t 

These  unexpected  events  retarded  the  progress  of  the  French,  discou- 
raging both  the  general  and  his  troops ;  but  the  revolt  of  Andrew  Doria 
proved  a  fatal  blow  to  all  their  measures.  That  gallant  officer,  the  citizen 
of  a  republic,  and  trained  up  from  his  infancy  in  the  sea  service,  retained 
the  spirit  of  independence  natural  to  the  former,  together  with  the  plain 
liberal  manners  peculiar  to  the  latter. 

A  stranger  to  the  arts  of  submission  and  flattery  necessary  in  courts,  but 
conscious  at  the  same  time  of  his  own  merit  and  importance,  he  always 
offered  his  advice  with  freedom,  and  often  preferred  his  complaints  and 
remonstrances  with  boldness.  The  French  ministers,  unaccustomed  to 
such  liberties,  determined  to  ruin  a  man  who  treated  them  with  so  little 
deference  ;  and  though  Francis  himself  had  a  just  sense  of  Doria's  ser- 
vices, as  well  as  a  high  esteem  for  his  character,  the  courtiers,. by  continu- 
ally representing  him  as  a  man  haughty,  untractable,  and  more  solicitous 
to  aggrandize  himself,  than  to  promote  the  interest  of  France,  gradually 
undermined  the  foundations  of  his  credit,  and  tilled  the  king's  mind  with 
suspicion  and  distrust.  From  thence  proceeded  several  affronts,  and 
indignities  put  upon  Doria.  His  appointments  were  not  regularly  paid ; 
his  advice,  even  in  naval  affairs,  was  often  slighted ;  an  attempt  was  made 
to  seize  the  prisoners  taken  by  his  nephew  in  the  sea-fight  ofl  Naples ;  all 
which  he  bore  Avith  abundance  of  ill  humour.  But  an  injury  offered  to 
his  country  transported  him  beyond  all  bounds  of  patience.  The  French 
began  to  fortify  Savona,  to  clear  its  harbour,  and  removing  thither  some 
branches  of  trade  carried  on  at  Genoa,  plainly  showed  that  they  intended 
to  render  that  town,  which  had  been  so  long  the  object  of  jealousy  and 
hatred  to  the  Genoese,  their  rival  in  wealth  and  commerce.  Doria, 
animated  with  a  patriotic  zeal  for  the  honour  and  interest  of  his  country, 
remonstrated  against  this  in  the  highest  tone,  not  without  threats,  if  the 
measure  were  not  instantly  abandoned.  This  hold  action,  aggravated  by 
the  malice  of  the  courtiers,  and  placed  in  the  most  odious  light,  irritated 
Francis  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  commanded  Barbesieux,  whom  he  ap- 
pointed admiral  of  the  Levant,  to  sail  directly  to  Genoa  with  the  French 
fleet,  to  arrest  Doriarand  to  seize  his  galleys.  This  rash  order,  the  execu- 
tion of  which  could  have  been  secured  only  by  the  most  profound  secrecy, 
was  concealed  with  so  little  care,  that  Doria  got  timely  intelligence  of  it, 
and  retired  with  all  his  galleys  to  a  place  of  safety.  Guasto,  his  prisoner, 
who  had  long  observed  and  fomented  his  growing  discontent,  and  had 
often  allured  him  by  magnificent  promises  to  enter  into  the  emperor's  ser- 
vice, laid  hold  on  this  favourable  opportunity.  While  his  indignation  and 
resentment  were  at  their  height,  he  prevailed  on  him  to  despatch  one  of 
his  officers  to  the  Imperial  court  with  his  overtures  and  demands.  The 
negotiation  was  not  long  ;  Charles,  fully  sensible  of  the  importance  of 
such  an  acquisition,  granted  him  whatever  terms  he  required.  Doria  sent 
back  his  commission,  together  with  the  collar  of  St.  Michael,  to  Francis, 
and  hoisting  the  Imperial  colours,  sailed  with  all  his  galleys  towards  Naples, 
not  to  block  up  the  harbour  of  that  unhappy  city,  as  he  had  formerly  en- 
gaged, but  to  bring  them  protection  and  "deliverance. 

His  arrival  opened  the  communication  with  the  sea,  and  restored  plenty 
in  Naples,  Avhich  was  now  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  ;  and  (he  French 
having  lost  their  superiority  at  sea,  were  soon  reduced  to  great  straits  for 
want  of  provisions.  The  prince  of  Orange,  who  succeeded  the  viceroy 
in  the  command  of  the  Imperial  army,  showed  himself  by  his  prudent 

*  Herbert,  90.    Rymer,  14.  058.  +  Ouir.  1.  xvit'i.  478. 


gg8  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  V. 

conduct  worthy  of  that  honour  which  his  good  fortune  and  the  death  of 
his  generals  had  twice  acquired  him.  Beloved  by  the  troops,  who,  re- 
membering the  prosperity  which  they  had  enjoyed  under  his  command, 
served  him  with  the  utmost  alacrity,  he  let  slip  no  opportunity  of  harassing 
the  enemy,  and  by  continual  alarms  or  sallies  fatigued  and  weakened  them.*' 
As  an  addition  to  all  these  misfortunes,  the  diseases  common  in  that  country 
during  the  sultry  months,  began  to  break  out  among  the  French  troops. 
The  prisoners  communicated  to  them  the  pestilence  which  the  Imperial 
army  had  brought  to  Naples  from  Rome,  and  it  raged  with  such  violence, 
that  few,  either  officers  or  soldiers,  escaped  the  infection.  Of  the  whole 
army,  not  four  thousand  men,  a  number  hardly  sufficient  to  defend  the 
camp,  were  capable  of  doing  duty  ;|  and  being^  now  besieged  in  their  turn, 
they  suffered  all  the  miseries  from  which  the  Imperialists  were  delivered. 
Lautrec,  after  struggling  long  with  so  many  disappointments  and  calamities, 
which  preyed  on  his  mind  at  the  same  time  that  the  pestilence  wasted  his 
body,  died  [August  15j,  lamenting  the  negligence  of  his  sovereign,  and 
the  infidelity  of  his  allies,  to  which  so  many  brave  men  had  fallen  victims.! 
By  his  death,  and  the  indisposition  of  the  other  generals,  the  command 
devolved  on  the  marquis  de  Saluces,  an  officer  altogether  unequal  to  such 
a  trust.  He,  with  troops  no  less  dispirited  than  reduced,  retreated  in  dis- 
order to  Aversa;  which  town  being  invested  by  the  prince  of  Orange, 
Saluces  was  under  the  necessity  of  consenting,  that  he  himself  should 
remain  a  prisoner  of  war,  that  his  troops  should  lay  down  their  arms  and 
colours,  give  up  their  baggage,  and  march  under  a  guard  to  the  frontiers 
of  France.  By  this  ignominious  capitulation,  the  wretched  remains  of  the 
French  army  were  saved  ;  and  the  emperor,  by  his  own  perseverance  and 
the  good  conduct  of  Kis  generals,  acquired  once  more  the  superiority  in 
Italy. § 

The  loss  of  Genoa  followed  immediately  upon  the  ruin  of  the  army  in 
Naples.  To  deliver  his  country  from  the  dominion  of  foreigners  was 
Doria's  highest  ambition,  and  had  been  his  principal  inducement  to  quit 
the  service  of  France,  and  .enter  into  that  of  the  emperor.  A  most 
favourable  opportunity  for  executing  this  honourable  enterprise  now  pre- 
sented itself.  The  city  of  Genoa,  afflicted  by  the  pestilence,  was  almost 
deserted  by  its  inhabitants  ;  the  French  garrison,  being  neither  regularly 
paid  nor  recruited,  was  reduced  to  an  inconsiderable  number ;  Doria  s 
emissaries  found  that  such  of  the  citizens  as  remained,  being  weary  alike 
of  the  French  and  Imperial  yoke,  the  rigour  of  which  they  had  alternately 
felt,  were  ready  to  welcome  him  as  their  deliverer,  and  to  second  all  his 
measures.  Things  wearing  this  promising  aspect,  he  sailed  towards  the 
coast  of  Genoa;  on  his  approach  the  French  galleys  retired  ;  a  small  body 
of  men  which  he  landed  surprised  one  of  the  gates  of  Genoa  in  the  night- 
time ;  Trivulci,  the  French  governor,  with  his  feeble  garrison,  shut  him- 
self up  in  the  citadel,  and  Doria  took  possession  of  the  town  without 
bloodshed  or  resistance  [September  12].  Want  of  provisions  quickly 
obliged  Trivulci  to  capitulate  ;  the  people,  eager  to  abolish  such  an  odious 
monument  of  their  servitude,  ran  together  with  a  tumultuous  violence, 
and  levelled  the  citadel  with  the  ground. 

It  was  now  in  Doria's  power  to  have  rendered  himself  the  sovereign  of 
his  country,  which  he  had  so  happily  delivered  from  oppression.  The 
fame  of  his  former  actions,  the  success  of  his  present  attempt,  the  attach- 
ment of  his  friends,  the  gratitude  of  his  countrymen,  together  with  the 
support  of  the  emperor,  all  conspired  to  facilitate  his  attaining  the  supreme 
authority,  and  invited  him  to  lay  hold  of  it.     But  with  a  magnanimity  of 

*  Jovii  Hist.  lib.  xxxvi.  p.31,&c.     Sigonii  Vita  Poriir.p.  1139.  Ben  ay,  114,  &c.  t  Bella;/, 

117,  «te.  *  P.  Heuter.  Rerum  Aastr.lih.  x.  c.  -2  2:*1 .  $  Bellay,  11",  fcc.    Jovn  flist. 

lib.  xxv.  rxvl. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  229 

which  there  are  few  examples,  he  sacrificed  all  thoughts  of  aggrandizing 
himself  to  the  virtuous  satisfaction  of  establishing  liberty  in  his  country, 
the  highest  object  at  which  ambition  can  aim.  Having  assembled  the 
whole  body  of  the  people  in  the  court  before  his  palace,  he  assured  them, 
that  the  happiness  of  seeing  them  once  more  in  possession  of  freedom  was 
to  him  a  full  reward  for  all  his  services;  that,  more  delighted  with  the 
name  of  citizen  than  of  sovereign,  he  claimed  no  pre-eminence  or  power 
above  his  equals  ;  but  remitted  entirely  to  them  the  right  of  settling  what 
form  of  government  they  would  now  choose  to  be  established  among  them. 
The  people  listened  to  him  with  tears  of  admiration  and  of  joy.  Twelve 
persons  were  elected  to  new  model  the  constitution  of  the  republic. 
The  influence  of  Doria's  virtue  and  example  communicated  itsell  to  his 
countrymen  ;  the  factions  which  had  long  torn  and  ruined  the  state  seemed 
to  be  forgotten  ;  prudent  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  their  reviving ; 
and  the  same  form  of  government  which  has  subsisted  with  little  variation 
since  that  time  in  Genoa  was  established  with  universal  applause.  Doria 
lived  to  a  great  age,  beloved,  respected,  and  honoured  by  his  countrymen; 
and  adhering  uniformly  to  his  professions  of  moderation,  without  arrogating 
any  thing  unbecoming  a  private  citizen,  he  preserved  a  great  ascendant 
over  the  councils  of  the  republic,  which  owed  its  being  to  his  generosity. 
The  authority  which  he  possessed  was  more  flattering,  as  well  as  more 
satisfactory,  than  that  derived  from  sovereignty ;  a  dominion  founded  in 
love  and  in  gratitude  ;  and  upheld  by  veneration  for  his  virtues,  not  by 
the  dread  of  his  power.  His  memory  is  still  reverenced  by  the  Genoese, 
and  he  is  distinguished  in  their  public  monuments,  and  celebrated  in  the 
works  of  their  historians,  by  the  most  honourable  of  all  appellations,  THE 
FATHER  OF  HIS  COUNTRY,  AND  THE  RESTORER  OF  ITS 
LIBERTY* 

1529.]  Francis,  in  order  to  recover  the  reputation  of  his  arms,  discredited 
by  so  many  losses,  mr>de  new  efforts  in  the  Milanese.  But  the  count  of 
St.  Pol,  a  rash  and  inexperienced  officer,  to  whom  he  gave  the  command, 
was  no  match  for  Antonio  de  Leyva,  the  ablest  of  the  Imperial  generals. 
He,  by  his  superior  skill  in  war,  checked  with  a  handful  of  men,  the  brisk, 
but  ill-concerted  motions  of  the  French  ;  and  though  so  infirm  himself 
that  he  was  carried  constantly  in  a  litter,  he  surpassed  them,  when  occasion 
required,  no  less  in  activity  than  in  prudence.  By  an  unexpected  march 
he  surprised,  defeated,  and  took  prisoner  the  count  of  St.  Pol,  ruining  the 
French  army  in  the  Milanese  as  entirely  as  the  prince  of  Orange  had 
ruined  that  which  besieged  Naples.! 

Amidst  these  vigorous  operations  in  the  field,  each  party  discovered  an 
impatient  desire  of  peace,  and  continual  negotiations  were  carried  on  for 
that  purpose.  .  The  French  king,  discouraged,  and  almost  exhausted,  by 
so  many  unsuccessful  enterprises,  was  reduced  now  to  think  of  obtaining 
the  release  of  his  sons  by  concessions,  not  by  the  terror  of  his  arms.  The 
pope  hoped  to  recover  by  a  treaty  whatever  he  had  lost  in  the  war.  The 
emperor,  notwithstanding  the  advantages  which  he  had  gained,  had  many 
reasons  to  make  him  wish  for  an  accommodation.  Solyman,  having  over- 
run Hungary,  was  ready  to  break  in  upon  the  Austrian  territories  with  the 
whole  force  of  the  East.  The  reformation  gaining  ground  daily  in  Ger- 
many, the  princes  who  favoured  it  had  entered  into  a  confederacy  which 
Charles  thought  dangerous  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire.  The  Spa- 
niards murmured  at  a  war  of  such  unusual  length,  the  weight  of  which 
rested  chiefly  on  them.  The  variety  and  extent  of  the  emperor's  operations 
far  exceeded  wh:it  his  revenues  could  support ;  his  success  hitherto  had 
been  owing  chiefly  to  his  own  good  fortune  and  to  the  abilities  of  hb 

*  Guic.  1.  xix.  p.  498.     Sigonii  Vita  Doriae,  p.  1146.    Jovii.  Uiat  lib.  xxri.  p.  36,  &r.  \  Gufr. 

>.xts.520.    P.  Mputrr.  Iter.  Auslr.  Tib.*  c.  3  {>.233.     Mrm.  rte  Betlay,  121, 


230  THE  REIGN -OF.  THE  [Book  V. 

generals,  nor  could  he  flatter  himself  that  they,  with  troops  destitute  of 
every  thing  necessary,  would  always  triumph  over  enemies  still  in  a  con- 
dition to  renew  their  attacks.  All  parties,  however,  were  at  equal  pain- 
to  conceal  or  to  dissemble  their  real  sentiments.  The  emperor,  that  his 
inability  to  carry  on  the  war  might  not  be  suspected,  insisted  on  high 
terms  in  the  tone  of  a  conqueror.  The  pope,  solicitous  not  to  lose  hi^ 
present  allies  before  he  came  to  any  agreement  with  Charles,  continued  to 
make  a  thousand  protestations  of  fidelity  to  the  former,  while  he  privately 
negotiated  with  the  latter.  Francis,  afraid  that  his  confederates  might 
prevent  him  by  treating  for  themselves  with  the  emperor,  had  recourse  to 
many  dishonourable  artifices,  in  order  to  turn  their  attention  from  the 
measures  which  he  was  taking  to  adjust  all  differences  with  his  rival. 

In  this  situation  of  affairs,  when  all  the  contending  powers  wished  for 
peaoe,  but  durst  not  venture  too  hastily  on  the  steps  necessary  for  attain- 
ing it,  two  ladies  undertook  to  procure  this  blessing  so  much  desired  by 
aliEurope  [May].  These  were  Margaret  of  Austria,  duchess-dowager  of 
Savoy,  the  emperor's  aunt,  and  Louise,  Francis's  mother.  They  agreed 
on  an  interview  at  Cambray,  and  being  lodged  in  two  adjoining  houses, 
between  which  a  communication  was  opened,  met  together  without  cere- 
mony or  observation,  and  held  daily  conferences,  to  which  no  person 
whatever  was  aumitted.  As  both  were  profoundly  skilled  in  business, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  their  respective  courts,  and  pos- 
sessed with  perfect  confidence  in  each  other,  they  soon  made  great  pro- 
gress towards  a  final  accommodation,  and  the  ambassadors  of  all  the  con- 
federates waited  in  anxious  suspense  to  know  their  fate,  the  determination 
©f  which  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  those  illustrious  negotiators.* 

But  whatever  diligence  they  used  to  hasten  forward  a  general  peace, 
the  pope  had  the  address  and  industry  to  get  the  start  of  his  allies,  by 
concluding  at  Barcelona  a  particular  treaty  for  himself  [June  20].  •  The 
emperor,  impatient  to  visit  Italy  in  his  way  to  Germany,  and  desirous  of 
re-establishing  tranquillity  in  the  one  country,  before  he  attempted  to  com- 
pose the  disorders  which  abounded  in  the  other,  found  it  necessary  to 
secure  at  least  one  alliance  among  the  Italian  states,  on  which  he  might 
depend.  That  with  Clement,  who  courted  it  with  unwearied  importu- 
nity, seemed  more  proper  than  any  other.  Charles  being  extremely  soli- 
citous to  make  some  reparation  for  the  insults  which  he  had  offered  to  the 
sacred  character  of  the  pope,  and  to  redeem  past  offences  by  new  merit, 
granted  Clement,  notwithstanding  all  his  misfortunes,  terms  more  favour- 
able than  he  could  have  expected  after  a  continued  series  of  success. 
Among  other  articles,  he  engaged  to  restore  all  the  territories  belonging  to 
the  ecclesiastical  state  ;  to  re-establish  the  dominion  of  the  Medici  in  Flo- 
rence ;  to  give  his  natural  daughter  in  marriage  to  Alexander  the  head  of 
that  family ;  and  to  put  it  in  the  pope's  power  to  decide  concerning  the 
fate  of  Sforza,  and  the  possession  of  the  Milanese.  In  return  for  these 
ample  concessions,  Clement  gave  the  emperor  the  investiture  of  Naples 
without  the  reserve  of  any  tribute,  but  the  present  of  a  white  steed,  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  sovereignty;  absolved  all  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  assaulting  and  plundering  Rome,  and  permitted  Charles  and  his 
brother  Ferdinand  to  levy  the  fourth  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  through- 
out their  dominions. t 

The  account  of  this  transaction  quickened  the  negotiations  at  Cambray, 
and  brought  Margaret  and  Louise  to  an  immediate  agreement  [Aug.  5]. 
The  treaty  of  Madrid  served  as  the  basis  of  that  which  they  concluded, 
the  latter  being  intended  to  mitigate  the  rigour  of  the  former.  The  chief 
articles  were,  That  the  emperor  should  not,  for  the  present,  demand  the 
restitution  of  Burgundy,  reserving  however,  in  full  force,  his  rights  and 

*  Hfeuter  R<:r  Anetr.  tit;,  x.  c-  3.  133.    Mrtn.  dc  Rellay.  p.  198  +  Gufc  I.  iftt.  59B. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    \.  231 

pretensions  to  that  dutchy ;  That  Francis  should  pay  two  millions  of 
crowns  as  the  ransom  of  his  sons,  and,  before  they  were  set  at  liberty, 
should  restore  such  towns  as  he  still  held  in  the  Milanese  ;  That  he  should 
resign  his  pretensions  to  the  sovereignty  of  Flanders  and  of  Artois ;  That 
he  should  renounce  all  his  pretensions  to  Naples,  Milan,  Genoa,  and  every 
other  place  beyond  the  Alps;  That  he  should  immediately  consummate 
the  marriage  concluded  between  him  and  the  emperor's  sister  Eleanora.* 

Thus  Francis,  chiefly  from  his  impatience  to  procure  liberty  to  his  sons, 
sacrificed  every  thing  which  had  at  first  prompted  him  to  take  arms,  or 
which  had  induced  him,  by  continuing  hostilities  during  nine  successive 
campaigns,  to  protract  the  war  to  a  length  hardly  known  in  Europe  before 
the  establishment  of  standing  armies,  and  the  imposition  of  exorbitant 
taxes,  became  universal.  The  emperor,  by  this  treaty,  was  rendered  sole 
arbiter  of  the  fate  of  Italy  ;  he  delivered  his  territories  in  the  Netherlands 
from  an  unpleasant  badge  of  subjection  ;  and  after  having  baffled  his  rival 
in  the  field,  he  prescribed  to  him  the  conditions  of  peace.  The  different 
conduct  and  spirit  with  which  the  two  monarchs  carried  on  the  operations 
of  war,  led  naturally  to  such  an  issue  of  it.  Charles,  inclined  by  temper 
as  well  as  obliged  by  his  situation,  concerted  all  his  schemes  with  caution, 
pursued  them  with  perseverance,  and  observing  circumstances  and  events 
with  attention,  let  none  escape  that  could  be  improved  to  advantage. 
Francis,  more  enterprising  than  steady,  undertook  great  designs  with 
warmth,  but  often  executed  them  with  remissness  ;  and  diverted  by  his 
pleasures,  or  deceived  by  his  favourites,  he  lost  on  several  occasions  the 
most  promising  opportunities  of  success.  Nor  had  the  character  of  the 
two  rivals  themselves  greater  influence  on  the  operations  of  war,  than  the 
opposite  qualities  of^the  generals  whom  they  employed.  Among  the 
Imperialists,  valour  tempered  with  prudence  ;  fertility  of  invention  aided 
by  experience  ;  discernment  to  penetrate  the  designs  of  their  enemies  ; 
a  provident  sagacity  in  conducting  their  own  measures  ;  in  a  word,  all  the 
talents  which  form  great  commanders  and  ensure  victory,  were  conspicu- 
ous. Among  the  French,  these  qualities  were  either  wanting,  or  the  very 
reverse  of  them  abounded  ;  nor  could  they  boast  of  one  man  (unless  we 
except  Lautrec,  who  was  always  unfortunate)  that  equalled  the  merit  of 
Pescara,  Leyva,  Guasto,  the  prince  of  Orange,  and  other  leaders,  whom 
Charles  had  to  set  in  opposition  to  them.  Bourbon,  Morone,  Doria,  who 
by  their  abilities  and  conduct  might  have  been  capable  of  balancing  the 
f  inferiority  which  the  Imperialists  had  acquired,  were  induced  to  abandon 
the  service  of  Fiance,  by  the  carelessness  of  the  king,  and  the  malice  or 
injustice  of  his  counsellors  ;  and  the  most  fatal  blows  given  to  France 
during  the  progress  of  the  war,  proceeded  from  the  despair  «nd  resent- 
ment of  these  three  persons. 

The  hard  conditions  to  which  Francis  was  obliged  to  submit  were  not 
the  most  afflicting  circumstances  to  him  in  the  treaty  of  Cambray.  He 
lost  his  reputation  and  the  confidence  of  all  Europe,  by  abandoning  his 
allies  to  his  rival.  Unwilling  to  enter  into  the  details  necessary  for  adjust- 
ing their  interests,  or  afraid  that  whatever  he  claimed  for  them  must  have 
been  purchased  by  farther  concessions  on  his  own  part,  he  gave  them  up 
in  a  body  ;  and  without  the  least  provision  in  their  behalf,  left  the  Vene- 
tians, the  Florentines,  the  duke  of  Ferrara,  together  with  such  of  the  Nea- 
politan barons  as  had  joined  his  army,  to  the  mercy  of  the  emperor. 
They  exclaimed  loudly  against  this  base  and  perfidious  action,  of  which 
Francis  himself  was  so  much  ashamed,  that  in  order  to  avoid  the  pain  of 
hearing  from  their  ambassadors  the  reproaches  which  he  justly  merited, 
it  was  some  time  before  he  would  consent  to  allow  them  an  audience. 
Charles,  on  the  other  hand,  was  attentive  to  the  interest  of  every  person 

r  Heater.  Her.  Anelr.  lib.  x.  r  3.  p.  934.     ^anrfnv.  Hist.  <W1  Emper.  Car.  V.  ii.  98. 


XM  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  V. 

who  had  adhered  to  him  ;  the  rights  of  some  of  his  Flemish  subjects,  who 
had  estates  or  pretensions  in  France,  were  secured ;  one  article  was 
inserted,  obliging  Francis  to  restore  the  blood  and  memory  of  the  consta- 
ble Bourbon;  and  to  grant  his  heirs  the  possession  of  his  lands  which  had 
been  forfeited  ;  another,  by  which  indemnification  was  stipulated  for  those 
French  gentlemen  who  had  accompanied  Bourbon  in  his  exile.*  This 
conduct,  laudable  in  itself,  and  placed  in  the  most  striking  light  by  a  com- 
parison with  that  of  Francis,  gained  Charles  as  much  esteem  as  the  suc- 
cess of  his  arms  had  acquired  him  glory. 

Francis  did  not  treat  the  king  of  England  with  the  same  neglect  as  his 
other  allies.  He  communicated  to  him  all  th'e  steps  of  his  negotiation  at 
Cambray,  and  luckily  found  that  monarch  in  a  situation  which  left  him  no 
choice,  but  to  approve  implicitly  of  his  measures,  and  to  concur  with  them. 
Henry  had  been  soliciting  the  pope  for  some  time,  in  order  to  obtain  a 
divorce  from  Catharine  of  Aragon  his  queen.  Several  motives  combined 
in  prompting  the  king  to  urge  his  suit.  As  he  was  powerfully  influenced 
at  some  seasons  by  religious  considerations,  he  entertained  many  scruples 
concerning  the  legitimacy  of  his  marriage  with  his  brother's  widow  ;  his 
affections  had  long  been  estranged  from  the  queen,  who  was  older  than 
himself,  and  had  Tost  all  the  charms  which  she  possessed  in  the  earlier 
part  of  her  life  ;  he  was  passionately  desirous  of  having  male  issue : 
Wolsey  artfully  fortified  his  scruples,  and  encouraged  his  hopes,  that  he 
might  widen  the  breach  between  him  and  the  emperor,  Catharine's 
nephew,  and,  what  was  more  forcible  perhaps  in  its  operation  than  all 
these  united,  the  king  had  conceived  a  violent  love  for  the  celebrated  Ann 
Boleyn,  a  young  lady  of  great  beauty,  and  of  greater  accomplishments, 
whom,  as  he  found  it  impossible  to  gain  her  on  other  terms,  he  determined 
to  raise  to  the  throne.  The  papal  authority  had  often  been  interposed  to 
grant  divorces  for  reasons  less  specious  than  those  which  Henry  produced. 
When  the  matter  was  first  proposed  to  Clement,  during  his  imprisonment 
in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  as  his  hopes  of  recovering  liberty  depended 
entirely  on  the  king  of  England,  and  his  ally  of  France,  he  expressed  the 
warmest  inclination  to  gratify  Rim.  But  no  sooner  was  he  set  free,  than 
he  discovered  other  sentiments.  Charles,  who  espoused  the  protection  of 
his  aunt  with  zeal  inflamed  by  resentment,  alarmed  the  pope  on  the  one 
hand  with  threats,  which  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  timid  mind  ;  and 
allured  him  on  the  other  with  those  promises  in  favour  of  his  family,  which 
he  afterwards  accomplished.  Upon  the  prospect  o{  these,  Clement  not 
only  forgot  all  his  obligations  to  Henry,  but  ventured  to  endanger  the 
interest  of  the  Romish  religion  in  England,  and  run  the  risk  of  alienating 
that  kingdom  for  ever  from  the  obedience  of  the  papal  see.  After  amu- 
sing Henry  during  two  years  with  all  the  subtleties  and  chicane  which  the 
court  of  Rome  can  so  dexterously  employ  to  protract  or  defeat  any  cause  ; 
after  displaying  the  whole  extent  of  his  ambiguous  and  deceitful  policy, 
the  intricacies  of  which  the  English  historians,  to  whom  it  properly 
belongs,  have  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  trace  and  unravel ;  he,  at  last, 
recalled  the  powers  of  the  delegates,  whom  he  had  appointed  to  judge  in 
the  point,  avocated  the  cause  to  Rome,  leaving  the  king  no  other  hope  of 
obtaining  a  divorce,  but  from  the  personal  decision  of  the  pope  himself. 
As  Clement  was  now  in  strict  alliance  with  the  emperor,  who  had  pur- 
chased his  friendship  by  the  exorbitant  concessions  which  have  been  men- 
tioned, Henry  despaired  of  procuring  any  sentence  from  the  former  but 
what  was  dictated  by  the  latter.  His  honour,  however,  and  passions  con- 
curred in  preventing  him  from  relinquishing  his  scheme  of  a  divorce, 
which  he  determined  to  accomplish  by  other  means,  and  at  any  rate  ;  and 
the  continuance  of  Francis's  friendship  being  necessary  to  counterbalance. 

*  Gutc.  I.  i'fx.  p.  525.    P.  Hcuter.  Rur.  Anstr.  lib.  x.  c.  4.  j>.  235. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  #33 

the  emperor's  power,  he,  in  order  to  secure  that,  not  only  offered  do 
remonstrances  against  the  total  neglect  of  their  allies,  in  the  treaty  of 
Cambray,  but  made  Francis  the  present  of  a  large  sum,  as  a  brotherly 
contribution  towards  the  payment  of  the  ransom  for  his  sons.* 

Soon  after  the  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded,  the  emperor  landed  in 
Italy  with  a  numerous  train  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  and  a  considerable 
body  of  troops  [Aug.  12].  He  left  the. government  of  Spain,  during  his 
absence,  to  the  empress  Isabella.  By  his  long  residence  in  that  country, 
he  had  acquired  such  thorough  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  people,  • 
that  he  could  perfectly  accommodate  the  maxims  of  his  government  to 
their  genius.  He  could  even  assume,  upon  some  occasions,  such  popular 
manners,  as  gained  wonderfully  upon  the  Spaniards.  A  striking  instance 
of  his  disposition  to  gratify  them  had  occurred  a  few  days  before  he  em- 
barked for  Italy:  he  was  to  make  his  public  entry  into  the  city  of  Barce- 
lona ;  and  some  doubts  having  arisen  among  the  inhabitants,  whether  they 
should  receive  him  as  emperor,  or  as  count  of  Barcelona  ;  Charles  instantly 
decided  in  favour  of  the  latter,  declaring  that  he  was  more  proud  of  that 
ancient  title,  than  of  his  Imperial  crown.  Soothed  with  this  flattering  ex- 
pression of  his  regard,  the  citizens  welcomed  him  with  acclamations  of 
joy,  and  the  states  of  the  province  swore  allegiance  to  his  son  Philip, 
as  heir  of  the  county  of  Barcelona.  A  similar  oath  had  been  taken  in  all 
the  kingdoms  of  Spain,  with  equal  satisfaction.! 

The  emperor  appeared  in  Italy  with  the  pomp  and  power  of  a  con- 
queror. Ambassadors  from  all  the  princes  and  states  of  that  country- 
attended  his  court,  waiting  to  receive  his  decision,  with  regard  to  their 
fate.  At  Genoa,  where  he  first  landed,  he  was  received  with  the  acclama- 
tions due  to  the  protector  of  their  liberties.  Having  honoured  Doria  with 
many  marks  of  distinction,  and  bestowed  on  the  republic  several  new 
privileges,  he  proceeded  to  Bologna,  the  place  fixed  upon  for  his  interview 
with  the  pope  [Nov.  5].  He  affected  to  unite  in  his  public  entry  into 
that  city  the  state  and  majesty  that  suited  an  emperor,  with  the  humility 
becoming  an  obedient  son  of  the  church  ;  and  while  at  the  head  of  twenty 
thousand  veteran  soldiers,  able  to  give  law  to  all  Italy,  he  kneeled  down 
to  kiss  the  feet  of  that  very  pope  whom  he  had  so  lately  detained  a 

}>risoner.  The  Italians,  after  suffering  so  much  from  the  ferocity  and 
icentiousness  of  his  armies,  and  after  having  been  long  accustomed  to  form 
in  their  imagination  a  picture  of  Charles,  which  bore  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  barbarous  monarchs  of  the  Goths  or  Huns,  who  had  formerly 
afflicted  their  country  with  like  calamities,  were  surprised  to  see  a  prince 
of  a  graceful  appearance,  affable  and  courteous  in  his  deportment,  of 
regular  manners,  and  of  exemplary  attention  to  all  the  offices  of  religion,  j 
They  were  still  more  astonished  when  he  settled  all  the  concerns  of  the 
princes  and  states  which  now  depended  on  him,  with  a  degree  of 
moderation  and  equity  much  beyond  what  they  had  expected. 

Charles  himself,  when  he  set  out  from  Spain,  far  from  intending  to  give 
any  such  extraordinary  proof  of  his  self-denial,  seems  to  have  been 
resolved  to  avail  himself  to  the  utmost  of  the  superiority  which  he  had 
acquired  in  Italy.  But  various  circumstances  concurred  in  pointing  out 
the  necessity  of  pursuing  a  very  different  course.  The  progress  of  the 
Turkish  sultan,  who,  after  overrunning  Hungary,  had  penetrated  into 
Austria  [Sept.  13],  and  laid  siege  to  Vienna  with  an  army  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men,  loudly  called  upon  him  to  collect  his  whole  force 
to  oppose  that  torrent  ;  and  though  the  valour  of  the  Germans,  the  prudent 
conduct  of  Ferdinand,  together  with  the  treachery  of  the  vizier  [Oct.  16], 
soon  obliged  Solyman  to  abandon  that  enterprise  with  disgrace  and  loss, 

*  Herbert  Mem  de  Bellay,  p.  123.         !  Sandov.  ii.  p.  50.    Ferrer,  tz,  116.  ♦  Pamtov.  Hist, 

dell  Emp.  Carl.  V.  ii.  50.  53,  &c. 

Vol.  IT.— 30 


234  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  V . 

the  religious  disorders  still  growing  in  Germany,  rendered  the  presence  of  the 
emperor  highly  necessary  there.*  The  Florentines,  instead  of  giving  their 
consent  to  the  re-establishment  of  the  Medici,  which,  by  the  treaty  of  Barce- 
lona, the  emperor  had  bound  himself  to  procure,  were  preparing  to  defend 
their  liberty  by  force  of  arms  ;  the  preparations  for  his  journey  had  involved 
him  in  unusual  expenses  ;  and  on  this  as  well  as  many  other  occasions,  the 
multiplicity  of  his  affairs,  together  with  the  narrowness  of  his  revenues, 
obliged  him  to  contract  the  schemes  which  his  boundless  ambition  was  apt 
to  form,  and  to  forego  present  and  certain  advantages,  that  he  might  guard 
against  more  remote  but  unavoidable  dangers.  Charles,  from  all  these 
considerations,  finding  it  necessary  to  assume  an  air  of  moderation,  acted 
his  part  with  a  good  grace.  He  admitted  Sforza  into  his  presence,  and 
not  only  gave  him  a  full  pardon  of  all  past  offences,  but  granted  him  the 
investiture  of  the  dutchy,  together  with  his  niece  the  king  of  Denmark's 
daughter  in  marriage.  He  allowed  the  duke  of  Ferrara  to  keep  possession 
of  all  his  dominions,  adjusting  the  points  iri  dispute  between  him  and  the 
pope  with  an  impartiality  not  very  agreeable  to  the  latter.  He  came  to 
a  final  accommodation  with  the  Venetians,  upon  the  reasonable  condition 
ol  their  restoring  whatever  they  had  usurped  during  the  late  war,  either 
in  the  Neapolitan  or  papal  territories.  I-n  return  for  so  many  concessions, 
he  exacted  considerable  sums  from  each  of  the  powers  with  whom  he 
treated,  which  they  paid  without  reluctance,  and  which  afforded  him  the 
means  of  proceeding  on  his  journey  towards  Germany,  with  a  magnificence 
suitable  to  his  dignity. | 

,  1530.]  These  treaties,  which  restored  tranquillity  to  Italy  after  a  tedious 
war,  the  calamities  of  which  had  chiefly  affected  that  country,  were 
published  at  Bologna  with  great  solemnity  on  the  first  day  of  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty,  amidst  the  universal  acclamations  of 
the  people,  applauding  the  emperor,  to  whose  moderation  and  generosity, 
they  ascribed  the  blessings  of  peace  which  they  had  so  long  desired.  The 
Florentines  alone  did  not  partake  of  this  general  joy.  Animated  with  a 
zeal  for  liberty  more  laudable  than  prudent,  they  determined  to  oppose 
the  restoration  of  the  Medici.  -  The  Imperial  army  had  already  entered 
their  territories,  and  formed  the  siege  of  their  capital.  But  though  deserted 
by  all  their  allies,  and  left  without  any  hope  of  succour,  they  defended 
themselves  many  months  with  an  obstinate  valour  worthy  of  better  success  ; 
and  even  when  they  surrendered,  they  obtained  a  capitulation  which  gave 
them  hopes  of  securing  some  remains  of  their  liberty.  But  the  emperor, 
from  his  desire  to  gratify  the  pope,  frustrated  all  their  expectations,  and 
abolishing  their  ancient  form  of  government,  raised  Alexander  di  Medici 
to  the  same  absolute  dominion  over  that  state,  which  his  family  have 
retained  to  the  present  times.  Philibert  de  Chalons,  prince  of  Orange, 
the  Imperial  general,  was  killed  during  this  siege.  His  estate  and  titles 
descended  to  his  sister  Claude  de  Chalons,  who  was  married  to  Rene, 
count  of  Nassau,  and  she  transmitted  to  her  posterity  of  the  house  of 
Nassau  the  title  of  princes  of  Orange,  which,  by  their  superior  talents  and 
valour,  they  have  rendered  so  illustrious. J 

After  the  publication  of  the  peace  at  Bologna,  and  the  ceremony  of  his 
coronation  as  king  of  Lombardy,  and  emperor  of  the  Romans  [Feb.  22 
snd  24],  which  the  pope  performed  with  the  accustomed  formalities, 
nothing  detained  Charles  in  Italy  ;§  and  he  began  to  prepare  for  his  journey 
to  Germany.  His  presence  became  every  day  more  necessary  in  that 
country,  and  was  solicited  with  equal  importunity  by  the  catholics  and  by 
the  favourers  of  the  new  doctrines.     During  that  long  interval  of  tran- 

*  Sleidan,  121.     Guic.  I.  xx.  550.  }  £andov.  ii.  55,  &c.  t  Guic  I.  xx.  p.  341.  &c 

P,  Heuter.  Rer.  Austr.  lib.  ji.  r.  4.  p.  23G.  ft  H.  Cornel.  Aerippa  <}e  Hiipliri  coronation*  Car.  V. 

;ip.  S.arii.  ii.  ?«e. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  *Z6 

quillity,  which  the  absence  of  the  emperor,  the  contests  between  him  and 
the  pope,  and  his  attention  to  the  war  with  France,  afforded  them,  the  latter 
had  gained  much  ground.  Most  of  the  princes  who  had  embraced  Luther's 
opinions,  had  not  only  established  in  their  territories  that  form  of  worship 
which  he  approved,  but  had  entirely  suppressed  the  rights  of  the  Romish 
church.  Many  of  the  free  cities  had  imitated  their  conduct.  Almost 
one  half  of  the  Germanic  body  had  revolted  from  the  papal  see  ;  and  its 
authority,  even  in  those  provinces  which  had  not  hitherto  shaken  off  the 
yoke,  was  considerably  weakened,  partly  by  the  example  of  revolt  in  the 
neighbouring  states,  partly  by  the  secret  progress  of  the  reformed  doctrine 
even  in  those  countries  where  it  was  not  openly  embraced.  Whatever 
satisfaction  the  emperor,  while  he  was  at  open  enmity  with  the  see  of 
Rome,  might  have  felt  in  those  events  which  tended  to  mortify  and  em- 
barrass the  pope,  he  could  not  help  perceiving  now,  that  the  religious 
divisions  in  Germany  would,  in  the  end,  prove  extremely  hurtful  to  the 
Imperial  authority.  The  weakness  of  former  emperors  had  suffered  the 
great  vassals  of  the  empire  to  make  such  successful  encroachments  upon 
their  power  and  prerogative,  that  during  the  whole  course  of  a  war, 
which  had  often  required  the  exertion  of  his  utmost  strength,  Charles 
hardly  drew  any  effectual  aid  from  Germany,  and  found  that  magnificent 
titles  or  obsolete  pretensions  were  almost  the  only  advantages  which  he 
had  gained  by  swaying  the  Imperial  sceptre.  He  became  Tully  sensible, 
that  if  he  did  not  recover  in  some  degree  the  prerogatives  which  his  pre- 
decessors had  lost,  and  acquire  the  authority  as  well  as  possess  the  name, 
of  head  of  the  empire,  his  high  dignity  would  contribute  more  to  obstruct 
than  to  promote  his  ambitious  schemes.  Nothing,  he  saw,  was  more 
essential  towards  attaining  this,  than  to  suppress  opinions  which  might  form 
new  bonds  of  confederacy  among  the  princes  of  the  empire,  and  unite 
them  by  ties  stronger  and  more  sacred  than  any  political  connection. 
Nothing  seemed  to  lead  more  certainly  to  the  accomplishment  of  his 
design,  than  to  employ  zeal  for  the  established  religion,  of  which  he  was 
the  natural  protector,  as  the  instrument  of  extending  his  civil  authority. 
Accordingly,  a  prospect  no  sooner  opened  of  coming  to  an  accommodation 
with  the  pope,  than,  by  the  emperor's  appointment,  a  diet  of  the  empire 
was  held  at  Spires  [March  15,  1529],  in  order  to  take  into  consideration 
the  state  of  religion.  The  decree  of  the  diet  assembled  there  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twentj'-six,  which  was  almost  equivalent  to  a 
toleration  of  Luther's  opinions,  had  given  great  offence  to  the  rest  of 
Christendom.  The  greatest  delicacy  of  address,  however,  was  requisite 
in  proceeding  to  any  decision  more  rigorous.  The  minds  of  men  kept  in 
perpetual  agitation  by  a  controversy  carried  on,  during  twelve  years,  with- 
out intermission  of  debate,  or  abatement  of  zeal,  were  now  inflamed  to  a 
high  degree.  They  were  accustomed  to  innovations,  and  saw  the  boldest 
of  them  successful.  Having  not  only  abolished  old  rites,  but  substituted 
new  forms  in  their  place,  they  were  influenced  as  much  by  attachment  to 
the  system  which  they  had  embraced,  as  by  aversion  to  that  which  they 
had  abandoned.  Luther  himself,  of  a  spirit  not  to  be  worn  out  by  the 
length  and  obstinacy  of  the  combat,  or  to  become  remiss  upon  success, 
continued  the  attack  with  as  much  vigour  as  he  had  begun  it.  His  dis- 
ciples, of  whom  many  equalled  him  in  zeal,  and  some  surpassed  him  in 
learning,  were  no  less  capable  than  their  master  to  conduct  the  controversy 
in  the  properest  manner.  Many  of  the  laity,  some  even  of  the  princes 
trained  up  amidst  these  incessant  disputations,  and  in  the  habit  of  listening 
to  the  arguments  of  the  contending  parties,  who  alternately  appealed  to 
them  as  judges,  came  to  be  profoundly  skilled  in  all  the  questions  which 
were  agitated,  and,  upon  occasion,  could  show  themselves  not  inexpert  in 
any  of  the  arts  with  which  these  theological  encounters  were  managed 
It  was  obvious  from  nil  these  circumstances,  that  any  violent  decision  of 


236  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  V. 

the  diet  must  have  immediately  precipitated  matters  into  confusion,  and 
have  kindled  in  Germany  the  flames  of  a  religious  war.  AH,  therefore, 
that  the  archduke,  and  the  other  commissioners  appointed  by  the  emperor, 
demanded  of  the  diet,  was,  to  enjoin  those  states  of  the  empire  which  had 
hitherto  obeyed  the  decree  issued  against  Luther  at  Worms,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-four,  to  persevere  in  the  observation 
of  it,  and  to  prohibit  the  other  states  from  attempting  any  farther  innova- 
tion in  religion,  particularly  from  abolishing  the  mass,  before  the  meeting 
of  a  general  council.  After  much  dispute,  a  decree  to  that  effect  was 
approved  of  by  a  majority  of  voices.* 

The  elector  of  Saxony,  the  marquis  of  Brandenburgh,  the  landgrave  of 
Hesse,  the  dukes  of  Lunenburgh,  the  prince  of  Anhalt,  together  with  the 
deputies  of  fourteen  Imperial  or  free  cities,!  entered  a  solemn  protest 
against  this  decree,  as  unjust  and  impious  [April  19].  On  that  account 
they  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  PROTEST ANT.S,|  an  appella- 
tion which  has  since  become  better  known,  and  more  honourable,  by  its 
being  applied  indiscriminately  to  all  the  sects,  of  whatever  denomination, 
which  have  revolted  from  the  Roman  see.  Not  satisfied  with  this  decla- 
ration of  their  dissent  from  the  decree  of  the  diet,  the  protestants  sent 
ambassadors  into  Italy,  to  lay  their  grievances  before  the  emperor,  from 
whom  they  met  with  the  most  discouraging  reception.  Charles  was  at 
that  time  in  close  union  with  the  pope,  and  solicitous  to  attach  him  invio- 
lably to  his  interest.  During  their  long  residence  at  Bologna,  they  held 
many  consultations  concerning  the  most  effectual  means  of  extirpating  the 
heresies  which  had  sprung  up  in  Germany.  Clement,  whose  cautious  and 
timid  mind  the  proposal  of  a  general  council  filled  with  horror,  even 
beyond  what  popes,  the  constant  enemies  of  such  assemblies,  usually  feel, 
employed  every  argument  to  dissuade  the  emperor  from  consenting  to  that 
measure.  He  represented  general  councils  as  factious,  ungovernable,  pre- 
sumptuous, formidable  to  civil  authority,  and  too  slow  in  their  operations 
to  remedy  disorders  which  required  an  immediate  cure.  Experience,  he 
said,  had  now  taught  both  the  emperor  and  himself,  that  forbearance  and 
lenity,  instead  of  soothing  the  spirit  of  innovation,  had  rendered  it  more 
enterprising  and  presumptuous ;  it  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  have  recourse 
to  the  rigorous  methods  which  such  a  desperate  case  required ;  Leo's  sen- 
tence of  excommunication,  together  with  the  decree  of  the  diet  at  Worms, 
should  be  carried  into  execution,  and  it  was  incumbent  on  the  emperor  to 
employ  his  whole  power,  in  order  to  overawe  those,  on  whom  the  reve- 
rence due  either  to  ecclesiastical  or  civil  authority  had  no  longer  any 
influence.  Charles,  whose  views  were  very  different  from  the  pope's,  and 
who  became  daily  more  sensible  how  obstinate  and  deep-rooted  the  evil 
was,  thought  of  reconciling  the  protestants  by  means  less  violent,  and  con- 
sidered the  convocation  of  a  council  as  no  improper  expedient  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  but  promised,  if  gentler  arts  failed  of  success,  that  then  he  would 
exert  himself  with  rigour  to  reduce  to  the  obedience  of  the  holy  see  those 
stubborn  enemies  of  the  catholic  faith. § 

Such  were  the  sentiments  with  which  the  emperor  set  out  for  Germany, 
having  already  appointed  a  diet  of  the  empire  to  be  held  at  Augsburg 
[March  22,  .530],  In  his  journey  towards  the  city,  he  had  many  oppor- 
tunities of  observing  the  disposition  of  the  Germans  with  regard  to  the 
points  in  controversy,  and  found  their  minds  every  where  so  much  irri- 
tated and  inflamed,  as  convinced  him,  that  nothing  tending  to  severity  or 
rigour  ought  to  be  attempted,  until  all  other  measures  proved  ineffectual. 
He   made   his   public   entry   into   Augsburg   with   extraordinary   pomp 

*  Sleid.  Hist.  117.  t  The  fourteen  cities  were  Sttnsburg,  Nuremberg,  TJIm,   «--onstance, 

Rtutlingen,  Winitslieim,  Meinengen,  Lindaw,  Kempten,  H  li  bion,  Isna,  Wisscmburg,  Nordlingen, 
and  St.  Gal.  191eid.HJ4t.119.     F.  Paul.  Hist.  p.  45.     — ckend.  ii.  1275.         $  f.  Paul,  xlvil. 

Seek.  fib.  ti.  142.     Hist,  de  ronCcvs.  d'Anxburgh.  par  T>.  CfcytrCDB,  4to.  Antw.  1572.  p.  (?. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  m 

[June  15],  and  found  there  such  a  full  assembly  of  the  members  of  the  diet, 
as  was  suitable  both  to  the  importance  of  the  affairs  which  were  to  come 
under  their  consideration,  and  to  the  honour  of  an  emperor,  who,  after  a 
long  absence,  returned  to  them  crowned  with  reputation  and  success.  His 
presence  seems  to  have  communicated  to  all  parties  an  unusual  spirit  of 
moderation  and  desire  of  peace.  The  elector  of  Saxony  would  not  permit 
Luther  to  accompany  him  to  the  diet,  lest  he  should  offend  the  emperor 
by  bringing  into  his  presence  a  person  excommunicated  by  the  pope,  and 
who  had  been  the  author  of  all  those  dissensions  which  it  now  appeared 
so  difficult  to  compose.  At  the  emperor's  desire,  all  the  protestant  princes 
forbade  the  divines  who  accompanied  them  to  preach  in  public  during  their 
residence  at  Augsburgh.  For  the  same  reason  they  employed  Melancthon, 
the  man  of  the  greatest  learning,  as  well  as  the  most  pacific  and  gentle 
spirit  among  the  reformers,  to  draw  up  a  confession  of  their  faith,  expressed 
in  terms  as  little  offensive  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  as  regard  for  truth 
would  permit.  Melancthon,  who  seldom  suffered  the  rancour  of  contro- 
versy to  envenom  his  style,  even  in  writings  purely  polemical,  executed  a 
task  so  agreeable  to  his  natural  disposition  with  great  moderation  and 
address.  The  creed  which  he  composed,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Con- 
fession of  Augsburg,  from  the  place  where  it  was  presented,  was  read  pub- 
licly in  the  diet.  Some  popish  divines  were  appointed  to  examine  it ; 
they  brought  in  their  animadversions;  a  dispute  ensued  between  them  and 
Melancthon,  seconded  by  some  of  his  brethren  ;  but  though  Melancthon 
then  softened  some  articles,  made  concessions  with  regard  to  others,  and 

{)ut  the  least  exceptionable  sense  upon  all ;  though  the  emperor  himself 
aboured  with  great  earnestness  to  reconcile  the  contending  parties ;  so  many 
marks  of  distinction  were  now  established,  and  such  insuperable  barriers 
placed  between  the  two  churches,  that  all  hopes  of  bringing  about  a 
coalition  seemed  utterly  desperate.* 

From  the  divines,  among  whom  his  endeavours  had  been  so  unsuccessful, 
Charles  turned  to  the  princes  their  patrons.  Nor  did  he  find  them,  how 
desirous  soever  of  accommodation,  or  willing  to  oblige  the  emperor,  more 
disposed  than  the  former  to  renounce  their  opinions.  At  that  time  zeal  for 
religion  took  possession  of  the  minds  of  men,  to  a  degree  which  can 
scarcely  be  conceived  by  those  that  live  in  an  age  when  the  passions 
excited  by  the  first  manifestation  of  truth,  and  the  first  recovery  of  liberty, 
have  in  a  great  measure  ceased  to  operate.  This  zeal  was  then  of  such 
strength  as  to  overcome  attachment  to  their  political  interest,  which  is 
commonly  the  predominant  motive  among  princes.  The  elector  of  Saxony, 
the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  other  chiefs  of  the  protestants,  though  solicited 
separately  by  the  emperor,  and  allured  by  the  promise  or  prospect  of  those 
advantages  which  it  was  known  they  were  most  solicitous  to  attain, 
refused,  with  a  fortitude  highly  worthy  of  imitation,  to  abandon  what  they 
deemed  the  cause  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  any  earthly  acquisition.!  Every 
scheme  in  order  to  gain  or  disunite  the  protestant  party  proving  abortive, 
nothing  now  remained  for  the  emperor  but  to  take  some  vigorous  measures 
towards  asserting  the  doctrines  and  authority  of  the  established  church. 
These,  Campeggio,  the  papal  nuncio,  had  always  recommended  as  the  only 
proper  and  effectual  course  of  dealing  with  such  obstinate  heretics.  In 
compliance  with  his  opinions  and  remonstrances,  the  diet  issued  a  decree 
[Nov.  19], condemning  most  of  the  peculiar  tenets  held  by  the  protestants; 
forbidding  any  person  to  protect  or  tolerate  such  as  taught  them;  enjoining 
a  strict  observance  of  the  established  rites :  and  prohibiting  any  further 
innovation  under  severe  penalties.  All  orders  of  men  were  required  to 
assist  with  their  persons  and  fortunes  in  carrying  this  decree  into  execu- 
tion ;  and  such  as  refused  to  obey  it  were  declared  incapable  of  acting  as 

*  Seckend.  lib.  ii.  159,  &c.  Abr.  Sculteti  Annales  EvanpHiei  ap.  Ifcmi.  Von  dcr  Hard.  Hitf. 
V>ter.  Reform.  Lip*.  1717.  fo1.  p.  159  *,  ?teM.  133,    RcultcV  Annal.  15?. 


23S  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  V. 

judges,  or  of  appearing  as  parties  in  the  Imperial  chamber,  the  supreme 
court  of  judicature  in  the  empire.  To  all  which  was  subjoined  a  promise, 
that  an  application  should  be  made  to  the   pope,  requiring  him  to  call  a 

feneral  council  within  six  months,  in  order  to  terminate  all  controversies 
y  its  sovereign  decisions.* 
The  severity  of  this  decree,  which  was  considered  as  a  prelude  to  the 
most  violent  persecutions,  alarmed  the  protestants,  and  convinced  them  that 
the  emperor  was  resolved  on  their  destruction.  The  dread  of  those  cala- 
mities which  were  ready  to  fall  on  the  church,  oppressed  the  feeble  spirit 
of  Melancthon  ;  and,  as  if  the  cause  had  already  been  desperate,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  melancholy  and  lamentation.  But  Luther,  who  during  the 
meeting  of  the  diet  had  endeavoured  to  confirm  and  animate  his  party  by 
several  treatises  which  he  addressed  to  them,  was  not  disconcerted  or  dis- 
mayed at  the  prospect  of  this  new  danger.  He  comforted  Melancthon, 
and  his  other  desponding  disciples,  and  exhorted  the  princes  not  to  abandon 
those  truths  which  they  had  lately  asserted  with  such  laudable  boldness.j 
His  exhortations  made  the  deeper  impression  upon  them,  as  they  were 
greatly  alarmed  at  that  time  by  the  account  of  a  combination  among  the 
popish  princes  of  the  empire  for  the  maintenance  of  the  established  religion, 
to  which  Charles  himself  had  acceded.;};  This  convinced  them  that  it  was 
necessary  to  stand  on  their  guard  ;  and  that  their  own  safety,  as  well  as  the 
success  of  their  cause,  depended  on  union.  Filled  with  this  dread  of  the 
adverse  party,  and  with  these  sentiments  concerning  the  conduct  proper  for 
themselves,  they  assembled  at  Smalkalde.  There  they  concluded  a  league 
of  mutual  defence  against  all  aggressors§  [Dec.  22],  by  which  they  formed 
the  protestant  states  of  the  empire  into  one  regular  body,  and  beginning 
already  to  consider  themselves  as  such,  they  resolved  to  apply  to  the  kings 
of  France  and  England,  and  to  implore  them  to  patronise  and  assist  their 
new  confederacy. 

An  affair  not  connected  with  religion  furnished  them  with  a  pretence  for 
courting  the  aid  of  foreign  princes.  Charles,  whose  ambitious  views  en- 
larged in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  his  power  and  grandeur,  had  formed 
a  scheme  of  continuing  the  Imperial  crown  in  his  family,  by  procuring  his 
brother  Ferdinand  to  be  elected  "king  of  the  Romans.  The  present  junc- 
ture was  favourable  for  the  execution  of  that  design.  The  emperor's  arms 
had  been  every  where  victorious  ;  he  had  given  law  to  all  Europe  at  the 
late  peace ;  no  rival  now  remained  in  a  condition  to  balance  or  to  control 
him  ;  and  the  electors,  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  his  success,  or  over- 
awed by  the  greatness  of  his  power,  durst  scarcely  dispute  the  will  of  a 
prince,  whose  solicitations  carried  with  them  the  authority  of  commands. 
Nor  did  he  want  plausible  reasons  to  enforce  the  measure.  The  affairs  of 
his  other  kingdoms,  he  said,  obliged  him  to  be  often  absent  from  Germany  ; 
the  growing  disorders  occasioned  by  the  controversies  about  religion,  as 
well  as  the  formidable  neighbourhood  of  the  Turks,  who  continual ly 
threatened  to  break  in  with  their  desolating  armies  into  the  heart  of  the 
empire,  required  the  constant  presence  of  a  prince  endowed  with  prudence 
capable  of  composing  the  former,  and  with  power  as  well  as  valour  suffi- 
cient to  repel  the  latter.  His  brother  Ferdinand  possessed  these  qualities 
in  an  eminent  degree  ;  by  residing  long  in  Germany,  he  had  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  its  constitution  and  manners  ;  having  been  present 
almost  from  the  first  rise  of  the  religious  dissensions,  he  knew  what  reme- 
dies were  most  proper,  what  the  Germans  could  bear,  and  how  to  apply 
them  ;  as  his  own  dominions  lay  on  the  Turkish  frontier,  he  was  the  natural 
defender  of  Germany  against  the  invasions  of  the  infidels,  being  prompted 
by  interest  no  less  than  lie  would  be  bound  in  duty  to  oppose  them. 
These  arguments  made  little  impression  on  the  protestants.     Experience 

*  Blejd.  139.  +  Peck.  ii.  18".    Sleid.  140.  ♦  Seek.  ii.  200.  iii.  U.  $  Sleid.  Hisf.  14'?. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES.   V..  g30 

taught  them,  that  nothing  had  contributed  more  to  trie  undisturbed  progress 
of  their  opinions,  than  the  interregnum  after  Maiinrilian's  death,  the  long 
absence  of  Charles,  and  the  slackness  of  the  reins  of  government  which 
these  occasioned.  Conscious  of  the  advantages  which  their  cause  had 
derived  from  this  relaxation  of  government,  they  were  unwilling  to  render 
it  more  vigorous,  by  giving  themselves  a  new  and  a  fixed  master.  They 
perceived  clearly  the  extent  of  Charles's  ambition,  that  he  aimed  at  ren- 
dering the  Imperial  crown  hereditary  in  his  family,  and  would  of  course 
establish  in  the  empire  an  absolute  dominion,  to  which  elective  princes 
could  not  have  aspired  with  equal  facility.  They  determined  therefore  to 
oppose  the  election  of  Ferdinand  with  the  utmost  vigour,  and  to  rouse 
their  countrymen,  by  their  example  and  exhortations,  to  withstand  this 
encroachment  on  their  liberties.  The  elector  of  Saxony,  accordingly,  not 
only  refused  to  be  present  at  the  electoral  college,  which  the  emperor 
summoned  to  meet  at  Cologne  [January  5,  1531],  but  instructed  bis  eldest 
son  to  appear  there,  and  to  protest  against  the  election  as  informal,  illegal, 
contrary  to  the  articles  of  the  golden  bull,  and  subversive  of  the  liberties 
of  the  empire.  But  the  other  electors,  whom  Charles  had  been  at  great 
pains  to  gain,  without  regarding  either  his  absence  or  protest,  chose  Fer- 
dinand king  of  the  Romans,  who  a  few  days  after  was  crowned  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle.* 

VV hen  the  protestants,  who  were  assembled  a  second  time  at  Smalkalde, 
received  an  account  of  this  transaction,  and  heard  at  the  same  time,  that 
prosecutions  were  commenced,  in  the  Imperial  chamber,  against  some  of 
their  number,  on  account  of  their  religious  principles,  they  thought  it  ne- 
cessary, not  only  to  renew  their  former  confederacy,  but  immediately  to 
despatch  their  ambassadors  into  France  and  England  [Feb.  29].  Francis 
had  observed,  with  all  the  jealousy  of  a  rival,  ^the  reputation  which  the 
emperor  had  acquired  by  his  seeming  disinterestedness  and  moderation  in 
settling  the  affairs  of  Italy  ;  and  beheld  with  .great  concern  the  successful 
step  which  he  had  taken  towards  perpetuating  and  extending  his  authority 
in  Germany  by  the  election  of  a  king  of  the  Romans.  Nothing,  however, 
would  have  been  more  impolitic  than  to  precipitate  his  kingdom  into  a  new 
war  when  exhausted  by  extraordinary  efforts,  and  discouraged  by  ill  success, 
before  it  had  got  time  to  recruit  its  strength,  or  to  forget  past  misfortunes. 
As  no  provocation  had  been  given  by  the  emperor,  and  hardly  a  pretext 
for  a  rupture  had  been  afforded  him,  he  could  not  violate  a  treaty  of  peace 
which  he  himself  had  so  lately  solicited,  without  forfeiting  the  esteem  of 
all  Europe,  and  being  detested  as  a  prince  void  of  probity  and  honour. 
He  observed,  with  great  joy,  powerful  factions  beginning  to  form  in  the 
empire ;  he  listened  with  the  utmost  eagerness  to  the  complaints  of  the 
protestant  princes,  and,* without  seeming  to  countenance  their  religious 
opinions,  determined  secretljr  to  cherish  those  sparks  of  political  discord 
which  might  be  afterwards  kindled  into  a  flame.  For  this  purpose,  he 
sent  William  de  Bellay,  one  of  the  ablest  negotiators  in  France,  into  Ger- 
many, who,  visiting  the  courts  of  the  malecontent  princes,  and  heightening 
their  ill  humour  by  various  arts,  concluded  an  alliance  between  them  and 
his  master,!  which,  though  concealed  at  that  time,  and  productive  of  no 
immediate  effects,  laid  the  foundation  of  a  union  fatal  on  many  occasions 
to  Charles's  ambitious  projects ;  and  showed  the  discontented  princes  of  Ger- 
many, where,  for  the  tuture,  they  might  find  a  protector  no  less  able  than 
willing  to  undertake  their'  defence  against  the.  encroachments  of  the 
emperor. 

The  king  of  England,  highly  incensed  against  Charles,  in  complaisance 
to  whom  the  pope  nad  long  retarded,  and  now  openly  opposed  his  divorce, 

*  Sleid.142.    Seek.  iii.  1.    P.  Heutcr.  Ber.  Anstr.  lib.  x.  c.  fi.  p.  940.  +  Bdlav,  K9,  a.  Ho 

>).    feck  in.  14. 


240  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Hook    V. 

was  no  less  disposed  than  Francis  to  strengthen  a  league  which  might  be 
rendered  so  formidable  to  the  emperor.  But  his  favourite  project  of  the 
divorce  led  him  into  such  a  labyrinth  of  schemes  and  negotiations,  and  he 
was,  at  the  same  time,  so  intent  on  abolishing  the  papal  jurisdiction  in 
England,  that  he  had  no  leisure  for  foreign  affairs.  This  obliged  him  to 
rest  satisfied  with  giving  general  promises,  together  with  a  small  supply  in 
money,  to  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde.* 

Meanwhile,  many  circumstances  convinced  Charles  that. this  was  not  a 
juncture  when  the  extirpation  of  heresy  was  to  be  attempted  by  violence 
and  rigour ;  that  in  compliance  with  the  pope's  inclinations,  he  had  already 
proceeded  with  imprudent  precipitation  ;  and  that  it  was  more  his  interest 
to  consolidate  Germany  into  one  united  and  vigorous  body,  than  to  divide 
and  enfeeble  it  by  a  civil  war.  The  protestants,  who  were  considerable  as 
well  by  their  numbers  as  by  their  zeal,  had  acquired  additional  weight  and 
importance  Jjy  their  joining  in  that  confederacy  into  which  the  rash  steps 
taken  at  Augsburg  had  forced  them.  Having  now  discovered  their  own 
strength,  they  despised  the  decisions  of  the  Imperial  chamber ;  and  being 
secure  of  foreign  protection,  were  ready  to  set  the  head  of  the  empire  at 
defiance.  At  the  same  time  the  peace  with  France  was  precarious,  the 
friendship  of  an  irresolute  and  interested  pontiff  was  not  to  be  relied  on ; 
and  Solyman,  in  order  to  repair  the  discredit  and  loss  which  his  arms  had 
sustained  in  the  former  campaign,  was  preparing  to  enter  Austria  with 
more  numerous  forces.  On  all  these  accounts,  especially  the  last,  a  speedy 
accommodation  with  the  malecontent  princes  became  necessary,  not  only 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  future  schemes,  but  for  ensuring  his  present 
safety.  Negotiations  were,  accordingly,  carried  on  by  his  direction  with 
the  elector  of  Saxony  and  his  associates ;  after  many  delays,  occasioned 
by  their  jealousy  of  the  emperor,  and  of  each  other,  after  innumerable  dif- 
ficulties, arising  from  the  inflexible  nature  of  religious  tenets,  which  cannot 
admit  of  being  altered,  modified,  or  relinquished  in  the  same  manner  as 
points  of  political  interest,  terms  of  pacification  were  agreed  upon  at  Nu- 
remberg [July  23],  and  ratified  solemnly  in  the  diet  at  Ratisbon  [Aug.  3]. 
In  this  treaty  it  was  stipulated,  That  universal  peace  be  established  in 
Germany,  until  the  meeting  of*a  generalcouncil,  the  convocation  of  which 
within  six  months  the  emperor  shall  endeavour  to  procure  ;  That  no  person 
shall  be  molested  on  account  of  religion  ;  That  a  stop  shall  be  put  to  all 
processes  begun  by  the  Imperial  chamber  against  protestants,  and  the 
sentences  already  passed  to  their  detriment  shall  be  declared  void.  On 
their  part,  the  protestants  engaged  to  assist  the  emperor  with  all  their 
forces  in  resisting  the  invasion  of  the  Turks.j  Thus,  by  their  firmness  in 
adhering  to  their  principles,  by  the  unanimity  with  which  they  urged  all 
their  claims,  and  by  their  dexterity  in  availing  themselves  of  the  emperor's 
situation,  the  protestants  obtained  terms  which  amounted  almost  to  a  tole- 
ration of  their  religion  ;  all  the  concessions  were  made  by  Charles,  none 
by  them;  even  the  favourite  point  of  their  approving  his  brother's  election 
was  not  mentioned;  and  the  protestants  of  Germany,  who  had  hitherto 
been  viewed  only  as  a  religious  sect,  came  henceforth  to  be  considered  as 
a  political  body  of  no  small  consequence. J 

1532.]  The  intelligence  which  Charles  received  of  Solyman's  having 
entered  Hungary  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  brought  the 
deliberations  of  the  diet  at  Ratisbon  to  a  period  ;  the  contingent  both  of 
troops  and  money,  which  each  prince  was  to  furnish  towards  the  defence  ot 
the  empire,  having  been  already  settled.  The  protestants,  as  a  testimony 
of  their  gratitude  to  the  emperor,  exerted  themselves  with  extraordinary 
zeal,  and  brought  into  the  field  forces  which  exceeded  in  number  the  quota 

*  Herbert,  152  154.  }  Du  Mont  Corps  Diplomatique,  torn.  iv.  part  ii.  87. 89.  }  Sleid. 

149,  &c.    Seek.  iil.  19- 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V  241 

imposed  on  them  ;  the  catholics  imitating  their  example,  one  or  the  greatest 
and  best  appointed  armies  that  had  ever  been  levied  in  Germany,  assembled 
near  Vienna.  Being  joined  by  a  body  of  Spanish  and  Italian  veterans  under 
the  marquis  del  Guasto  ;  by  some  heavy  armed  cavalry  from  the  Low-Coun- 
tries ;  and  by  the  troops  which  Ferdinand  had  raised  in  Bohemia,  Austria, 
and  his  other  territories,  it  amounted  in  all  to  ninety  thousand  disciplined 
foot,  and  thirty  thousand  horse,  besides  a  prodigious  swarm  of  irregulars. 
Of  this  vast  army,  worthy  the  first  prince  in  Christendom,  the  emperor  took 
the  command  in  person ;  and  mankind  waited  in  suspense  the  issue  of  a 
decisive  battle  between  the  two  greatest  monarchs  in  the  world.  But  each 
of  them  dreading  the  other's  power  and  good  fortune,  they  both  conducted 
their  operations  with  such  excessive  caution,  that  a  campaign,  for  which 
such  immense  preparations  had  been  made,  ended  without  any  memorable 
event  [September  and  October].  Solyman,  finding  it  impossible  to  gain 
ground  upon  an  enemy  always  attentive  and  on  his  guard,  marched  back  to 
Constantinople  towards  the  end  of  autumn.*  It  is  remarkable,  that  in  such 
a  martial  age,  when  every  gentleman  was  a  soldier,  and  every  prince  a 
general,  this  was  the  first  time  that  Charles,  who  had  already  carried  on 
such  extensive  wars,  and  gained  so  many  victories,  appeared  at  the  head 
ot  his  troops.  In  this  first  essay  of  his  arms,  to  have  opposed  such  a  leader 
as  Solyman  was  no  small  honour ;  to  have  obliged  him  to  retreat,  merited 
very  considerable  praise. 

About  the  beginning  of  this  campaign,  the  elector  of  Saxony  died  [Aug. 
16],  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  John  Frederick.  The  reformation 
rather  gained  than  lost  by  that  event ;  the  new  elector,  no  less  attached  than 
his  predecessors  to  the  opinions  of  Luther,  occupied  the  station  which  they 
had  held  at  the  head  of  the  protestant  party,  and  defended,  with  the  bold- 
ness and  zeal  of  youth,  that  cause  which  they  had  fostered  and  reared  with 
the  caution  of  more  advanced  age. 

Immediately  after  the  retreat  of  the  Turks,  Charles,  impatient  to  revisit 
Spain,  set  out  on  his  way  thither,  for  Italy.  As  he  was  extremely  desirous 
of  an  interview  with  the  pope,  they  met  a  second  time  at  Bologna,  with  the 
same  external  demonstrations  of  respect  and  friendship,  but  with  little  of 
that  confidence  which  had  subsisted  between  them  during  their  late  negoti- 
ations there.  Clement  was  much  dissatisfied  with  the  emperor's  proceed- 
ings at  Augsburg ;  his  concessions  with  regard  to  the  speedy  convocation 
ot  a  council,  having  more  than  cancelled  all  the  merit  of  the  severe  decree 
against  the  doctrines  of  the  reformers.  The  toleration  granted  to  the  pro- 
testants  at  Ratisbon,  and  the  more  explicit  promise  concerning  a  council, 
with  which  it  was  accompanied,  had  irritated  him  still  farther.  Charles, 
however,  partly  from  conviction  that  the  meeting  of  a  council  would  be  at- 
tended with  salutary  effects,  and  partly  from  his  desire  to  please  the  Ger- 
mans, having  solicited  the  pope  by  his  ambassadors  to  call  that  assembly 
without  delay,  and  now  urging  the  same  thing  in  person,  Clement  was 
greatly  embarrassed  what  reply  he  should  make  to  a  request  which  it  was 
indecent  to  refuse,  and  dangerous  to  grant.  He  endeavoured  at  first  to  di- 
vert Charles  from  the  measure  ;  but,  finding  him  inflexible,  he  had  recourse 
to  artifices,  which  he  knew  would  delay,  if  not  entirely  defeat,  the  calling 
of  that  assembly.  Under  the  plausible  pretext  of  its  bein<r  previously 
necessary  to  settle,  with  all  parties  concerned,  the  place  of  the  council  s 
meeting  ;  the  manner  of  its  proceedings  ;  the  right  of  the  persons  who  should 
be  admitted  to  vote  ;  and  the  authority  of  their  decisions  ;  he  despatched  a 
nuncio,  accompanied  by  an  ambassador  from  the  emperor,  to  the  elector  of 
Saxony  as  head  of  the  protestants.  W  itli  regard  to  each  of  these  articles, 
inextricable  difficulties  and  contests  arose.  The  protestants  demanded  a 
council  to  be  held  in  Germany ;  the  pope  insisted  that  it  should  meet  in 

*  Juvii  lljsi.  ii!>.  m.  p,  100.  <*r.    Bam  Btet.de  rEmpfre,  i  8  '■"' 
Vol.  II.— 31 


242  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  V. 

Italy:  they  i  onlended  that  all  points  in  dispute  should  ho  determined  hy 
the  words  of  holy  scripture  alone  ;  he  considered  not  only  the  decrees  of 
the  church,  but  the  opinions  of  fathers  and  doctors,  as  of  equal  authority; 
Ihey  required  a  free  council,  in  which  the  divines,  commissioned  hy  different 
churches,  should  he  allowed  a  voice  ;  he  aimed  at  modelling  the  council  in 
such  a  manner  as  would  render  it  entirely  dependent  on  his  pleasure.  Above 
all,  the  protestants  thought  it  unreasonable  that  they  should  bind  themselves 
to  submit  to  the  decrees  of  a  council,  before  they  Knew  on  what  principles 
ihese  decrees  were  to  be  founded)  by  what  persons  they  were  to  be  pro- 
nounced, and  what  forms  of  proceeding  tliey  would  observe.  The  pope 
maintained  it  to  be  altogether  unnecessary  to  call  a  council,  if  those  who 
demanded  it  did  not  previously  declare  their  resolution  to  acquiesce  in  its 
decrees.  In  order  to  adjust  such  a  variety  of  points,  many  expedients  w  ere 
proposed,  and  the  negotiations  spun  out  to  such  a  length,  as  effectually 
answered  Clement's  purpose  of  putting  off  the  meeting  of  a  council,  without 
drawing  on  himself  the  whole  infamy  of  obstructing  a  measure  which  all 
Europe  deemed  so  essential  to  the  good  of  the  church.* 

Together  with  this  negotiation  about  calling  a  council,  the  emperor 
carried  on  another,  which  lie  had  still  more  at  heart,  for  securing  the  peace 
established  in  Italy.  As  Francis  had  renounced  his  pretensions  in  that 
country  with  great  reluctance,  Charles  made  no  doubt  but  that  he  would 
lay  hold  on  the  first  pretext  afforded  him,  or  embrace  the  first  opportunity 
which  presented  itself,  of  recovering  what  be  bad  lost.  It  became  neces- 
sary on  this  account  to  take  measures  for  assembling  an  army  able  to  op- 
pose him.  As  his  treasury,  drained  by  a  long  war,  could  not  supply  the 
sums  requisite  for  keeping  such  a  body  constantly  on  foot,  he  attempted  to 
throw  that  burden  upon  his  allies,  and  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  his  own 
dominions,  at  their  expense,  by  proposing  that  the  Italian  states  should  enter 
into  a  league  of  defence  against  all  invaders  ;  that,  on  the  first  appearance 
of  danger,  an  army  should  be  raised  and  maintained  at  the  common  charge  ; 
and  that  Antonio  de  Leyva  should  be  appointed  the  generalissimo.  Noi 
was  the  proposal  unacceptable  to  Clement,  though  for  a  reason  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  induced  the  emperor  to  make  it.  He  hoped  by  this 
expedient,  to  deliver  Italy  from  the  German  and  Spanish  veterans,  which 
had  so  long  filled  all  the  powers  in  that  country  with  terror,  and  still  kept 
them  in  subjection  to  the  Imperial  yoke.  A  league  was  accordingly  con- 
cluded [Feb.  24,  1533};  all  the  Italian  states,  the  Venetians  excepted,  ac- 
ceded to  it  ;  the  sum  which  each  of  the  contracting  parties  should  furnish 
towards  maintaining  the  army  was  fixed  ;  the  emperor  agreed  to  withdraw 
the  troops  which  gave  so  much  umbrage  to  his  allies,  and  which  he  was 
unable  any  longer  to  support.  Having  disbanded  part  of  them,  and  re- 
moved the  rest  to  Sicily  and  Spain,  he  embarked  on  board  Doria's  galley.-, 
and  arrived  at  Barcelona  [April  22]. | 

Notwithstanding  all  his  precautions  for  securing  the  peace  of  Germany, 
and  maintaining  that  system  which  he  had  established  in  Italy,  the  emperor 
became  every  day  more  and  more  apprehensive  that  both  would  be  soon 
disturbed  by  the  intrigues  or  arms  of  the  French  king.  His  apprehensions 
were  well  founded,  as  nothing  but  the  desperate  situation  of  his  affairs  could 
have  brought  Francis  to  give  his  consent  to  a  treaty  so  dishonourable  and 
disadvantageous  as  that  of  Cambray :  he,  at  the  very  time  of  ratifying  it, 
had  formed  a  resolution  to  observe  it  no  longer  than  necessity  compelled 
bim,  and  took  a  solemn  protest,  though  with  the  most  profound  secrecy, 
against  several  articles  in  the  treaty,  particularly  that  whereby  he  renounced 
all  pretensions  to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  as  unjust,  injurious  to  his  heirs,  and 
invalid.  One  of  the  crown  lawyers,  by  his  command,  entered  a  protest  to 
the  same  purpose,  and  with  the  like  secrecy,  when  the  ratification  of  the 

*  F-Paol,  Hist  61     Seckend.  iii.73.       r  <*nii    I.  ix.551.    FerreTwtat.349 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  .243 

treaty  was  registered  in  the  parliament  of  Paris.*  Francis  seems  to  have 
thought  that,  by  employing  an  artifice  unworthy  of  a  king,  destructive  of 
public  faith,  and  of  the  mutual  confidence  on  which  all  transactions  between 
nations  are  founded,  he  was  released  from  any  obligation  to  perform  the 
most  solemn  promises,  or  to  adhere  to  the  most  sacred  engagements.  From 
the  moment  he  concluded  the  peace  of  Cambray,  he  wished  and  watched 
for  an  opportunity  of  violating  it  with  safety.  lie  endeavoured  for  that 
reason  to  strengthen  his  alliance  with  the  king  of  England,  whose  friend- 
ship he  cultivated  with  the  greatest  assiduity.  He  put  the  military  force 
of  his  own  kingdom  on  a  better  and  more  respectable  footing  than  ever. 
He  artfully  fomented  the  jealousy  and  discontent  of  the  German  princes. 

But  above  all,  Francis  laboured  to  break  the  strict  confederacy  which 
subsisted  between  Charles  and  Clement ;  and  he  had  soon  the  satisfaction 
to  observe  the  appearances  of  disgust  and  alienation  arising  in  the  mind  of 
that  suspicious  and  interested  pontiff',  which  gave  him  hopes  that  their  union 
would  not  be  lasting.  As  the  emperor's  decision  in  favour  of  the  duke  of 
Ferrara  had  greatly  irritated  the  pope,  Francis  aggravated  the  injustice  of 
that  proceeding,  and  flattered  Clement  that  the  papal  see  would  find  in 
him  a  more  impartial  and  no  less  powerful  protector.  As  the  importunity 
with  which  Charles  demanded  a  council  was  extremely  offensive  to  the 
pope,  Francis  artfully  created  obstacles  to  prevent  it,  and  attempted  to  di- 
vert the  German  princes,  his  allies,  from  insisting  so  obstinately  on  that 
point.f  As  the  emperor  had  gained  such  an  ascendant  over  Clement  by 
contributing  to  aggrandize  his  family,  Francis  endeavoured  to  allure  him 
by  the  same  irresistible  bait,  proposing  a  marriage  between  his  second  son 
Henry  duke  of  Orleans,  and  Catharine,  the  daughter  of  the  pope's  cousin 
Laurence  di  Medici.  On  the  first  overture  of  this  match,  the  emperor 
could  not  persuade  himself  that  Francis  really  intended  to  debase  the  royai 
blood  of  France,  by  an  alliance  with  Catharine,  whose  ancestors  had  been 
so  lately  private  citizens  and  merchants  in  Florence,  and  believed  that  he 
meant  only  to  flatter  or  amuse  the  ambitious  pontiff.  He  thought  it  ne- 
cessary, however,  to  efface  the  impression  which  such  a  dazzling  offer 
might  have  made,  by  promising  to  break  oft"  the  marriage  which  had  been 
agreed  on  between  his  own  niece  the  king  of  Denmark's  daughter,  and  the 
duke  of  Milan,  and  to  substitute  Catharine  in  her  place.  But  the  French 
ambassador  producing  unexpectedly  full  powers  to  conclude  the  marriage 
treaty  with  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  this  expedient  had  no  ('fleet.  Clement 
was  so  highly  pleased  with  an  honour  which  added  such  lustre  and  dignity 
to  the  house  of  Medici,  that  he  offered  to  grant  Catharine  the  investiture 
of  considerable  territories  in  Italy,  by  way  of  portion  ;  he  seemed  ready  to 
support  Francis  in  prosecuting  his  ancient  claims  in  that  country,  and  con- 
sented to  a  personal  interview  with  that  monarch. J 

Charles  was  at  the  utmost  pains  to  prevent  a  meeting,  in  which  nothing 
was  likely  to  pass  but  what  would  be  of  detriment  to  him  ;  nor  could  he 
bear,  after  he  had  twice  condescended  to  visit  the  pope  in  his  own  territo- 
ries, that  Clement  should  bestow  such  a  mark  of  distinction  on  his  rival, 
as  to  venture  on  a  voyage  by  sea,  at  an  unfavourable  season,  in  order  to  pay 
court  to  Francis  in  the  French  dominions.  But  the  pope's  eagerness  to 
accomplish  the  match  overcame  all  the  scruples  of  pride,  or  fear,  or 
jealousy,  which  would  probably  have  influenced  him  on  any  other  occa- 
sion. The  interview,  notwithstanding  several  artifices  of  the  emperor  to 
prevent  it,  took  place  at  Marseilles  with  extraordinary  pomp,  anil  demon- 
strations of  confidence  on  both  sides  [October]  ;  and  the  marriage,  which 
the  ambition  and  abilities  of  Catharine  rendered  in  the  sequel  as  pernicious 
to  France,  as  it  was  then  thought  dishonourable,  was  consummated.     But 

*  Du  Morit.  Corps.  Diploin.  torn.  i\.  pari  ii.  p.  W.  |   Rt'lfeyJ  141,  £.''•     Seek   hi.  i 

G        •  iv  551.  553     Bella 


«44  PHE   REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  \  . 

whatever  schemes  may  have  been  secretly  concerted  by  the  pope  and 
Francis  in  favour  of  the  duke  of  Orleans,  to  whom  his  father  proposed  to 
make  over  all  his  rights  in  Italy  ;  so  careful  were  they  to  avoid  giving  any 
cause  of  offence  to  the  emperor,  that  no  treaty  was  concluded  between 
them  ;*  and  even  in  the  marriage-articles,  Catharine  renounced  all  claims 
and  pretensions  in  Italy,  except  to  the  dutchy  of  Urbino.t 

But  at  the  very  time  when  he  was  carrying  on  these  negotiations,  and 
forming  this  connection  with  Francis,  which  gave  so  great  umbrage  to  the 
emperor,  such  was  the  artifice  and  duplicity  of  Clement's  character,  that 
he  suffered  the  latter  to  direct  all  his  proceedings  with  regard  to  the  king 
of  England,  and  was  no  less  attentive  to  gratify  him  in  that  particular,  than 
if  the  most  cordial  union  had  still  subsisted  between  them.  Henry's  suit 
for  a  divorce  had  now  continued  near  six  years ;  during  all  which  period 
the  pope  negotiated,  promised,  retracted,  and  concluded  nothing.  After 
bearing  repeated  delays  and  disappointments  longer  than  could  have  been 
expected  from  a  prince  of  such  a  choleric  and  impetuous  temper,  the 
patience  of  Heniy  was  at  last  so  much  exhausted,  that  he  applied  to 
another  tribunal  for  that  decree  which  he  had  solicited  in  vain  at  Rome. 
Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  a  sentence  founded  on  the  autho- 
rity of  universities,  doctors,  and  rabbles,  who  had  been  consulted  with 
respect  to  the  point,  annulled  the  king's  marriage  with  Catharine  ;  her 
daughter  was  declared  illegitimate ;  and  Anne  Boleyn  acknowledged  as 
queen  of  England.  At  the  same  time  Henry  began  not  only  to  neglect 
and  to  threaten  the  pope,  whom  he  had  hitherto  courted,  but  to  make  inno- 
vations in  the  church,  of  which  he  had  formerly  been  such  a  zealous 
defender.  Clement,  who  had  already  seen  so  many  provinces  and  king- 
doms revolt  from  the  hoty  see,  became  apprehensive  at  last  that  England 
might  imitate  their  example,  and  partly  from  his  solicitude  to  prevent  that 
fatal  blow,  partly  in  compliance  with  the  French  king's  solicitations,  de- 
termined to  give  Henry  such  satisfaction  as  might  still  retain  him  within 
the  bosom  of  the  church  [March  23].  But  the  violence  of  the  cardinals, 
devoted  to  the  emperor,  did  not  allow  the  pope  leisure  for  executing  this 
prudent  resolution,  and  hurried  him,  with  a  precipitation  fatal  to  the  Roman 
see,  to  issue  a  bull  rescinding  Cranmer's  sentence,  confirming  Henry's  mar- 
riage with  Catharine,  and  declaring  him  excommunicated,  if,  within  a  time 
specified,  he  did  not  abandon  the  wife  he  had  taken,  and  return  to  her 
whom  he  had  deserted.  Enraged  at  this  unexpected  decree,  Henry  kept 
no  longer  any  measures  with  the  court  of  Rome  ;  his  subjects  seconded 
his  resentment  and  indignation ;  an  act  of  parliament  was  passed,  abolishing 
the  papal  power  and  jurisdiction  in  England  ;  by  another,  the  king  was 
declared  supreme  head  of  the  church,  and  all  the  authority  of  which  the 
popes  were  deprived  was  vested  in  him.  That  vast  fabric  of  ecclesiastical 
dominion  which  had  been  raised  with  such  art,  and  of  which  the  founda- 
tions seemed  to  have  been  laid  so  deep,  being  no  longer  supported  by  the 
veneration  of  the  people,  was  overturned  in  a  moment.  Henry  himself, 
with  the  caprice  peculiar  to  his  character,  continued  to  defend  the  doctrines 
of  the  Romish  church  as  fiercely  as  he  attacked  its  jurisdiction.  He  alter- 
nately persecuted  the  protestants  for  rejecting  the  former,  and  the  Catho- 
lics for  acknowledging  the  latter.  But  his  subjects,  being  once  permitted 
to  enter  into  new  paths,  did  not  choose  to  stop  short  at  the  precise  point 
prescribed  by  him.  Having  been  encouraged  by  his  example  to  break 
some  of  tlieir  fetters,  they  were  so  impatient  to  shake  off  what  still  re- 
mained,J  that,  in  the  following  reign,  with  the  applause  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  nation,  a  total  separation  was  made  from  the  church  of  Rome  in 
articles  of  doctrine,  as  well  as  in  matters  of  discipline  and  jurisdiction. 

*  Guic.  1.  xn.  555.  t  Du  Mont  Corps  Diplom.  iv.  p,  ii.  101  J  Herhrrt,    Burn.  Hist,  of 

Reform. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  245 

A  short  delay  might  have  saved  the  see  of  Rome  from  all  the  unhappy 
consequences  of  Clement's  rashness.  Soon  after  his  sentence  against  Henry, 
he  fell  into  a  languishing  distemper,  which  gradually  wasting  his  constitu- 
tion, put  an  end  to  his  pontificate  FSept.  25],  the  most  unfortunate,  both 
during  its  continuance,  and  by  its  effects,  that  the  church  had  known  for 
many  ages.  The  very  day  on  which  the  cardinals  entered  the  conclave 
[Oct.  13],  they  raised  to  the  papal  throne  Alexander  Farnese,  dean  of  the 
sacred  college,  and  the  oldest  member  of  that  body,  who  assumed  the 
name  of  Paul  III.  The  account  of  his  promotion  was  received  with  extra- 
ordinary acclamations  of  joy  by  the  people  of  Rome,  highly  pleased,  after 
an  interval  of  more  than  a  hundred  years,  to  see  the  crown  of  St.  Peter 
placed  on  the  head  of  a  Roman  citizen.  Persons  more  capable  of  judg- 
ing, formed  a  favourable  presage  of  his  administration,  from  the  experience 
which  he  had  acquired  under  four  pontificates,  as  well  as  the  character  of 
prudence  and  moderation  which  he  had  uniformly  maintained  in  a  station 
of  great  eminence,  and  during  an  active  period  that  required  both  talents 
and  address.* 

Europe,  it  is  probable,  owed  the  continuance  of  its  peace  to  the  death 
of  Clement ;  for  although  no  traces  remain  in  history  of  any  league  con- 
eluded  between  him  and  Francis,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  but  that  he 
would  have  seconded  the  operations  of  the  French  arms  in  Italy,  that  he 
might  have  gratified  his  ambition  by  seeing  one  of  his  family  possessed  of 
the  supreme  power  in  Florence,  and  another  in  Milan.  But  upon  the 
election  of  Paul  III.  who  had  hitherto  adhered  uniformly  to  the  Imperial 
interest,  Francis  found  it  necessary  to  suspend  his  operations  for  some  time, 
and  to  put  off  the  commencement  of  hostilities  against  the  emperor,  on 
which,  before  the  death  of  Clement,  he  had  been  fully  determined. 

While  Francis  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  renew  a  war  which  had 
hitherto  proved  so  fatal  to  himself  and  his  subjects,  a  transaction  of  a  very 
singular  nature  was  carried  on  in  Germany.  Among  many  beneficial  and 
salutary  effects  of  which  the  reformation  was  the  immediate  cause,  it  was 
attended,  as  must  be  the  case  in  all  actions  and  events  wherein  men  are  con- 
cerned, with  some  consequences  of  an  opposite  nature.  When  the  human 
mind  is  roused  by  grand  objects,  and  agitated  by  strong  passions,  its  ope- 
rations acquire  such  force,  that  they  are  apt  to  become  irregular  and  extra- 
vagant. Upon  any  great  revolution  in  religion,  such  irregularities  abound 
most,  at  that  particular  period,  when  men,  having  thrown  off  the  authority 
of  their  ancient  principles,  do  not  yet  fully  comprehend  the  nature,  or  feel 
die  obligation  of  those  new  tenets  which  they  have  embraced.  The  mind 
in  that  situation,  pushing  forward  with  the  boldness  which  prompted  it  to 
reject  established  opinions,  and  not  guided  by  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
system  substituted  in  their  place,  disdains  all  restraint,  and  runs  into  wild 
notions,  which  often  lead  to  scandalous  or  immoral  conduct.  Thus,  in  the 
first  ages  of  the  Christian  church,  many  of  the  new  converts  having  re- 
nounced their  ancient  systems  of  religious  faith,  and  being  but  imperfectly 
acquainted  with  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christianity,  broached  the 
most  extravagant  opinions,  equally  subversive  of  piety  and  virtue  ;  all 
which  errors  disappeared  or  were  exploded  when  the  knowledge  of  reli- 
gion increased,  and  came  to  be  more  generally  diffused.  In  like  manner, 
soon  after  Luther's  appearance,  the  rashness  or  ignorance  of  some  of  his 
disciples  led  them  to  publish  tenets  no  less  absurd  than  pernicious,  which 
being  proposed  to  men  extremely  illiterate,  but  fond  of  novelty,  and  at  a 
time  when  their  minds  were  occupied  chiefly  with  religious  speculations, 
gained  too  easy  credit  and  authority  among  them.  To  these  causes  must 
be  imputed  the  extravagances  of  Muncer,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  twenty-five,  as  well  as  the  rapid  progress  which  his  opinions 

•Guie.l  n.SSff.    F.  Paul,  fi4. 


T  H  E   R E  I G  N   OF   Till.  [Book  V 


made  among  the  peasants  ;  but  though  the  insurrection  excited  by  that 
tanatic  was  soon  suppressed,  several  of  his  followers  lurked  in  different 
places,  and  endeavoured  privately  to  propagate  his  opinions. 

In  those  provinces  of  Upper  Germany,  which  had  already  been  so  cruelly 
wasted  by  their  enthusiastic  rage,  the  magistrates  watched  their  motions 
with  such  severe  attention,  that  many  of  them  found  it  necessary  to  retire 
into  other  countries,  some  were  punished,  others  driven  into  exile,  and 
their  errors  were  entirely  rooted  out.  But  in  the  Netherlands  and  West- 
phalia, where  the  pernicious  tendency  of  their  opinions  was  mure  unknown, 
and  guarded  against  with  less  care,  they  got  admittance  into  several  towns, 
and  spread  the  infection  of  their  principles,  \fhe  most  remarkable  of 
their  religious  tenets  related  to  the  sacrament  of~baptism,  which,  as  they 
contended,  ought  to  be  administered  only  to  persons  grown  up  to  years  of 
understanding,  and  should  be  performed  not  by  sprinkling  them  with  water, 
but  by  dipping  them  in  it ;  for  this  reason  they  condemned  the  baptism  of 
infants,  and  rebaptising  all  whom  they  admitted  into  their  society,  the 
sect  came  to  be  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Anabaptists.  To  this  pecu- 
liar notion  concerning  baptism,  which  has  the  appearance  of  being  founded 
on  the  practice  of  the  church  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  contains  nothing 
inconsistent  with  the  peace  and  order  of  human  society,  they  added  other 
principles  of  a  most  enthusiastic  as  well  as  dangerous  nature. \  They 
maintained  that,  among  Christians  who  had  the  precepts  of  the  goipel  to 
direct,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  to  guide  them,  the  office  of  magistracy  was 
not  only  unnecessary,  but  an  unlawful  encroachment  on  their  spiritual 
liberty  ;  that  the  distinctions  occasioned  by  birth,  or  rank,  or  wealth,  being 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  which  considers  all  men  as  equah 
should  be  entirely  abolished  ;  that  all  Christians,  throwing  their  posses- 
sions into  one  common  stock  should  live  together  in  that  state  of  equality 
which  becomes  members  of  the  same  family  ;  that  as  neither  the  laws  of 
nature,  nor  the  precepts  of  the  New  Testament,  had  imposed  any  re- 
straints upon  men  with  regard  to  the  number  of  wives  which  they  might 
marry,  they  should  use  that  Ijberty  which  God  himself  had  granted  to  the 
patriarchs. 

Such  opinions,  propagated  and  maintained  with  enthusiastic  zeal  and 
boldness,  were  not  long  without  producing  the  violent  effects  natural  to 
them.  Two  Anabaptist  prophets,  John  Matthias,  a  baker  of  Haerlem, 
and  John  Boccold,  or  Beukels,  a  journeyman  tailor  of  Leyden,  possessed 
with  the  rage  of  making  proselytes,  fixed  their  residence  at  Munster,  an 
Imperialcity  in  Westphalia,  of  the  first  rank,  under  the  sovereignty  of  its 
bishop,  but  governed  by  itsovvn  senate  and  consuls.  As  neither  of  these  fanatics 
wanted  the  talents  requisite  in  desperate  enterprises,  great  resolution,  the 
appearance  of  sanctity,  bold  pretensions  to  inspiration,  and  a  confident  and 
plausible  manner  of  discoursing,  they  soon  gained  many  converts.  Among 
these  were  Rothman,  who  had  first  preached  the  protestant  doctrine  in 
Munster,  and  Cnipperdoling,  a  citizen  of  good  birth  and  considerable 
eminence.  Emboldened  by  the  countenance  of  such  disciples,  they  openly 
taught  their  opinions  ;  and  not  satisfied  with  that  liberty,  they  made  several 
attempts,  though  without  success,  to  become  masters  of  the  town,  in  order 
to  get  their  tenets  established  by  public  authority.  At  last,  having  secretly 
called  in  their  associates  from  the  neighbouring  country,  they  suddenly 
took  possession  of  the  arsenal  and  senate  house  in  the  night  time,  and 
running  through  the  streets  with  drawn  swords,  and  horrible  howlings. 
cried  out  alternately, "  Repent  and  be  baptised,"  and  "  Depart  ye  ungodly.'' 
The  senators,  the  canons,  the  nobility,  together  with  the  more  sober  citi- 
zens,  whether  papists  or  protectants,  terrified  at  their  threats  and  outcries, 
fled  in  confusion,  and  left  the  city  under  the  dominion  of  a  frantic  multi- 
tude, consisting  chiefly  of  strangers  [February.]  Nothing  now  remaining 
to  overawe  or  control  them,  they  set  about  modelling  the  government  accord- 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  247 

ing  to  their  own  wild  ideas:  and  though  at  first  they  showed  so  much 
reverence  for  the  ancient  constitution,  as  to  elect  senators  ot  their  own 
sect,  and  to  appoint  Cnipperdoling*  and  another  proselyte  consuls,  this  was 
nothing  more  than  form  ;  for  all  their  proceedings  were  directed  by  Mat- 
thias, who,  in  the  style,  and  with  the  authority  of  a  prophet,  uttered  his 
commands,  which  it  was  instant  death  to  disobey.  Having  begun  with 
encouraging  the  multitude  to  pillage  the  churches,  and  deface  their  orna- 
ments ;  he  enjoined  them  to  destroy  all  books  except  the  bible,  as  useless 
or  impious ;  he  ordered  the  estates  of  such  as  fled  to  be  confiscated,  and 
sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  country;  he  commanded  every  man 
to  bring  forth  his  gold  and  silver,  and  other  precious  effects,  and  to  lay 
them  at  his  feet ;  the  wealth  amassed  by  these  means  he  deposited  in  a 
public  treasury,  and  named  deacons  to  dispense  it  for  the  common  use  o 
all.  The  members  of  this  commonwealth  being  thus  brought  to  perfect 
equality,  he  commanded  all  of  them  to  eat  at  tables  prepared  in  public, 
and  even  prescribed  the  dishes  which  were  to  be  served  up  each  day. 
Having  finished  this  plan  of  reformation,  his  next  care  was  to  provide  for 
the  defence  of  the  city ;  and  he  took  measures  for  that  purpose  with  a 
prudence  which  savoured  nothing  of  fanaticism.  He  collected  large 
magazines  of  every  kind  ;  he  repaired  and  extended  the  fortifications, 
obliging  every  person  without  distinction  to  work  in  his  turn ;  he  formed 
such  as  were  capable  of  bearing  arms  into  regular  bodies,  and  endeavoured 
to  add  the  stability  of  discipline  to  the  impetuosity  of  enthusiasm.  He 
sent  emissaries  to  the  Anabaptists  in  the  Low-Countries,  inviting  them  to 
assemble  at  Munster,  which  he  dignified  with  the  name  of  Mount  Sion, 
that  from  thence  they  might  set  out  to  reduce  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
under  their  dominion.  He  himself  was  unwearied  in  attending  to  every 
thing  necessary  for  the  security  or  increase  of  the  sect ;  animating  his  disci- 

Eles  by  his  own  example  to  decline  no  labour,  as  well  as  to  submit  to  every 
ardship  ;  and  their  enthusiastic  passions  being  kept  from  subsiding  by  a 
perpetual  succession  of  exhortations,  revelations,  and  prophecies,  they  seemed 
ready  to  undertake  or  to  suffer  any  thing  in  maintenance  of  their  opinions. 
While  they  were  thus  employed,  the  bishop  of  Munster  having  assem- 
bled a  considerable  army,  advanced  to  besiege  the  town.  On  his  approach, 
Matthias  sallied  out  at  the  head  of  some  chosen  troops,  attacked  one  quar- 
ter of  his  camp,  forced  it,  and  after  great  slaughter  returned  to  the  city 
loaded  with  glory  and  spoil.  Intoxicated  with  this  success,  he  appeared 
next  day  brandishing  a  spear,  and  declared,  that,  in  imitation  of  Gideon, 
he  would  go  forth  with  a  handful  of  men  and  smite  the  host  of  the  ungodly. 
Thirty  persons  whom  he  named,  followed  him  without  hesitation  in  this 
wild  enterprise  [May],  and,  rushing  on  the  enemy  with  frantic  courage, 
were  cut  off  to  a  man.  The  death  01  their  prophet  occasioned  at  first  great 
consternation  among  his  disciples  ;  but  Boccold,  by  the  same  gifts  and  pre- 
tensions which  had  gained  Matthias  credit,  soon  revived  their  spirits  and 
hopes  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  succeeded  the  deceased  prophet  in  the 
6ame  absolute  direction  of  all  their  affairs.  As  he  did  not  possess  that 
enterprising  courage  which  distinguished  his  predecessor,  he  satisfied  him- 
self with  carrying  on  a  defensive  war;  and  without  attempting  to  annoy 
the  enemy  by  sallies,  he  waited  for  the  succours  he  expected  from  the 
Low-Countries,  the  arrival  of  which  was  often  foretold  and  piomised  by 
their  prophets.  But  though  less  daring  in  action  than  Matthias,  he  was  a 
wilder  enthusiast,  and  of  more  unbounded  ambition.  Soon  after  the  death 
of  his  predecessor,  having,  by  obscure  visions  and  prophecies,  prepared 
the  multitude  for  some  extraordinary  event,  he  stripped  himself  naked,  and, 
marching  through  the  streets,  proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice,  "  That  the 
kingdom  of  Sion  was  at  hand  ;  that  whatever  was  highest  on  earth  should 
be  brought  low,  and  whatever  was  lowest  should  be  exalted."  In  order  to 
fulfil  this,  he  commanded  the  churches,  as  the  most  lofty  building^  in  the 


848  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  V. 

city,  to  be  levelled  with  the  ground  ;  he  degraded  the  senators  chosen  by 
Matthias,  and  depriving  Cnipperdoling  of  the  consulship,  the  highest  office 
in  the  commonwealth,  appointed  him  to  execute  the  lowest  and  most 
infamous,  that  of  common  hangman,  to  which  strange  transition  the  other 
agreed,  not  only  without  murmuring,  but  with  the  utmost  joy  ;  and  such 
was  the  despotic  rigour  of  Boccold'' s  administration,  that  he  was  called 
almost  every  day  to  perform  some  duty  or  other  ot  his  wretched  function. 
In  place  of  the  deposed  senators,  he  named  twelve  judges,  according  to 
the  number  of  tribes  in  Israel,  to  preside  in  all  affairs  ;  retaining  to  himselt 
the  same  authority  which  Moses  anciently  possessed  as  legislator  oi  that 
people. 

Not  satisfied,  however,  with  power  or  titles,  which  were  not  supreme, 
a  prophet  whom  he  had  gained  and  tutored,  having  called  the  multitude 
together,  declared  it  to  be  the  will  of  God,  that  John  Boccold  should  be 
king  of  Sion,  and  sit  on  the  throne  of  David.  John  kneeling  down, 
accepted  of  the  heavenly  call  [June  24],  which  he  solemnly  protested  had 
been  revealed  likewise  to  himself,  and  was  immediately  acknowledged  as 
monarch  by  the  deluded  multitude.  From  that  moment  he  assumed  all 
the  state  and  pomp  of  royalty.  He  wore  a  crown  of  gold,  and  was  clad 
in  the  richest  and  most  sumptuous  garments.  A  bible  was  carried  on  his 
one  hand,  a  naked  sword  on  the  other.  A  great  body  of  guards  accom- 
panied him  when  he  appeared  in  public.  He  coined  money  stamped 
with  his  own  image,  and  appointed  the  great  officers  of  his  household  and 
kingdom,  among  whom  Cnipperdoling  was  nominated  governor  of  the  city. 
as  a  reward  for  his  former  submission. 

Having  now  attained  the  height  of  power,  Boccold  began  to  discover 
passions,  which  he  had  hitherto  restrained,  or  indulged  only  in  secret. 
As  the  excesses  of  enthusiasm  have  been  observed  in  every  age  to  lead 
to  sensual  gratifications,  the  same  constitution  that  is  susceptible  of  the 
former,  being  remarkably  prone  to  the  latter,  he  instructed  the  prophets 
and  teachers  to  harangue  the  people  for  several  days  concerning  the  law- 
fulness, and  even  the  necessityvof  taking  more  wives  than  one,  which  they 
asserted  to  be  one  of  the  privileges  granted  by  God  to  the  saints.  When 
their  ears  were  once  accustomed  to  this  licentious  doctrine,  and  their  pas- 
sions inflamed  with  the  prospect  of  such  unbounded  indulgence,  he  himself 
set  them  an  example  oi  using  what  he  called  their  Christian  liberty,  by 
marrying  at  once  three  wives,  among  which  the  widow  of  Matthias,  a 
woman  of  singular  beauty,  was  one.  As  he  was  allured  by  beauty,  or 
the  love  of  variety,  he  gradually  added  to  the  number  of  his  wives,  until 
they  amounted  to  fourteen,  though  the  widow  of  Matthias  was  the  only 
one  dignified  with  the  title  of  Queen,  or  who  shared  with  him  the  splen- 
dour and  ornaments  of  royalty.  After  the  example  of  their  prophet,  the 
multitude  gave  themselves  up  to  the  most  licentious  and  uncontrolled 
gratification  of  their  desires.  No  man  remained  satisfied  with  a  single 
wife.  Not  to  use  their  Christian  liberty  was  deemed  a  crime.  Persons 
were  appointed  to  search  the  bouses  for  young  women  grown  up  to 
maturity,  whom  they  instantly  compelled  to  marry.  Together  \\  ith 
polygamy,  freedom  of  divorce,  its  inseparable  attendant,  was  introduced, 
and  became  a  new  source  of  corruption.  Every  excess  was  committed, 
of  which  the  passions  of  men  are  capable,  when  restrained  neither  by  the 
authority  of  laws  nor  the  sense  of  decency  ;*  and  by  a  monstrous  and 

*  Prophetic  et  concionatorum  autoritale  juxta  et  exemplo,  tola  urbe  ad  rapiendas  pulclierrimas 
quaique  fceminas  discursum  est.  Nee  intra  paucos  dies,  in  tanta  horninum  turba  fere  ulla  report  a 
est  supra  annum  decimum  qiiarlum  qua-  stupnun  passa  non  fuerit.  Lamb  Hortens.  p.  303.  Vulgo 
viris  quinas  esse  uxores,  pluribus  senas,  nonuullis  septenas  et  octonas.  Puellas  supra  diiodecimum 
statis  annum  statim  amare.  Id.  305.  Nemo  una  contentus  l'uil,  neque  cuiquam  extra  effoetas  el 
viris  inunaturas  continent!  esse  lien  it.  Id.  307.  Tarebo  hie,  ut  sil  suus  honor  auribus,  quanta 
barbarie  et  malitia  usi  sunt  in  puellis  vitiandis  nondum  nplis  uiatrimonio,  id  quod  mihi  neque  ex 
\auo,  neque  ex  vulgi  sennonibus  haustum  est.  sed  ex  ea  vetula,  cui  cnra  sic  viliatarum  demandali 
fu't.  auditum.    Joh.  Corvinus,  3l6 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  249 

almost  incredible  conjunction,  voluptuousness  was  engrafted  on  religion, 
and  dissolute  riot  accompanied  the  austerities  of  fanatical  devotion. 

Meanwhile  the  German  princes  were  highly  offended  at  the  insult  offered 
to  their  dignity  by  Boccold's  presumptuous  usurpation  of  royal  honours  ; 
and  the  profligate  manners  of  his  followers,  which  were  a  reproach  to  the 
Christian  name,  filled  men  of  all  professions  with  horror.     Luther,  who 
had  testified  against  this  fanatical  spirit  on  its  first  appearance,  now  deeply 
lamented  its  progress,  and  having  exposed  the  delusion  with  great  strength 
of  argument,  as  well  as  acrimony  of  style,  called  loudly  on  all  the  states 
of  Germany  to  put  a  stop  to  a  frenzy  no  less  pernicious  to  society,  than 
fatal  to  religion.     The  emperor,  occupied  with  other  cares  and  projects, 
had  not  leisure  to  attend  to  such  a  distant  object ;  but  the  princes  of  the 
empire  assembled  by  the  king  of  the  Romans,  voted  a  supply  of  men  and 
money  to  the  bishop  of  Munster,  who  being  unable  to  keep  a  sufficient 
armv  on  foot,  had  converted  the  siege  of  the  town  into  a  blockade  [1535]. 
The  forces  raised  in  consequence  of  this  resolution,  were  put  under  the 
command  of  an  officer  of  experience,  who  approaching  the  town  towards 
the  end  of  spring,  in  the  year  1535,  pressed  it  more  closely  than  formerly  ; 
but  found  the  fortifications  so  strong,  and  so  diligently  guarded,  that  he 
durst  not  attempt  an  assault.     It  was  now  about  fifteen  months  since  the 
Anabaptists  had  established  their  dominion  in  Munster;  they  had  during 
that  time  undergone  prodigious  fatigue  in  working  on  the  fortifications,  and 
performing  military  duty.      Notwithstanding    the    prudent    attention  ot 
their  king  to  provide  for  their  subsistence,  and  his  frugal  as  well  as  regular 
economy   in   their  public  meals,  they  began    to    feel    the    approach  ot 
famine  [May].     Several  small  bodies  of  their  brethren,  who  were  advan- 
cing to  their  assistance  from  the  Low-Countries,  had  been  intercepted  and 
cut  to  pieces  ;  and  while  all  Germany  was  ready  to  combine  against  them, 
they  had  no  prospect  of  succour.     But  such  was  the  ascendant  which 
Roccold  had  acquired  over  the  multitude,  and  so  powerful  the  fascination 
of  enthusiasm,  that  their  hopes  were  as  sanguine  as  ever,  and  they  heark- 
ened with  implicit  credulity  to  the  visions  and  predictions  of  their  pro- 
phets, who  assured  them  that  the  Almighty  would  speedily  interpose  in 
order  to  deliver  the  city.     The  faith,  however,  of  some  few,  shaken  by 
the  violence  and  length  of  their  sufferings,  began  to  fail ;  but  being  sus- 
pected of  an  inclination  to  surrender  to  the  enemy,  they  were  punished 
with  immediate  death,  as  guilty  of  impiety  in  distrusting  the  power  of 
God.     One  of  the  king's  wives,  having  uttered  certain  words  which  implied 
some  doubt  concerning  his  divine  mission,  he  instantly  called  the  whole 
number  together,  and  commanding  the  blasphemer,  as  he  called  her,  to 
kneel  down,  cut  off  her  head  with  his  own  hands  ;  and  so  far  were  the 
rest  from  expressing  any  horror  at  this  cruel  deed,  that  they  joined  him  in 
dancing  with  a  frantic  joy  around  the  bleeding  body  of  their  companion. 
By  this  time  [June  1],  the  besieged  endured  the  utmost  rigour  of  famine  ; 
but  they  chose  rather  to  suffer  hardships,  the  recital  of  which  is  shocking 
to  humanity,  than  to  listen  to  the  terms  of  capitulation  offered  them  by  the 
bishop.     At  last,  a  deserter,  whom  they  had  taken  into  their  service,  being 
either  less  intoxicated  with  the  fumes  of  enthusiasm,  or  unable  any  longer 
to  bear  such  distress,  made  his  escape  to  the  enemy.     He   informed  their 
general  of  a  weak  part  in  the  fortifications  which  he  had  observed,  and 
assuring  him  that  the  besieged,  exhausted  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  kept 
watch  there  with  little  care  ;  he  offered  to  lead  a  party  thither  in  the  night. 
The  proposal  was  accepted,  and  a  chosen  body  of  troops  appointed  for 
the  service  ;  who,  scaling  the  walls  unperceived,  seized  one  of  the  gates, 
and  admitted  the  rest  of  the  army.     The  Anabaptists,  though  surprised, 
defended  themselves  in  the  market-place  with  valour,  heightened  by  des- 
pair;  but  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  surrounded  on  every  hand, 
most  of  them  were  slain,  and  the  remainder  taken  prisoners  ("June  24]. 
Vol.  II.— 32 


250  T  i f  E   a E  I  G  N  OF  T  H  E  [Book  V . 

Among  the  last  were  the  king  and  Cnipperdoling.  The  king,  loaded  with 
chains,  was  carried  from  city  to  city  as  a  spectacle  to  gratify  the  curiosity 
of  the  people,  and  was  exposed  to  all  their  insults.  His  spirit,  however, 
was  not  hroken  or  humbled  by  this  sad  reverse  of  his  condition  ;  and  he 
adhered  with  unshaken  firmness  to  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  his  sect. 
After  this,  he  was  brought  back  to  Munster,  the  scene  of  his  royalty  and 
crimes,  and  put  to  death  with  the  most  exquisite  as  well  as  lingering  tor- 
tures, all  which  he  bore  with  astonishing  fortitude.  This  extraordinary 
man,  who  had  been  able  to  acquire  such  amazing  dominion  over  the  minds 
of  his  followers,  and  to  excite  commotioas  so  dangerous  to  society,  was 
only  twenty-six  years  of  age.* 

Together  with  its  monarch,  the  kingdom  of  the  Anabaptists  came  to  an 
end.  Their  principles  having  taken  deep  root  in  the  Low-Countries,  the 
party  still  subsists  there,  under  the  name  of  Mennonites  ;  but  by  a  very 
singular  revolution,  this  sect,  so  mutinous  and  sanguinary  at  its  first  origin, 
hath  become  altogether  innocent  and  pacific.  Holding  it  unlawful  to  wage 
war,  or  to  accept  of  civil  offices,  they  devote  themselves  entirely  to  the 
duties  of  private  citizens,  and  by  their  industry  and  charity  endeavour  to 
make  reparation  to  human  society  for  the  violence  committed  by  their 
founders.!  -A  small  number  of  this  sect,  which  is  settled  in  England, 
retains  its  peculiar  tenet  concerning  baptism,  but  without  any  dangerous 
mixture  of  enthusiasm. 

The  mutiny  of  the  Anabaptists,  though  it  drew  general  attention,  did 
not  so  entirely  engross  the  princes  of  Germany,  as  not  to  allow  leisure  for 
other  transactions.  The  alliance  between  the  French  king  and  the  con- 
federates at  Smalkalde,  began  about  this  time  to  produce  great  effects. 
Ulric,  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  having  been  expelled  his  dominions  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  nineteen,  on  account  of  his  violent  and 
oppressive  administration,  the  house  of  Austria  had  got  possession  of  his 
dutchy.  That  prince  having  now  by  a  long  exile  atoned  for  the  errors  in 
his  conduct,  which  were  the  effect  rather  of  inexperience  than  of  a  tyran- 
nical disposition,  was  become  the  object  of  general  compassion.  The 
landgrave  of  Hesse,  in  particular,  his  near  relation,  warmly  espoused  his 
interest,  and  used  many  efforts  to  recover  for  him  his  ancient  inheritance. 
But  the  king  of  the  Romans  obstinately  refused  to  relinquish  a  valuable 
acquisition  which  his  family  had  made  with  so  much  ease.     The  land- 

frave,  unable  to  compel  him,  applied  to  the  king  of  France,  his  new  ally, 
'rancis,  eager  to  embrace  any  opportunity  of  distressing  the  house  of 
Austria,  and  desirous  of  wresting  from  it  a  territoiy  which  gave  it  footing 
and  influence  in  a  part  of  Germany  at  a  distance  from  its  other  dominions, 
encouraged  the  landgrave  to  take  arms,  and  secretly  supplied  him  with  a 
large  sum -of  money.  This  he  employed  to  raise  troops  5  and  marching 
with  great  expedition  towards  Wurtemberg,  attacked,  deteated,  and  dis- 
persed a  considerable  body  of  Austrians,  intrusted  with  the  defence  of 
the  country.  All  the  duke's  subjects  hastened,  with  emulation,  to  receive 
their  native  prince,  and  reinvested  him  with  that  authority  which  is  still 
enjoyed  by  his  descendants.  At  the  same  time  the  exercise  of  the  pro- 
testant  religion  was  established  in  his  dominions.^ 

Ferdinand,  how  sensible  soever  of  this  unexpected  blow,  not  daring  to 
attack  a  prince  whom  all  the  protestant  powers  in  Germany  were  ready 
to  support,  judged  it  expedient  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  him,  by  which, 
in  the  most  ample  form,  he  recognised  his  title  to  the  dutchy.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  landgrave's  operations,  in  behalf  of  the  duke  of  Wurtemberg, 

*  Slcid.  100,  &c.  Tumultuum  Anabaptistarum  liber  nnus.  Ant,  I,amberto  Hortensio  auctore  ap. 
Scardium,  vol.  ii.  p.  298,  fee.  De  Miserabili  Monasteriensium  Obsidione,  fee.  fee.  libeling  Antoni; 
Corvini  ap.  Scar.  313.  Annates  Anabaptistici  a  Joli.  Henrico  Ottio,  4to.  Basitcie,  1072.  Cor. 
Heersbachius  Hist   Anab.  edit.  1R37.  p.  140.  +  Bavle  Diction,  art.  .tvahaptistr?.  t  Pleid. 

179     Fellav.  159.  fee. 


: :  M  P E  K O R  CHA  R L E S   V.  251 

ha\  ing  convinced  Ferdinand  that  a  rupture  with  a  league,  so  formidable  as 
that  of  Smalkalde,  was  to  be  avoided  with  the  utmost  care,  he  entered 
likewise  into  a  negotiation  with  the  elector  of  Saxony,  the  head  of  that 
union,  and  by  some  concessions  in  favour  of  the  protestant  religion  and 
others  of  advantage  to  the  elector  himself,  he  prevailed  on  him,  together 
with  his  confederates,  to  acknowledge  his  title  as  king  of  the  Romans. 
At  the  same  time,  in  order  to  prevent  any  such  precipitate  or  irregular 
election  in  times  to  come,  it  was  agreed  that  no  person  should  hereafter 
he  promoted  to  that  dignity  without  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  elec- 
tors ;  and  the  emperor  soon  after  confirmed  this  stipulation.* 

These  acts  of  indulgence  towards  the  protestants,  and  the  close  union 
into  which  the  king  of  the  Romans  seemed  to  be  entering  with  the  princes 
of  that  party,  gave  great  offence  at  Rome.  F'aul  111.,  though  he  had  de- 
parted from  a  resolution  of  his  predecessor,  never  to  consent  to  the  calling 
of  a  general  council,  and  had  promised,  in  the  first  consistory  held  after 
his  election,  that  he  would  convoke  that  assembly  so  much  desired  by  all 
Christendom,  was  no  less  enraged  than  Clement  at  the  innovations  in  Ger- 
many, and  no  less  averse  to  any  scheme  for  reforming  either  the  doctrines 
of  the  church,  or  the  abuses  in  the  court  of  Rome;  but  having  been  a 
witness  of  the  universal  censure  which  Clement  had  incurred  by  his  obsti- 
nacy with  regard  to  these  points,  he  hoped  to  avoid  the  same  reproach  by 
the  seeming  alacrity  with  which  he  proposed  a  council  ;  flattering  him- 
self, however,  that  such  difficulties  would  arise  concerning  the  time  and 
place  of  meeting,  the  persons  who  had  a  right  to  be  present,  and  the  order 
of  their  proceedings,  as  would  effectually  defeat  the  intention  of  those 
who  demanded  that  assembly,  without  exposing  himself  to  any  imputa- 
tion for  refusing  to  call  it.  VVith  this  view  he  despatched  nuncios  to  the 
several  courts,  in  order  to  make  known  his  intention,  and  that  he  had  fixed 
on  Mantua  as  a  proper  place  in  which  to  hold  the  council.  Such  difficul- 
ties as  the  pope  had  foreseen,  immediately  presented  themselves  in  a  great 
number.  The  French  king  did  not  approve  of  the  place  which  Paul  had 
chosen,  as  the  papal  and  imperial  influence  would  necessarily  be  too  great 
in  a  town  situated  in  that  part  of  Italy.  The  king  of  England  not  only 
concurred  with  Francis  in  urging  that  objection,  but  refused,  besides,  to 
acknowledge  any  council  called  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
pope.  The  German  protestants  having  met  together  at  Smalkalde  [Dec. 
12],  insisted  on  their  original  demand  of  a  council  to  be  held  in  Germany, 
and  pleading  the  emperor's  promise,  as  well  as  the  agreement  at  Ratisbou 
to  that  effect,  declared  that  they  would  not  consider  an  assembly  held  at 
Mantua  as  a  legal  or  free  representative  of  the  church.  By  this  diversity 
of  sentiments  and  views,  such  a  field  for  intrigue  and  negotiation  opened, 
as  made  it  easy  for  the  pope  to  assume  the  merit  of  being  eager  to  assem- 
ble a  council,  while  at  the  same  time  he  could  put  off  its  meeting  at  plea- 
sure. The  protestants  on  the  other  hand,  suspecting  his  designs,  and  sen- 
sible of  the  importance  which  they  derived  from  their  union,  renewed  for 
ten  years  the  league  of  Smalkalde,  which  now  became  stronger  and  more 
formidable  by  the  accession  of  several  new  members.! 

During  these  transactions  in  Germany,  the  emperor  undertook  his  famous 
enterprise  against  the  piratical  states  in  Africa.  That  part  of  the  African 
continent  lying  along  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  sea,  which  anciently 

*  Pleid.  173.    Corps  Diplom.  torn.  iv.  p.  2.  119. 

f  This  league  was  rum  -hided  December,  cmc  thousand  five  hundred  and  iliirty -live,  but  not  ex- 
tended or  signed  in  form  lin  September  in  the  following  year  The  princes  who  acceded  to  it  were, 
John  elector  of  Saxony.  Ernest  duke  of  Brunswick,  Philip  landgrave  of  H<  BSe,  i  hie  duke  or  VVur- 
tembeig,  Barnim  and  Philip  dukes  of  Pomerania,  John,  George,  and  Joachim,  princes  of  Anhalt, 
Gebbard  and  Albret,  counts  of  Mansfield,  William  count  or  .Nassau.  The  cities  ^trasburg,  Nurem- 
berg, Constance,  I'lm.  Magdeburg,  Bremen,  Reutlingen,  Haflbron,  Memmengen,  Liudaw,Campeu, 
Inua,  Bibrac,  Windshelm,  Augsburg,  Francfort,  Baling,  Brunswick,  Goslar,  Hanover.  Gottingen, 
K.imherk,  Hamburg.  Mind^n. 


252  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  V. 

formed  the  kingdoms  of  Mauritania  and  Massylia,  together  with  the  republic 
of  Carthage,  and  which  is  now  known  by  the  general  name  of  Barbary, 
had  undergone  many  revolutions.  Subdued  by  the  Romans,  it  became  a 
province  of  their  empire.  When  it  was  conquered  afterwards  by  the  Van- 
dals, they  erected  a  kingdom  there.  That  being  overturned  by  Belisarius, 
the  country  became  subject  to  the  Greek  emperors,  and  continued  to  be  so 
until  it  was  overrun,  towards  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  by  the  rapid 
and  irresistible  arms  of  the  Arabians.  It  remained  for  some  time  a  part  of 
that  vast  empire  which  the  caliphs  governed  with  absolute  authority.  Its 
immense  distance,  however,  from  the  seat  of  government,  encouraged  the 
descendants  of  those  leaders  who  had  subdued  the  country,  or  the  chiefs  of 
the  Moors,  its  ancient  inhabitants,  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  and  to  assert  their 
independence.  The  caliphs,  who  derived  their  authority  from  a  spirit  of 
enthusiasm,  more  fitted  for  making  conquests  than  for  preserving  them, 
were  obliged  to  connive  at  acts  of  rebellion  which  they  could  not  prevent ; 
and  Barbary  was  divided  into  several  kingdoms,  of  which  Morocco,  Algiers, 
and  Tunis  were  the  most  considerable.  The  inhabitants  of  these  kingdoms 
were  a  mixed  race,  Arabs,  negroes  from  the  southern  provinces,  and  Moors, 
either  natives  of  Africa,  or  who  had  been  expelled  out  of  Spain  ;  all  zealous 
professors  of  the  Mahometan  religion,  and  inflamed  against  Christianity 
with  a  bigotted  hatred  proportional  to  their  ignorance  and  barbarous 
manners. 

Among  these  people,  no  less  daring,  inconstant,  and  treacherous,  than  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  same  country  described  by  the  Roman  historians, 
frequent  seditions  broke  out,  and  many  changes  in  government  took  place. 
These,  as  they  affected  only  the  internal  state  of  a  country  extremely  bar- 
barous, are  but  little  known,  and  deserve  to  be  so  ;  but  about  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  a  sudden  revolution  happened,  which,  by  render- 
ing the  states  of  Barbary  formidable  to  the  Europeans,  hath  made  their 
history  worthy  of  more  attention.  This  revolution  was  brought  about  by 
persons  born  in  a  rank  of  life  which  entitled  them  to  act  no  such  illus- 
trious part.  Home  and  Hayradin,  the  sons  of  a  potter  in  the  Isle  of  Les- 
bos, prompted  by  a  restless  and  enterprising  spirit,  forsook  their  father's 
trade,  ran  to  sea,  and  joined  a  crew  of  pirates.  They  soon  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  valour  and  activity,  and  becoming  masters  of  a  small 
brigantine,  carried  on  their  infamous  trade  with  such  conduct  and  success, 
that  they  assembled  a  fleet  of  twelve  galleys,  besides  many  vessels  of 
smaller  force.  Of  this  fleet,  Horuc,  the  elder  brother,  called  Barbarossa. 
from  the  red  colour  of  his  beard,  was  admiral,  and  Hayradin  second  in 
command,  but  with  almost  equal  authority.  They  called  themselves  the 
friends  of  the  sea,  and  the  enemies  of  all  who  sail  upon  it ;  and  their  names 
soon  became  terrible  from  the  Straits  of  the  Dardanelles  to  those  of  Gibral- 
tar. Together  with  their  fame  and  power,  their  ambitious  views  extended. 
and  while  acting  as  corsairs,  they  adopted  the  ideas,  and  acquired  the 
talents  of  conquerors.  They  often  carried  the  prizes  which  they  took  on 
the  coast  of  Spain  and  Italy  into  the  ports  of  Barbary,  and  enriching  the  in- 
habitants by  the  sale  of  their  booty,  and  the  thoughtless  prodigality  of  their 
crews,  were  welcome  guests  in  every  place  at  which  they  touched.  The 
convenient  situation  of  these  harbours,  lying  so  near  the  greatest  commer- 
cial states  at  that  time  in  Christendom,  made  the  brothers  wish  for  an 
establishment  in    that   country.      An  opportunity  of  accomplishing    tin-. 

Juickly  presented  itself,  which  they  did  not  suffer  to  pass  unimproved, 
lutemi,  king  of  Algiers,  having  attempted  several  times,  without  success, 
to  take  a  fort  which  the  Spanish  governors  of  Oran  had  built  not  far  from 
his  capital,  was  so  ill-advised  as  to  apply  for  aid  to  Barbarossa,  whose 
valour  the  Africans  considered  as  irresistible.  The  active  corsair  gladly 
accepted  of  the  invitation,  and  leaving  his  brother  Hayradin  with  the  fleet 
[1516],  marched  at  the  head  of  five  thousand  men  to  Alariers.  where  he 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    \r.  253 

was  received  as  their  deliverer-  Such  a  force  gave  him  the  command  of 
the  town ;  and  as  he  perceived  that  the  Moors  neither  suspected  him  of 
any  bad  intentions,  nor  were  capable  with  their  I ight-armecf  troops  of  op- 
posing his  disciplined  veterans,  he  secretly  murdered  the  monarch  whom  he 
had  come  to  assist,  and  proclaimed  himself  king  of  Algiers  in  his  stead.  The 
authority  which  he  had  thus  boldly  usurped,  he  endeavoured  to  establish 
by  arts  suited  to  the  genius  of  the  people  whom  he  had  to  govern ;  by 
liberality  without  bounds  to  those  who  favoured  his  promotion,  and  by 
cruelty  no  less  unbounded  towards  all  whom  he  had  any  reason  to  distrust. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  throne  which  he  had  acquired,  he  attacked  the  neigh- 
bouring king  of  Tremecen,  and  having  vanquished  him  in  battle,  added 
his  dominions  to  those  of  Algiers.  At  the  same  time  he  continued  to  infest 
the  coast  of  Spain  and  Italy  with  fleets  which  resembled  the  armaments  of 
a  great  monarch,  rather  than  the  light  squadrons  of  a  corsair.  Their  fre- 
quent and  cruel  devastations  obliged  Charles,  about  the  beginning  of  his 
reign  [1518],  to  furnish  the  marquis  de  Comares,  governor  of  Oran,  with 
troops  sufficient  to  attack  him.  That  officer,  assisted  by  the  dethroned 
king  of  Tremecen,  executed  the  commission  with  such  spirit,  that  Barba- 
rossa's  troops  being  beat  in  several  encounters,  he  himself  was  shut  up  in 
Tremecen.  After  defending  it  to  the  last  extremity,  he  was  overtaken  in 
attempting  to  make  his  escape,  and  slain  while  he  fought  with  an  obstinate 
valour,  worthy  his  former  fame  and  exploits. 

His  brother  Hayradin,  known  likewise  by  the  name  of  Barbarossa,  as- 
sumed the  sceptre  of  Algiers  with  the  same  ambition  and  abilities,  but 
with  better  fortune.  His  reign  being  undisturbed  by  the  arms  of  the 
Spaniards,  which  had  full  occupation  in  the  wars  among  the  European 
powers,  he  regulated  with  admirable  prudence  the  interior  police  of  his 
kingdom,  carried  on  his  naval  operations  with  great  vigour,  and  extended 
his  conquest  on  the  continent  of  Africa.  But  perceiving  that  the  Moors 
and  Arabs  submitted  to  his  government  with  the  utmost  reluctance,  and 
being  afraid  that  his  continual  depredations  would,  one  day,  draw  upon 
him  the  arms  of  the  Christians,  he  put  his  dominions  under  the  protection 
of  the  Grand  Seignior,  and  received  from  him  a  body  of  Turkish  soldiers 
sufficient  for  his  security  against  his  domestic  as  well  as  his  foreign  enemies. 
At  last,  the  fame  of  his  exploits  daily  increasing,  Solyman  offered  him  the 
command  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  as  the  only  person  whose  valour  and  skill 
in  naval  affairs  entitled  him  to  command  against  Andrew  Doria,  the  greatest 
sea-officer  of  that  age.  Proud  of  this  distinction,  Barbarossa  repaired  to 
Constantinople,  and  with  a  wonderful  versatility  of  mind,  mingling  the  arts 
of  a  courtier  with  the  boldness  of  a  corsair,  gained  the  entire  confidence 
both  of  the  sultan  and  his  vizier.  To  them  he  communicated  a  scheme 
which  he  had  formed  of  making  himself  master  of  Tunis,  the  most  flourish- 
ing kingdom,  at  that  time,  on  the  coast  of  Africa  ;  and  this  being  approved 
of  by  them,  he  obtained  whatever  he  demanded  for  carrying  it  into 
execution. 

His  hopes  of  success  in  this  undertaking  were  founded  on  the  intestine 
divisions  in  the  kingdom  of  Tunis.  Mahmed,  the  last  king  of  that  country, 
having  thirty-four  sons  by  different  wives,  appointed  Muley-Hacsen,  one  of 
the  youngest  among  them,  to  be  his  successor.  That  weak  prince,  who 
owed  this  preference,  not  to  his  own  merit,  but  to  the  ascendant  which  his 
mother  had  acquired  over  a  monarch  doating  with  age,  first  poisoned  Mah- 
med his  father  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  altering  his  destination  with 
respect  to  the  succession ;  and  then,  with  the  barbarous  policy  which  pre- 
vails wherever  polygamy  is  permitted,  and  the  right  ot  succession  is  not 
precisely  fixed,  he  put  to  death  all  his  brothers  whom  he  could  get  into  his 
power.  Ahaschid,  one  of  the  eldest,  was  so  fortunate  as  to  escape  his  rage ; 
and  finding  a  retreat  among  the  wandering  Arabs,  made  several  attempts, 
by  the  assistance  of  some  of  their  chiefs,  tr>  recover  the  throne,  which  of 


254  THE   REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  V. 

right  belonged  lo  him.  But  these  proving  unsuccessful,  and  the  Arabs, 
from  their  natural  levity,  being  ready  to  deliver  him  up  to  his  merciless 
brother,  he  fled  to  Algiers,  the  only  place  of  refuge  remaining,  and  implored 
the  protection  of  Barbarossa,  who,  discerning  at  once  all  the  advantages 
which  might  be  gained  by  supporting  his  title,  received  him  with  every 
possible  demonstration  of  friendship  and  respect.  Being  ready,  at  that 
lime,  to  set  sail  for  Constantinople,  he  easily  persuaded  Alraschid,  whose 
eagerness  to  obtain  a  crown  disposed  him  to  believe  or  undertake  any 
thing,  to  accompany  him  thither,  promising  him  effectual  assistance  from 
Solyman,  whom  he  represented  to  be  the  most  generous,  as  well  as  most 
powerful  monarch  in  the  world.  But  no  sooner  were  they  arrived  at  Con- 
stantinople, than  the  treacherous  corsair,  regardless  of  all  his  promises  to 
him,  opened  to  the  sultan  a  plan  for  conquering  Tunis,  and  annexing  it  to 
the  Turkish  empire,  by  making  use  of  the  name  of  this  exiled  prince,  and 
co-operating  with  the  party  in  the  kingdom  which  was  ready  to  declare  in 
his  favour.  Solyman  approved,  with  too  much  facility,  of  this  perfidious 
proposal,  extremely  suitable  to  the  character  of  its  author,  but  altogether 
unworthy  of  a  great  prince.  A  powerful  fleet  and  numerous  army  were 
soon  assembled ;  at  the  sight  of  which  the  credulous  Alraschid  flattered 
himself  that  he  should  soon  enter  his  capital  in  triumph. 

But  just  as  this  unhappy  prince  was  going  to  embark,  he  was  arrested 
by  order  of  the  sultan,  shut  up  in  the  seraglio,  and  was  never  heard  of 
more.  Barbarossa  sailed  with  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  vessels 
towards  Africa.  After  ravaging  the  coasts  of  Italy,  and  spreading  terror 
through  every  part  of  that  country,  he  appeared  before  Tunis  ;  and  landing 
his  men,  gave  out  that  he  came  to  assert  the  right  of  Alraschid,  whom  he 
pretended  to  have  left  sick  aboard  the  admiral  galley.  The  fort  of  Goletta, 
which  commands  the  bay,  soon  fell  into  his  hands,  partly  by  his  own 
address,  partly  by  the  treachery  of  its  commander ;  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Tunis,  weary  of  Muley-Hascen's  government,  took  arms,  and  declared  for 
Alraschid  with  such  zeal  and  unanimity  as  obliged  the  former  to  fly  so 
precipitately,  that  he  left  all  his  treasures  behind  him.  The  gates  were 
immediately  set  open  to  Barbarossa,  as  the  restorer  of  their  lawful  sove- 
reign. But  when  Alraschid  himself  did  not  appear,  and  when  instead  of 
his  name,  that  of  Solyman  alone  was  heard  among  the  acclamations  of  the 
Turkish  soldiers  marching  into  the  town,  the  people  of  Tunis  began  to 
suspect  the  corsair's  treachery.  Their  suspicions  being  soon  converted 
into  certainty,  they  ran  to  arms,  with  the  utmost  fury,  and  surrounded  the 
citadel,  into  which  Barbarossa  had  led  his  troops.  But  having  foreseen 
such  a  revolution,  he  was  not  unprepared  for  it ;  he  immediately  turned 
against  them  the  artillery  on  the  ramparts,  and  by  one  brisk  discharge,  dis- 
persed the  numerous  but  undirected  assailants,  and  forced  them  to  acknow- 
ledge Solyman  as  their  sovereign,  and  to  submit  to  himself  as  his  viceroy. 

His  first  care  was  to  put  the  kingdom,  of  which  he  had  thus  got  pos- 
session, in  a  proper  posture  of  defence.  He  strengthened  the  citadel 
which  commands  the  town  ;  and  fortifying  the  Goletta  in  a  regular  manner, 
at  vast  expense,  made  it  the  principal  station  for  his  fleet,  and  his  great 
arsenal  for  military  as  well  as' naval  stores.  Being  now  possessed  of  such 
extensive  territories,  he  carried  on  his  depredations  against  the  Christian 
states  to  a  greater  extent,  and  with  more  destructive  violence  than  ever. 
Daily  complaints  of  the  outrages  committed  by  his  cruisers  were  brought  to 
the  emperor  by  his  subjects,  both  in  Spain  and  Italy.  All  Christendom 
seemed  to  expect  from  him,  as  its  greatest  and  most  fortunate  prince,  that 
he  would  put  an  end  tp  this  new  and  odious  species  of  oppression.  At 
the  same  time  Muley-Hascen,  the  exiled  king  of  Tunis,  finding  none  of 
the  Mahometan  princes  in  Africa  willing  or  able  to  assist  him  in  recovering 
his  throne,  applied  to  Charles  (April  21,1535),  as  the  only  person  who 
''ould  a^ert  bi-^  rights   m  opposition  to  such  a  formidable  usurper.     Th< 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   \.  2S9 

tuiperor,  equally  desirous  of  delivering  bis  dominions  from  the  dangerous 
neighbourhood  of  Barbarossa  ;  of  appearing  as  the  protector  ot  an  unfor- 
tunate prince;  and  of  acquiring  the  glory  annexed  in  that  age  to  every 
expedition  against  the  Mahometans,  readily  concluded  a  treaty  with  Muley- 
Hascen,  and  began  to  prepare  for  invading  Tunis.  Having  made  trial 
of  his  own  abilities  for  war  in  the  late  campaign  in  Hungary,  he  was  now 
become  so  fond  of  the  military  character,  that  he  determined  to  command 
on  this  occasion  in  person.  The  united  strength  of  his  dominions  was 
called  out  upon  an  enterprise  in  which  the  emperor  was  about  to  hazard 
his  glory,  and  which  drew  the  attention  of  all  Europe.  A  Flemish  fleet 
carried  from  the  ports  of  the  Low-Country  a  body  of  German  infantry  ;* 
the  galleys  of  Naples  and  Sicily  took  on  board  the  veteran  bands  ot* 
Italians  and  Spaniards,  which  had  distinguished  themselves  by  so  many 
victories  over  the  French  ;  the  emperor  himself  embarked  at  Barcelona 
■with  the  flower  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  and  was  joined  by  a  considerable 
squadron  from  Portugal,  under  the  command  of  the  Infant  Don  Lewis,  the 
empress's  brother ;  Andrew  Doria  conducted  his  own  galleys,  the  best 
appointed  at  that  time  in  Europe,  and  commanded  by  the  most  skilful 
officers  ;  the  pope  furnished  all  the  assistance  in  his  power  towards  such  a 
pious  enterprise  ;  and  the  order  of  Malta,  the  perpetual  enemies  of  the 
Infidels,  equipped  a  squadron,  which,  though  small,  was  formidable  by  the 
valour  of  the  knights  who  served  on  board  it.  The  port  of  Cagliari  in 
Sardinia  was  the  general  place  of  rendezvous.  Doria  was  appointed  high- 
admiral  of  the  fleet ;  the  command  of  the  land  forces  under  the  emperor 
was  given  to  the  Marquis  de  Guasto. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  July,  the  fleet,  consisting  of  near  five  hundred  vessels, 
having  on  board  above  thirty  thousand  regular  troops,  set  sail  from  Cagliari, 
and  after  a  prosperous  navigation  landed  within  sight  of  Tunis.  Barbarossa 
having  received  early  intelligence  of  the  emperor's  immense  armament, 
and  suspecting  its  destination,  prepared  with  equal  prudence  and  vigour 
for  the  defence  of  his  new  conquest.  He  called  in  all  his  corsairs  from 
their  different  stations  ;  he  drew  from  Algiers  what  forces  could  be  spared  ; 
he  despatched  messengers  to  all  the  African  princes,  Moors  as  well  as 
Arabs,  and  by  representing  Muley-Hascen  as  an  infamous  apostate,  prompted 
by  ambition  and  revenge,  not  only  to  become  the  vassal  of  a  Christian 
prince,  but  to  conspire  with  him  to  extirpate  the  Mahomedan  faith,  he  in- 
flamed those  ignorant  and  bigoted  chiefs  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  took 
arms  as  in  a  common  cause.  Twenty  thousand  horse,  together  with  a  great 
body  of  foot,  soon  assembled  at  Tunis ;  and  by  a  proper  distribution  ot 
presents  among  them  from  time  to  time,  Barbarossa  kept  the  ardour  which 
had  brought  them  together  from  subsiding.  But  as  he  was  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  enemy  whom  he  had  to  oppose,  to  think  that  these  light 
troops  could  resist  the  heavy-armed  cavalry  and  veteran  infantry  which 
composed  the  Imperial  army,  his  chief  confidence  was  in  the  strength  oi 
the  Goletta,  and  in  his  body  of  Turkish  soldiers,  who  were  armed  and 
disciplined  after  the  European  fashion.  Six  thousand  of  these,  under  the 
command  of  Sinan,  a  renegado  Jew,  the  bravest  and  most  experienced  of 
all  his  corsairs,  he  threw  into  that  fort,  which  the  emperor  immediately  in- 
vested. As  Charles  had  the  command  of  the  sea,  his  camp  was  so  plen- 
tifully supplied  not  only  with  the  neeessaries,  but  with  all  the  luxuries  of 
life,  that  Muley-Hascen,  who  had  not  been  accustomed  to  see  war  carried 
on  with  such  order  and  magnificence,  was  filled  with  admiration  of  the 
emperor's  power.  His  troops,  animated  by  his  presence,  and  considering 
it  as  meritorious  to  shed  their  blood  in  such  a  pious  cause,  contended  with 
each  other  for  the  posts  of'  honour  and  danger.  Three  separate  attack* 
were  concerted,  and  the  Germans,  Spaniards,  and  Italians,  having  one  ol 

•  Herei  Annals  Brabant  i   SOS 


i*56  THE   REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  V. 

these  committed  to  each  of  them,  pushed  them  forwara  with  the  eager 
courage  which  national  emulation  inspires.  Sinan  displayed  resolution  and 
skill  becoming  the  confidence  which  his  master  had  put  in  him  ;  the  gar- 
rison performed  the  hard  service  on  which  they  were  ordered  with  great 
fortitude.  But  though  he  interrupted  the  besiegers  by  frequent  sallies, 
though  the  Moors  and  Arabs  alarmed  the  camp  with  their  continual  incur- 
sions ;  the  breaches  soon  became  so  considerable  towards  the  land,  while 
the  fleet  battered  those  parts  of  the  fortifications  which  it  could  approach, 
with  no  less  fury  and  success,  that  an  assault  being  given  on  all  sides  at 
once,  the  place  was  taken  by  storm  [July  25].  Sinan,  with  the  remains  of 
his  garrison,  retired  after  an  obstinate  resistance,  over  a  shallow  part  of  the 
bay  towards  the  city.  By  the  reduction  of  the  Goletta,  the  emperor  be- 
came master  of  Barbarossa's  fleet,  consisting  of  eighty-seven  galleys  and 
galliots,  together  with  his  arsenal,  and  three  hundred  cannon,  mostly  brass, 
which  were  planted  on  the  ramparts ;  a  prodigious  number  in  that  age, 
and  a  remarkable  proof  of  the  strength  of  the  fort,  as  well  as  of  the 
greatness  of  the  corsair's  power.  The  emperor  marched  into  the  Goletta, 
through  the  breach,  and  turning  to  Muley-Hascen  who  attended  him, 
"  Here,"  says  he,  "  is  a  gate  open  to  you,  by  which  you  shall  return  to 
take  possession  of  your  dominions." 

Barbarossa,  though  he  felt  the  full  weight  of  the  blow  which  he  had 
received,  did  not,  however,  lose  courage  or  abandon  the  defence  of  Tunis. 
But  as  the  walls  were  of  great  extent,  and  extremely  weak  ;  as  he  could 
not  depend  on  the  fidelity  of  the  inhabitants,  nor  hope  that  the  Moors  and 
Arabs  would  sustain  the  hardships  of  a  siege,  he  boldly  determined  to 
advance  with  his  army,  which  amounted  to  fifty  thousand  men,*  towards 
the  Imperial  camp,  and  to  decide  the  fate  of  his  kingdom  by  the  issue  of 
a  battle.  This  resolution  he  communicated  to  his  principal  officers,  and 
representing  to  them  the  fatal  consequences  which  might  follow,  if  ten 
thousand  Christian  slaves,  whom  he  had  shut  up  in  the  citadel,  should 
attempt  to  mutiny  during  the  absence  of  the  army,  he  proposed  as  a  neces- 
sary precaution  ior  the  public  security,  to  massacre  them  without  mercy 
before  he  began  his  march.  They  all  approved  warmly  of  his  intention 
to  fight ;  but  inured  as  they  were,  in  their  piratical  depredations,  to  scenes 
of  bloodshed  and  cruelty,  the  barbarity  of  his  proposal,  concerning  the 
slaves,  filled  them  with  horror ;  and  Barbarossa,  rather  from  the  dread  of 
irritating  them,  than  swayed  by  motives  of  humanity,  consented  to  spare 
the  lives  of  the  slaves. 

By  this  time  the  emperor  had  begun  to  advance  towards  Tunis;  and 
though  his  troops  suffered  inconceivable  hardships  in  their  march,  over 
burning  sands,  destitute  of  water,  and  exposed  to  the  intolerable  heat  of 
the  sun,  they  soon  came  up  with  the  enemy.  The  Moors  and  Arabs,  em- 
boldened by  their  vast  superiority  in  number,  immediately  rushed  on  to 
the  attack  with  loud  shouts,  but  their  undisciplined  courage  could  not  long 
stand  the  shock  of  regular  battalions ;  and  though  Barbarossa,  with  ad- 
mirable presence  of  mind,  and  by  exposing  his  own  person  to  the  greatest 
dangers,  endeavoured  to  rally  them,  the  rout  became  so  general,  that  he 
himself  was  hurried  along  with  them  in  their  flight  back  to  the  city. 
There  he  found  every  thing  in  the  utmost  confusion  ;  some  of  the  inha- 
bitants flying  with  their  families  and  effects ;  others  ready  to  set  open  their 
gates  to  the  conqueror ;  the  Turkish  soldiers  preparing  to  retreat ;  and  the 
citadel,  which  in  such  circumstances  might  have  afforded  him  some  refuge, 
already  in  the  possession  of  the  Christian  captives.  These  unhappy  men, 
rendered  desperate  by  their  situation,  had  laid  hold  on  the  opportunity 
which  Barbarossa  dreaded.  As  soon  as  his  army  was  at  some  distance 
from  the  town,  they  gained  two  of  their  keepers,  by  whose  assistance. 

•  Epistres  de  Prince.  ;>at  RupcpIU.  p.  3J6,  fcc. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  25/ 

knocking  off  their  letters,  and  bursting  open  tneir  prisons*  they  overpowered 
the  Turkish  garrison,  and  turned  the  artillery  of  the  fort  against  their  former 
masters.  Barbarossa,  disappointed  and  enraged,  exclaiming  sometimes 
against  the  false  compassion  of  his  officers,  arid  sometimes  condemning  his 
own  imprudent  compliance  with  their  opinion,  fled  precipitately  to  Bona. 

Meanwhile  Charles,  satisfied  with  the  easy  and  almost  bloodless  victory 
which  he  had  gained,  and  advancing  slowly  with  the  precaution  necessary 
in  an  enemy's  countiy,  did  not  yet  know  the  whole  extent  of  his  own  good 
fortune.  But  at  last,  a  messenger  despatched  by  the  slaves  acquainted  him 
with  the  success  of  their  noble  effort  for  the  recovery  of  their  liberty : 
and  at  the  same  time  deputies  arrived  from  the  town,  in  order  to  present 
him  the  keys  of  their  gates,  and  to  implore  his  protection  from  military 
violence.  While  he  was  deliberating  concerning  the  proper  measures  for 
this  purpose,  the  soldiers,  fearing  that  they  should  be  deprived  of  the 
booty  which  they  had  expected,  rushed  suddenly,  and  without  orders,  into 
the  town,  and  began  to  kill  and  plunder  without  distinction.  It  was  then 
too  late  to  restrain  their  cruelty,  their  avarice,  or  licentiousness.  All 
the  outrages  of  which  soldiers  are  capable  in  the  fury  of  a  storm,  all  the 
excesses  of  which  men  can  be  guilty  when  their  passions  are  heightened  by 
the  contempt  and  hatred  which  difference  in  manners  and  religion  inspire, 
were  committed.  Above  thirty  thousand  of  the  innocent  inhabitants 
perished  on  that  unhappy  day,  and  ten  thousand  were  carried  away  as 
slaves.  Muley-Hascen  took  possession  of  a  throne  surrounded  with  car- 
nage, abhorred  by  his  subjects  on  whom  he  had  brought  such  calamities, 
and  pitied  even  by  those  whose  rashness  had  been  the  occasion  of  them. 
The  emperor  lamented  the  fatal  accident  which  had  stained  the  lustre  of 
his  victory;  and  amidst  such  a  scene  of  horror  there  was  but  one  spectacle 
that  afforded  him  any  satisfaction.  Ten  thousand  Christian  slaves,  among 
whom  were  several  persons  of  distinction,  met  him  as  he  entered  the  town  ; 
and  falling  upon  their  knees,  thanked  and  blessed  him  as  their  deliverer. 

At  the  same  time  that  Charles  accomplished  his  promise  to  the  Moorish 
king,  of  re-establishing  him  in  his  dominions,  he  did  not  neglect  what  was 
necessary  for  bridling  the  power  of  the  African  corsairs,  for  the  security  of 
his  own  subjects,  and  for  the  interest  of  the  Spanish  crown.  In  order  to 
gain  these  ends,  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  Muley-Hascen  on  the  following 
conditions,-  that  he  should  hold  the  kingdom  of  Tunis  in  fee  of  the  crown 
of  Spain,  and  do  homage  to  the  emperor  as  his  liege  lord;  that  all  the 
Christian  slaves  now  within  his  dominions,  of  whatever  nation,  should  be- 
set at  liberty  without  ransom ;  that  no  subject  of  the  emperor's  should  For 
the  future  be  detained  in  servitude;  that  no  Turkish  corsair  should  be 
admitted  into  the  ports  of  his  dominions ;  that  free  trade,  together  with  the 
public  exercise  of  the  Christian  religion,  should  be  allowed  to  the  empe- 
ror's subjects;  that  the  emperor  should  not  only  retain  the  Goletta,  but  that 
all  the  other  sea  ports  in  the  kingdom  which  were  fortified  should  be  put 
into  his  hands ;  that  Muley-Hascen  should  pay  annually  twelve  thousand 
crowns  for  the  subsistence  of  the  Spanish  garrison  in  the  Goletta ;  that  he 
should  enter  into  no  alliance  with  any  of  the  emperor's  enemies,  and  should 
present  to  him  every  year,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  vassalage,  six 
Moorish  horses,  and  as  many  hawks.*  Having  thus  settled  the  affairs  of 
Africa ;  chastised  the  insolence  of  the  corsairs ;  secured  a  safe  retreat  for 
the  ships  of  his  subjects,  and  a  proper  station  to  his  own  fleets,  on  that 
coast  from  which  he  was  most  infested  by  piratical  depredations;  Charles 
embarked  a<?ain  for  Europe  [Aug.  17],  the  tempestuous  weather,  and  sick- 
ness among  his  troops,  not  permitting  him  to  pursue  Baibaiosfia/j 

*  Dn  Mont  Corps  Diplomat.  U.  138.  Stunmonte  H*hSt.  di  Napoli,  1?.  89.  1  Joh.  EiropiiDiarinni 
Expedition.  Tunetanre,  ap.'Scard.  v.  ii.  p.  330,  &.c.  JovHHistor.  lib.  xxxlv.  153,&c.  Sandov  ii. 
154,  &.c.  Vertot  Hist,  de  Cbeval  de  Malttae.  Bpistres  dea  Prince*,  par  (luseelli,  traduitoa  (>;ir 
Belleforest,  p.  119,-120,  Ice.    Anion,  fontii  Consentini  Hid  tarbnr.  ap.  Mattbsi  \nalects, 

Vot..  !' 


258  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  yf 

By  this  expedition,  the  merit  of  which  seems  to  have  been  estimated  in 
that  age,  rather  by  the  apparent  generosity  of  the  undertaking,  the  mag- 
nificence with  which  it  was  conducted,  and  the  success  which  crowned  it, 
than  by  the  importance  of  the  consequences  that  attended  it,  the  emperor 
attained  a  greater  height  of  glory,  than  at  any  other  period  of  his  reign. 
Twenty  thousand  slaves  whom  he  freed  from  bondage,  either  by  his  arms, 
or  by  his  treaty  with  Muley-Hascen,*  each  of  whom  he  clothed  and 
furnished  with  the  means  of  returning  to  their  respective  countries,  spread 
over  all  Europe  the  fame  of  their  benefactor's  munificence,  extolling  his 
power  and  abilities  with  the  exaggeration  flowing  from  gratitude  and 
admiration.  In  comparison  with  him,  the  other  monarchs  in  ^Europe  made 
an  inconsiderable  figure.  They  seemed  to  be  solicitous  about  nothing  but 
their  private  and  particular  interests;  while  Charles,  with  an  elevation  of 
sentiment  which  became  the  first  prince  in  Christendom,  appeared  to  be 
concerned  for  the  honour  of  the  Christian  name,  and  attentive  to  the  public 
security  and  welfare. 


BOOK  VI. 


Unfortunately  for  the  reputation  of  Francis  I.  among  his  contem- 
poraries, his  conduct  at  this  juncture  appeared  a  perfect  contrast  to  that  of 
his  rival,  as  he  laid  hold  on  the  opportunity  afforded  him,  by  the  emperor's 
having  turned  his  whole  force  against  the  common  enemy  of  Christendom, 
to  revive  his  pretensions  in  Italy,  and  to  plunge  Europe  into  a  new  war. 
The  treaty  of  Cambray,  as  has  been  observed,  did  not  remove  the  causes 
of  enmity  between  the  two  contending  princes ;  it  covered  up,  but  did  not 
extinguish  the  flames  of  discord.  Francis  in  particular,  who  waited  with 
impatience  for  a  proper  occasion  of  recovering  the  reputation  as  well  as 
the  territories  which  he  had  lost,  continued  to  carry  on  his  negotiations  in 
different  courts  against  the  emperor,  taking  the  utmost  pains  to  heighten 
the  jealousy  which  many  princes  entertained  of  his  power  or  designs,  and 
to  inspire  the  rest  with  the  same  suspicion  and  fear:  among  others,  he 
applied  to  Francis  Sforza,  who,  though  indebted  to  Charles  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  had  received  it  on  such  hard  conditions,  as 
rendered  him  not  only  a  vassal  of  the  empire,  but  a  tributary  dependant 
upon  the  emperor.  The  honour  of  having  married  the  emperor's  niece 
did  not  reconcile  him  to  this  ignominious  state  of  subjection,  which  became 
so  intolerable  even  to  Sforza,  though  a  weak  and  poor-spirited  prince,  that 
he  listened  with  eagerness  to  the  first  proposals  Francis  made  of  rescuing 
him  trom  the  yoke.  These  proposals  were  conveyed  to  him  by  Mara- 
viglia,  or  Merveille,  as  he  is  called  by  the  French  historians,  a  Milanese 
gentleman  residing  at  Paris ;  and  soon  after,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  nego-^ 
tiation  with  greater  advantage,  Merveille  was  sent  to  Milan,  on  pretence  of 
visiting  his  relations,  but  with  secret  credentials  from  Francis  as  his  envoy. 
In  this  character  he  was  received  by  Sforza.  But,  notwithstanding  his 
care  to  keep  that  circumstance  concealed,  Charles  suspecting,  or  having 
received  information  of  it,  remonstrated  and  threatened  in  such  a  high  tone, 
that  the  duke  and  his  ministers,  equally  intimidated,  gave  the  world 
immediately  a  most  infamous  proof  of  their  servile  fear  of  offending  the 
emperor.  As  Merveille  had  neither  the  prudence  nor  the  temper  which 
the  function  wherein  he  was  employed  required,  they  artfully  decoyed  him 

*  Summonte  :>;?f.  rli  -Sao.  vol.  it-  »  MB. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  269 

into  a  quarrel,  in  which  he  happened  to  kill  his  antagonist,  one  of  the 
duke's  domestics,  and  having  instantly  seized  him,  they  ordered  him  to  be 
tried  for  that  crime,  and  to  be  beheaded  [Dec.  1533].  Francis,  no  less 
astonished  at  this  violation  of  a  character  held  sacred  among  the  most 
uncivilized  nations,  than  enraged  at  the  insult  offered  to  the  dignity  of  his 
crown,  threatened  Sforza  with  the  effects  of  his  indignation,  and  complained 
to  the  emperor,  whom  he  considered  as  the  real  author  of  that  unexampled 
outrage.  But  receiving  no  satisfaction  from  either,  he  appealed  to  all  the 
princes  of  Europe,  and  thought  himself  now  entitled  to  take  vengeance  for 
an  injury,  which  it  would  have  been  indecent  and  pusillanimous  to  let  pass 
with  impunity. 

Being  thus  furnished  with  a  pretext  for  beginning  a  war,  on  which  he 
had  already  resolved,  he  multiplied  his  efforts  in  order  to  draw  in  other 
princes  to  take  part  in  the  quarrel.  But  all  his  measures  for  this  purpose 
were  disconcerted  by  unforeseen  events.  After  having  sacrificed  the  honour 
of  the  royal  family  of  France  by  the  marriage  of  his  son  with  Catherine  of 
Medici,  in  order  to  gain  Clement  the  death  of  that  pontiff  had  deprived 
him  of  all  the  advantages  which  he  expected  to  derive  from  his  friendship. 
Paul,  his  successor,  though  attached  by  inclination  to  the  Imperial  interest, 
seemed  determined  to  maintain  the  neutrality  suitable  to  his  character  as 
the  common  father  of  the  contending  princes.  The  king  of  England,  occu- 
pied with  domestic  cares  and  projects,  declined,  foronce,  engaging  in  the 
affairs  of  the  continent,  and  refused  to  assist  Francis,  unless  he  would  imitate 
his  example,  in  throwing  off  the  papal  supremacy.  These  disappoint- 
ments led  him  to  solicit,  with  greater  earnestness,  the  aid  of  the  protestant 
princes  associated  by  the  league  of  Smalkalde.  That  he  might  the  more 
easily  acquire  their  confidence,  he  endeavoured  to  accommodate  himself  to 
their  predominant  passion,  zeal  for  their  religious  tenets.  He  affected  a 
wonderful  moderation  with  regard  to  the  points  in  dispute ;  he  permitted 
Bellay,  his  envoy  in  Germany,  to  explain  his  sentiments  concerning  some 
of  the  most  important  articles,  in  terms  not  far  different  from  those  used  by 
the  protestants  :*  he  even  condescended  to  invite  Melancthon,  whose  gentle 
manners  and  pacific  spirit  distinguished  him  among  the  reformers,  to  visit 
Paris,  that  by  his  assistance  he  might  concert  the  most  proper  measures  for 
reconciling  the  contending  sects  which  so  unhappily  divided  the  church. t 
These  concessions  must  be  considered  rather  as  arts  of  policy,  than  the 
result  of  conviction ;  for  whatever  impression  the  new  opinions  in  religion 
had  made  on  his  sisters,  the  queen  of  Navarre  and  dutchessof  Ferrara,  the 
gayety  of  Francis's  own  temper,  and  his  love  of  pleasure,  allowed  him 
little  leisure  to  examine  theological  controversies. 

But  soon  after  he  lost  all  the  fruits  of  this  disingenuous  artifice,  by  a  step 
very  inconsistent  with  his  declarations  to  the  German  princes.  This  step, 
however,  the  prejudices  of  the  age,  and  the  religious  sentiments  of  his  own 
subjects,  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  take.  His  close  union  with  the 
king  of  England,  an  excommunicated  heretic;  his  frequent  negotiations 
with  the  German  protestants;  but  above  all,  his  giving  public  audi- 
ence to  an  envoy  from  sultan  Solyman,  had  excited  violent  suspicions 
concerning  the  sincerity  of  his  attachment  to  religion.  To  have  attacked 
the  emperor,  who,  on  all  occasions,  made  high  pretensions  to  zeal  in 
defence  of  the  catholic  faith,  and  at  the  very  juncture  when  he  was  pre- 
paring for  his  expedition  against  Barbarossa,  which  was  then  considered  as 
a  pious  enterprise,  could  not  have  failed  to  confirm  such  unfavourable  sen- 
timents with  regard  to  Francis,  and  called  on  him  to  vindicate  himself  by 
>ome  extraordinary  demonstration  of  his  reverence  for  the  established  doc- 
trines of  the  church.     The  indiscreet  zeal  of  some  of  his  subjects,  who  had 

'     F-'rcli^ri  Sen;  t.  K.r.   German,  iii.  T>i,  &.<■.     Sleid.  Hist.  ITS.  383.     SccXcnd.  liJ>.  iii.  103. 
1  Camerarii  Vita  Ph.  Mclancthoiiis,  1:2°.    Hag.  1U55.  p.  12. 


260  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  Vi. 

imbibed  the  protestant  opinions,  furnished  him  with  such  an  occasion  as  ho 
desired.  They  had  affixed  to  the  gates  of  the  Louvre,  and  other  public 
places,  papers  containing  indecent  reflections  on  the  doctrines  and  rites  of 
(he  popish  church.  Six  of  the  persons  concerned  in  this  rash  action  were 
discovered  and  seized.  The  king,  in  order  to  avert  the  judgments  which 
it  was  supposed  their  blasphemies  might  draw  down  upon  the  nation, 
appointed  a  solemn  procession.  The  holy  sacrament  was  carried  through 
the  city  in  great  pomp ;  Francis  walked  uncovered  before  it,  bearing  a 
torch  in  his  hand;  the  princes  of  the  blood  supported  the  canopy  over  it; 
the  nobles  marched  in  order  behind.  In  the  presence  of  this  numerous 
assembly,  the  king,  accustomed  to  express  himself  on  every  subject  in 
strong  and  animated  language,  declared,  that  if  one  of  his  hands  were 
infected  with  heresy,  he  would  cut  it  off  with  the  other,  and  would  not 
apare  even  his  own  children,  if  found  guilty  of  that  crime.  As  a  dreadful 
proof  of  his  being  in  earnest,  the  six  unhappy  persons  were  publicly  burnt 
before  the  procession  was  finished,  with  circumstances  of  the  most  shocking 
barbarity  attending  their  execution.* 

The  princes  of  the  league  of  Smalkalde,  filled  with  resentment  and 
indignation  at  the  cruelty  with  which  their  brethren  were  treated,  could 
not  conceive  Francis  to  be  sincere,  when  he  offered  to  protect  in  Germany 
those  very  tenets,  which  he  persecuted  with  such  rigour  in  his  own  domi- 
nions ;  so  that  all  Bellay's  art  and  eloquence  in  vindicating  his  master,  or 
apologising  for  his  conduct,  made  but  little  impression  upon  them.  They 
considered  likewise,  that  the  emperor,  who  hitherto  had  never  employed 
violence  against  the  doctrines  of  the  reformers,  nor  even  given  them  much 
molestation  in  their  progress,  was  now  bound  by  the  agreement  at  Ratis- 
bon,  not  to  disturb  such  as  had  embraced  the  new  opinions  ;  and  the  pro- 
testants  wisely  regarded  this  as  a  more  certain  and  immediate  security, 
than  the  precarious  and  distant  hopes  with  which  Francis  endeavoured  to 
allure  them.  Besides,  the  manner  in  which  he  had  behaved  to  his  allies 
at  the  peace  of  Cambray,  was  too  recent  to  be  forgotten,  and  did  not  en- 
courage others  to  rely  much  on  his  friendship  or  generosity.  Upon  all 
these  accounts,  the  protestant* princes  refused  to  assist  the  French  king  in 
any  hostile  attempt  against  the  emperor.  The  elector  of  Saxony,  the  most 
zealous  among  them,  in  order  to  avoid  giving  any  umbrage  to  Charles, 
would  not  permit  Melancthon  to  visit  the  court  of  France,  although  that, 
reformer,  flattered  perhaps  by  the  invitation  of  so  great  a  monarch,  or 
hoping  that  his  presence  there  might  be  of  signal  advantage  to  the  pro- 
testant cause,  discovered  a  strong  inclination  to  undertake  the  journey.! 

But  though  none  of  the  many  princes  who  envied  or  dreaded  the  power 
of  Charles,  would  second  Francis's  efforts  in  order  to  reduce  and  circum- 
scribe it,  he,  nevertheless,  commanded  his  army  to  advance  towards  the 
frontiers  of  Italy.  As  his  sole  pretext  for  taking  arms  was  that  he  might 
chastise  the  duke  of  Milan  for  his  insolent  and  cruel  breach  of  the  law  of 
nations,  it  might  have  been  expected  that  the  whole  weight  of  his  vengeance 
was  to  have  fallen  on  his  territories.  But  on  a  sudden,  and  at  their  very 
commencement,  the  operations  of  war  took  another  direction.  Charles 
duke  of  Savoy,  one  ol  the  least  active  and  able  princes  of  the  line  from 
which  he  descended,  had  married  Beatrix  of  Portugal,  the  sister  of  the 
empress.  By  her  great  talents,  she  soon  acquired  an  absolute  ascendant 
over  her  husband ;  and  proud  of  her  affinity  to  the  emperor,  or  allured  by 
the  magnificent  promises  with  which  he  flattered  her  ambition,  she  formed 
a  union  between  the  duke  and  the  Imperial  court,  extremely  inconsistent 
with  that  neutrality  which  wise  policy  as  well  as  the  situation  of  his  domi- 
nions had  hitherto  induced  him  to  observe  in  all  the  quarrels  between  the 

*  ItelcHrii  Comnmnt.  Rec  Gallic  *'-l<V    Sleid;  Hist  175,  &C  \  I'.'amcrarii  Vita  Me!an.  14t?,&<", 

415.    Scrkpmi    hti.  iii.  107 


EMPEROR  CHARGES   \.  261 

contending  monarch*.    Francis  was  abundantly  sensible  of  the  distress  to 
which  he  might  be  exposed,  if,  when  he  entered  Italy,  he  should  leave  be- 
hind him  the  territories  of  a   prince,  devoted   so   obsequiously  to  the 
emperor,  that  he  had  sent  his  eldest  son  to  be  educated  in  the  court  of 
Spain,  as  a  kind  of  hostage  for  his  fidelity.     Clement  the  Seventh,  who 
had  represented   this  danger  in  a  strong  light  during  his  interview  with 
Francis  at  Marseilles,  suggested  to  him,  at  the  same  time,  the  proper  method 
of  guarding  against  it,  having  advised  him  to  begin  his  operations  against 
the  Milanese,  by  taking  possession  of  Savoy  and  Piedmont,  as  the  only 
certain  way  of  securing  a  communication  with  his  own  dominions.    Francis, 
highly  irritated  at  the  duke  on  many  accounts,  particularly  for  having  sup- 
plied the  constable  Bourbon  with  the  money  that  enabled  him  to  levy  the 
body  of  troops  which  ruined  the  French  army  in  the  fatal  battle  of  Pavia, 
was  not  unwilling  to  let  him  now  feel  both  how  deeply  he  resented,  and 
how  severely  he  could  punish  these  injuries.     Nor  did  he  want  several 
pretexts  which  gave  some   colour  of  equity   to  the   violence  he  intended. 
The  territories  of  France  and  Savoy  lying  contiguous  to  each  other,  and 
intermingled  in  many  places,  various  disputes,  unavoidable  in  such  a  situa- 
tion, subsisted  between  the  two  sovereigns  concerning  the  limits  of  their 
respective  property ;  and  besides,  Francis,  in  right  of  his  mother,  Louise 
of  Savoy,  had  large  claims  upon  the  duke  her  brother,  for  her  share  in 
their  father's  succession.     Being  unwilling,  however,  to  begin  hostilities 
without  some  cause  of  quarrel  more  specious  than  these  pretensions,  many 
of  which  were  obsolete,  and  others  dubious,  he  demanded  permission  to 
march  through  Piedmont  in  his  way  to  the  Milanese,  hoping  that  the  duke, 
from  an  excess  of  attachment  to  the  'mperial  interest,  might  refuse   this 
request,  and  thus  give  a  greater  appearance  of  justice  to  all  his  operations 
against  him.     But,  if  we  may  believe  the  historians  of  Savoy,  who  appear 
to  be  better  informed  with  regard  to  this  particular  than  those  of  France, 
the  duke  readily,  and  with  a  good  grace,  granted  what  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  deny,  promising  free  passage  to  the  French  troops  as  was  desired  ; 
so  that  Francis,  as  the  only  method  now  left  of  justifying  the  measures 
which  he  determined  to  take,  was  obliged  to  insist  for  full  satisfaction  with 
regard  to  every  thing  that  either  the  crown  of  France  or  his  mother  Louise 
could  demand  of  the  house  of  Savoy.*     Such  an  evasive  answer,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  being  made  to  this  requisition,  the  French  army  under 
the  admiral  Brion  poured  at  once  into  the  duke's  territories  at  different 
places.     The  countries  of  Bresse  and  Bugey,  united  at  that  time  to  Savoy, 
were  overrun  in  a  moment.     Most  of  the  towns  in  the  dutchy  of  Savoy 
opened  their  gates  at  the  approach  of  the  enemy  ;  a  few  which  attempted 
to  make  resistance  were  easily  taken ;  and  before  the  end  of  the  campaign 
the  duke  saw  himself  stripped  of  all  his  dominions,  but  the  province  of 
Piedmont,  in  which  there  were  not  many  places  in  a  condition  to  be  de- 
fended. 

To  complete  the  duke's  misfortunes,  the  city  of  Geneva,  the  sovereignty 
of  which  he  claimed,  and  in  some  degree  possessed,  threw  off  his  yoke, 
and  its  revolt  drew  along  with  it  the  loss  of  the  adjacent  territories.  Ge- 
neva was,  at  that  time,  an  Imperial  city,  and  though  under  the  direct  domi- 
nion of  its  own  bishops,  and  the  remote  sovereignty  of  the  dukes  of  Savoy, 
the  form  of  its  internal  constitution  was  purely  republican,  being  governed 
by  syndics  and  a  council  chosen  by  the  citizens.  From  these  distinct  and 
often  clashing  jurisdictions,  two  opposite  parties  took  their  rise,  and  had 
long  subsisted  in  the  state  ;  the  one,  composed  of  the  advocates  for  the 
privileges  of  the  community,  assumed  the  name  of  Eignotz,  or  confederates 
in  defence  of  liberty  ;  and  branded  the  other,  which  supported  the  episco- 
pal or  ducal  prerogatives,  with  the  name  of  Mammelvkes,  or  slaves.    At 

*  Histoire  GonoDloiiqu.e  de  Savoye,  par  Guichen*.  <2  lorn  fn!.  T.yon,  1660.  i.  639,  &c. 


262  T H E  R E I G  N   O F   THE  [ Book  V 1 . 

length  [153'2j,  the  protestant  opinions  beginning  to  spread  among  the 
citizens,  inspired  such  as  embraced  them  with  that  bold  enterprising  spirit 
which  always  accompanied  or  was  naturally  produced  by  them  in  their 
first  operations.  As  both  the  duke  and  bishop  were  from  interest,  from 
prejudice,  and  from  political  considerations,  violent  enemies  of  the  refor- 
mation, all  the  new  converts  joined  with  warmth  the  party  of  the  Eignotz  ; 
and  zeal  for  religion,  mingling  with  the  love  of  liberty,  added  strength  to 
that  generous  passion.  The  rage  and  animosity  of  two  factions,  shut  up 
within  the  same  walls,  occasioned  frequent  insurrections,  which  termina- 
ting mostly  to  the  advantage  of  the  friends  of  liberty,  they  daily  became 
more  powerful. 

The  duke  and  bishop,  forgetting  their  ancient  contests  about  jurisdiction, 
had  united  against  their  common  enemies,  and  each  attacked  them  with 
his  proper  weapons.  The  bishop  excommunicated  the  people  of  Geneva 
as  guilty  of  a  double  crime  ;  of  impiety,  in  apostatising  from  the  established 
religion  ;  and  of  sacrilege,  in  invading  the  rights  ot  his  see.  The  duke 
attacked  them  as  rebels  against  their  lawful  prince,  and  attempted  to 
render  himself  master  of  the  city,  first  by  surprise,  and  then  by  open  force 
[1534].  The  citizens,  despising  the  thunder  of  the  bishop's  censures, 
boldly  asserted  their  independence  against  the  duke  ;  and  partly  by  their 
valour,  partly  by  the  powerful  assistance  which  they  received  from  the 
canton  of  Berne,  together  with  some  small  supplies  both  of  men  and  money, 
secretly  furnished  By  the  king  of  France,  they  defeated  all  his  attempts. 
Not  satisfied  with  having  repulsed  him,  or  with  remaining  always  upon 
the  defensive  themselves,  they  now  took  advantage  of  the  duke's  inability 
to  resist  them,  while  overwhelmed  by  the  armies  of  France,  and  seized 
several  castles  and  places  of  strength  which  he  possessed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Geneva :  thus  delivering  the  city  from  those  odious  monu- 
ments of  its  former  subjection,  and  rendering  the  public  liberty  more  secure 
for  the  future.  At  the  same  time  the  canton  of  Berne  invaded  and  con- 
quered the  Pays  de  Vaud,  to  which  it  had  some  pretensions.  The  canton 
of  Friburgh,  though  zealously  attached  to  the  catholic  religion,  and  having 
no  subject  of  contest  with  the  duke,  laid  hold  on  part  of  the  spoils  of  that 
unfortunate  prince.  A  great  portion  of  these  conquests  or  usurpations  being 
still  retained  by  the  two  cantons,  add  considerably  to  their  power,  and 
have  become  the  most  valuable  part  of  their  territories.  Geneva,  notwith- 
standing many  schemes  and  enterprises  of  the  dukes  of  Savoy  to  re-esta- 
blish their  dominion  over  it,  still  keeps  possession  of  its  independence  ; 
and  in  consequence  of  that  blessing,  has  attained  a  degree  of  consideration, 
wealth,  and  elegance,  which  it  could  not  otherwise  have  Teached.* 

Amidst  such  a  succession  of  disastrous  events,  the  duke  of  Savoy  had 
no  other  resource  but  the  emperor's  protection,  which,  upon  his  return 
from  Tunis,  he  demanded  with  the  most  earnest  importunity  ;  and  as  his 
misfortunes  were  occasioned  chiefly  by  his  attachment  to  the  Imperial 
interest,  he  had  a  just  title  to  immediate  assistance.  Charles,  however, 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  support  him  with  that  vigour  and  despatch  which 
the  exigency  of  his  affairs  called  for.  Most  of  the  troops  employed  in  the 
African  expedition,  having  been  raised  for  that  service  alone,  were  dis- 
banded as  soon  as  it  was  finished  ;  the  veteran  forces  under  Antonio  de 
Leyva  were  hardly  sufficient  for  the  defence  of  the  Milanese  ;  and  the 
emperor's  treasury  was  entirely  drained  by  his  extraordinary  efforts  against 
the  Infidels. 

But  the  death  of  Francis  Sforza  [Oct.  24],  occasioned,  according  to 
some  historians,  by  the  terror  of  a  French  invasion,  which  had  twice  been 
fatal  to  his  family,  afforded  the  emperor  full  leisure  to  prepare  for  action. 

*  Hist,  de  la  Ville  de  Geneve,  par  f»poti,  12°.  ITtr.  1085,  p.  <H>.  Hist  de  la  Reformation  de  Suisse, 
par  Rouchat.  Gen.  1JS8.  torn.  iv.  p.  294,  tec.  tour.  v.  p.  216,  &c.    Mem.  de  Bellay,  191. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  263 

By  this  unexpected  event,  the  nature  of  the  war,  and  the  causes  of  dis- 
cord, were  totally  changed.  Francis's  first  pretext  for  taking  arms,  in 
order  to  chastise  Sforza  for  the  insult  offered  to  the  dignity  of  his  crown, 
was  at  once  cut  off;  but  as  that  prince  died  without  issue,  all  Francis's 
rights  to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  which  he  had  yielded  only  to  Sforza  and 
his  posterity,  returned  back  to  him  in  full  force.  As  the  recovery  of  the 
Milanese  was  the  favourite  object  of  that  monarch,  he  instantly  renewed 
his  claim  to  it ;  and  if  he  had  supported  his  pretensions  by  ordering  the 
powerful  army  quartered  in  Savoy  to  advance  without  losing  a  moment 
towards  Milan,  he  could  hardly  have  failed  to  secure  the  important  point 
of  possession.  But  Francis,  who  became  less  enterprising  as  he  advanced 
in  years,  and  who  was  overawed  at  some  times  into  an  excess  of  caution 
by  the  remembrance  of  his  past  misfortunes,  endeavoured  to  establish  his 
rights  by  negotiation,  not  by  arms ;  and  from  a  timid  moderation,  fatal  in 
all  great  affairs,  neglected  to  improve  the  favourable  opportunity  which 
presented  itself.  Charles  was  more  decisive  in  his  operations,  and  in 
quality  of  sovereign,  took  possession  of  the  dutchy,  as  a  vacant  fief  of 
the  empire.  While  Francis  endeavoured  to  explain  and  assert  his  title  to 
it  by  arguments  and  memorials,  or  employed  various  arts  in  order  to  recon- 
cile the  Italian  powers  to  the  thoughts  of  his  regaining  footing  in  Italy,  his 
rival  was  silently  taking  effectual  steps  to  prevent  it.  The  emperor,  how- 
ever, was  very  careful  not  to  discover  too  early  any  intention  of  this  kind  ; 
but  seeming  to  admit  the  equity  of  Francis's  claim,  he  appeared  solicitous 
only  about  giving  him  possession  in  such  a  manner  as  might  not  disturb 
the  peace  of  Europe,  or  overturn  the  balance  of  power  in  Italy,  which 
the  politicians  of  that  country  were  so  desirous  of  preserving.  By  this 
artifice  he  deceived  Francis,  and  gained  so  much  confidence  with  the  rest 
of  Europe,  that  almost  without  incurring  any  suspicion,  he  involved  the 
affair  in  new  difficulties,  and  protracted  the  negotiations  at  pleasure. 
Sometimes  he  proposed  to  grant  the  investiture  of  Milan  to  the  duke  of 
Orleans,  Francis's  second  son,  sometimes  to  the  duke  of  Angouleme,  his 
third  son ;  as  the  views  and  inclinations  of  the  French  court  varied,  he 
transferred  his  choice  alternately  from  the  one  to  the  other,  with  such  pro- 
found and  well-conducted  dissimulation,  that  neither  Francis  nor  his  minis- 
ters seem  to  have  penetrated  his  real  intention  ;  and  all  military  operations 
were  entirely  suspended,  as  if  nothing  had  remained  but  to  enter  quietly 
into  possession  of  what  they  demanded. 

1536.]  During  the  interval  of  leisure  gained  in  this  manner,  Charles,  on 
his  return  from  Tunis,  assembled  the  states  both  of  Sicily  and  Naples,  and 
as  they  thought  themselves  greatly  honoured  by  the  presence  of  their  sove- 
reign, and  were  no  less  pleased  with  the  apparent  disinterestedness  of  his 
expedition  into  Africa,  than  dazzled  by  the  success  which  had  attended 
his  arms,  he  prevailed  on  them  to  vote  him  such  liberal  subsidies  as  were 
seldom  granted  in  that  age.  This  enabled  him  to  recruit  his  veteran 
troops,  to  levy  a  body  of  Germans,  and  to  take  every  other  proper  pre- 
caution for  executing  or  supporting  the  measures  on  which  he  had  deter- 
mined. Bellay,  the  French  envoy  in  Germany,  having  discovered  the 
intention  of  raising  troops  in  that  country,  notwithstanding  all  the  pretexts 
employed  in  order  to  conceal  it,  first  alarmed  his  master  with  this  evident 
proof  of  the  emperor's  insincerity.* 

But  Francis  was  so  possessed  at  that  time  with  the  rage  of  negotiation, 
in  all  the  artifices  and  refinements  of  which  his  rival  far  surpassed  him, 
that  instead  of  beginning  his  military  operations,  and  pushing  them  with 
vigour,  or  seizing  the  Milanese  before  the  Imperial  army  was  assembled, 
he  satisfied  himself  with  making  new  offers  to  the  emperor,  in  order  to 
procure  the  investiture  by  his  voluntary  deed.     His  offers  were,  indeed, 

•  Mem  de  Bellay,  10-2. 


264  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  VI. 

so  liberal  and  advantageous,  that  if  ever  Charles  had  intended  to  grant  hi-^ 
demand,  he  could  not  nave  rejected  them  with  decency.  He  dexterously 
eluded  them  by  declaring  that  until  he  consulted  the  pope  in  person,  he 
could  not  take  his  final  resolution  with  regard  to  a  point  which  so  nearly 
concerned  the  peace  of  Italy.  By  this  evasion  he  gained  some  farther 
time  for  ripening  the  schemes  which  he  had  in  view. 

The  emperor  at  last  advanced  towards  Rome,  and  made  bis  public 
entry  into  that  city  with  extraordinary  pomp  [April  6]  ;  but  it  being  found 
necessary  to  remove  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple  of  peace,  in  order  to 
Aviden  one  of  the  streets  through  which  the  cavalcade  had  to  pass,  all  the 
historians  take  notice  of  this  trivial  circumstance,  and  they  are  fond  to 
interpret  it  as  an  omen  of  the  bloody  war  that  followed.  Charles,  it  is 
certain,  had  by  this  time  banished  all  thoughts  of  peace  ;  and  at  last  threw 
off  the  mask,  with  which  he  had  so  long  covered  his  designs  from  the  court 
of  France,  by  a  declaration  of  his  sentiments  no  less  singular  than  explicit. 
The  French  ambassadors  having  in  their  master's  name  demanded  a  de- 
finitive reply  to  his  propositions  concerning  the  investiture  of  Milan, 
Charles  promised  to  give  it  next  day  in  presence  of  the  pope  and  cardi- 
nals assembled  in  full  consistory.  These  being  accordingly  met,  and  all 
the  foreign  ambassadors  invited  to  attend,  the  emperor  stood  up,  and  ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  pope,  expatiated  for  some  time  on  the  sincerity  ot 
his  own  wishes  for  the  peace  of  Christendom,  as  well  as  his  abhorrence  of 
war,  the  miseries  of  which  he  enumerated  at  great  length,  with  studied 
and  elaborate  oratory  ;  he  complained  that  all  nis  endeavours  to  preserve 
the  tranquillity  of  Europe  had  hitherto  been  defeated  by  the  restless  and 
unjust  ambition  of  the  French  king  ;  that  even  during  his  minority  he  had 
proofs  of  the  unfriendly  and  hostile  intentions  of  that  monarch  ;  that,  after- 
wards, he  had  openly  attempted  to  wrest  from  him  the  Imperial  crown 
which  belonged  to  him  by  a  title  no  less  just  than  natural ;  that  he  had 
next  invaded  his  kingdom  of  Navarre  ;  that  not  satisfied  with  this,  he  bad 
attacked  his  territories,  as  well  as  those  of  his  allies,  both  in  Italy  and  the 
Low-Countries ;  that  when  the  valour  of  the  Imperial  troops,  rendered 
irresistible  by  the  protection  of  "the  Almighty,  had  checked  his  progres-, 
ruined  his  armies,  and  seized  his  person,  he  continued  to  pursue  by  deceit 
what  he  had  undertaken  with  injustice  ;  that  he  had  violated  every  artich 
in  the  treaty  of  Madrid  to  which  he  owed  his  liberty,  and  as  soon  as  he 
returned  to  his  dominions  took  measures  for  rekindling  the  war  which  that 
pacification  had  happily  extinguished ;  that  when  new  misfortunes  com- 
pelled him  to  sue  again  for  peace  at  Cambray,  he  concluded  and  observed 
it  with  equal  insincerity  ;  that  soon  after  he  had  formed  dangerous  con- 
nections with  the  heretical  princes  in  Germany,  and  incited  them  to  dis- 
lurb  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire ;  that  now  he  had  driven  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  a  prince  married  to  a  sister  of  the  empress,  and  joined  in  close, 
alliance  with  Spain,  out  of  the  greater  part  of  his  territories ;  that  after 
injuries  so  often  repeated,  and  amidst  so  many  sources  of  discord,  all  hope 
ot  amity  or  concord  became  desperate,  and  though  he  himself  was  still 
willing  to  grant  the  investiture  ot  Milan  to  one  of  the  princes  of  France, 
there  was  little  probability  of  that  event  taking  place,  as  Francis,  on  the 
one  hand,  would  not  consent  to  what  was  necessary  for  securing  the  tram 
quillity  of  Europe,  nor,  on  the  other,  could  he  think  it  reasonable  or  safe 
to  give  a  rival  the  unconditional  possession  of  all  that  he  demanded.  "Let 
us  not,  however,"  added  he,  "  continue  wantonly  to  shed  the  blood  of  our 
innocent  subjects;  let  us  decide  the  quarrel  man  to  man,  with  what  arms 
he  pleases  to  choose,  in  our  shirts,  on  an  island,  a  bridge,  or  aboard  a  galley 
moored  in  a  river  ;  let  the  dutchy  of  Burgundy  be  put  in  deposite  on  his 
part,  and  that  of  Milan  on  mine  ;  these  shall  be  the  prize  of  the  conqueror  ; 
and  after  that,  let  the  united  forces  of  Germany,  Spain,  and  France  be  em- 
ployed to  humble  the  power  of  the  Turk,  and  to  extirpate  heresy  out  of 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  265 

Christendom.  But  if  he,  by  declining  this  method  of  terminating  our  dif- 
ferences, renders  war  inevitable,  nothing  shall  divert  me  from  prosecuting 
it  to  such  extremity,  as  shall  reduce  one  of  us  to  be  the  poorest  gentleman 
in  his  own  dominions.  Nor  do  I  fear  that  it  will  be  on  me  this  misfortune 
shall  fall ;  I  enter  upon  action  with  the  fairest  prospect  of  success ;  the 
justness  of  my  cause,  the  union  of  my  subjects,  the  number  and  valour  of 
my  troops,  the  experience  and  fidelity  of  my  generals,  all  combine  to  en- 
sure it.  Of  all  these  advantages,  the  king  of  France  is  destitute  ;  and 
were  my  resources  no  more  certain,  and  my  hopes  of  victory  no  better 
founded  than  his,  I  would  instantly  throw  myself  at  his  feet,  and  with 
folded  hands,  and  a  rope  about  my  neck,  implore  his  mercy."* 

This  long  harangue  the  emperor  delivered  with  an  elevated  voice,  a 
haughty  tone,  and  the  greatest  vehemence  of  expression  and  gesture.  The 
French  ambassadors,  who  did  not  fully  comprehend  his  meaning,  as  he 
spake  in  the  Spanish  tongue,  were  totally  disconcerted,  and  at  a  loss  how 
they  should  answer  such  an  unexpected  invective  ;  when  one  of  them 
began  to  vindicate  his  master's  conduct,  Charles  interposed  abruptly,  and 
would  not  permit  him  to  proceed.  The  pope,  without  entering  into  any 
particular  detail,  satisfied  himself  with  a  short  but  pathetic  recommenda- 
tion of  peace,  together  with  an  offer  of  employing  his  sincere  endeavours 
in  order  to  procure  that  blessing  to  Christendom  ;  and  the  assembly  broke 
up  in  the  greatest  astonishment  at  the  extraordinary  scene  which  had  been 
exhibited.  In  no  part  of  his  conduct,  indeed,  did  Charles  ever  deviate  so 
widely  from  his  general  character.  Instead  of  that  prudent  recollection, 
that  composed  and  regular  deportment  so  strictly  attentive  to  decorum, 
and  so  admirably  adapted  to  conceal  his  own  passions,  for  which  be  was 
at  all  other  times  conspicuous,  he  appears  on  this  occasion  before  one  of 
the  most  august  assemblies  in  Europe,  boasting  of  his  own  power  and 
exploits  with  insolence ;  inveighing  against  his  enemy  with  indecency ; 
and  challenging  him  to  combat  with  an  ostentatious  valour,  more  becoming 
a  champion  in  romance,  than  the  first  monarch  in  Christendom.  But  the 
well  known  and  powerful  operation  of  continued  prosperity,  as  well  as  of 
exaggerated  praise,  even  upon  the  firmest  minds,  sufficiently  account  for 
this  seeming  inconsistency.  After  having  compelled  Solyman  to  retreat, 
and  having  stripped  Barbarossa  of  a  kingdom,  Charles  began  to  consider 
his  arms  as  invincible.  He  had  been  entertained,  ever  since  his  return 
from  Africa,  with  repeated  scenes  of  triumphs  and  public  rejoicings ;  the 
orators  and  poets  of  Italy,  the  most  elegant  at  that  time  in  Europe,  had 
exhausted  their  genius  in  panegyric  on  his  conduct  and  merit,  to  which  the 
astrologers  added  magnificent  promises  of  a  more  splendid  fortune  still  in 
store.  Intoxicated  with  all  these,  he  forgot  his  usual  reserve  and  modera- 
tion, and  was  unable  to  restrain  this  extravagant  sally  of  vanity,  which 
became  the  more  remarkable,  by  being  both  so  uncommon  and  so  public. 

He  himself  seems  to  have-  been  immediately  sensible  of  the  impropriety 
of  his  behaviour ;  and  when  the  French  ambassadors  demanded  next  day 
a  more  clear  explanation  of  what  he  had  said  concerning  the  combat,  he 
told  them  that  they  were  not  to  consider  his  proposal  as  a  formal  challenge 
to  their  master,  but  as  an  expedient  for  preventing  bloodshed  ;  he  endea- 
voured to  soften  several  expressions  in  his  discourse  ;  and  spoke  in  terms 
full  of  respect  towards  Francis.  But  though  this  slight  apology  was  far 
from  being  sufficient  to  remove  the  offence  which  had  been  given,  Francis, 
by  an  unaccountable  infatuation,  continued  to  negotiate,  as  if  it  had  still 
been  possible  to  bring  their  differences  to  a  period  by  an  amicable  compo- 
sition.! Charles,  finding  him  so  eager  to  run  into  the  snare,  favoured  the 
deception,  and,  by  seeming  to  listen  to  his  proposals,  gained  farther  time 
to  prepare  for  the  execution  of  his  own  designs. 

*  Bejlay,  199.    Sandov.  Hi?tor.  Id  Enipcr.  ii.  9$,  f  Mem.  de  Bcllatr,  205.  &c, 

Vol.  IL—M 


266  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [BookVI. 

At  last,  the  Imperial  army  assembled  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Milanese, 
to  the  amount  of  forty  thousand  foot  and  ten  thousand  horse,  while  that  of 
France  encamped  near  Vercelli  in  Piedmont,  being  greatly  inferior  in 
number,  and  weakened  by  the  departure  of  a  body  of  Swiss,  whom  Charles 
artfully  persuaded  the  popish  cantons  to  recall,  that  they  might  not  serve 
against  the  duke  of  Savoy,  their  ancient  ally.  The  French  general  not 
daring  to  risk  a  battle,  retired  as  soon  as  the  Imperialists  advanced.  The 
emperor  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  forces  [May  6],  which  the  marquis 
del  Guasto,  the  duke  of  Alva,  and  Ferdinand  de  Gonzago  commanded 
under  him,  though  the  supreme  direction  of  the  whole  was  committed  to 
Antonio  de  Leyva,  whose  abilities  and  experience  justly  entitled  him  to 
that  distinction.  Charles  soon  discovered  his  intention  not  to  confine  his 
operations  to  the  recovery  of  Piedmont  and  Savoy,  but  to  push  forward 
and  invade  the  southern  provinces  of  France.  This  scheme  he  had  long 
meditated,  and  had  long  been  taking  measures  for  executing  it  with  such 
vigour  as  might  ensure  success.  He  had  remitted  large  sums  to  his  sister, 
the  governess  of  the  Low-Countries,  and  to  bis  brother,  the  king  of  the 
Romans,  instructing  them  to  levy  all  the  forces  in  their  power,  in  order  to 
form  two  separate  bodies,  the  one  to  enter  France  on  the  side  of  Picardy, 
the  other  on  the  side  of  Champagne  ;  while  he,  with  the  main  army,  fell 
upon  the  opposite  frontier  of  the  kingdom.  Trusting  to  these  vast  prepa- 
ration, he  thought  it  impossible  that  Francis  could  resist  so  many  unex- 
pected attacks  on  such  different  quarters ;  and  began  his  enterprise  with 
such  confidence  of  its  happy  issue,  that  he  desired  Jovius  the  historian,  to 
make  a  large  provision  of  paper  sufficient  to  record  the  victories  which  he 
was  going  to  obtain. 

His  ministers  and  generals,  instead  of  entertaining  the  same  sanguine 
hopes,  represented  to  him  in  the  strongest  terms  the  danger  of  leading  his 
troops  so  far  from  his  own  territories,  to  such  a  distance  from  his  maga- 
zines, and  into  provinces  which  did  not  yield  sufficient  subsistence  for 
their  own  inhabitants.  They  entreated  him  to  consider  the  inexhaustible 
resources  of  France  in  maintaining  a  defensive  war,  and  the  active  zeal 
with  which  a  gallant  nobility  wOuld  serve  a  prince  whom  they  loved,  in 
repelling  the  enemies  of  their  country ;  they  recalled  to  his  remembrance 
the  fatal  miscarriage  of  Bourbon  and  Pescara,  when  they  ventured  upon 
the  same  enterprise  under  circumstances  which  seemed  as  certainly  to  pro- 
mise success  ;  the  marquis  del  Guasto  in  particular  fell  on  his  knees,  and 
conjured  him  to  abandon  the  undertaking  as  desperate.  But  many  circum- 
stances combined  in  leading  Charles  to  disregard  all  their  remonstrances. 
He  could  seldom  be  brought,  on  any  occasion,  to  depart  from  a  resolution 
which  he  had  once  taken ;  he  was  too  apt  to  underrate  and  despise  the 
talents  of  his  rival  the  king  of  France,  because  they  differed  so  widely 
from  his  own  ;  he  was  blinded  by  the  presumption  which  accompanies' 
prosperity ;  and  relied,  perhaps,  in  some  degree,  on  the  prophecies  which 
predicted  the  increase  of  his  own  grandeur.  He  not  only  adhered  obsti- 
nately to  his  own  plan,  but  determined  to  advance  towards  France  without 
waiting  for  the  reduction  of  any  part  of  Piedmont,  except  such  towns 
as  were  absolutely  necessary  for  preserving  his  communication  with  the 
Milanese. 

The  marquis  de  Saluces,  to  whom  Francis  had  intrusted  the  command 
of  a  small  body  of  troops  left  for  the  defence  of  Piedmont,  rendered  this 
more  easy  than  Charles  had  any  reason  to  expect.  That  nobleman, 
educated  in  the  court  of  F ranee,  distinguished  by  continual  marks  of  the 
king's  favour,  and  honoured  so  lately  with  a  charge  of  such  importance, 
suddenly,  and  without  any  provocation  or  pretext  of  disgust  revolted  from 
his  benefactor.  His  motives  to  this  treacherous  action  were  as  childish  as 
the  deed  itself  was  base.  Being  strongly  possessed  with  a  superstitious 
faith  in  divination  and  astrology,  he  believed  with  full  assurance,  that  tin 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    V.  267 

fatal  period  of  the  French  nation  was  at  hand  ;  that  on  its  ruins  the  empe- 
ror would  establish  a  universal  monarchy ;  that  therefore  he  ought  to  follow 
the  dictates  of  prudence,  in  attaching  himself  to  his  rising  fortune,  and 
could  incur  no  blame  for  deserting  a  prince  whom  Heaven  had  devoted  to 
destruction.*  His  treason  became  still  more  odious,  by  his  employing 
that  very  authority,  with  which  Francis  had  invested  him,  in  order  to  open 
the  kingdom  to  his  enemies.  Whatever  measures  were  proposed  or 
undertaken  by  the  officers  under  his  command  for  the  defence  of  their 
conquests,  he  rejected  or  defeated.  Whatever  properly  belonged  to  him- 
self, as  commander  in  chief,  to  provide  or  perlorm  for  that  purpose,  he 
totally  neglected.  In  this  manner,  he  rendered  towns  even  of  the  greatest 
consequence,  untenable,  by  leaving  them  destitute  either  of  provisions, 
ammunition,  artillery,  or  a  sufficient  garrison  ;  and  the  Imperialists  must 
have  reduced  Piedmont  in  as  short  a  time  as  was  necessary  to  march 
through  it,  if  Montpezat,  the  governor  of  Fossano,  had  not,  by  an  extra- 
ordinary effort  of  courage  and  military  conduct,  detained  them  almost  a 
month  before  that  inconsiderable  place. 

By  this  meritorious  and  seasonable  service,  he  gained  his  master  suffi- 
cient time  for  assembling  his  forces,  and  for  conceiting  a  system  of  defence 
against  a  danger  which  he  now  saw  to  be  inevitable.  Francis  fixed  on 
the  only  proper  and  eifectual  plan  for  defeating  the  invasion  of  a  powerful 
enemy ;  and  his  prudence  in  choosing  this  plan,  as  well  as  his  perseve- 
rance in  executing  it,  deserve  the  greater  praise,  as  it  was  equally  con- 
trary to  his  own  natural  temper,  and  to  the  genius  of  the  French  nation. 
He  determined  to  remain  altogether  upon  the  defensive  ;  never  to  hazard 
a  battle,  or  even  a  great  skirmish  without  certainty  of  success;  to  fortify 
his  camps  in  a  regular  manner;  to  throw  garrisons  only  into  towns  of  great 
strength ;  to  deprive  the  enemy  of  subsistence,  by  laying  waste  the  coun- 
try before  them  ;  and  to  save  the  whole  kingdom,  by  sacrificing  one  of  its 
provinces.  The  execution  of  this  plan  he  committed  entirely  to  the 
marechal  Montmorency,  who  was  the  author  of  it ;  a  man  wonderfully 
fitted  by  nature  for  such  a  trust,  haughty,  severe,  confident  in  his  own 
abilities,  and  despising  those  of  other  men ;  incapable  of  being  diverted 
from  any  resolution  by  remonstrances  or  entreaties ;  and,  in  prosecuting 
any  scheme,  regardless  alike  of  love  or  of  pity. 

Montmorency  made  choice  of  a  strong  camp,  under  the  walls  of  Avig- 
non, at  the  confluence  of  the  Rhone  and  the  Durance,  one  of  which  plen- 
tifully supplied  his  troops  with  all  necessaries  from  the  inland  provinces, 
and  the  other  covered  his  camp  on  that  side  where  it  was  most  probable 
the  enemy  would  approach.  He  laboured  with  unwearied  industry  to 
render  the  fortifications  of  this  camp  impregnable,  and  assembled  there  a 
considerable  army,  though  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  enemy ;  while 
the  king  with  another  body  of  troops  encamped  at  Valence  higher  up  the 
Rhone.  Marseilles  and  Aries  were  the  only  towns  he  thought  it  necessary 
to  defend ;  the  former,  in  order  to  retain  the  command  of  the  sea  ;  the 
latter,  as  the  barrier  of  the  province  of  Languedoc  ;  and  each  of  these 
he  furnished  with  numerous  garrisons  of  his  best  troops,  commanded  by 
officers  on  whose  fidelity  and  valour  he  could  rely-  The  inhabitants  of 
the  other  towns,  as  well  as  of  the  open  country,  were  compelled  to 
abandon  their  houses,  and  were  conducted  to  the  mountains,  or  to  the  camp 
at  Avignon,  or  to  the  inland  provinces.  The  fortifications  of  such  places 
as  might  have  afforded  shelter  or  defence  to  the  enemy,  were  thrown 
down.  Corn,  forage,  and  provisions  of  every  kind,  were  carried  away 
or  destroyed  ;  all  the  mills  and  ovens  were  ruined,  and  the  wells  filled  up 
or  rendered  useless.  The  devastation  extended  from  the  Alps  to  Mar- 
seilles, and  from  the -sea  to  the  confines  of  Dauphine  ;  nor  does  history 

•  Bellay.  222.  a.  246.  h. 


26'd  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  VI. 

afford  any  instance  among  civilized  nations,  in  which  this  cruel  expedient 
for  the  public  safety  was  employed  with  the  same  rigour. 

At  length,  the  emperor  arrived  with  the  van  of  his  army  on  the  frontiers 
of  Provence,  and  was  still  so  possessed  with  confidence  of  success,  that 
during  a  few  days  when  he  was  obliged  to  halt  until  the  rest  of  his  troops 
came  up,  he  began  to  divide  his  future  conquests  among  his  oflicers  ;  and, 
as  a  new  incitement  to  serve  him  with  zeal,  gave  them  liberal  promises 
of  offices,  lands,  and  honours  in  France.*  The  face  of  desolation,  however, 
which  presented  itself  to  him,  when  he  entered  the  country,  began  to 
damp  his  hopes,  and  convinced  him  that  a  monarch,  who,  in  order  to  dis- 
tress an  enemy,  had  voluntarily  ruined  one  of  his  richest  provinces,  would 
defend  the  rest  with  desperate  obstinacy.  Nor  was  it  long  betbre  he 
became  sensible  that  Francis's  plan  of  defence  was  as  prudent  as  it  appeared 
to  be  extraordinary.  His  fleet,  on  which  Charles  chiefly  depended  for 
subsistence,  was  prevented  for  some  time  by  contrary  winds,  and  other 
accidents  to  which  naval  operations  are  subject,  from  approaching  the 
French  coast ;  even  after  its  arrival,  it  afforded  at  best  a  precarious  and 
scanty  supply  to  such  a  numerous  body  of  troops  ;|  nothing  was  to  be 
found  in  the  country  itself  for  their  support ;  nor  could  they  draw  any 
considerable  aid  from  the  dominions  of  the  duke  of  Savoy,  exhausted  already 
by  maintaining  two  great  armies.  The  emperor  was  no  less  embarrassed 
how  to  employ,  than  how  to  subsist  his  forces  ;  for  though  he  was  now  in 
possession  of  almost  an  entire  province,  he  could  not  be  said  to  have  the 
command  of  it,  while  he  held  only  defenceless  towns  ;  and  while  the 
French,  besides  their  camp,  at  Avignon,  continued  masters  of  Marseilles 
and  Aries.  At  first  he  thought  of  attacking  their  camp,  and  of  terminating 
the  war  by  one  decisive  blow  ;  but  skilful  officers  who  were  appointed  to 
view  it,  declared  the  attempt  to  be  utterly  impracticable.  He  then  gave 
orders  to  invest  Marseilles  and  Aries,  hoping  that  the  French  would  quit 
their  advantageous  post  in  order  to  relieve  them  ;  but  Montmorency  adhering 
firmly  to  his  plan,  remained  immoveable  at  Avignon,  and  the  Imperialists 
met  with  such  a  warm  reception  from  the  garrisons  of  both  towns,  that 
they  relinquished  their  enterprises  with  loss  and  disgrace.  As  a  last  effort, 
the  emperor  advanced  once  more  towards  Avignon,  though  with  an  army 
harassed  by  the  perpetual  incursions  of  small  parties  of  the  French  light 
troops,  weakened  by  diseases,  and  dispirited  by  disasters,  which  seemed 
the  more  intolerable,  because  they  were  unexpected. 

During  these  operations,  Montmorency  found  himself  exposed  to  greater 
danger  from  his  own  troops  than  from  the  enemy ;  and  their  inconsiderate 
valour  went  near  to  have  precipitated  the  kingdom  into  those  calamities 
which  he  with  such  industry  and  caution  had  endeavoured  to  avoid. 
Unaccustomed  to  behold  an  enemy  ravaging  their  country  almost  without 
control ;  impatient  of  such  long  inaction  ;  unacquainted  with  the  slow  and 
remote,  but  certain  effects  of  Montmorency's  system  of  defence  ;  the 
French  wished  for  a  battle  with  no  less  ardour  than  the  Imperialists.  They 
considered  the  conduct  of  their  general  as  a  disgrace  to  their  country.  His 
caution  they  imputed  to  timidity ;  his  circumspection  to  want  of  spirit ; 
and  the  constancy  with  which  he  pursued  his  plan,  to  obstinacy  or  pride. 
These  reflections,  whispered  at  first  among  the  soldiers  and  subalterns, 
were  adopted,  by  degrees,  by  officers  of  high  rank  ;  and  as  many  of  them 
envied  Montmorency's  favour  with  the  king,  and  more  were  dissatisfied 
with  his  harsh  disgusting  manner,  the  discontent  soon  became  great  in  his 
camp,  which  was  filled  with  general  murmurings,  and  almost  open  com- 
plaints against  his  measures.  Montmorency,  on  whom  the  sentiments  oi 
his  own  troops  made  as  little  impression  as  the  insults  of  the  enemy, 
adhered  steadily  to  his  system  ;  though,  in  order  to  "reconcile  the  army  to 

*  Bellav.  26fi.  a.  »  Sairlov.  ii.  XI. 


EiMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  *M 

his  maxims,  no  less  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the  nation,  than  to  the  ideas 
of  war  among  undisciplined  troops,  he  assumed  an  unusual  affability  in  hi* 
deportment,  and  often  explained,  with  great  condescension,  the  motives  of 
his  conduct,  the  advantages  which  had  already  resulted  from  it,  and  the 
certain  success  with  which  it  would  be  attended.  At  last,  Francis  joined 
his  army  at  Avignon,  which,  having  received  several  reinforcements,  he 
now  considered  as  of  strength  sufficient  to  face  the  enemy.  As  he  had  put 
no  small  constraint  upon  himself,  in  consenting  that  his  troops  should  remain 
so  long  upon  the  defensive,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  but  that  his  fondness 
for  what  was  daring  and  splendid,  added  to  the  impatience  both  of 
officers  and  soldiers,  would  at  last  have  overruled  Montmorency's  salutary 
caution.*  . 

Happily  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  delivered  the  kingdom  from  the  dan- 
ger which  any  rash  resolution  might  have  occasioned.  The  emperor,  alter 
spending  two  inglorious  months  in  Provence,  without  having  performed 
any  thing  suitable  to  his  vast  preparations,  or  that  could  justify  the  con- 
fidence with  which  he  had  boasted  of  his  own  power,  found  that  besides 
Antonio  de  Levva,  and  other  officers  of  distinction,  he  had  lost  one  half  of 
his  troops  by  diseases  or  by  famine  ;  and  that  the  rest  were  in  no  condition 
to  struggle  any  longer  with  calamities,  by  which  so  many  of  their  com- 
panions had  perished.  Necessity,  therefore,  extorted  from  him  orders  to 
retire  ;  and  though  he  was  some  time  in  motion  before  the  French  suspected 
his  intention,  a  body  of  light  troops,  assisted  by  crowds  of  peasants,  eager 
to  be  revenged  on  those  who  had  brought  such  desolation  on  their  country, 
hung  upon  the  rear  of  the  Imperialists,  and  by  seizing  every  favourable 
opportunity  of  attacking  them,  threw  them  often  into  confusion.  The 
road  by  which  they  fled,  for  they  pursued  their  march  with  such  disorder 
and  precipitation  that  it  scarcely  deserves  the  name  of  a  retreat,  wa3 
strewed  with  arms  or  baggage,  which  in  their  hurry  and  trepidation  they 
had  abandoned,  and  covered  with  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and  the  dead  ; 
insomuch  that  Martin  Bellay,  an  eye-witness  of  their  calamities,  endeavour"? 
to  give  his  readers  some  idea  of  them,  by  comparing  their  miseries  to 
those  which  the  Jews  suffered  from  the  victorious  and  destructive  arms  of 
the  Romans.!  If  Montmorency,  at  this  critical  moment,  had  advanced 
with  all  his  forces,  nothing  could  have  saved  the  whole  Imperial  army  from 
utter  ruin.  But  that  general,  by  standing  so  long  and  so  obstinately  on  the 
defensive,  had  become  cautious  to  excess  ;  his  mind,  tenacious  of  any  bent 
it  had  once  taken,  could  not  assume  a  contrary  one  as  suddenly  as  the 
change  of  circumstances  required  ;  and  he  still  continued  to  repeat  his 
favourite  maxims,  that  it  was  more  prudent  to  allow  the  lion  to  escape 
than  to  drive  him  to  despair,  and  that  a  bridge  of  gold  should  be  made  lor 
a  retreating  enemy. 

The  emperor  having  conducted  the  shattered  remains  of  his  troops  to 
the  frontiers  of  Milan,  and  appointed  the  Marquis  del  Guasto  to  succeed 
Leyva  in  the  government  of  that  dutcbv,  set  out  for  Genoa.  As  he  could 
not  bear  to  expose  himself  to  the  scorn  of  the  Italians,  after  such  a  sad 
reverse  of  fortune  ;  and  did  not  choose,  under  his  present  circumstances, 
to  revisit  those  cities  through  which  he  had  so  lately  passed  in  triumph  for 
one  conquest,  and  in  certain  expectation  of  another,  he  embarked  directly 
for  SpainJ  [November]. 

Nor  was  the  progress  of  his  arms  on  the  opposite  frontier  of  France 
such  as  to  alleviate,  in  any  degree,  the  losses  which  he  had  sustained  in 
Provence.  Bellay,  by  his  address  and  intrigues,  had  prevailed  on  so 
many  of  the  German  princes  to  withdraw  the  contingent  of  troops  which 
they  had  furnished  to  the  king  of  the  Romans,  that  he  was  obliged  to  lay 

'Mem.  de  Bellay,  960,  &c.  31?,  kr.        flMd.  318.    Saratov.  Higt  de!  EmpCT.  it  232.       (J 
Histor,  lib.  xrrv.p.  174,  I 


270  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VI. 

aside  all  thoughts  of  his  intended  irruption  into  Champagne.  Though  a 
powerful  army  levied  in  the  Low-Countries  entered  Picardy,  which  they 
found  hut  feebly  guarded,  while  the  strength  of  the  kingdom  was  drawn 
towards  the  south  ;  yet  the  nobility,  taking  arms  with  their  usual  alacrity, 
supplied  by  their  spirit  the  defects  of  the  king's  preparations,  and  defended 
Peronne,  and  other  towns  which  were  attacked,  with  such  vigour,  as 
obliged  the  enemy  to  retire,  without  making  any  conquest  of  importance.* 

Thus  Francis,  by  the  prudence  of  his  own  measures,  and  by  the  union 
and  valour  of  his  subjects,  rendered  abortive  those  vast  efforts  in  which 
his  rival  had  almost  exhausted  his  whole  force.  As  this  humbled  the  em- 
peror's arrogance  no  less  than  it  checked  his  power,  he  was  mortified  more 
sensibly  on  this  occasion  than  on  any  other,  during  the  course  of  the  long 
contests  between  him  and  the  French  monarch.  One  circumstance  alone 
embittered  the  joy  with  which  the  success  of  the  campaign  inspired 
Francis.  That  was  the  death  of  the  dauphin,  his  eldest  son,  a  prince  of 
great  hopes,  and  extremely  beloved  by  the  people  on  account  of  his 
resemblance  to  his  father.  This  happening  suddenly,  was  imputed  to 
poison,  not  only  by  the  vulgar,  fond  of  ascribing  the  death  of  illustrious 
personages  to  extraordinary  causes,  but  by  the  king  and  his  ministers.  The 
count  de  Montecuculi,  an  Italian  nobleman,  cupbearer  to  the  dauphin,  being 
seized  on  suspicion,  and  put  to  the  torture,  openly  charged  the  Imperial 
generals,  Gonzaga  and  Leyva,  with  having  instigated  him  to  the  commission 
of  that  crime  ;  he  even  threw  out  some  indirect  and  obscure  accusations 
against  the  emperor  himself.  At  a  time  when  all  France  was  exasperated 
to  the  utmost  against  Charles,  this  uncertain  and  extorted  charge  was  con- 
sidered as  an  incontestable  proof  of  guilt ;  while  the  confidence  with  which 
both  he  and  his  officers  asserted  their  own  innocence,  together  with  the 
indignation,  as  well  as  horror,  which  they  expressed  on  their  being  sup- 
posed capable  of  such  a  detestable  action,  were  little  attended  to,  and  less 
regarded.!  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  emperor  could  have  no  induce- 
ment to  perpetrate  such  a  crime,  as  Francis  was  still  in  the  vigour  of  life 
himself,  and  had  two  sons,  besides  the  dauphin,  grown  up  almost  to  the 
age  of  manhood.  That  single  consideration,  without  mentioning  the  em- 
peror's general  character,  unblemished  by  the  imputation  of  any  deed 
resembling  this  in  atrocity,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the 
weight  of  a  dubious  testimony  uttered  during  the  anguish  of  torture.]; 
According  to  the  most  unprejudiced  historians,  the  dauphin's  death  was 
occasioned  by  his  having  drunk  too  freely  of  cold  water  after  overheating 
himself  at  termis ;  and  this  account,  as  it  is  the  most  simple,  is  likewise 
the  most  credible.  But  if  his  days  were  cut  short  by  poison,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  emperor  conjectured  rightly,  when  he  affirmed  that  it 
had  been  administered  by  the  direction  of  Catharine  of  Medici,  in  order 
to  secure  the  crown  to  the  duke  of  Orleans,  her  husband.^  The  advan- 
tages resulting  to  her  by  the  dauphin's  death  were  obvious  as  well  as 
great ;  nor  did  her  boundless  and  daring  ambition  ever  recoil  from  any 
action  necessary  towards  attaining  the  objects  which  she  had  in  view. 

1537.]  Next  year  opened  with  a  transaction  very  uncommon,  but  so  in- 
capable of  producing  any  effect,  that  it  would  not  deserve  to  be  mentioned 
if  it  were  not  a  striking  proof  of  the  personal  animosity  which  mingled 
itself  in  all  the  hostilities  between  Charles  and  Francis,  and  which  often 
betrayed  them  into  such  indecencies  towards  each  other,  as  lessened  the 
dignity  of  both.  Francis,  accompanied  by  the  peers  and  princes  of  the 
blood,  having  taken  his  seat  in  the  parliament  of  Paris  with  the  usual 
solemnities,  the  advocate-general  appeared  ;  and  after  accusing  Charles  ol 
Austria  (for  so  he  affected  to  call  the  emperor)  of  having  violated  the  treaty 

*  Mem. deBellay,  318,  &>•         •  Hiid.289.         •  Sandov.  Him.  del  liinuei.  ii.  331 
Zuniga  Yi'lo  dr  Carle  V.  p.  75. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  871 

of  Cambray,  by  which  he  was  absolved  from  the  homage  due  to  the  crown 
of  France  for  the  countries  of  Artois  and  Flanders ;  insisted  that  this  treaty- 
being  now  void,  he  was  still  to  be  considered  as  a  vassal  of  the  crown,  and 
by  consequence  had  been  guilty  of  rebellion  in  taking  arms  against  his 
sovereign  ;  and  therefore  he  demanded  that  Charles  should  be  summoned 
to  appear  in  person,  or  by  his  counsel,  before  the  parliament  of  Paris,  his 
legal  judges,  to  answer  for  this  crime.  The  request  was  granted ;  a  herald 
repaired  to  the  frontiers  of  Picardy,  and  summoned  him  with  the  ac- 
customed formalities  to  appear  against  a  day  prefixed.  That  term  being 
expired,  and  no  person  appearing  in  his  name,  the  parliament  gave  judg- 
ment, "  That  Charles  of  Austria  had  forfeited  by  rebellion  and  contumacy 
those  fiefs ;  declared  Flanders  and  Artois  to  be  reunited  to  the  crown  of 
France !"  and  ordered  their  decree  for  this  purpose  to  be  published  by 
sound  of  trumpet  on  the  frontiers  of  these  provinces.* 

Soon  after  this  vain  display  of  his  resentment,  rather  than  of  his  power, 
Francis  marched  towards  the  Low -Countries  [March],  as  if  he  had  intended 
to  execute  the  sentence  which  his  parliament  had  pronounced,  and  to  seize 
those  territories  which  it  had  awarded  to  him.  As  the  queen  of  Hungary, 
to  whom  her  brother  the  emperor  had  committed  the  government  of  that 
part  of  his  dominions,  was  not  prepared  for  so  early  a  campaign,  he  at  first 
made  some  progress,  and  took  several  towns  of  importance.  But  being 
obliged  soon  to  leave  his  army,  in  order  to  superintend  the  operations  of 
war,  the  Flemings,  having  assembled  a  numerous  army,  not  only  re- 
covered most  of  the  places  which  they  had  lost,  but  began  to  make  conquests 
in  their  turn.  At  last  they  invested  Terouenne,  and  the  duke  of  Orleans, 
now  dauphin,  by  the  death  of  his  brother,  and  Montmorency,  whom  Francis 
had  honoured  with  the  constable's  sword,  as  the  reward  of  his  great  ser- 
vices during  the  former  campaign,  determined  to  hazard  a  battle  in  order 
to  relieve  it.  While  they  were  advancing  for  this  purpose,  and  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  enemy,  they  were  stopped  short  by  the  arrival  of  a  herald 
from  the  queen  of  Hungary,  acquainting  him  that  a  suspension  of  arms 
was  now  agreed  upon. 

This  unexpected  event  was  owing  to  the  zealous  endeavours  of  the  two 
sisters,  the  queens  of  France  and  of  Hungary,  who  had  long  laboured  to 
reconcile  the  contending  monarchs.  The  war  in  the  Netherlands  had  laid 
waste  the  frontier  provinces  of  both  countries,  without  any  real  advantage 
to  either.  The  French  and  Flemings  equally  regretted  the  interruption 
of  their  commerce,  which  was  beneficial  to  both.  Charles  as  well  as 
Francis,  who  had  each  strained  to  the  utmost,  in  order  to  support  the  vast 
operations  of  the  former  campaign,  found  that  they  could  not  now  keep 
armies  on  foot  in  this  quarter,  without  weakening  their  operations  in  Pied- 
mont, where  both  wished  to  push  the  war  with  the  greatest  vigour.  All 
these  circumstances  facilitated  the  negotiations  of  the  two  queens  ;  a  tmce 
was  concluded  [July  30th],  to  continue  in  force  for  ten  months,  but  it  ex- 
tended no  farther  than  the  Low -Countries.! 

In  Piedmont  the  war  was  still  prosecuted  with  great  animosity;  and 
though  neither  Charles  nor  Francis  could  make  the  powerful  efforts  to 
which  this  animosity  prompted  them,  they  continued  to  exert  themselves 
like  combatants,  whose  rancour  remains  after  their  strength  is  exhausted. 
Towns  were  alternately  lost  and  retaken  ;  skirmishes  were  fought  every 
day;  and  much  blood  was  shed,  without  any  action  that  gave  a  decided 
superiority  to  either  side.  At  last  the  two  queens,  determined  not  to  leave 
nnfinisherj  the  good  work  which  they  had  begun,  prevailed,  by  their  im- 
portunate solicitations,  the  one  on  her  brother,  the  other  on  her  husband. 
to  consent  also  to  a  truce  in  Piedmont  for  three  months.     The  condition- 

*  Letircs  ct  M  moires  d'Etat  par  Ktbier,  9  torn,  ljloi?  Kit'.,  torn.  i.  p.l  Memoires  de 

Ribier,56. 


272  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  |Book  VI. 

of  it  were,  that  each  should  kepp  possession  of  what  was  in  his  hands,  and 
after  leaving  garrisons  in  the  towns,  should  withdraw  his  army  out  of  the 
province  ;  that  plenipotentiaries  should  be  appointed  to  adjust  all  matters 
m  dispute  by  a  final  treaty.* 

The  powerful  motives  which  inclined  both  princes  to  this  accommoda- 
tion, have  been  often  mentioned.  The  expenses  of  the  war  had  far  ex- 
ceeded the  sums  which  their  revenues  were  capable  of  supplying ;  nor 
durst  they  venture  upon  any  great  addition  to  the  impositions  then  estab- 
lished, as  subjects  had  not  yet  learned  to  bear  with  patience  the  immense 
burdens  to  which  they  have  become  accustomed  in  modern  times.  The 
emperor  in  particular,  though  he  had  contracted  debts  which  in  that  age 
appeared  prodigious,!  bad  it  not  in  his  power  to  pay  the  large  arrears  long 
due  to  his  army.  At  the  same  time,  he  had  no  prospect  of  deriving  any 
aid  in  money  or  men  either  from  the  pope  or  Venetians,  though  he  had 
employed  promises  and  threats,  alternately,  in  order  to  procure  it.  But 
he  found  the  former  not  only  fixed  in  bis  resolution  of  adhering  steadily  to 
the  neutrality  which  he  had  always  declared  to  be  suitable  to  his  character, 
but  passionately  desirous  of  bringing  about  a  peace.  He  perceived  that 
the  latter  were  still  intent  on  their  ancient  object  of  holding  the  balance 
even  between  the  rivals,  and  solicitous  not  to  throw  too  great  a  weight  into 
either  scale. 

What  made  a  deeper  impression  on  Charles  than  all  these,  was  the  dread 
of  the  Turkish  arms,  which,  by  his  league  with  Solyman,  Francis  had 
drawn  upon  him.  Though  Francis,  without  the  assistance  of  a  single  ally, 
had  a  war  to  maintain  against  an  enemy  greatly  superior  in  power  to  him- 
self, yet  so  great  was  the  horror  of  Christians,  in  that  age,  at  any  union 
with  infidels,  which  they  considered  not  only  as  dishonourable  but  profane, 
that  it  was  long  before  he  could  be  brought  to  avail  himself  of  the  obvious 
advantages  resulting  from  such  a  confederacy.  Necessity  at  last  sur- 
mounted his  delicacy  and  scruples.  Towards  the  close  of  the  preceding 
year,  La  Forest,  a  secret  agent  at  the  Ottoman  Porte,  had  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  sultan,  whereby  Solyman  engaged  to  invade  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  during  the  next  campaign,  and  to  attack  the  king  of  the  Romans 
in  Hungary  with  a  powerful  army,  while  Francis  undertook  to  enter  the 
Milanese  at  the  same  time  with  a  proper  force.  Solyman  had  punctu- 
ally performed  what  was  incumbent  on  him.  Barbarossa  with  a  great 
fleet  appeared  on  the  coast  of  Naples,  filled  that  kingdom,  from  which  all 
the  troops  had  been  drawn  towards  Piedmont,  with  consternation,  landed 
without  resistance  near  Taranto,  obliged  Castro,  a  place  of  some  strength, 
to  surrender,  plundered  the  adjacent  country,  and  was  taking  measures  for 
securing  and  extending  his  conquests,  when  the  unexpected  arrival  of 
Doria,  together  with  the  pope's  galleys,  and  a  squadron  of  the  Venetian 
fleet,  made  it  prudent  for  him  to  retire.  In  Hungary  the  progress  of  the 
Turks  was  more  formidable.  Mahmet,  their  general,  after  gaining  several 
small  advantages,  defeated  the  Germans^  in  a  great  battle  at  Essek  on  the 
Drave.  Happily  for  Christendom,  it  was  not  in  Francis's  power  to  exe- 
cute with  equal  exactness  what  he  had  stipulated  ;  nor  could  he  assemble 
at  this  juncture  an  army  strong  enough  to  penetrate  into  the  Milanese.  By 
this  he  failed  in  recovering  possession  of  that  dutchy ;  and  Italy  was  not 
only  saved  from  the  calamities  of  a  new  war,  but  from  feeling  the  deso- 
lating rage  of  the  Turkish  arms,  as  an  addition  to  all  that  it  had  suffered.^ 
As  the  emperor  knew  that  he  could  not  long  resist  the  efforts  of  two  such 
powerful  confederates,  nor  could  expect  that  the  same  fortunate  accidents 
would  concur  a  second  time  to  deliver  Naples,  and  to  preserve  the  Mila- 
nese ;  as  he  foresaw  that  the  Italian  states  would  not  only  tax  him  loudly 
with  insatiable  ambition,  but  might  even  turn  their  arms  against  him,  if  lie 

*  Memoires  de  BiWor,  <W.  t  RiMer,  j   294,  EmuBriheffi  Hist.  Hung-  Kh  tiiLp  "■'■'■'. 

Hist. lit),  \x.\v.  i>.  i*:? 


E  M  P  E  R  O  Ft  C  H  A  R  L  E  S   V  .  273 

should  be  so  regardless  of  their  danger  as  obstinately  to  protract  the  war, 
he  thought  it  necessary,  both  for  his  safety  and  reputation,  to  give  his  con- 
sent to  a  truce.  Nor  was  Francis  Willing  to  sustain  all  the  blame  of  ob- 
structing the  re-establishment  of  tranquillity, or  to  expose  himself  on  that 
account  to  the  danger  of  being  deserted  by  the  Swiss  and  other  foreigners 
in  his  service.  He  even  began  to  apprehend  that  his  own  subjects  would 
serve  him  coldly,  if  by  contributing  to  aggrandize  the  power  of  the  In- 
fidels, which  it  was  his  duty,  and  had  been  the  ambition  of  his  ancestors  to 
depress,  he  continued  to  act  in  direct  opposition  to  all  the  principles  which 
ought  to  influence  a  monarch  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Most  Christian 
King.  He  chose,  for  all  these  reasons,  rather  to  run  the  risk  of  disobliging 
his  new  ally  the  sultan,  than,  by  an  unseasonable  adherence  to  the  treaty 
with  him,  to  forfeit  what  was  of  greater  consequence. 

But  though  both  parties  consented  to  a  truce,  the  plenipotentiaries  found 
insuperable  difficulties  in  settling  the  articles  of  a  definitive  treaty.  Each 
of  the  monarchs,  with  the  arrogance  of  a  conqueror,  aimed  at  giving  law  to 
the  other ;  and  neither  would  so  far  acknowledge  his  inferiority,  as  to 
sacrifice  any  point  of  honour,  or  to  relinquish  any  matter  of  right ;  so  that 
the  plenipotentiaries  spent  the  time  in  long  and  fruitless  negotiations,  and 
separated  after  agreeing  to  prolong  the  truce  for  a  few  months. 

1538.1  The  pope,  however,  did  not  despair  of  accomplishing  a  point 
in  which  the  plenipotentiaries  had  failed,  and  took  upon  himself  the  sole 
burden  of  negotiating  a  peace.  To  form  a  confederacy  capable  of  defend- 
ing Christendom  from  the  formidable  inroads  of  the  Turkish  arms,  and  to 
concert  effectual  measures  for  the  extirpation  of  the  Lutheran  heresy,  w  ere 
two  great  objects  which  Paul  had  much  at  heart,  and  he  considered  the 
union  of  the  emperor  with  the  king  of  France  as  an  essential  preliminary 
to  both.  To  be  the  instrument  of  reconciling  these  contending  monarchs, 
whom  his  predecessors  by  their  interested  and  indecent  intrigues  had  so 
often  embroiled,  was  a  circumstance  which  could  not  fail  of  throwing  dis- 
tinguished lustre  on  his  character  and  administration.  Nor  was  he  without 
hopes  that,  while  he  pursued  this  laudable  end,  he  might  secure  advan- 
tages to  his  own  family,  the  aggrandizing  of  which  he  did  not  neglect, 
though  he  aimed  at  it  with  a  less  audacious  ambition  than  was  common 
among  the  popes  of  that  century.  Influenced  by  these  considerations,  he 
proposed  an  interview  between  the  two  monarchs,  at  Nice,  and  offered  to 
repair  thither  in  person,  that  he  might  act  as  mediator  in  composing  all 
their  differences.  When  a  pontiff  of  a  venerable  character,  and  of  a  very 
advanced  age,  was  willing,  lrom  his  zeal  for  peace,  to  undergo  the  fatigues 
of  so  lona;  a  journey,  neither  Charles  nor  Francis  could  with  decency  de- 
cline the  Interview.  But  though  both  came  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  so 
ijreatwas  the  difficulty  of  adjusting  the  ceremonial,  or  such  the  remains  of 
distrust  and  rancour  on  each  side,  that  they  refused  to  see  one  another,  and 
every  thing  was  transacted  by  the  intervention  of  the  pope,  who  visited 
them  alternately.  With  all  his  zeal  and  ingenuity  he  could  not  find  out  a 
method  of  removing  the  obstacles  which  prevented  a  final  accommodation, 
particularly  those  arising  from  the  possession  of  the  Milanese  ;  nor  was  all 
the  weight  of  his  authority  sufficient  to  overcome  the  obstinate  persever- 
ance of  either  monarch  in  asserting  his  own  claims.  At  last,  that  he  might 
not  seem  to  have  laboured  altogether  without  effect,  he  prevailed  on  them 
to  sign  a  truce  for  ten  years  [June  18],  upon  the  same  condition  with  the 
former,  that  each  should  retain  what  was  now  in  his  possession,  and  in  the 
mean  time  should  send  ambassadors  to  Rome,  to  discass  their  pretensions 
at  leisure.* 

Thus  ended  a  war  of  no  long  continuance,  but  very  extensive  in  its  ope- 

*  Recueil  des  Traitez,  ii.  210.  Relatione  del  Nicoto Tiepolo  del'  Mucasacnto  dl  Mzz*,chezDa 

Mont  Corps  Diplomat,  par.  ii.  p,  174. 

Vol.  II- 36 


074  THE   REiUN    OF   THE  [Book VI. 

rations,  and  in  which  both  parties  exerted  their  utmost  strength.  Though 
Francis  failed  in  the  object  which  lie  had  principally  in  view,  the  recovery 
of  the  Milanese,  he  acquired,  nevertheless,  great  reputation  by  the  wisdom 
of  his  measures  as  well  as  the  success  of  his  arms  in  repelling  a  formidable 
invasion ;  and  by  keeping  possession  of  one  half  of  the  duke  of  Savoy's 
dominions,  he  added  no  inconsiderable  accession  of  strength  to  his  king- 
dom. Whereas  Charles,  repulsed  and  baffled,  after  having  boasted  so 
arrogantly  of  victory,  purchased  an  inglorious  truce,  by  sacrificing  an  ally 
who  had  rashly  confided  too  much  in  his  friendship  and  power.  The  un- 
fortunate duke  murmured,  complained,  and  remonstrated  against  a  treaty 
so  much  to  his  disadvantage,  but  in  vain  ;  he  had  no  means  of  redress,  and 
was  obliged  to  submit.  Of  all  his  dominions,  Nice,  with  its  dependences, 
was  the  only  coiner  of  which  he  himself  kept  possession.  He  saw  the: 
rest  divided  between  a  powerful  invader  and  the  ally  to  whose  protection 
he  had  trusted,  while  he  remained  a  sad  monument  of  the  imprudence  of 
weak  princes,  who  by  taking  part  in  the  quarrel  of  mighty  neighbours, 
between  whom  they  happen  to  be  situated,  are  crushed  and  overwhelmed 
in  the  shock. 

A  few  days  after  signing  the  treaty  of  truce,  the  emperor  set  sail  fur 
Barcelona,  but  was  driven  by  contrary  winds  to  the  island  of  St.  Margaret 
on  the  coast  of  Provence.  When  Francis,  who  happened  to  be  not  far 
distant,  heard  of  this,  he  considered  it  as  an  office  of  civility  to  invite  him 
to  take  shelter  in  his  dominions,  and  proposed  a  personal  interview  with 
him  at  Aigues-mortes.  The  emperor,  who  would  not  be  outdone  by  hia 
rival  in  complaisance,  instantly  repaired  thither.  As  soon  as  he  cast  anchor 
in  the  road,  Francis,  without  waitiflg  to  settle  any  point  of  ceremony,  but 
relying  implicitly  on  the  emperor's  honour  for  his  security,  visited  him  on 
board  his  galley,  and  was  received  and  entertained  with  the  warmest  de- 
monstrations of  esteem  and  affection.  Next  day  the  emperor  repaid  the 
confidence  which  the  king  had  placed  in  him.  He  landed  at  Aigues- 
mortes  with  as  little  precaution,  and  met  with  a  reception  equally  cordial. 
He  remained  on  shore  during  the  night,  and  in  both  visits  the  two  monarchs 
vied  with  each  other  in  expressions  of  respect  and  friendship.*  After 
twenty  years  of  open  hostilities,  or  of  secret  enmity;  after  so  many  in- 
juries reciprocally  inflicted  or  endured  ;  after  having  formally  given  the 
lie,  and  challenged  one  another  to  single  combat ;  alter  the  emperor  had 
inveighed  so  publicly  against  Francis  as  a  prince  void  of  honour  and  in- 
tegrity ;  and  after  Francis  had  accused  him  of  being  accessary  to  the 
murder  or  his  eldest  son  ;  such  an  interview  appears  altogether  singular 
and  even  unnatural.  But  the  history  of  these  monarchs  abounds  with 
such  surprising  transitions.  From  implacable  hatred  they  appeared  to 
pass,  in  a  moment,  to  the  most  cordial  reconcilement ;  from  suspicion 
and  distrust,  to  perfect  confidence  ;  and  from  practising  all  the  dark  arts 
of  a  deceitful  policy,  they  could  assume,  of  a  sudden,  the  liberal  and  open 
manners  of  two  gallant  gentlemen. 

The  pope,  besides  the  glory  of  having  restored  peace  to  Europe,  gained, 
according  to  his  expectation,  a  point  of  great  consequence  to  his  family, 
by  prevailing  on  the  emperor  to  betroth  Margaret  of  Austria,  his  natural 
daughter,  formerly  the  wife  of  Alexander  di  Medici,  to  his  grandson  Oc- 
tavio  Farnese,  and,  in  consideration  of  this  marriage,  to  bestow  several 
honours  and  territories  upon  his  future  son-in-law.  A  very  tragical  event, 
which  happened  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1537,  had  deprived  Mar- 
garet of  her  first  husband.  That  young  prince,  whom  the  emperor's  par- 
tiality had  raised  to  the  supreme  power  in  Florence,  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
public  liberty,  neglected  entirely  the  cares  of  government,  and  abandoned 

*  Sandov.  Hist.  vol.  ii.  238.     Relation  d«  I'Entrevue  de  Char!.  V.  &  Fran.  I.  par.  M.  <!<■  la  Rive  its 
Hist,  dr  Langued.  par  D.  D,  De  Vic  &  Vaisette,  torn.  v.    Preuves,  n.93. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  27* 

himself  to  the  most  dissolute  debauchery.  Lorenzo  di  Medici  his  nearest 
kinsman  was  not  only  the  companion  but  director  of  his  pleasures,  and 
employing  all  the  powers  of  a  cultivated  and  inventive  genius  in  this  dis- 
honourable ministry,  added  such  elegance  as  well  as  Variety  to  vice,  as 
gained  him  an  absolute  ascendant  over  the  mind  of  Alexander.  But  while 
Lorenzo  seemed  to  be  sunk  in  luxury,  and  affected  such  an  appearance  of 
indolence  and  effeminacy,  that  he  would  not  wear  a  sword,  and  trembled 
at  the  sight  of  blood,  he  concealed  under  that  disguise  a  dark,  designing, 
audacious  spirit.  Prompted  either  by  the  love  of  liberty,  or  allured  by 
the  hope  of  attaining  the  supreme  power,  he  determined  to  assassinate 
Alexander  his  benefactor  and  friend.  Though  he  long  revolved  this  design 
in  his  mind,  his  reserved  and  suspicious  temper  prevented  him  from  com^ 
xnunicating  it  to  any  person  whatever ;  and  continuing  to  live  with  Alex- 
ander in  their  usual  familiarity,  he,  one  night,  under  pretence  of  having 
secured  him  an  assignation  with  a  lady  of  high  rank  whom  he  had  often 
solicited,  drew  that  unwary  prince  into  a  secret  apartment  of  his  house, 
and  there  stabbed  him,  while  he  lay  carelessly  on  a  couch  expecting  the 
arrival  of  the  lady  whose  company  he  had  been  promised.  But  no  sooner 
was  the  deed  done,  than  standing  astonished,  and  struck  with  horror  at 
its  atrocity,  he  forgot,  in  a  moment,  all  the  motives  which  had  induced 
him  to  commit  it.  Instead  of  rousing  the  people  to  recover  their  liberty 
by  publishing  the  death  of  the  tyrant,  instead  of  taking  any  step  towards 
opening  his  own  way  to  the  dignity  now  vacant,  he  locked  the  door  of 
the  apartment,  and,  like  a  man  bereaved  of  reason  and  presence  of  mind, 
fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation  out  of  the  Florentine  territories.  It  was 
late  next  morning  before  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  prince  was  known,  as 
his  attendants,  accustomed  to  his  irregularities,  never  entered  his  apart- 
ment early.  Immediately  the  chief  persons  in  the  state  assembled.  Being 
induced  partly  by  the  zeal  of  cardinal  Cibo  for  the  house  of  Medici,  to 
which  he  was  nearly  related,  partly  by  the  authority  of  Francis  Guicciar- 
dini,  who  recalled  to  their  memory,  and  represented  in  striking  colours, 
the  caprice  as  well  as  turbulence  of  their  ancient  popular  government,  they 
agreed  to  place  Cosmo  di  Medici,  a  youth  of  eighteen,  the  only  male  heir 
of  that  illustrious  house,  at  the  head  of  the  government ;  though  at  the 
same  time  such  was  their  love  of  liberty,  that  they  established  several 
regulations  in  order  to  circumscribe  and  moderate  his  power. 

Meanwhile,  Lorenzo  having  reached  a  place  of  safety,  made  known 
what  he  had  done,  to  Philip  Strozzi  and  the  other  Florentines  who  had 
been  driven  into  exile,  or  who  had  voluntarily  retired,  when  the  republican 
form  of  government  was  abolished,  in  order  to  make  way  for  the  dominion 
of  the  Medici.  By  them,  the  deed  was  extolled  with  extravagant  praises, 
and  the  virtue  of  Lorenzo  was  compared  to  that  of  the  elder  Brutus, 
who  disregarded  the  ties  of  blood,  or  with  that  of  the  younger,  who 
forgot  the  friendship  and  favours  of  the  tyrant,  that  they  might  preserve 
or  recover  the  liberty  of  their  country.*  Nor  did  they  rest  satisfied  with 
empty  panegyrics  ;  they  immediately  quitted  their  different  places  of 
retreat,  assembled  forces,  animated  their  vassals  and  partizans  to  take 
»rms,  and  to  seize  this  opportunity  of  re-establishing  the  public  liberty  on 
its  ancient  foundation.  Being  openly  assisted  by  the  French  ambassador 
al  Rome,  and  secretly  encouraged  by  the  pope,  who  bore  no  good-will  to 
the  house  of  Medici,  they  entered  the  Florentine  dominions  with  a  con- 
siderable body  of  men.  But  the  persons  who  had  elected  Cosmo  pos- 
sessed not  only  the  means  of  supporting  his  government,  but  abilities  to 
employ  them  in  the  most  proper  manner.  They  levied,  with  the  greatest 
expedition,  a  good  number  of  troops ;  they  endeavoured  by  eveiy  art  to 
gain  the  citizens  of  greatest  authority,  and  to  render  the  administration  of 

•  LetteredePrtnclpi]  torn   itLp.  59* 


21%  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  VL 

the  young  prince  agreeable  to  the  people.  Above  all,  they  courted  the 
emperor's  protection,  as  the  only  firm  foundation  of  Cosmo's  dignity  and 
power.  Charles,  knowing  the  propensity  of  the  Florentines  to  the  friend- 
ship of  France,  and  how  much  all  the  partizans  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment detested  him  as  the  oppressor  of  their  liberties,  saw  it  to  be  greatly 
lor  his  interest  to  prevent  the  re-establishment  of  the  ancient  constitution 
in  Florence.  For  this  reason,  he  not  only  acknowledged  Cosmo  as  head 
of  the  Florentine  state,  and  conferred  on  him  all  the  titles  of  honour  with 
which  Alexander  had  been  dignified,  but  engaged  to  defend  him  to  the 
utmost ;  and  as  a  pledge  of  this,  ordered  the  commanders  of  such  of  his* 
troops  as  were  stationed  on  the  frontiers  of  1  uscany,  to  support  him  against 
all  aggressors.  By  their  aid, Cosmo  obtained  an  easy  victory  over  the  exiles, 
whose  troops  he  surprised  in  the  night-time,  and  took  most  of  the  chiefs 
prisoners ;  an  event  which  broke  all  their  measures,  and  fully  established 
his  own  authority.  But  though  he  was  extremely  desirous  of  the  ad- 
ditional honour  of  marrying  the  emperor's  daughter,  the  widow  of  his 
predecessor,  Charles,  secure  already  of  his  attachment;  chose  rather  to 
gratify  the  pope,  by  bestowing  her  on  his  nephew.* 

During  the  war  between  the  emperor  and  Francis,  an  event  had  hap- 
pened which  abated  in  some  degree  the  warmth  and  cordiality  of  friend- 
ship which  had  long  subsisted  between  the  latter  and  the  king  of  England. 
James  the  fifth  of  Scotland,  an  enterprising  young  prince,  having  heard  of 
the  emperor's  intention  to  invade  Provence,  was  so  fond  of  showing  that  he 
did  not  yield  to  any  of  his  ancestors  in  the  sincerity  of  his  attachment  to 
the  French  crown,  and  so  eager  to  distinguish  himself  by  some  military 
exploit,  that  he  levied  a  body  of  troops  with  an  intention  of  leading  them 
in  person  to  the  assistance  of  the  king  of  France.  Though  some  unfor- 
tunate accidents  prevented  his  carrying  any  troops  into  France,  nothing 
could  divert  him  from  going  thither  in  person.  Immediately  upon  his 
landing,  he  hastened  to  Provence,  but  had  been  detained  so  long  in  bis 
voyage,  that  he  came  too  late  to  have  any  share  in  the  military  operations, 
and  met  the  king  on  his  return  after  the  retreat  of  the  Imperialists.  But 
Francis  was  so  greatly  pleased  with  his  zeal,  and  no  less  with  his  manners 
and  conversation,  that  he  could  not  refuse  him  his  daughter  Magdalen, 
whom  he  demanded  in  marriage.  It  mortified  Henry  extremely  to  see  a 
prince,  of  whom  he  was  immoderately  jealous,  form  an  alliance  [Jan  1. 
1537],  from  which  he  derived  such  an  accession  of  reputation  as  well  as 
security. t  He  could  not,  however,  with  decency,  oppose  Francis's 
bestowing  his  daughter  upon  a  monarch  descended  from  a  race  of  princes, 
the  most  ancient  and  faithful  allies  of  the  French  crown.  But  when  James, 
upon  the  sudden  death  of  Magdalen,  demanded  as  his  second  wife  Mary 
of  Guise,  he  warmly  solicited  Francis  to«deny  his  suit,  and  in  order  to 
disappoint  him,  asked  that  lady  in  marriage  for  himself.  When  Francis 
preferred  the  Scottish  king's  sincere  courtship  to  his  artful  and  malevolent 
proposal,  he  discovered  much  dissatisfaction.  The  pacification  agreed 
upon  at  Nice,  and  the  familiar  interview  of  the  tworivals  at  Aigues-mortes, 
tilled  Henry's  mind  with  new  suspicions,  as  if  Francis  had  altogether 
renounced  his  friendship  for  the  sake  of  new  connections  with  the  emperor. 
Charles,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  temper  of  the  English  king,  and 
watchful  to  observe  all  the  shiftings  and  caprices  of  his  passions,  thought 
this  a  favourable  opportunity  of  renewing  his  negotiations  with  him,  which 
had  been  long  broken  off.  By  the  death  of  queen  Catharine,  whose  interest 
the  emperor  could  not  with  decency  have  abandoned,  the  chief  cause  of 
their  discord  was  removed  ;  so  that,  without  touching  upon  the  deb'cat< 
question  of  her  divorce,  he  might  now  take  what  measures  he  thought 

*.lovii  Hist.  c.  xcviii.  p.  218,  &c.     Belcaiii  Comment  1.  xxii.  p.  696.    Istoria  de  mS  Tempi  >;' 
Giov.    Rat.  Adriani.  Veil.  1587,  p.  10.  t  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  i   • 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  277 

most  effectual  for  regaining  Heniy's  good-will.  For  tins  purpose,  he 
began  with  proposing  several  rmrriage-treaties  to  the  king.  He  offered 
his  niece,  a  daughter  of  the  king  of  Denmark,  to  Hemy  himself;  he 
demanded  the  princess  Mary  for  one  of  the  princes  of  Portugal,  and  was 
even  willing  to  receive  her  as  the  king's  illegitimate  daughter.*  Though 
none  of  these  projected  alliances  ever  took  place,  or  perhaps  were  ever 
seriously  intended,  ihey  occasioned  such  Irequent  intercourse  between  the 
courts,  and  so  many  reciprocal  professions  of  civility  and  esteem,  as  con- 
siderably abated  trie  edge  of  Henry's  rancour  against  the  emperor,  and 
paved  the  way  for  that  union  between  them  which  afterwards  proved  so 
disadvantageous  to  the  French  king. 

The  ambitious  schemes  in  which  the  emperor  had  been  engaged,  and 
the  wars  he  had  been  carrying  on  for  some  years,  proved,  as  usual,  ex- 
tremely favourable  to  the  progress  of  the  reformation  in  Germany.  While 
Charles  was  absent  upon  his  African  expedition,  or  intent  on  his  projects 
against  France,  his  chief  object  in  Germany  was  to  prevent  the  dissensions 
about  religion  from  disturbing  the  public  tranquillity,  by  granting  such 
indulgence  to  the  protestant  princes  as  might  induce  them  to  concur  with 
his  measures,  or  at  least  to  hinder  them  trom  taking  part  with  his  rival. 
For  this  reason,  he  was  careful  to  secure  to  the  protestants  the  possession 
of  all  the  advantages  which  they  had  gained  by  the  articles  of  pacification 
at  Nuremberg,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-two  ;t  and 
except  some  slight  trouble  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Imperial  chamber, 
they  met  with  nothing  to  disturb  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  or 
to  interrupt  the  successful  zeal  with  which  they  propagated  their  opinions. 
Meanwhile  the  pope  continued  his  negotiations  for  convoking  a  general 
council ;  and  though  the  protestants  had  expressed  great  dissatisfaction  with 
his  intention  to  hx  upon  Mantua  as  the  place  of  meeting,  he  adhered 
obstinately  to  his  choice,  issued  a  bull  on  the  second  of  June,  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  thirty-six,  appointing  it  to  assemble  in  that  city  on  the 
twenty-third  of  May  the  year  following;  he  nominated  three  cardinals  to 
preside  in  his  name ;  enjoined  all  Christian  princes  to  countenance  it  by 
their  authority,  and  invited  the  prelates  of  every  nation  to  attend  in  person. 
This  summons  of  a  council,  an  assembly  which  from  its  nature  and  inten- 
tion demanded  quiet  times,  as  well  as  pacific  dispositions,  at  the  very 
juncture  when  the  emperor  was  on  his  march  towards  France,  and  ready 
to  involve  a  great  part  of  Europe  in  the  confusions  of  war,  appeared  to 
every  person  extremely  unseasonable.  It  was  intimated,  however,  to  all 
the  different  courts  by  nuncios  despatched  on  purpose.!  With  an  intention 
to  gratify  the  Germans,  the  emperor,  during  his  residence  in  Rome,  had 
warmly  solicited  the  pope  to  call  a  council ;  but  being  at  the  same  time 
willing  to  try  every  art  in  order  to  persuade  Paul  to  depart  from  the  neutrality 
which  he  preserved  between  him  and  Francis,  he  sent  Heldo  his  vice-chan- 
cellor into  Germany,  along  with  a  nuncio  despatched  thither,  instructing 
him  to  second  all  the  nuncio's  representations,  and  to  enforce  them  with 
the  whole  weight  of  the  Imperial  authority.  The  protestants  gave  them 
audience  at  Smalkalde,  [Feb.  25,  1537],  where  they  had  assembled  in  a 
body  in  order  to  receive  them.  But  after  weighing  all  their  arguments, 
they  unanimously  refused  to  acknowledge  a  council  summoned  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  pope  alone ;  in  which  he  assumed  the  sole  right 
of  presiding ;  which  was  to  be  held  in  a  city  not  only  far  distant  from  Ger- 
many, but  subject  to  a  prince,  who  was  a  stranger  to  them,  and  closely 
connected  with  the  court  of  Rome ;  and  to  which  their  divines  could  not 
repair  with  safety,  especially  after  their  doctrines  had  been  stigmatized  in 
the  very  bull  of  convocation  with  the  name  of  heresy.     These  and  many 

*  Mem.  de  TUbicr,  t.  i.  49R.       t  Pn  Mant  Corps  r>ipin;n.  tan.  iv.  part  2.  p.  138        J  PaHavfc, 
Hi«t.  Cnnr.  Triri.  113. 


?78  THE    REIGN   OF   THE  '  iBook  VI. 

other  objections  against  the  council,  which  appeared  to  them  unanswerable, 
they  enumerated  in  a  large  manifesto,  which  they  published  in  vindication 
of  their  conduct.* 

Against  this  the  court  of  Rome  exclaimed  as  a  flagrant  proof  of  their 
obstinacy  and  presumption,  and  the  pope  still  persisted  in  his  resolution 
to  hold  the  council  at  the  time  and  in  the  place  appointed.  But  some 
unexpected  difficulties  being  started  by  the  duke  of  Mantua,  both  about 
the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  persons  who  resorted  to  the  council,  and 
the  security  of  his  capital  amidst  such  a  concourse  of  strangers,  the  pope 
[Oct.  8,  1538],  after  fruitless  endeavours  to  adjust  these,  first  prorogued 
the  council  for  some  months,  and  afterwards,  transferring  the  place  of 
meeting  to  Vicenza  in  the  Venetian  territories,  appointed  it  to  assemble 
on  the  hrst  of  May,  in  the  following  year.  As  neither  the  emperor  nor  the 
French  king,  who  had  not  then  come  to  any  accommodation,  would  permit 
their  subjects  to  repair  thither,  not  a  single  prelate .  appeared  6n  the  day 
prefixed,  and  the  pope,  that  his  authority  might  not  become  altogether 
contemptible  by  so  many  ineffectual  efforts  to  convoke  that  assembly,  put 
off  the  meeting  by  an  indefinite  prorogation.! 

But  that  Ije  might  not  seem  to  have  turned  his  whole  attention  towards 
a  reformation  which  he  was  not  able  to  accomplish,  while  he  neglected 
that  which  was  in  his  own  power,  he  deputed  a  certain  number  of  cardi- 
nals and  bishops,  with  full  authority  to  inquire  into  the  abuses  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Roman  court ;  and  to  propose  the  most  effectual  method  of 
removing  them.  This  scrutiny,  undertaken  with  reluctance,  was  carried 
on  slowly  and  with  remissness.  All  defects  were  touched  with  a  gentle 
hand,  afraid  of  probing  too  deep,  or  of  discovering  too  much.  But  even 
by  this  partial  examination,  many  irregularities  were  detected,  and  many 
enormities  exposed  to  light,  while  the  remedies  which  they  suggested  as 
most  proper  were  either  inadequate  or  were  never  applied.  The  report  and 
resolution  of  these  deputies,  though  intended  to  be  kept  secret,  were  trans- 
mitted by  some  accident  into  Germany,  and  being  immediately  made 
public,  afforded  ample  matter  for  reflection,  and  triumph  to  the  protestants.t 
On  the  one  hand,  they  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  a  reformation  in  the 
head  as  well  as  the  members  of  the  church,  and  even  pointed  out  many 
of  the  corruptions  against  which  Luther  and  his  followers  had  remonstrated 
with  the  greatest  vehemence.  They  showed,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if; 
was  vain  to  expect  this  reformation  from  ecclesiastics  themselves,  who,  as 
Luther  strongly  expressed  it,  piddled  at  curing  warts,  while  they  over- 
looked or  confirmed  ulcers.§ 

1539].  The  earnestness  with  which  the  emperor  seemed,  at  first,  to 
press  their  acquiescing  in  the  pope's  scheme  of  holding  a  council  in  Italy, 
alarmed  the  protestant  princes  so  much,  that  they  thought  it  prudent  to 
strengthen  their  confederacy,  by  admitting  several  new  members  who 
solicited  that  privilege,  particularly  the  king  of  Denmark.  Heldo,  who 
during  his  residence  in  Germany,  had  observed  all  the  advantages  which 
they  derived  from  that  union,  endeavoured  to  counterbalance  its  effects  by 
an  alliance  among  the  Catholic  powers  of  the  empire.  This  league,  disr 
tinguished  by  the  name  of  Holy,  was  merely  defensive ;  and  though  con- 
cluded by  Heldo  in  the  emperor's  name,  was  afterwards  disowned  by  him, 
and  subscribed  by  very  few  princes. || 

The  protestants  soon  got  intelligence  of  this  association,  notwithstanding 
all  the  endeavours  of  the  contracting  parties  to  conceal  it ;  and  their  zeal, 
always  apt  to  suspect  and  to  dread,  even  to  excess,  every  thing  that  seemed 
to  threaten  religion,  instantly  took  the  alarm,  as  if  the  emperor  had  been 
just  ready  to  enter  upon  the  execution  of  some  formidable  plan  for  the 

*  Bleidan.  1.  xii.  133,  fee.  Weekend.  Com  lib.  iii.  p.  143,  &o.  t  F-  Paul,  117.  PaUavic.  11T 
X  Stetilan,  2S3.  $  So.k.  I.  iii.  164,  I!  Seek.  I.  iii.  171.     Recueil  .lesTrairc*: 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  279 

extirpation  of  their  opinions.  In  order  to  disappoint  this,  they  held 
frequent  consultations,  they  courted  the  kings  of  France  and  England  with 
great  assiduity,  and  even  began  to  think  of  raising  the  respective  contin- 
gents both  in  men  and  money  with  which  they  were  obliged  to  furnish  by 
the  treaty  of  Smalkalde.  But  it  was  not  long  before  they  were  convinced 
that  these  apprehensions  were  without  foundation,  and  that  the  emperor, 
to  whom  repose  was  absolutely  necessary,  after  efforts  so  much  beyond  his 
strength  in  the  war  with  France,  had  no  thoughts  of  disturbing  the  tran- 
quillity of  Germany.  As  a  proof  of  this,  at  an  interview  with  the  pro- 
testant  princes  in  Frankfort  [April  19],  his  ambassadors  agreed  that  all 
concessions  in  their  favour,  particularly  those  contained  in  the  pacification 
of  Nuremberg,  should  continue  in  force  for  fifteen  months ;  that  during 
this  period  all  proceedings  of  the  Imperial  chamber  against  them  should 
be  suspended  ;  that  a  conference  should  be  held  by  a  few  divines  of  each 
party,  in  order  to  discuss  the  points  in  controversy,  and  to  propose  articles 
of  accommodation  which  should  be  laid  before  the  next  diet.  Though 
the  emperor,  that  he  might  not  irritate  the  pope,  who  remonstrated  against 
the  first  part  of  this  agreement  as  impolitic,  and  against  the  latter,  as  an 
impious  encroachment  upon  his  prerogative,  never  formally  ratified  this 
convention,  it  was  observed  with  considerable  exactness,  and  greatly 
strengthened  the  basis  of  that  ecclesiastical  liherty  for  which  the  protestants 
contended.* 

A  few  days  after  the  convention  at  Frankfort,  George  duke  of  Saxony 
died  [April  24],  and  his  death  was  an  event  of  great  advantage  to  the  re- 
formation. That  prince,  the  head  of  the  Albertine,  or  younger  branch  of 
the  Saxon  family,  possessed,  as  marquis  of  Misnia  and  Thuringia,  extensive 
territories,  comprehending  Dresden,  Leipsic,  and  other  cities  now  the 
most  considerable  in  the  electorate.  From  the  first  dawn  of  the  reformation, 
he  had  been  its  enemy  as  avowedly  as  the  electoral  princes  were  its  pro- 
tectors, and  had  carried  on  his  opposition  not  only  with  all  the  zeal  flowing 
from  religious  prejudices,  but  with  a  virulence  inspired  by  personal  an- 
tipathy to  Luther,  and  imbittered  by  the  domestic  animosity  subsisting 
between  him  and  the  other  branch  of  his  family.  By  his  death  without 
issue,  his  succession  fell  to  his  brother  Henry,  whose  attachment  to  the 

Erotestant  religion  surpassed,  if  possible,  that  of  his  predecessor  to  popery, 
lenry  no  sooner  took  possession  of  his  new  dominions,  than,  disregarding 
a  clause  in  George's  will,  dictated  by  his  bigotry,  whereby  he  bequeathed 
all  his  territories  to  the  emperor  and  king  of  the  Romans,  if  his  brother 
should  attempt  to  make  any  innovation  in  religion,  he  invited  some  pro- 
testant  divines,  and  among  them  Luther  himself,  to  Leipsic.  By  their 
advice  and  assistance,  he  overturned  in  a  few  weeks  the  whole  system  of 
ancient  rites,  establishing  the  full  exercise  of  the  reformed  religion  with 
the  universal  applause  ot  his  subjects,  who  had  long  wished  for  this  change, 
which  the  authority  of  their  duke  alone  had  hitherto  prevented.!  This 
revolution  delivered  the  protestants  from  the  danger  to  which  they  were 
exposed  by  having  an  inveterate  enemy  situated  in  the  middle  of  their 
territories  ;  and  they  had  now  the»satisfaction  of  seeing  that  the  possessions 
of  the  princes  and  cities  attached  to  their  cause,  extended  in  one  great 
and  almost  unbroken  line  from  the  shore  of  the  Baltic  to  the  banks  ot  the 
Rhine. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  truce  at  Nice,  an  event  happened,  which 
satisfied  all  Europe  that  Charles  bad  prosecuted  the  war  to  the  utmost  ex- 
tremity that  the  state  of  his  affairs  would  permit.  Vast  arrears  were  due 
to  his  troops,  whom  he  had  long  amused  with  vain  hopes  and  promises. 
As  they  now  foresaw  what  little  attention  would  be  paid  to  their  demands, 
ivhen  by  the  re-establishraent  of  peace  their  services  became  of  less  in> 

*r.  Paul.M     SIM.  047.    Beek.Llik.S0Bi  >  ?lri»lan,  M«. 


og0  T  H  E    R  E IGN   OF   T  H E  [Book  VI. 

portance,  they  lost  all  patience,  broke  out  into  an  open  mutiny,  and  declared 
that  they  thought  themselves  entitled  to  seize  by  violence  what  was  de- 
tained from  them  contrary  to  all  justice.  Nor  was  this  spirit  of  sedition 
confined  to  one  part  of  the  emperor's  dominions;  the  mutiny  was  almost 
.is  general  as  the  grievance  which  gave  rise  to  it.  The  soldiers  in  the 
Milanese  plundered  the  open  country  without  control,  and  filled  the  capital 
itself  with  consternation.  Those  in  garrison  at  Goletta  threatened  to  give 
up  that  important  fortress  to  Barbarossa.  In  Sicily,  the  troops  proceeded 
to  still  greater  excesses  ;  having  driven  away  their  officers,  they  elected 
others  in  their  stead,  defeated  a  body  of  men  whom  the  viceroy  sent 
against  them,  took  and  pillaged  several  cities,  conducting  themselves  all 
the  while  in  such  a  manner,  that  their  operations  resembled  rather  the 
regular  proceedings  of  a  concerted  rebellion,  than  the  rashness  and  violence 
of  a  military  mutiny.  But  by  the  address  and  prudence  of  the  generals, 
who,  partly  by  borrowing  money  in  their  own  name,  or  in  that  of  their 
master,  partly  by  extorting  large  sums  from  the  cities  in  their  respective 
provinces,  raised  what  was  sufficient  to  discbarge  the  arrears  of  the  soldiers, 
these  insurrections  were  quelled.  The  greater  part  of  the  troops  were 
disbanded,  such  a  number  only  being  kept  in  pay  as  was  necessary  for 
garrisoning  the  principal  towns,  and  protecting  the  seacoasts  from  the 
insults  of  the  Turks.* 

It  was  happy  tor  the  emperor  that  the  abilities  of  his  generals  extricated 
him  out  of  these  difficulties,  which  it  exceeded  his  own  power  to  have 
removed.  He  had  depended,  as  his  chief  resource  for  discharging  the 
arrears  due  to  his  soldiers,  upon  the  subsidies  which  he  expected  from  his 
Castilian  subjects.  For  this  purpose,  he  assembled  the  Cortes  of  Castile 
at  Toledo,  and  having  represented  to  them  the  extraordinary  expense  of 
his  military  operations,  together  with  the  great  debts  in  which  these  had 
necessarily  involved  him,  he  proposed  to  levy  such  supplies  as  the  present 
exigency  of  his  affairs  demanded,  by  a  general  excise  on  commodities. 
But  the  Spaniards  already  felt  themselves  oppressed  with  a  load  of  taxes 
unknown  to  their  ancestors.  They  had  often  complained  that  their  country 
was  drained  not  only  of  its  wealth  but  of  its  inhabitants,  in  order  to  pro- 
secute quarrels  in  which  it  was  not  interested,  and  to  fight  battles,  from 
which  it  could  reap  no  benefit ;  and  they  determined  not  to  add  volun- 
tarily to  their  own  burdens,  or  to  furnish  the  emperor  with  the  means  of 
engaging  in  new  enterprises  no  less  ruinous  to  the  kingdom  than  most  of 
those  which  he  had  hitherto  carried  on.  The  nobles  in  particular  inveighed 
with  great  vehemence  against  the  imposition  proposed,  as  an  encroach- 
ment upon  the  valuable  and  distinguishing  privilege  of  their  order,  that  of 
being  exempted  from  the  payment  of  any  tax.  They  demanded  a  con- 
ference with  the  representatives  of  the  cities  concerning  the  state  of  the 
nation.  They  contended  that  if  Charles  would  imitate  the  example  of 
his  predecessors,  who  had  resided  constantly  in  Spain,  and  would  avoid 
entangling  himself  in  a  multiplicity  of  transactions  foreign  to  the  concerns 
of  his  Spanish  dominions,  his  stated  revenues  of  the  crown  would  be  fully 
sufficient  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  government.  They  repre- 
sented to  him,  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  lay  new  burdens  upon  the  people, 
while  this  prudent  and  effectual  method  of  re-establishing  public  credit, 
and  securing  national  opulence,  was  totally  neglected.!  Charles,  after 
employing  arguments,  entreaties,  and  promises,  but  without  success,  in 
order  to  overcome  their  obstinacy,  dismissed  the  assembly  with  great  in- 
dignation. From  that  period  neither  the  nobles  nor  the  prelates  have  been 
called  to  these  assemblies,  on  pretence  that  such  as  pay  no  part  of  the 

Eublic  taxes,  should  not  claim  any  vote  in  laying  thena  on.     None  have 
een  admitted  to  the  Cortes  but  the  procurators  or  representatives  of 

*  .Tovii  Hisi.l.  xxxvii.  203.  c.    Sandov.  Ferreias.  ix.  906.  t  f  Smdor. Htat  vol.ii.SG9 


EMPEROR CHARLES   V.  381 

eighteen  cities.  These  to  the  number  of  thirty-six,  being  two  from  each 
community,  form  an  assembly  which  hears  do  resemblance  either  in  power 
or  dignity  or  independence  to  the  ancient.Cortes,  and  are  absolutely  at  the 
devotion  of  the  court  in  all  their  determinations.*  Thus  the  imprudent 
zeal  with  which  the  Castilian  nobles  had  supported  the  regal  prerogative, 
in  opposition  to  the  claims  of  the  commons  during  the  commotions  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-one,  proved  at  last  fatal  to 
their  own  body.  By  enabling  Charles  to  depress  one  of  the  orders  in  the 
state,  they  destroyed  that  balance  to  which  the  constitution  owed  its 
security,  and  put  it  in  his  power,  or  in  that  of  his  successors,  to  humble  the 
other,  and  to  strip  it  gradually  of  its  most  valuable  privileges. 

At  the  same  time,  however,  the  Spanish  grandees  still  possessed  extra- 
ordinary power  as  well  as  privileges,  which  they  exercised  and  defended 
with  a  naughtiness  peculiar  to  themselves.  Of  this  the  emperor  himself 
had  a  mortifying  proof  during  the  meeting  of  the  Cortes  at  Toledo.  As 
he  was  returning  one  day  from  a  tournament  accompanied  by  most  of  the 
nobility,  one  of  the  sergeants  of  the  court,  out  of  officious  zeal  to  clear  the 
way  for  the  emperor,  struck  the  duke  of  Infantado's  horse  with  his  batoon. 
which  that  haughty  grandee  resenting,  drew  his  sword,  beat  and  wounded 
t lie  officer.  Charles,  provoked  at  such  an  insolent  deed  in  his  presence, 
immediately  ordered  Ronquillo  the  judge  of  the  court  to  arrest  the  duke  ; 
Ronquillo  advanced  to  execute  his  charge,  when  the  constable  of  Castile 
interposing,  checked  him,  claimed  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  a  grandee 
as  a  privilege  of  his  office,  and  conducted  Infantado  to  his  own  apartment. 
All  the  nobles  present  were  so  pleased  with  the  boldness  of  the  constable 
in  asserting  the  rights  of  their  order,  that,  deserting  the  emperor,  they 
attended  him  to  his  house  with  infinite  applauses,  and  Charles  returned  to 
the  palace  unaccompanied  by  any  person  but  the  cardinal  Tavera.  The . 
emperor,  how  sensible  soever  of  the  affront,  saw  the  danger  of  irritating  a 
jealous  and  high-spirited  order  of  men,  whom  the  slightest  appearance  of 
offence  might  drive  to  the  most  unwarrantable  extremities.  For  that 
reason,  instead  of  straining  at  any  ill-timed  exertion  of  his  prerogative,  he 
prudently  connived  at  the  arrogance  of  a  body  too  potent  for  him  to  control, 
and  sent  next  morning  to  the  duke  of  Infantado,  offering  to  inflict  what 
punishment  he  pleased  on  the  person  who  had  affronted  him.  The  duke 
considering  this  as  a  full  reparation  to  his  honour,  instantly  forgave  the 
officer ;  bestowing  on  him,  besides,  a  considerable  present  as  a  compen- 
sation for  his  wound.  Thus  the  affair  was  entirely  forgotten  ;|  nor  would 
it  have  deserved  to  be  mentioned,  if  it  were  not  a  striking  example  of  the 
high  and  independent  spirit  of  the  Spanish  nobles  in  that  age,  as  well  as 
an  instance  01  the  emperor's  dexterity  in  accommodating  his  conduct  to 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 

Charles  was  far  from  discovering  the  same  condescension  or  lenity 
toward  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  who  not  long  after  broke  out  into  open  re- 
bellion against  his  government.  An  event  which  happened  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-six,  gave  occasion  to  this  rash  insur- 
rection so  fatal  to  that  flourishing  city.  At  that  time  the  queen  dowager 
of  Hungary,  governess  of  the  Netherlands,  having  received  orders  from 
her  brother  to  invade  France  with  all  the  forces  which  she  could  raise, 
she  assembled  the  States  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  obtained  from  them 
a  subsidy  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  florins,  to  defray  the  expense  of 
that  undertaking.  Of  this  sum,  the  county  of  Flanders  was  obliged  to 
pay  a  third  part  as  its  proportion.  But  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  the  most 
considerable  city  in  that  country,  averse  to  a  war  with  France,  with  which 
they  carried  on  an  extensive  and  gainful  commerce,  refused  to  pay  their 

*  Sandov.  lb.    Lc  Science  du  Gonvernment.  par  M.  rtr  Real.  torn.  ii.  p.  100.  f  Sandnv  H 

274.    Frirreraa,  1st.  212.    Mlnlana.  113 

Vol.  II.— ^s 


Ml  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VI. 

quota,  and  contended,  that  in  consequence  of  stipulations  between  them 
and  the  ancestors  of  their  present  sovereign  the  emperor,  no  tax  could  be 
levied  upon  them,  unless  they  .had  given  their  express  consent  to  the 
imposition  of  it.  The  governess  on  the  other  hand,  maintained,  that  as 
the  subsidy  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  florins  had  been  granted  by  the 
States  of  Flanders,  of  which  their  representatives  were  members,  they 
were  bound,  of  course,  to  conform  to  what  was  enacted  by  them,  as  it  is 
the  first  principle  in  society,  on  which  the  tranquillity  and  order  of 
government  depend,  that  the  inclinations  of  the  minority  must  be  over- 
ruled by  the  judgment  and  decision  of  the  superior  number. 

The  citizens  of  Ghent,  however,  were  not  willing  to  .relinquish  a  privi- 
lege of  such  high  importance  as  that  which  they  claimed.  Having  been 
accustomed,  under  the  government  of  the  house  of  Burgundy,  to  enjoy 
extensive  immunities,  and  to  be  treated  with  much  indulgence,  they  dis- 
dained to  sacrifice  to  the  delegated  power  of  a  regent,  those  rights  and 
liberties  which  they  had  often  and  successfully  asserted  against  their 
greatest  princes.  The  queen,  though  she  endeavoured  at  first  to  soothe 
them,  and  to  reconcile  them  to  their  duty  by  various  concessions,  was  at 
last  so  much  irritated  by  the  obstinacy  with  which  they  adhered  to  their 
claim,  that  she  ordered  all  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  on  whom  she  could  lay 
hold  in  any  part  of  the  Netherlands,  to  be  arrested.  But  this  rash  action 
made  an  impression  very  different  from  what  she  expected,  on  men  whose 
minds  were  agitated  with  all  the  violent  passions  which  indignation  at 
oppression  and  zeal  for  liberty  inspire.  Less  affected  with  the  danger  of 
their  friends  and  companions,  than  irritated  at  the  governess,  they  openly 
despised  her  authority,  and  sent  deputies  to  the  other  towns  of  Flanders, 
conjuring  them  not  to  abandon  their  country  at  such  a  juncture,  but  to  con- 
cur with  them  in  vindicating  its  rights  against  the  encroachments  of  a 
woman,  who  either  did  not  know  or  did  not  regard  their  immunities.  All 
but  a  few  inconsiderable  towns  declined  entering  into  any  confederacy 
against  the  governess ;  they  joined,  however,  in  petitioning  her  to  put 
off  the  term  for  payment  of  the  tax  so  long,  that  they  might  have  it  in 
their  power  to  send  some  of  their  number  into  Spain,  in  order  to  lay  their 
title  to  exemption  before  their  sovereign.  This  she  granted  with  some 
difficulty.  But  Charles  received  their  commissioners  with  a  haughtiness 
to  which  they  were  not  accustomed  from  their  ancient  princes,  and  enjoin- 
ing them  to  yield  the  same  respectful  obedience  to  his  sister,  which  they 
owed  to  him  in  person,  remitted  the  examination  of  their  claim  to  the 
council  of  Malines.  This  court,  which  is  properly  a  standing  committee 
of  the  parliament  or  states  of  the  country,  and  which  possesses  the 
supreme  jurisdiction  in  all  matters  civil  as  well  as  criminal,*  pronounced 
the  claim  of  the  citizens  of  Ghent  to  be  ill-founded,  and  appointed  them 
forthwith  to  pay  their  proportion  of  the  tax. 

Enraged  at  this  decision,  which  they  considered  as  notoriously  unjust, 
and  rendered  desperate  on  seeing  their  rights  betrayed  by  that  very  court 
which  was  bound  to  protect  them,  the  people  of  Ghent  ran  to  arms  in  a 
tumultuary  manner  ;  drove  such  of  the  nobility  a6  resided  among  them 
out  of  the  city ;  secured  several  of  the  emperor's  officers  ;  put  one  of 
them  to  the  torture,  whom  they  accused  of  having  stolen  or  destroyed  the 
record  that  contained  a  ratification  of  the  privileges  of  exemption  from 
taxes  which  they  pleaded  ;  chose  a  council  to  which  they  committed  the 
direction  of  their  affairs ;  gave  orders  for  repairing  and  adding  to  their 
fortifications ;  and  openly  erected  the  standard  of  rebelbon  against  their 
sovereign.!     Sensible,  however,  of  their  inability  to*  support  what  their 

*  Deecriptione  di  tutti  Paesi  Basi  di  Lud.    Guicciardini.     Ant.  1571.  fol.  p.  53.  t  Memoires 

sur  la  Revolte  de  Gantois  en  1539,  par  Jean  d'Hollander,  eeiit  en  1M7.  A  la  Have,  J747.  P. 
Ifemnr.  Rer.  Austr.  lib.  Ti.  p.  2f)2.     Sandov    Hist.  torn.  ii.  p.  4=5. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  283 

zeal  had  prompted  them  to  undertake,  and  desirous  of  securing"  a  pro- 
tector against  the  formidable  forces  by  which  they  might  expect  soon  to 
be  attacked,  they  sent  some  of  their  number  to  Francis,  offering  not  only 
to  acknowledge  him  as  their  sovereign,  and  to  put  him  in  immediate  pos- 
session of  Ghent,  but  to  assist  him  with  all  their  forces  in  recovering  those 
provinces  in  the  Netherlands,  which  had  anciently" belonged  to  the  crown 
of  France,  and  had  been  so  lately  re-united  to  it  by  the  decree  of  the 
parliament  of  Paris.  This  unexpected  proposition  coming  from  persons 
who  had  it  in  their  power  to  have  performed  instantly  one  part  of  what 
they  undertook,  and  who  could  contribute  so  effectually  towards  the  exe- 
cution of  the  whole,  opened  great  as  well  as  alluring  prospects  to  Francis's 
ambition.  The  counties  of  Flanders  and  Artois  were  of  greater  value 
than  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  which  he  had  so  long  laboured  to  acquire  with 
passionate  but  fruitless  desire;  their  situation  with  respect  to  France 
rendered  it  more  easy  to  conquer  or  to  defend  them ;  and  they  might  be 
formed  into  a  separate  principality  for  the  duke  of  Orleans,  no  less  suit- 
able to  his  dignity  than  that  which  his  father  aimed  at  obtaining.  To 
this,  the  Flemings,  who  were  acquainted  with  the  French  manners  and 
government,  would  not  have  been  averse  ;  and  his  own  subjects,  weary  of 
their  destructive  expeditions  into  Italy,  would  have  turned  their  arms 
towards  this  quarter  with  more  good  will,  and  with  greater  vigour. 
Several  considerations,  nevertheless,  prevented  Francis  from  laying  hold 
of  this  opportunity,  the  most  favourable  in  appearance  which  had  ever 
presented  itself,  of  extending  his  own  dominions,  or  distressing  the  em- 
peror. From  the  time  of  their  interview  at  Aigues-mortes,  Charles  had 
continued  to  court  the  king  of  France  with  wonderful  attention  ;  and  often 
flattered  him  with  hopes  of  gratifying  at  last  his  wishes  concerning  the 
Milanese,  by  granting  the  investiture'  of  it  either  to  him  or  to  one  of  his 
sons.  But  though  these  hopes  and  promises  were  thrown  out  with  no 
other  intention  than  to  detach  him  from  his  confederacy  with  the  grand 
seignior,  or  to  raise  suspicions  in  Solyman's  mind  by  the  appearance  of  a 
cordial  and  familiar  intercourse  subsisting  between  the  courts  of  Paris  and 
Madrid,  Francis  was  weak  enough  to  catch  at  the  shadow  by  which  he 
had  been  so  often  amused,  and  from  eagerness  to  seize  it,  relinquished 
what  must  have  proved  a  more  substantial  acquisition.  Besides  this,  the 
dauphin,  jealous  to  excess  of  his  brother,  and  unwilling  that  a  prince  who 
seemed  to  be  of  a  restless  and  enterprising  nature,  should  obtain  an  esta- 
blishment, which  from  its  situation  might  be  considered  almost  as  a  domestic 
one,  made  use  of  Montmorency,  who,  by  a  singular  piece  of  good  fortune, 
was  at  the  same  time  the  favourite  of  the  father  and  of  the  son,  to  defeat 
the  application  of  the  Flemings,  and  to  divert  the  king  from  espousing 
their  cause.  Montmorency,  accordingly,  represented,  in  strong  terms,  the 
reputation  and  power  which  Francis  would  acquire  by  recovering  that 
footing  which  he  formerly  had  in  Italy,  and  that  nothing  would  be  so 
efficacious  to  overcome  the  emperor's  aversion  to  this  as  a  sacred  adherence 
to  the  truce,  and  refusing,  on  an  occasion  so  inviting,  to  countenance  the 
rebellious  subjects  of  his  rival.  Francis,  apt  of  himself  to  overrate  the 
value  of  the  Milanese,  because  he  estimated  it  from  the  length  of  time  as 
well  as  from  the  great  efforts  which  he  had  employed  in  order  to  recon- 
quer it,  and  fond  of  eveiy  action  which  had  the  appearance  of  generosity, 
assented  without  difficulty  to  sentiments  so  agreeable  to  his  own,  rejected 
the  propositions  of  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  and  dismissed  their  deputies  with 
a  harsh  answer.* 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  by  a  further  refinement  in  generosity,  he  com- 
municated to  the  emperor  his  whole  negotiation  with  the  malecontents, 
and  all  that  he  knew  of  their  schemes  and  intentions. f     This  convincing- 
Mem  <1h  RpIMv,  p.  2B3.    P.  HpiiIbt.  Her.  An=tr.  lib.  .\i.  26S.        t  Samtov.  Hfajnr.  tern.  ii.  B&l. 


284  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  VI. 

proof  of  Francis's  disinterestedness  relieved  Charles  from  the  most  dis- 
quieting apprehensions,  and  opened  a  way  to  extricate  himself  out  of  all 
his  difficulties.  He  had  already  received  full  information  of  all  the  trans- 
actions in  the  Netherlands,  and  of  the  rage  with  which  the  people  of 
Ghent  had  taken  arms  against  his  government.  He  was  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  genius  and  qualities  of  his  suhjects  in  that  country; 
with  their  love  of  liberty ;  their  attachment  to  their  ancient  privileges  and 
customs;  as  well  as  the  invincible  obstinacy  with  which  their  minds,  slow 
but  firm  and  persevering,  adhered  to  any  measure  on  which  they  had  deli- 
berately resolved.  He  easily  saw  what  encouragement  and  support  they 
might  have  derived  from  the  assistance  of  France ;  and  though  now  free 
from  any  danger  on  that  quarter,  he  was  still  sensible  that  some  immediate 
as  well  as  vigorous  interposition  was  necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
spirit  of  disaffection  from  spreading  in  a  countiy  where  the  number  of 
cities,  the  multitude  of  people,  together  with  the  great  wealth  diffused 
among  them  by  commerce,  rendered  it  peculiarly  formidable,  and  would 
supply  it  with  inexhaustible  resources.  No  expedient,  after  long  delibe- 
ration, appeared  to  him  so  effectual  as  his  going  in  person  to  the  Nether- 
lands ;  and  the  governess  his  sister  being  of  the  same  opinion,  warmly 
solicited  him  to  undertake  the  journey.  There  were  only  two  routes 
which  he  could  take;  one  by  land  through  Italy  and  Germany,  the  other 
entirely  by  sea,  from  some  port  in  Spain  to  one  in  the  Low-Countries. 
But  the  former  was  more  tedious  than  suited  the  present  exigency  of  his 
affairs;  nor  could  he  in  consistency  with  his  dignity,  or  even  his  safely, 
pass  thro  gh  Germany  without  such  a  train  both  ot  attendants  and  of  troops, 
as  would  have  added  greatly  to  the  time  he  must  have  consumed  in  his 
journey ;  the  latter  was  dangerous  at  this  season,  and  while  he  remained 
uncertain  with  respect  to  the  friendship  of  the  king  of  England,  was  not 
to  be  ventured  upon,  unless  under  the  convoy  of  a  powerful  fleet.  This 
perplexing  situation,  in  which  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  choosing, 
and  did  not  know  what  to  choose,  inspired  him  at  last  with  the  singular 
and  seemingly  extravagant  thought  of  passing  through  France,  as  the  most 
expeditious  way  of  reaching  the  Netherlands.  He  proposed  in  his  council 
to  demand  Francis's  permission  for  that  purpose.  All  his  counsellors 
joined  with  one  voice  in  condemning  the  measure  as  no  less  rash  than  un- 
precedented, and  which  must  infallibly  expose  him  to  disgrace  or  to 
danger  ;  to  disgrace,  if  the  demand  were  rejected  in  the  manner  that  he 
had  reason  to  expect ;  to  danger,  if  he  put  his  person  in  the  power  of  an 
enemy  whom  he  had  often  offended,  who  had  ancient  injuries  to  revenge, 
as  well  as  subjects  of  present  contest  still  remaining  undecided.  But 
Charles,  who  had  studied  the  character  of  his  rival  with  greater  care  and 
more  profound  discernment  than  any  of  his  ministers,  persisted  in  his  plan, 
and  flattered  himself  that  it  might  be  accomplished  not  only  without 
danger  to  his  own  person,  but  even  without  the  expense  of  any  concession 
detrimental  to  his  crown. 

With  this  view  he  communicated  the  matter  to  the  French  ambassador 
at  his  court,  and  sent  Granville  his  chief  minister  to  Paris,  in  order  to  ob- 
tain from  Francis  permission  to  pass  through  his  dominions,  and  to  promise 
(hat  he  would  soon  settle  the  affair  of  the  Milanese  to  his  satisfaction.  But 
at  the  same  time  he  entreated  that  Francis  would  not  exact  any  new  pro- 
mise, or  even  insist  on  former  engagements,  at  this  juncture,  lest  whatever 
be  should  grant,  under  his  present  circumstances,  might  seem  rather  to  be 
extorted  by  necessity  than  to  flow  from  friendship  or  the  love  of  justice. 
Francis,  instead  of  attending  to  the  snare  which  such  a  slight  artifice  scarcely 
concealed,  was  so  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  overcoming  an  enemy  by 
acts  of  generosity,  and  so  pleased  with  the  air  of  superiority  which  the 
rectitude  and  disinterestedness  of  his  proceedings  gave  him  on  this  occa- 
sion, that  he  at  once  assented  to  all  that  was  demanded.     Judging  of  the 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  285 

emperor's  heart  by  his  own,  he  imagined  that  the  sentiments  of  gratitude, 
arising  from  the  remembrance  of  good  offices  and  liberal  treatment,  would 
determine  him  more  forcibly  to  fulfil  what  he  had  so  often  promised,  than 
the  most  precise  stipulations  that  could  be  inserted  in  any  treaty. 

Upon  this,  Charles,  to  whom  every  moment  was  precious,  set  out,  not- 
Avithstanding  the  fears  and  suspicions  of  his  Spanish  subjects,  with  a  small 
but  splendid  train  of  about  a  hundred  persons.  At  Bayonne,  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  France,  he  was  received  by  the  dauphin  and  the  duke  of  Orleans, 
attended  by  the  constable  Montmorency.  The  two  princes  offered  to  go 
into  Spain,  and  to  remain  there  as  hostages  for  the  emperor's  safety;  but  this 
he  rejected,  declaring,  that  he  relied  with  implicit  confidence  on  the  king's 
honour]  and  had  never  demanded,  nor  would  accept  of  any  other  pledge 
for  his  security.  In  all  the  towns  through  which  he  passed,  the  greatest 
possible  magnificence  was  displayed  ;  the  magistrates  presented  him  the 
keys  of  the  gates  ;  the  prison  doors  were  set  open  ;  and  by  the  royal  ho- 
nours paid  to  him,  he  appeared  more  like  the  sovereign  of  the  country  than  a 
foreign  prince  [1540].  The  king  advanced  as  far  as  Chatelherault  to  meet 
him ;  their  interview  was  distinguished  by  the  warmest  expressions  of 
friendship  and  regard.  They  proceeded  together  towards  Paris,  and 
presented  to  the  inhabitants  ot  that  city,  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  two 
rival  monarchs,  whose  enmity  had  disturbed  and  laid  waste  Europe  during 
twenty  years,  making  their  solemn  entry  together  with  all  the  symptoms  ot 
a  confidential  harmony,  as  if  they  had  iorsjotten  for  ever  past  injuries,  and 
would  never  revive  hostilities  for  the  future.* 

Charles  remained  six  days  at  Paris  ;  but  amidst  the  perpetual  caresses 
of  the  French  court,  and  the  various  entertainments  contrived  to  amuse  or 
to  do  him  honour,  he  discovered  an  extreme  impatience  to  continue  his 
journey,  arising  as  much  from  an  apprehension  of  danger  which  constantly 
haunted  him,  as  from  the  necessity  of  his  presence  in  the  Low-Countries. 
Conscious  of  the  disingenuity  of  his  own  intentions,  he  trembled  when  he 
reflected  that  some  fatal  accident  might  betray  them  to  his  rival,  or 
lead  him  to  suspect  them  ;  and  though  his  artifices  to  conceal  them  should 
be  successful,  he  could  not  help  fearing  that  motives  of  interest  might  at 
last  triumph  over  the  scruples  of  honour,  and  tempt  Francis  to  avail  himself 
of  the  advantage  now  in  his  hands.  Nor  were  there  wanting  persons 
among  the  French  ministers,  who  advised  the  king  to  turn  his  own  arts 
against  the  emperor,  and  as  the  retribution  due  for  so  many  instances  ol 
fraud  or  falsehood,  to  seize  and  detain  his  person  until  he  granted  him  full 
satisfaction  with  regard  to  all  the  just  claims  of  the  French  crown.  Rut  no 
consideration  could  induce  Francis  to  violate  the  faith  which  he  had 
pledged,  nor  could  any  argument  convince  him  that  Charles,  after,  all  the 
promises  that  he  had  given,  and  all  the  favours  which  he  had  received, 
might  still  be  capable  of  deceiving  him.  Full  of  this  false  confidence,  he 
accompanied  him  to  St.  Ojiintin  ;  and  the  two  princes,  who  had  met  him 
on  the  borders  of  Spain,  did  not  take  leave  of  him  until  he  entered  his  do- 
minions in  the  Low-Countries. 

As  soon  as  the  emperor  reached  his  own  territories  [Jan.  24],  the  French 
ambassadors  demanded  the  accomplishment  of  what  he  had  promised  con- 
cerning the  investiture  of  Milan  :  but  Charles,  under  the  plausible  pretext 
lhat  his  whole  attention  was  then  engrossed  by  the  consultations  necessary 
towards  suppressing  the  rebellion  in  Ghent,  put  oft'  the  matter  for  some 
lime.  But  in  order  to  prevent  Francis  from  suspecting  his  sincerity,  be 
Mill  continued  to  talk  of  his  resolutions  with  respect  to  that  matter  in  the 
same  strain  as  when  he  entered  France,  and  even  wrote  to  the  king  much 
to  the  same  purpose,  though  in  general  terms,  and  with  equivocal  expres- 
sions, which  he  might  afterwards  explain  away  or  interpret  at  pleasure.'' 

•  Tlinnii.  MM.  lib.  i.  <•.  It.    Mm.  De  IVllny. -Ml  •  Meiuoire?  de  EffiiT.  i.  &M. 


286  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VI. 

Meanwhile,  the  unfortunate  citizens  of  Ghent,  destitute  of  leaders,  ca- 
pable either  of  directing  their  councils,  or  conducting  their  troops  ;  aban- 
doned by  the  French  king, and  unsupported  by  their  countrymen;  were 
unable  to  resist  their  offended  sovereign,  who  was  ready  to  advance  against 
them  with  one  body  of  troops  which  he  had  raised  in  the  Netherlands,  with 
another  drawn  out  of  Germany,  and  a  third  which  had  arrived  from  Spain 
by  sea.  The  near  approach  of  danger  made  them,  at  last,  so  sensible  of 
their  own  folly,  that  they  sent  ambassadors  to  the  emperor,  imploring  his 
mercy,  and  offering  to  set  open  their  gates  at  his  approach.  Charles,  with- 
out vouchsafing  them  any  other  answer  than  that  he  would  appear  amonsr 
them  as  their  .sovereign,  with  the  sceptre  and  the  sword  in  his  hand,  began 
his  march  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Though  he  chose  to  enter  the  city 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  his  birth-day,  he  was  touched  with 
nothing  of  that  tenderness  or  indulgence  which  was  natural  towards  the 
place  of  his  nativity.  Twenty -six  of  the  principal  citizens  were  put  to 
death  [April  20] ;  a  greater  number  were  sent  into  banishment ;  the  city 
was  declared  to  have  forfeited  all  its  privileges  and  immunities  ;  the  reve- 
nues belonging  to  it  were  confiscated  ;  its  ancient  form  of  government  was 
abolished  ;  the  nomination  of  its  magistrates  was  vested  for  the  future  in 
the  emperor  and  his  successors;  a  new  system  of  laws  and  political  admi- 
nistration was  prescribed  ;*  and  in  order  to  bridle  the  seditious  spirit  of  the 
citizens,  orders  were  given  to  erect  a  strong  citadel,  for  defraying  the  ex- 
pense ot  which  a  fine  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  florins  was  imposed 
on  the  inhabitants,  together  with  an  annual  tax  of  six  thousand  florins  lor  the 
support  oi  the  garrison.!  By  these  rigorous  proceedings,  Charles  not  only 
punished  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  but  set  an  awful  example  of  severity  before 
his  other  subjects  in  the  Netherlands,  whose  immunities  and  privileges,- 
partly  the  effect,  partly  the  cause  of  their  extensive  commerce,  circum- 
scribed the  prerogative  of  their  sovereign  within  very  narrow  bounds,  and 
often  stood  in  the  way  of  measures  which  he  wished  to  undertake,  or  fet- 
tered and  retarded  him  in  his  operations. 

Charles  having  thus  vindicated  and  re-established  his  authority  in  the  Low- 
Countries,  and  being  now  under  ip  necessity  of  continuing  the  same  scene 
<>f  falsehood  and  dissimulation  with  which  he  had  long  amused  Francis, 
began  gradually  to  throw  aside  the  veil  under  which  he  had  concealed  his 
intentions  with  respect  to  the  Milanese.  At  first,  he  eluded  the  demands  of 
the  French  ambassadors,  when  they  again  reminded  him  of  his  promises  : 
then  he  proposed,  by  Avay  of  equivalent  for  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  to  grant 
the  duke  of  Orleans  the  investiture  of  Flanders,  clogging  the  offer,  How- 
ever, with  impracticable  conditions,  or  such  as  he  knew  would  be  rejected.^ 
At  last,  being  driven  from  all  his  evasions  and  subterfuges  by  their  insisting 
for  a  categorical  answer,  he  peremptorily  refused  to  give  up  a  territory  of 
such  value,  or  voluntarily  to  make  such  a  liberal  addition  to  the  strength 
of  an  enemy,  by  diminishing  his  own  power.§  He  denied,  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  bad  ever  made  any  promise  which  could  bind  him  to  an  action 
so  foolish,  ;md  so  contrary  to  his  own  interest.il 

Of  all  the  transactions  in  the  emperor's  life,  this,  without  doubt,  reflects 
the  greatest  dishonour  on  his  reputation.  If  Though  Charles  was  not  ex- 
tremely scrupulous  at  other  times  about  the  means  which  he  employed  for 
iiccomplishing  his  ends,  and  was  not  always  observant  of  the  strict  precepts 
of  veracity  and  honour,  he  had  hitherto  maintained  some  regard  for  the 
maxims  of  that  less  precise  and  rigid  morality  by  which  monarc.hs  think 
themselves  entitled  to  regulate  their  conduct.  But,  on  this  occasion,  the 
scheme  that  he  formed  of  deceiving  a  generous  and  open-hearted  prince  ; 

*  Lea  Coutumes  ct  Loii  do  Cnraptf-  <le  Plandre,  pat  Alex,  le  Grande,  3  torn.  fol.  Cambray.  1719, 
torn.  i.  p.  MSB.  t  Hara-i  Annates  Braban&e,  vol.  i.  616.  X  Mem.  de  Bibier,  i.  0OD.  514 

^  Bibier,  i.  51").  |j  Bellay,  385,  386.  "  .rovii  Hist.  lib.  xxa!\.  p.  238  I 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  8S1 

the  illiberal  and  mean  artifices  by  which  he  carried  it  on  ;  the  insensibility 
•with  which  he  received  all  the  marks  of  his  friendship,  as  well  as  the 
ingratitude  with  which  he  requited  them,  are  all  equally  unbecoming  the 
dignity  of  his  character,  and  inconsistent  with  the  grandeur  of  his  views. 

This  transaction  exposed  Francis  to  as  much  scorn  as  it  did  the  emperor 
to  censure.  After  the  experience  of  a  long  reign,  after  so  many  opportuni- 
ties of  discovering  the  duplicity  and  artifices  "of  his  rival,  the  credulous 
simplicity  with  which  he  trusted  him  at  this  juncture  seemed  to  merit  no 
other  return  than  what  it  actually  met  with.  Francis,  however,  remon- 
strated and  exclaimed,  as  if  this  had  been  the  first  instance  in  which  the 
emperor  had  deceived  him.  Feeling,  as  is  usual,  the  insult  which  was 
offered  to  his  understanding  still  more  sensibly  than  the  injury  done  to  his 
interest,  he  discovered  such  resentment,  as  made  it  obvious  that  he  would 
lay  hold  on  the  first  opportunity  of  being  revenged,  and  that  a  war,  no  less 
rancorous  than  that  which  had  so  lately  raged,  would  soon  breakout  anew 
in  Europe. 

But  singular  as  the  transaction  which  has  been  related  may  appear,  this 
year  is  rendered  still  more  memorable  by  the  establishment  of  the  order 
of  Jesuits  ;  a  body  whose  influence  on  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  affairs 
hath  been  so  considerable,  that  an  account  of  the  genius  of  its  laws  and 
government  justly  merits  a  place  in  histoiy.  When  men  take  a  view  oi 
the  rapid  progress  of  this  society  towards  wealth  and  power ;  when  they 
contemplate  the  admirable  prudence  with  which  it  has  been  governed  ;  when 
they  attend  to  the  persevering  and  systematic  spirit  with  which  its  schemes 
have  been  carried  on ;  they  are  apt  to  ascribe  such  a  singular  institution  to  the 
superior  wisdom  of  its  founder,  and  to  suppose  that  he  had  formed  and 
digested  his  plan  with  profound  policy.  But  the  Jesuits,  as  well  as  the  other 
monastic  orders,  are  indebted  tor  the  existence  of  their  order  not  to  the 
wisdom  of  their  founder,  but  to  his  enthusiasm.  Ignatio  Loyola,  whom  I 
have  already  mentioned  on  occasion  of  the  wound  which  he  received  in 
defending  rampeluna,*  was  a  fanatic  distinguished  by  extravagancies  in 
sentiment  and  conduct,  no  less  incompatible  with  the  maxims  of  sober 
reason,  than  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  true  religion.  The  wild  adventures. 
and  visionary  schemes,  in  which  his  enthusiasm  engaged  him,  equal  any 
thing  recorded  in  the  legends  of  the  Romish  saints  ;  but  are  unworthy  of 
notice  in  history. 

Prompted  by  this  fanatical  spirit,  or  incited  by  the  love  of  power  and 
distinction,  from  which  such  pretenders  to  superior  sanctity  are  not  exempt, 
Loyola  was  ambitious  of  becoming  the  founder  of  a  religious  order.  1  he 
plan,  which  he  formed  of  its  constitution  and  laws,  was  suggested,  as  he 
gave  out,  and  as  his  followers  still  teach,  by  the  immediate  inspiration  of 
heaven.j  But  notwithstanding  this  high  pretension,  his  design  met  at  first 
with  violent  opposition.  The  pope,  to  whom  Loyola  had  applied  for  the 
sanction  of  his  authority  to  confirm  the  institution,  referred  his  petition  to  a 
committee  of  cardinals.  They  represented  the  establishment  to  be  un- 
necessary as  well  as  dangerous,  and  Paul  refused  to  grant  his  approbation 
of  it.  At  last,  Loyola  removed  all  his  scruples  by  an  offer  which  it  was 
impossible  for  any  pope  to  resist.  He  proposed,  that  besides  the  three 
vows  of  poverty,  of  chastity,  and  of  monastic  obedience,  which  are  common 
to  all  the  orders  of  regulars,  the  members  of  his  society  should  take  a  fourth 
vow  of  obedience  to  the  pope,  binding  themselves  to  go  whithersoever  he 
should  command  for  the  service  of  religion,  and  without  requiring  any  thing 
from  the  holy  see  for  their  support.  At  a  time  when  the  papal  authority 
had  received  such  a  shock  by  the  revolt  of  so  many  nations  from  the 
Romish  church ;  at  a  time  when  every  part  of  the  popish  system  was 

*  See  Book  ii.  p.  130.  f  Corapte  rendu  de?  cortFtitationcs  des  .Tesuites  au-  r.irterneiit.  de  Pro- 
vence, par  M.  de  Mrmclar,  p.  295. 


281.  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  VI. 

attacked  with  so  much  violence  and  success,  the  acquisition  of  a  body  01 
men,  thus  peculiarly  devoted  to  the  see  of  Rome,  and  whom  ft  might  set 
in  opposition  to  all  its  enemies,  was  an  object  of  the  highest  consequence. 
Paul,  instantly  perceiving  this,  confirmed  the  institution  of  the  Jesuits  by 
his  hull  [Sept.  27] ;  granted  the  most  ample  privileges  to  the  members  of 
the  society ;  and  appointed  Loyola  to  be  the  first  general  of  the  order. 
The  event  had  fullyjustified  Paul's  discernment,  in  expecting  such  bene- 
ficial consequences  to  the  see  of  Rome  from  this  institution.  In  less  than 
half  a  century,  the  society  obtained  establishments  in  every  country  that 
adhered  to  the  Roman  catholic  church  ;  its  power  and  wealth  increased 
amazingly;  the  number  of  its  members  became  great ;  their  character  as 
well  as  accomplishments  were  still  greater;  and  the  Jesuits  were 
celebrated  by  the  friends,  and  dreaded  by  the  enemies  of  the  Romish  faith, 
as  the  most  able  and  enterprising  order  in  the  church. 

The  constitution  and  laws  of  the  society  were  perfected  by  Laynez  and 
Aquaviva,  the  two  generals  who  succeeded  Loyola,  men  far  superior  to 
their  master  in  abilities,  and  in  the  science  of  government.  They  framed 
that  system  of  profound  and  artful  policy  which  distinguishes  the  order. 
The  large  infusion  of  fanaticism,  mingled  with  its  regulations,  should  be 
imputed  to  L(>yola  its  founder.  Many  circumstances  concurred  in  giving 
a  peculiarity  of  character  to  the  order  of  Jesuits,  and  in  forming  the  members 
of  it  not  only  to  take  a  greater  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  than  any  other 
body  of  monks,  but  to  acquire  superior  influence  in  the  conduct  ot  them. 

1  he  primary  object  of  almost  all  the  monastic  orders  is  to  separate  men 
from  the  world,  and  from  any  concern  in  its  affairs.  In  the  solitude  and  silence 
of  the  cloister,  the  monk  is  called  to  work  out  his  own  salvation  by  extra- 
ordinary acts  of  mortification  and  piety.  He  is  dead  to  the  world,  and 
ought  not  to  mingle  in  its  transactions.  He  can  be  of  no  benefit  to  man- 
kind, but  by  his  example  and  by  his  prayers.  On  the  contrary,  the  Jesuits 
are  taught  to  consider  themselves  as  formed  for  action.  They  are  chosen 
soldiers,  bound  to  exert  themselves  continually  in  the  service  of  God,  and 
of  the  pope,  his  vicar  on  earth.  Whatever  tends  to  instruct  the  ignorant ; 
whatever  can  be  of  use  to  reclaim  or  to  oppose  the  enemies  of  the  holy  see, 
is  their  proper  object.  That  they  may  have  full  leisure  for  this  active 
service,  they  are  totally  exempted  from  those  functions,  the  performance 
of  which  is  the  chief  business  of  other  monks.  They  appear  in  no  proces- 
sions ;  they  practise  no  rigorous  austerities ;  they  do  not  consume  one  half 
of  their  time  in  the  repetition  of  tedious  offices.*  But  they  are  required  to 
attend  to  all  the  transactions  of  the  world,  on  account  of  the  influence  which 
these  may  have  upon  religion ;  they  are  directed  to  study  the  dispositions 
df  persons  in  high  rank,  and  to  cultivate  their  friendship  ;T  and  by  the  very 
ci  institution,  as  well  as  genius  of  the  order,  a  spirit  of  action  and  intrigue  is. 
infused  into  all  its  members. 

As  the  object  of  the  society  of  Jesuits  differed  from  that  of  the  other 
monastic  orders,  the  diversity  was  no  less  in  the  form  of  its  government. 
The  other  orders  are  to  be  considered  as  voluntary  associations,  in  which 
li  hatever  affects  the  whole  body  is  regulated  by  the  common  suffrage  of  all 
its  members.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  persons  placed  at  the 
head  of  each  convent,  or  of  the  whole  society :  the  legislative  authority  re- 
sides in  the  community.  Affairs  of  moment,  relating  to  particular  convents, 
are  determined  in  conventual  chapters ;  such  as  respect  the  whole  order 
are  considered  in  general  congregations.  But  Loyola,  full  of  the  ideas  of 
implicit  obedience,  which  he  had  derived  from  his  military  profession,  ap- 
pointed that  the  government  of  his  order  should  be  purely  monarchical.  A 
general,  chosen  for  life  by  deputies  from  the  several  provinces,  possessed 

*  Comptc  rendu  par  M.  de  Monitor,  p.  xiii.  200-     Sur  la  DcStruct.  <!cs  Jesuites,  par  M.  <j 
ben,  p.  43.       *  Comptepnr  M.4e  Monclar.  p.  l^- 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  289 

povv  er  that  was  supreme  and  independent,  extending  to  every  person,  and 
to  every  case.  He,  by  his  sole  authority,  nominated  provincials,  rectors, 
and  every  other  officer  employed  in  the  government  of  the  society,  and 
could  remove  them  at  pleasure.  In  him  was  vested  the  sovereign  adminis- 
tration of  the  revenues  and  funds  of  the  order.  Every  member  belonging 
to  it  was  at  his  disposal ;  and  by  his  uncontrollable  mandate,  he  could 
impose  on  them  any  task,  or  employ  them  in  what  service  soever  he  pleased. 
To  his  commands  they  were  required  not  only  to  yield  outward  obedience, 
but  to  resign  up  to  him  the  inclinations  of  their  own  wills,  and  the  senti- 
ments of  their  own  understandings.  They  were  to  listen  to  his  injunctions, 
as  if  they  had  been  uttered  by  Christ  himself.  Under  his  direction,  they 
were  to  be  mere  passive  instruments,  like  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter : 
or  like  dead  carcasses  incapable  of  resistance.*  Such  a  singular  form  of 
policy  could  not  fail  to  impress  its  character  on  all  the  members  of  the 
order,  and  to  give  a  peculiar  force  to  all  its  operations.  There  is  not  in 
the  annals  of  mankind  any  example  of  such  perfect  despotism,  exercised 
not  over  monks  shut  up  in  the  cells  of  a  convent,  but  over  men  dispersed 
among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

As  the  constitutions  of  the  order  vest  in  the  general  such  absolute  domi 
nion  over  all  its  members,  they  carefully  provide  for  his  being  perfectly 
informed  with  respect  to  the  character  and  abilities  of  his  subjects.  Every 
novice  who  offers  himself  as  a  candidate  for  entering  into  the  order,  is 
obliged  to  manifest  his  conscience  to  the  superior,  or  to  a  person  appointed 
by  him  ;  and  in  doing  this  is  required  to  confess. not  only  his  sins  and  de- 
fects, but  to  discover  the  inclinations,  the  passions,  and  the  bent  of  his 
soul.  This  manifestation  must  be  renewed  every  six  months.t  The  so- 
ciety, not  satisfied  with  penetrating  in  this  manner  into  the  innermost  recesses 
of  the  heart,  directs  each  member  to  observe  the  words  and  actions  of  the 
novices  ;  they  are  constituted  spies  upon  their  conduct ;  and  are  bound  to 
disclose  every  thing  of  importance  concerning  them  to  the  superior.  In 
order  that  this  scrutiny  into  their  character  may  be  as  complete  as  possible, 
a  long  noviciate  must  expire,  during  which  they  pass  through  the  several 
gradations  of  ranks  in  the  society,  and  they  must  have  attained  the  full  age 
of  thirty -three  years  before  they  can  be  admitted  to  take  the  final  vows, 
by  which  they  become  professed  members.^  By  these  various  methods, 
the  superiors,  under  whose  immediate  inspection  the  novices  are  placed, 
acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  dispositions  and  talents.  In  order 
that  the  general,  who  is  the  soul  that  animates  and  moves  the  whole  society, 
may  have  under  his  eye  every  thing  necessary  to  inform  or  direct  him,  the 
provincials  and  heads  of  the  several  houses  are  obliged  to  transmit  to  him 
regular  and  frequent  reports  concerning  the  members  under  their  inspec- 
tion. In  these  they  descend  into  minute  details  with  respect  to  the 
character  of  each  person,  his  abilities, -natural  or  acquired,  his  temper,  his 
experience  in  affairs,  and  the  particular  department  for  which  he  is  best 
fitted.§     These  reports,  when  digested  and  arranged,  are  entered  into 

*  Compte  rendu  au  Parlem.  de  Bretagne,  par  M.  de  Chakitais,  p.  41,  &c.  Compte  par  M.  de 
Monclar,  83.  185.  343.  t  Compte  par  M.  de  Monclar,  p.  121,  &c.  J  Compte  pur  M.  de  Moncl. 
215.  241.    Sur  la  Destr  des  Jes.  par  M.  d' Alemb.  p.  39. 

§  M.  de  Chalotais  has  made  a  calculation  of  the  number  of  these  reports,  which  the  general 
of  the  Jesuits  must  annually  receive  according  to  the  regulations  of  the  society.  These  amount  in 
all  to  G584.  If  this  sum  be  divided  by  37,  the  number  of  provinces  in  the  order,  it  will  appear  that 
J77  reports  concerning  the  state  of  each  province  are  transmitted  to  Rome  annually.  Compte,  p.  52. 
Besides  this,  there  may  be  extraordinary  intern,  or  such  as  are  Beat  by  the  monitors  or  spies  whom 
the  general  and  provincials  entertain  in  each  house.  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl.  p.  431.  Hist,  des 
it  suites,  Amst.  171)1.  torn.  iv.p..r>ti.  Tin  provincials  and  heads  of  houses  not  only  report  concerning 
the  members  nf  the  Moiety,  but  arc  bound  In  give  the  general  an  account  of  the  civil  affairs  in  the 
eountry  wherein  the  y  are  -vttled,  as  far  as  their  knowledge  "f  these  may  be  of  benefit  to  religion. 
This  condition  mayextend  to  every  particular,  so  that  the  general  is  furnished  with  full  information 
concerning  the  transactions  of  every  prince  and  slate  in  the  world.  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl,  443. 
Hist,  des  Jesuit,  ibid-  p.  58.  When  the  affairs  with  respect  to  which  the  provincials  or  rectors  write 
are  of  importance,  they  are  directed  to  use  ciphers  .  and  eath  of  them  has  a  particular  cipher  from 
the  general.     Compte  par  M.  Ch:tlotai«.  p.  54.J 

Voi.  II.— 37 


290  THE   REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  VI. 

registers  kept  on  purpose,  that  the  general  may,  at  one  comprehensive  view . 
survey  the  state  of  the  society  in  every  corner  of  the  earth  ;  observe  tin- 
qualifications  and  talents  of  its  members ;  and  thus  choose,  with  perfect 
information,  the  instruments,  which  his  absolute  power  can  employ  in  any 
service  for  which  he  thinks  meet  to  destine  them.* 

As  it  was  the  professed  intention  of  the  order  of  Jesuits  to  labour  with 
unwearied  zeal  in  promoting  the  salvation  of  men,  this  engaged  them,  of 
course,  in  many  active  functions.  From  their  first  institution,  they  consi- 
dered the  education  of  youth  as  their  peculiar  province  ;  they  aimed  at 
being  spiritual  guides  and  confessors  ;  they  preached  frequently  in  order 
to  instruct  the  people  ;  they  sent  out  missionaries  to  convert  unbelieving 
nations.  The  novelty  of  the  institution,  as  well  as  the  singularity  of  its 
objects,  procured  the  order  many  admirers  and  patrons.  The  governor:-, 
of  the  society  had  the  address  to  avail  themselves  of  every  circumstance  in 
its  favour,  and  in  a  short  time  the  number  as  well  as  influence  of  its  members 
increased  wonderfully.  Before  the  expiration  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  Jesuits  had  obtained  the  chief  direction  of  the  education  of  youth  in 
every  catholic  country  in  Europe.  They  had  become  the  confessors  of 
almost  all  its  monarchs,  a  function  of  no  small  importance  in  any  reign, 
but  under  a  weak  prince  superior  even  to  that  of  minister.  They  were 
the  spiritual  guides  of  almost  every  person  eminent  for  rank  or  power. 
They  possessed  the  highest  degree  of  confidence  and  interest  with  the 
papal  court,  as  the  most  zealous  and  able  champions  for  its  authority. 
The  advantages  which  an  active  and  enterprising  body  of  men  might 
derive  from  all  these  circumstances  are  obvious.  They  formed  the  minds 
of  men  in  their  youth.  They  retained  an  ascendant  over  them  in  their 
advanced  years.  They  possessed,  at  different  periods,  the  direction  of 
the  most  considerable  courts  in  Europe.  They  mingled  in  all  affairs. 
They  took  part  in  every  intrigue  and  revolution.  The  general,  by  means 
of  the  extensive  intelligence  which  he  received,  could  regulate  the  opera- 
tions of  the  order  with  the  most  perfect  discernment,  and  by  means  of  h'u 
absolute  power  could  carry  them  on  with  the  utmost  vigour  and  effect.! 

Together  with  the  power  o£  the  order,  its  wealth  continued  to  increase. 
Various  expedients  were  devised  for  eluding  the  obligation  of  the  vow  of 
poverty.  The  order  acquired  ample  possessions  in  every  catholic  country : 
and  by  the  number  as  well  as  magnificence  of  its  public  buildings,  together 
with  the  value  of  its  property,  moveable  or  real,  it  vied  with  the  most 
opulent  of  the  monastic  fraternities.  Besides  the  sources  of  wealth  com- 
mon to  all  the  regular  clergy,  the  Jesuits  possessed  one  which  was  pecu- 
liar to  themselves.  Under  pretext  of  promoting  the  success  of  their 
missions,  and  of  facilitating  the  support  of  their  missionaries,  they  obtained 
a  special  license  from  the  court  of  Rome,  to  trade  with  the  nations  which 
they  laboured  to  convert.  In  consequence  of  this,  they  engaged  in  an  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  commerce,  both  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  They 
opened  warehouses  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  in  which  they  vended 
their  commodities.  Not  satisfied  with  trade  alone,  they  imitated  the 
example  of  other  commercial  societies,  and  aimed  at  obtaining  settlements. 
They  acquired  possession  accordingly  of  a  large  and  fertile  province  in  the 
southern  continent  of  America,  ana  reigned  as  sovereigns  over  some 
hundred  thousand  subjects.f 

*  Comptepar  M.  deMoncl.  p,  215.  439.    Comptepar  SI.  de  Chalotaia,  p.  52.  222. 

f  When  Loyola,  in  the  year  1540,  petitioned  the  pope  to  authorize  the  institution  of  the 
he  had  only  ten  disciples.  But  in  the  year  1608,  sixty-eight  years  after  their  first  institution,  the 
number  of  Jesuits  had  increased  to  ten  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-one.  In  the  year  171U. 
the  order  possessed  twenty-four  professed  houses;  fifty-nine  houses  of  probation ;  three  hundrr.t 
and  forty  residences ;  six  hundred  and  twelve  colleges ;  two  hundred  missions;  one  hundred  ami 
fifty  seminaries  and  boarding-schools;  and  consisted  of  19,998  Jesuits.  Hist,  desJesuitee,  toni 
p.  20. 

}  Hist,  des  Jes.  i\-.  IfiS— 1!)6,  &.<•. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   \.  291 

Unhappily  for  mankind,  the  vast  influence  which  the  order  of  Jesuits 
acquired  by  all  these  different  means,  has  been  often  exerted  with  the 
most  pernicious  effect.  Such  was  the  tendency  of  that  discipline  observed 
by  the  society  in  forming  its  members,  and  such  the  fundamental  maxims 
in  its  constitution,  that  every  Jesuit  was  taught  to  regard  the  interest  of  the 
order  as  the  capital  object,  to  which  every  consideration  was  to  be  sacri 
ficed.  This  spirit  of  attachment  to  their  order,  the  most  ardent,  perhaps, 
that  ever  influenced  any  body  of  men,*  is  the  characteristic  principle  of 
the  Jesuits,  and  serves  as  a  key  to  the  genius  of  their  policy,  as  well  as  to 
the  peculiarities  in  their  sentiments  and  conduct. 

As  it  was  for  the  honour  and  advantage  of  the  society,  that  its  members 
should  possess  an  ascendant  over  persons  in  high  rank  or  of  great  power, 
the  desire  of  acquiring  and  preserving  such  a  direction  of  their  conduct, 
with  greater  facility,  has  led  the  Jesuits  to  propagate  a  system  of  relaxed 
and  pliant  morality,  which  accommodates  itself  to  the  passions  of  men. 
which  justifies  their  vices,  which  tolerates  their  imperfections,  which 
authorizes  almost  every  action  that  the  most  audacious  or  crafty  politician 
would  wish  to  perpetrate. 

As  the  prosperity  of  the  order  was  intimately  connected  with  the  pre- 
servation of  the  papal  authority,  the  Jesuits,  influenced  by  the  same  prin- 
ciple of  attachment  to  the  interests  of  their  society,  have  been  the  most 
zealous  patrons  of  those  doctrines  which  tend  to  exalt  ecclesiastical  power 
on  the  ruins  of  civil  government.  They  have  attributed  to  the  court  of 
Rome  a  jurisdiction  as  extensive  and  absolute  as  was  claimed  by  the  most 
presumptuous  pontiffs-  in  the  dark  ages.  They  have  contended  for  the  entire 
independence  of  ecclesiastics  on  the  civil  magistrate.  They  have  published 
such  tenets  concerning  the  duty  of  opposing  princes  who  were  enemies  of 
the  catholic  faith,  as  countenanced  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  and  tended 
to  dissolve  all  the  ties  which  connect  subjects  with  their  rulers. 

As  the  order  derived  both  reputation  and  authority  from  the  zeal  with 
which  it  stood  forth  in  defence  of  the  Romish  church  against  the  attacks 
of  the  reformers,  its  members,  proud  of  this  distinction,  have  considered 
it  as  their  peculiar  function  to  combat  the  opinions,  and  to  check  the  progress 
of  the  protestants.  They  have  made  use  of  every  art,  and  have  employed 
every  weapon  against  them.  They  have  set  themselves  in  opposition  to 
every  gentle  or  tolerating  measure  in  their  favour.  They  have  incessantly 
stirred  up  against  them  all  the  rage  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  persecution. 

Monks  of  other  denominations  have,  indeed,  ventured  to  teach  the  same 
pernicious  doctrines,  and  have  held  opinions  equally  inconsistent  with  the 
order  and  happiness  of  civil  society.  But  the}7,  from  reasons  which  are 
obvious,  have  either  delivered  such  opinions  with  greater  reserve,  or  have 
propagated  them  with  less  success.  Whoever  recollects  the  events  which 
have  happened  in  Europe  during  two  centuries,  will  find  that  the  Jesuits 
may  justly  be  considered  as  responsible  for  most  of  the  pernicious  effects 
arising  from  that  corrupt  and  dangerous  casuistry,  from  those  extravagant 
tenets  concerning  ecclesiastical  power,  and  from  that  intolerant  spirit, 
which  have  been  the  disgrace  of  the  church  of  Rome  throughout  that 
period,  and  which  have  brought  so  many  calamities  upon  civil  society.t 

But  amidst  many  bad  consequences  flowing  from  the  institution  ot  this 
order,  mankind,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  have  derived  from  it  some  con- 
siderable advantages.  As  the  Jesuits  made  the  education  of  youth  one  of 
their  capital  objects,  and  as  their  first  attempts  to  establish  colleges  for  the 
reception  of  students  were  violently  opposed  by  the  universities  in  different 
countries,  it  became  necessary  for  them,  as  the  most  effectual  method  of 
acquiring  the  public  favour,  to  surpass  their  rival1-  in  science  and  industry. 
This  prompted  them  to  cultivate  the  study  of  ancient  literature  with 

*  Comptepar  M.  de  Moncl  p.  "J^ri  Encyclopedic,  art.  JisviUs.  torn,  viii.513. 


29-2  THE  REIGN    O'r    THE  [Book  V  J. 

extraordinary  ardour.  This  put  them  upon  various  methods  for  facilitating 
the  instruction  of  youth  ;  and  by  the  improvements  which  they  blade  in  it, 
they  have  contributed  so  much  towards  the  progress  of  polite  learning, 
that  on  this  account  they  have  merited  well  of  society.  Nor  has  the  order 
of  Jesuits  been  successful  only  in  teaching  the  elements  of  literature  ;  it 
has  produced  likewise  eminent  masters  in  many  branches  of  science,  and 
can  alone  boast  of  a  greater  number  of  ingenious  authors  than  all  the  other 
religious  fraternities  taken  together.* 

But  it  is  in  the  new  world  that  the  Jesuits  have  exhibited  the  most 
wonderful  display  of  their  abilities,  and  have  contributed  most  effectually 
to  the  benefit  of  the  human  species.  The  conquerors  of  that  unfortunate 
quarter  of  the  globe  acted  at  first  as  if  they  had  nothing  in  view,  but  to 
plunder,  to  enslave,  and  to  exterminate  its  inhabitants.  The  Jesuits  alone 
made  humanity  the  object  of  their  settling  there.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  they  obtained  admission  into  the  fertile  province  of 
Paraguay,  which  stretches  across  the  southern  continent  of  America,  from 
the  east  side  of  the  immense  ridge  of  the  Andes,  to  the  confines  of  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the  river  de  la  Plata. 
They  found  the  inhabitants  in  a  state  little  different  from  that  which  takes 
place  among  men  when  they  first  begin  to  unite  together ;  strangers  to  the 
arts  ;  subsisting  precariously  by  hunting  or  fishing  ;  and  hardly  acquainted 
with  the  first  principles  of  subordination  and  government.  The  Jesuits 
set  themselves  to  instruct  and  to  civilize  these  savages.  They  taught 
them  to  cultivate  the  ground,  to  rear  tame  animals,  and  to  build  houses. 
They  brought  them  to  live  together  in  villages.  They  trained  them  to 
arts  and  manufactures.  They  made  them  taste  the  sweets  of  society  ;  and 
accustomed  them  to  the  blessings  of  security  and  order.  These  people 
became  the  subjects  of  their  benefactors  ;  who  have  governed  them  with 
a  tender  attention,  resembling  that  with  which  a  father  directs  his  chil- 
dren. Respected  and  beloved  almost  to  adoration,  a  few  Jesuits  presided 
over  some  hundred  thousand  Indians.  They  maintained  a  perfect  equality 
among  all  the  members  of  the  community.  Each  of  them  was  obliged  to 
labour,  not  for  himself  alone,-but  for  the  public.  The  produce  of  their 
fields,  together  with  the  fruits  of  their  industry  of  every  species,  were 
deposited  in  common  store-houses,  from  which  each  individual  received 
every  thing  necessary  for  the  supply  of  his  wants.  By  this  institution, 
almost  all  the  passions  which  disturb  the  peace  of  society,  and  render  the 
members  of  it  unhappy,  were  extinguished.  A  few  magistrates,  chosen 
from  among  their  countrymen  by  the  Indians  themselves,  watched  over 
the  public  tranquillity,  and  secured  obedience  to  the  laws.  The  sangui- 
nary punishments  frequent  under  other  governments  were  unknown.  An 
admonition  from  a  Jesuit,  a  slight  mark  of  infamy,  or,  on  some  singular 
occasion,  a  few  lashes  with  a  whip,  were  sufficient  to  maintain  good  order 
among  these  innocent  and  happy  people.! 

But  even  in  this  meritorious  effort  of  the  Jesuits  for  the  good  of  man- 

*  M.  d'Aleinbert  has  observed,  that  though  the  Jesuits  have  made  extraordinary  progress  in 
erudition  of  every  species ;  though  they  can  reckon  up  many  of  their  brethren  who  have  been 
eminent  mathematicians,  antiquaries,  and  critics ;  though  tiiey  have  even  formed  some  orators  of 
reputation  ;  yet  the  order  lias  never  produced  one  man,  whose  mind  was  so  much  enlightened  with 
sound  knowledge  as  to  merit  the  name  of  a  philosopher.  But  it  seems  to  be  the  unavoidable  effect 
of  monastic  education  to  contract  and  fetter  the  human  mind.  The  partial  attachment  of  a 
monk  to  the  interest  of  his  order,  which  is  often  incompatible  with  that  of  other  citizens  :  ihe  habit 
of  implicit  obedience  to  the  will  of  a  superior,  together  with  the  frequent  return  of  the  wearisome 
and  frivolous  duties  of  the  cloister,  debase  his  faculties,  and  extinguish  that  generosity  of  sentiment 
and  spirit,  which  qualifies  men  for  thinking  or  feeling  justly  with  respect  to  what  is  proper  in  HH 
conduct.  Father  Paul  of  Venice  is,  perhaps,  the  only  person  educated  in  a  cloister,  that  ever  \\  :i-> 
altogether  superior  to  its  prejudices,  or  who  viewed  the  transactions  of  men,  and  reasoned  concern 
ing  the  interests  of  society,  with  the  enlarged  sentiments  of  a  philosopher,  with  the  discernment  01 
a  man  conversant  in  affairs,  and  with  the  liberality  c.f  a  gentleman. 

t  Hist,  du  Paraguay  par  Pcre  de  Charlevoix,  toiu.  ii.  42.  &c.     Vovage  au  Per»u  uar  Don  G   Jnv 
*  D.  Ant.  lie  Ulloa.  torn  i.  540.  &c.    Par.  4to  37W 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    \.  293 

kind,  the  genius  and  spirit  of  their  order  have  mingled  and  are  discernible. 
They  plainly  aimed  at  establishing  in  Paraguay  an  independent  empire, 
subject  to  the  society  alone,  and  which,  by  the  superior  excellence  of  its 
constitution  and  police,  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  extend  its  dominion 
over  all  the  southern  continent  of  America.  With  this  view,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  Spaniards  or  Portuguese  in  the  adjacent  settlements  from  ac- 
quiring any  dangerous  influence  over  the  people  within  the  limits  ot  the 
province  subject  to  the  society,  the  Jesuits  endeavoured  to  inspire  the  In- 
dians with  hatred  and  contempt  of  these  nations.  They  cut  off  all  inter- 
course between  their  subjects  and  the  Spanish  or  Portuguese  settlements. 
They  prohibited  any  private  trader  of  either  nation  from  entering  their 
territories.  When  they  were  obliged  to  admit  any  person  in  a  public  cha- 
racter from  the  neighbouring  governments,  they  did  not  permit  him  to  have 
any  conversation  with  their  subjects,  and  no  Indian  was  allowed  even  to 
enter  the  house  where  these  strangers  resided,  unless  in  the  presence  of  a 
Jesuit.  In  order  to  render  any  communication  between  them  as  difficult  as 
possible,  they  industriously  avoided  giving  the  Indians  any  knowledge  of 
the  Spanish,  or  of  any  other  European  language  ;  but  encouraged  the  dif- 
ferent tribes,  which  they  had  civilized,  to  acquire  a  certain  dialect  of  the 
Indian  tongue,  and  laboured  to  make  that  the  universal  language  through- 
out their  dominions.  As  all  these  precautions,  without  military  force, 
would  have  been  insufficient  to  have  rendered  their  empire  secure  and 
permanent,  they  instructed  their  subjects  in  the  European  arts  of  war. 
They  formed  them  into  bodies  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  completely  armed 
and  regularly  disciplined.  They  provided  a  great  train  of  artillery,  as 
well  as  magazines  stored  with  all  the  implements  of  war.  Thus  they 
established  an  army  so  numerous  and  well  appointed,  as  to  be  formidable 
in  a  country,  where  a  few  sickly  and  ill-disciplined  battalions  composed 
all  the  military  force  kept  on  foot  by  the  Spaniards  or  Portuguese.* 

The  Jesuits  gained  no  considerable  degree  of  power  during  the  reign 
of  Charles  V.,  who,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  discerned  the  dangerous  ten- 
dency of  the  institution,  and  checked  its  progress.t  But  as  the  order  was 
founded  in  the  period  of  which  I  write  the  history,  and  as  the  age  to 
which  I  address  this  work  hath  seen  its  fall,  the  view  which  I  have  exhi- 
bited of  the  laws  and  genius  of  this  formidable  body  will  not,  I  hope,  be 
unacceptable  to  my  readers  ;  especially  as  one  circumstance  has  enabled 
me  to  enter  into  this  detail  with  particular  advantage.  Europe  had  ob- 
served, for  two  centuries,  the  ambition  and  power  of  the  order.  But 
while  it  felt  many  fatal  effects  of  these,  it  could  not  fully  discern  the  causes 
to  which  they  were  to  be  imputed.  It  was  unacquainted  with  many  of 
the  singular  regulations  in  the  political  constitution  or  government  of  the 
Jesuits,  which  formed  the  enterprising  spirit  of  intrigue  that  distinguished 
its  members,  and  elevated  the  body  itself  to  such  a  height  of  power.  It 
was  a  fundamental  maxim  with  the  Jesuits,  from  their  first  institution,  not 
to  publish  the  rules  of  their  order.  These  they  kept  concealed  as  an  im- 
penetrable mystery.  They  never  communicated  them  to  strangers ;  nor 
even  to  the  greater  part  of  their  own  members.  They  refused  to  produce 
them  when  required  by  courts  of  justice  ;|  and  by  a  strange  solecism  in 
policy,  the  civil  power  in  different  countries  authorized  or  connived  at  the 
establishment  of  an  order  of  men,  whose  constitution  and  laws  were  con- 
cealed with  a  solicitude  which  alone  was  a  good  reason  for  excluding 
them.  Durinff  the  prosecutions  lately  carried  on  against  them  in  Portugal 
and  V ranee,  the  Jesuits  have  been  so  inconsiderate  as  to  produce  the  mys- 
terious volumes  of  their  institute.  By  the  aid  of  these  authentic  records, 
the  principles  of  their  government  may  be  delineated,  and  the  sources  of 

*  Voyape  de  Juan  &  ds  Hlloa.  torn.  i.  549.  Recucil  dee  tontes  les  Pieces  qui  ont  paru  sur  les  Af- 
faires des  Jesuites  en  Portugal,  lorn.  i.  p.  7,  tic.  t  Compte  par  M.  de  Moncl.  r).  312.  t  Hi»». 
dp*  Jw.  torn.  iii.  236.  tie.    ( 'nmpte  nar  M  de  Thalot.  p.  38 


?94  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Hook  VI. 

Iheir  power  investigated  with  a  degree  of  certainty  and  precision,  which, 
previous  to  that  event,  it  was  impossible  to  attain.*  But  as  I  have  pointed 
out  the  dangerous  tendency  of  the  constitution  and  spirit  of  the  order  with 
the  freedom  becoming  an  historian,  the  candour  and  impartiality  no  less 
requisite  in  that  character  call  on  me  to  add  one  observation,  that  no  class 
of  regular  clergy  in  the  Romish  church  has  been  more  eminent  for  decency 
and  even  purity  of  manners,  than  the  major  part  of  the  order  of  Jesuits.! 
The  maxims  of  an  intriguing,  ambitious,  interested  policy,  might  influence 
those  who  governed  the  society,  and  might  even  corrupt  the  heart,  and 
pervert  the  conduct  of  some   individuals,  while  the  greater  number,  en- 

f;aged  in  literary  pursuits,  or  employed  in  the  functions  of  religion,  was 
eft  to  the  guidance  of  those  common  principles  which  restrain  men  from 
vice,  and  excite  them  to  what  is  becoming  and  laudable.  The  causes 
which  occasioned  the  ruin  of  this  mighty  body,  as  well  as  the  circum- 
stances and  effects  with  which  it  has  been  attended  in  the  different  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  though  objects  extremely  worthy  the  attention  of  every 
intelligent  observer  of  human  affairs,  do  not  fall  within  the  period  of  this 
history. 

No  sooner  had  Charles  re-established  order  in  the  Low-Countries,  than 
he  was  obliged  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  affairs  in  Germany.  The  pro- 
testants  pressed  him  earnestly  to  appoint  that  conference  between  a  select 
number  of  the  divines  of  each  party,  which  had  been  stipulated  in  the 
convention  at  Frankfort.  The  pope  considered  such  an  attempt  to  exa- 
mine into  the  points  in  dispute,  or  to  decide  concerning  them,  as  deroga- 
tory to  his  right  of  being  the  supreme  judge  in  controversy;  and  being 
convinced  that  such  a  conference  would  either  be  ineffectual  by  deter- 
mining nothing,  or  prove  dangerous  by  determining  too  much,  he  employed 
every  art  to  prevent  it.  The  emperor,  however,  finding  it  more  for  his 
interest  to  soothe  the  Germans  than  to  gratify  Paul,  paid  little  regard  to 
his  remonstrances.  In  a  diet  held  at  Haguenaw  [June  25],  matters  were 
ripened  for  the  conference.  In  another  diet  assembled  at  Worms  [Dec. 
6],  the  conference  was  begun,  Melancthon  on  the  one  side  and  Eckius  on 
the  other  sustaining  the  principal  part  in  the  dispute  ;  but  after  they  had 
made  some  progress,  though  without  concluding  any  thing,  it  was  sus- 
pended by  the  emperor's  command,  that  it  might  be  renewed  with  greater 
solemnity  in  his  own  presence,  in  a  diet  summoned  to  meet  at  Ratis- 
bon  [1541].     This  assembly  was  opened  with  great  pomp,  and  with  a 

feneral  expectation  that  its  proceedings  would  be  vigorous  and  decisive. 
>y  the  consent  of  both  parties,  the  emperor  was  intrusted  with  the  power 
of  nominating  the  persons  who  should  manage  the  conference,  which  it  was 
agreed  should  be  conducted  not  in  the  form  of  a  public  disputation,  but 
as  a  friendly  scrutiny  or  examination  into  the  articles  which  had  given  rise 
to  the  present  controversies.  He  appointed  Eckius,  Gropper,  and  Pflug, 
on  the  part  of  the  catholics  ;  Melancthon,  Bucer,  and  Pistorius,  on  that  of 
the  protestants  ;  all  men  of  distinguished  reputation  among  their  own  ad- 
herents, and,  except  Eckius,  all  eminent  for  moderation,  as  well  as  desi- 
rous of  peace.  As  they  were  about  to  begin  their  consultations,  the  em- 
peror put  into  their  hands  a  book,  composed,  as  he  said,  by  a  learned 
divine  in  the  Low-Countries,  with  such  extraordinary  perspicuity  and  tem- 
per, as,  in  his  opinion,  might  go  far  to  unite  and  comprehend  the  two  con- 
tending parties,     Gropper  a  canon  of  Cologne,  whom  he   had  named 

*  The  greater  part  of  my  information  concerning  the  government  and  laws  of  the  order  of  Jesuits, 
I  have  derived  from  the  reports  of  M.  de  Chalolais,  and  M.  de  Monclar.  I  rest  not  my  narrativi 
however,  upon  the  authority  even  of  thcsp  respectable  magistrates  and  elegant  writers,  but  upon 
innumerable  passages  which  they  have  extracted  from  the  constitutions  of  the  order  deposited  in 
their  hands.  Hospinian,  a  protestant  divine  of  Zurich,  in  his  Historic.  Jcsuitica.  printed  A.  D. 
lttli),  published  a  small  part  of  the  constitutions  of  the  Jesuits,  of  which  by  somo  accident  he  ba " 
got  a  copy,  p.  13—54. 

t  Sur  la  Destruct.  des  Jes.  par  M.  d'Alembert.  p.  r>.~. 


E  M  PEKUK    C  H  A  K  L  K  S    V  .  29£ 

among:  the  managers  of  the  conference,  a  man  of  address  as  well  as  of 
erudition,  was  afterwards  suspected  of  heing  the  author  of  this  short 
treatise.  It  contained  positions  with  regard  to  twenty-two  of  the  chief 
articles  in  theology,  which  included  most  of  the  questions  then  agitated 
in  the  controversy  between  the  Lutherans  and  the  church  of  Rome.  By 
ranging  his  sentiments  in  a  natural  order,  and  expressing  them  with  great 
simplicity ;  hy  employing  often  the  very  words  of  scripture,  or  of  the 
primitive  fathers;  by  softening  the  rigour  of  some  opinions,  and  explaining 
away  what  was  absurd  in  others ;  by  concessions,  sometimes  on  one  side, 
and  sometimes  on  the  other ;  and  especially  by  banishing  as  much  as  pos- 
sible scholastic  phrases,  those  words  and  terms  of  arts  in  controversy, 
which  serve  as  badges  of  distinction  to  different  sects,  and  for  which  theo- 
logians often  contend  more  fiercely  than  for  opinions  themselves  ;  he  at 
last  framed  his  work  in  such  a  manner,  as  promised  fairer  than  any  thing 
that  had  hitherto  been  attempted  to  compose  and  to  terminate  religious 
dissensions  * 

But  the  attention  of  the  age  was  turned,  with  such  acute  observation, 
towards  theological  controversies,  that  it  was  not  easy  to  impose  on  it  by 
any  gloss,  how  artful  or  specious  soever.  The  length  and  eagerness  of 
the  dispute  had  separated  the  contending  parties  so  completely,  and  had 
set  their  minds  at  such  variance,  that  they  were  not  to  be  reconciled  by 
partial  concessions.  All  the  zealous  catholics,  particularly  the  ecclesiastics 
who  had  a  seat  in  the  diet,  joined  in  condemning  Gropper's  treatise  as  too 
favourable  to  the  Lutheran  opinion,  the  poison  of  which  heresy  it  conveyed, 
as  they  pretended,  with  greater  danger,  because  it  was  in  some  degree 
disguised.  The  rigid  protestants,  especially  Luther  himself,  and  his 
patron  the  elector  of  Saxony,  were  for  rejecting  it  as  an  impious  compound 
of  error  and  truth,  craftily  prepared  that  it  might  impose  on  the  weak, 
the  timid,  and  the  unthinking.  But  the  divines,  to  whom  the  examination 
of  it  was  committed,  entered  upon  that  business  with  greater  deliberation 
and  temper.  As  it  was  more  easy  in  itself,  as  well  as  more  consistent 
with  the  dignity  of  the  church,  to  make  concessions,  and  even  alterations 
with  regard  to  speculative  opinions,  the  discussion  whereof  is  confined 
chiefly  to  schools,  and  which  present  nothing  to  the  people  that  either 
strikes  their  imagination  or  affects  their  senses,  they  came  to  an  accommo- 
dation about  these  without  much  labour,  and  even  defined  the  great  article 
concerning  justification  to  their  mutual  satisfaction.  But,  when  they  pro- 
ceeded to  points  of  jurisdiction,  where  the  interest  and  authority  of  the 
Roman  see  were  concerned,  or  to  the  rites  and  forms  of  external  worship, 
where  every  change  that  could  be  made  must  be  public,  and  draw  the 
chservation  of  the  people,  there  the  catholics  were  altogether  untractable  ; 
nor  could  the  church  either  with  safety  or  with  honour  abolish  its  ancient 
institutions.  All  the  articles  relative  to  the  power  of  the  pope,  the  autho- 
rity of  councils,  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  the  worship  of 
saints,  and  many  other  particulars,  did  not,  in  their  nature,  admit  of  any 
temperament ;  so  that  atter  labouring  long  to  bring  about  an  accommoda- 
tion with  respect  to  these,  the  emperor  found  all  his  endeavours  ineffectual. 
Being  impatient,  however,  to  close  the  diet,  he  at  last  prevailed  on  a 
majority  of  the  members  to  approve  of  the  following  recess  [July  28]  ; 
"  That  the  articles  concerning  which  the  divines  had  agreed  in  the  con- 
ference, should  be  held  as  points  decided,  and  be  observed  inviolably  by 
all ;  that  the  other  articles,  about  which  they  had  differed,  should  be  re- 
ferred to  the  determination  of  a  general  council,  or  if  that  could  not  be 
obtained,  to  a  national  synod  of  Germany ;  and  if  it  should  prove  imprac- 
ticable, likewise,  to  assemble  a  synod,  that  a  general  diet  of  the  empire 
should  be  called  within  eighteen  months,  in  order  to  give  some  final  iudg- 

*  Goldast.  Const.  Tmper.  ii.  p.  1«2. 


*%  THE   KEIGft    OF   THE  [BookYI. 

ment  upon  the  whole  controversy ;  that  the  emperor  should  use  all  his 
interest  and  authority  with  the  pope,  to  procure  the  meeting;  either  of  a 
general  council  or  synod  ;  that,  in  the  mean  time,  no  innovations  should  be 
attempted,  no  endeavours  should  be  employed  to  gain  proselytes ;  and 
neither  the  revenues  of  the  church,  nor  the  rights  of  monasteries,  should 
be  invaded."* 

All  the  proceedings  of  this  diet,  as  well  as  the  recess  in  which  they 
terminated,  gave  great  offence  to  the  pope.  The  power  which  the  Ger- 
mans had  assumed  of  appointing  their  own  divines  to  examine  and  deter- 
mine matters  of  controversy,  he  considered  as  a  very  dangerous  invasion 
of  his  rights  ;  the  renewing  of  their  ancient  proposal  concerning  a  national 
synod,  which  had  been  so  often  rejected  by  him  and  his  predecessors,  ap- 
peared extremely  undutiful  ;  but  the  bare  mention  of  allowing  a  diet,  com- 
posed chiefly  of  laymen,  to  pass  judgment  with  respect  to  articles  of  faith, 
was  deemed  no  less  criminal  and  profane  than  the  worst  of  those  heresies 
which  they  seemed  zealous  to  suppress.  On  the  other  hand,  the  protes- 
tants  were  no  less  dissatisfied  with  a  recess,  that  considerably  abridged 
the  liberty  which  they  enjoyed  at  that  time.  As  they  murmured  loudly 
against  it,  Charles,  unwilling  to  leave  any  seeds  of  discontent  in  the  em- 
pire, granted  them  a  private  declaration  in  the  most  ample  terms,  exempt- 
ing them  from  whatever  they  thought  oppressive  or  injurious  in  the  recess, 
and  ascertaining  to  them  the  full  possession  of  all  the  privileges  which 
they  had  ever  enjoyed. t 

Extraordinary  as  these  concessions  may  appear,  the  situation  of  the 
emperor's  affairs  at  this  juncture  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  grant  them. 
He  foresaw  a  rupture  with  France  to  be  not  only  unavoidable,  but  near  at 
hand,  and  durst  not  give  any  such  cause  of  disgust  or  fear  to  the  protes- 
tants,  as  might  force  them,  in  self-defence,  to  court  the  protection  of  the 
French  king,  from  whom,  at  present,  they  were  much  alienated.  The 
rapid  progress  of  the  Turks  in  Hungary  was  a  more  powerful  and  urgent 
motive  to  that  moderation  which  Charles  discovered.  A  great  revolution 
had  happened  in  that  kindgom  ;  John  Zapol  Scaepus  having  chosen,  as  has 
been  related,  rather  to  possess  a  tributary  kingdom,  than  to  renounce  the 
royal  dignity  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed,  had,  by  the  assistance  of 
his  mighty  protector  Solyman,  wrested  from  Ferdinand  a  great  part  of 
the  country,  and  left  him  only  the  precarious  possession  of  the  rest.  But 
being  a  prince  of  pacific  qualities,  the  frequent  attempts  of  Ferdinand,  or 
of  his  partisans  among  the  Hungarians,  to  recover  what  they  had  lost, 
greatly  disquieted  him  ;  and  the  necessity  on  these  occasions,  of  calling 
in  the  Turks,  whom  he  considered  and  felt  to  be  his  masters  rather  than 
auxiliaries,  was  hardly  less  mortifying.  In  orde'r,  therefore,  to  avoid  these 
distresses,  as  well  as  to  secure  quiet  and  leisure  for  cultivating  the  arts  and 
enjoying  amusements  in  which  he  delighted,  he  secretly  came  to  an  agree- 
ment with  his  competitor  [A.  D.  15i5%  on  this  condition ;  That  Ferdi- 
nand should  acknowledge  him  as  king  of  Hungary,  and  leave  him  during 
life,  the  unmolested  possession  of  that  part  of  the  kingdom  now  in  his 
power  ;  but  that,  upon  his  demise,  the  sole  right  of  the  whole  should  de- 
volve upon  Ferdinand.^  As  John  had  never  been  married,  and  was  then 
far  advanced  in  life,  the  terms  of  the  contract  seemed  very  favourable  to 
Ferdinand.  But,  soon  after,  some  of  the  Hungarian  nobles,  solicitous  to 
prevent  a  foreigner  from  ascending  their  throne,  prevailed  on  John  to  put 
an  end  to  a  long  celibacy,  by  marrying  Isabella,  the  daughter  of  Sigismond 
king  of  Poland.  John  had  the  satisfaction,  before  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened within  less  than  a  year  alter  his  marriage,  to  see  a  son  born  to  inherit 

Sleidan.  2G7,  &c     Pallav.  ..  iv.  c.  11.  p.  136.    F.  Paul,  p.  86.    Seckend.  1.  ih'256.        t  Sleid, 
L'HX    Seckend.  :S(iO.     I)u  Mont  Corps  Diplom.  iv.  p.  ii.  p.  210.  J  TgtuanhaffiiHist.  Hung.  Iit>. 

xil.  p.  135. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    \.  2M 

his  kingdom.  To  him,  without  regarding  his  treaty  with  Ferdinand, 
which  he  considered,  no  doubt,  as  void,  upon  an  event  not  foreseen  when  it 
was  concluded,  he  bequeathed  his  crown  ;  appointing  the  queen  and 
George  Martinuzzi,  bishop  of  Waradin,  guardians  of  his  son,  and  regent* 
of  the  kingdom.  The  greater  part  of  the  Hungarians  immediately  ac- 
knowledged the  young  prince  as  king,  to  whom,  in  memory  of  the  founder 
of  their  monarchy,  they  gave  the  name  of  Stephen.* 

Ferdinand,  though  extremely  disconcerted  by  this  unexpected  event, 
resolved  not  to  abandon  the  kingdom  which  he  flattered  himseh  with 
having  acquired  by  his  compact  with  John.  He  sent  ambassadors  to  the 
queen  to  claim  possession,  and  to  otter  the  province  of  Transylvania  as  a 
settlement  for  her  son,  preparing  at  the  same  time  to  assert  his  right  by 
force  of  arms.  But  John  had  committed  the  care  of  his  son  to  persons, 
who  had  too  much  spirit  to  give  up  the  crown  tamely,  and  who  possessed 
abilities  sufficient  to  defend  it.  The  queen,  to  all  the  address  peculiar  to 
her  own  sex,  added  a  masculine  courage,  ambition,  and  magnanimity. 
Martinuzzi,  who  had  raised  himself  from  the  lowest  rank  in  life  to  his 
present  dignity,  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  men,  who,  by  the  extent  as 
well  as  variety  of  their  talents,  are  fitted  to  act  a  superior  part  in  bustling 
and  factious  times.  In  discharging  the  functions  of  his  ecclesiastical 
office,  he  put  on  the  semblance  of  an  humble  and  austere  sanctity.  In 
civil  transactions,  he  discovered  industry,  dexterity,  and  boldness.  During 
war,  he  laid  aside  the  cassock,  and  appeared  on  horseback  with  his  scimitar 
and  buckler,  as  active,  as  ostentatious,  and  as  gallant  as  any  of  his  coun- 
trymen. Amidst  all  these  different  and  contradictory  forms  which  he 
could  assume,  an  insatiable  desire  of  dominion  and  authority  was  conspi- 
cuous. From  such  persons  it  was  obvious  what  answer  Ferdinand  had  to 
expect.  He  soon  perceived  that  he  must  depend  on  arms  alone  for  reco- 
vering Hungary.  Having  levied  for  this  purpose  a  considerable  body  of 
Germans,  whom  his  partisans  among  the  Hungarians  joined  with  their 
vassals,  he  ordered  them  to  march  into  that  part  of  the  kingdom  which 
adhered  to  Stephen.  Martinuzzi,  unable  to  make  head  against  such  a 
powerful  army  in  the  field,  satisfied  himself  with  holding  out  the  towns,  all 
of  which,  especially  Buda,  the  place  of  greatest  consequence,  he  provided 
with  every  thing  necessary  for  defence  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  he  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Solyman,  beseeching  him  to  extend  towards  the  son  the  same 
imperial  protection  which  had  so  long  maintained  the  father  on  his  throne. 
The  sultan,  though  Ferdinand  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  thwart  this 
negotiation,  and  even  offered  to  accept  of  the  Hungarian  crown  on  the  same 
ignominious  condition,  of  paying  tribute  to  the  Ottoman  Porte,  by  which 
John  had  held  it,  saw  such  prospects  of  advantage  from  espousing  the 
interest  of  the  young  king,  that  he  instantly  promised  him  his  protection  ; 
and  commanding  one  army  to  advance  forthwith  towards  Hungary,  he  him- 
self followed  with  another.  Meanwhile  the  Germans,  hoping  to  terminate 
the  war  by  the  reduction  of  a  city  in  which  the  king  and  his  mother  were 
shut  up, had  formed  the  siege  of  Buda.  Martinuzzi,  having  drawn  thither 
the  strength  of  the  Hungarian  nobility,  defended  the  town  with  such  courage 
and  skill,  as  allowed  the  Turkish  forces  time  to  come  up  to  its  relief.  They 
instantly  attacked  the  Germans,  weakened  by  fatigue,  diseases,  and  deser- 
tion, and  defeated  them  with  great  slaughter.! 

Solyman  soon  after  joined  his  victorious  troops,  and  being  weary  of  so 
many  expensive  expeditions  undertaken  in  defence  of  dominions  which 
were  not  his  own,  or  being  unable  to  resist  this  alluring  opportunity  of 
seizing  a  kingdom,  while  possessed  by  an  infant,  under  the  guardianship  of 
a  woman  and  a  priest,  he  allowed  interested  considerations  to  triumph  with 
too  much  facility  over  the  principles  of  honour  and  the  sentiments  oi 

*  Jovii  Hist.  lib.  xxxix.  p.  239.  a.  Sec.  *  Jstuanhaffii  Hist.  Huns.  lib.  xiv.  p.  ISO. 

Vol.  II.— 38 


9B8  THE  REIGN   OF   THE  tBooK  VI. 

humanity.  What  he  planned  ungenerously,  he  executed  by  fraud.  Having 
prevailed  on  the  queen  to  send  her  son,  whom  he  pretended  to  be  desirous 
of  seeing,  into  his  camp,  and  having,  at  the  same  time,  invited  the  chief  of 
the  nobility  to  an  entertainment  there,  while  they,  suspecting  no  treachery, 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  mirth  and  jollity  of  the  feast,  a  select  band  of 
troops  by  the  sultan's  orders  seized  one  of  the  gates  of  Buda.  Being  thus 
master  of  the  capital,  of  the  king's  person,  and  of  the  leading  men  among 
the  nobles,  he  gave  orders  to  conduct  the  queen,  together  with  her  son,  to 
Transylvania,  which  province  he  allotted  to  them,  and  appointing  a  basha 
to  preside  in  Buda  with  a  large  body  of  soldiers,  annexed  Hungary  to  the 
Ottoman  empire.*  The  tears  and  complaints  of  the  unhappy  queen  had 
no  influence  to  change  his  purpose,  nor  could  Martinuzzi  either  resist  his 
absolute  and  uncontrollable  command,  or  prevail  on  him  to  recall  it. 

Before  the  account  of  this  violent  usurpation  reached  Ferdinand,  he  was 
so  unlucky  as  to  have  despatched  other  ambassadors  to  Solyman  with  a 
fresh  representation  of  his  right  to  the  crown  of  Hungary,  as  well  as  a 
renewal  of  his  former  overture  to  hold  the  kingdom  of  the  Ottoman  Porte, 
and  to  pay  for  it  an  annual  tribute.  This  ill-timed  proposal  was  rejected 
with  scorn.  The  sultan,  elated  with  success,  and  thinking  that  he  might 
prescribe  what  terms  he  pleased  to  a  prince  who  voluntarily  proffered 
conditions  so  unbecoming  his  own  dignity,  declared  that  he  would  not  sus- 
pend the  operations  of  war,  unless  Ferdinand  instantly  evacuated  all  the 
towns  which  he  still  held  in  Hungary,  and  consented  to  the  imposition  of  a 
tribute  upon  Austria,  in  order  to  reimburse  the  sums  which  his  presump- 
tuous invasion  of  Hungary  had  obliged  the  Ottoman  Forte  to  expend  in 
defence  of  that  kingdom.! 

In  this  state  were  the  affairs  of  Hungary.  As  the  unfortunate  events 
there  had  either  happened  before  the  dissolution  of  the  diet  at  Ratisbon, 
or  were  dreaded  at  that  time,  Charles  saw  the  danger  of  irritating  and 
inflaming  the  minds  of  the  Germans,  while  a  formidable  enemy  was  ready 
to  break  into  the  empire ;  and  perceived  that  he  could  not  expect  any 
vigorous  assistance  either  towards  the  recovery  of  Hungary,  or  the  defence 
of  the  Austrian  frontier,  unless  hje  courted  and  satisfied  the  protestants. 
By  the  concessions  which  have  been  mentioned,  he  gained  this  point,  and 
such  liberal  supplies,  both  of  men  and  money,  were  voted  for  carrying  on 
the  war  against  the  Turks,  as  left  him  under  little  anxiety  about  the  secu- 
rity of  Germany  during  the  next  campaign. J 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  diet,  the  emperor  set  out  for 
Italy.  As  he  passed  through  Lucca,  he  had  a  short  interview  with  the 
pope ;  but  nothing  could  be  concluded  concerning  the  proper  method  of 
composing  the  religious  disputes  in  Germany,  between  two  princes,  whose 
views  and  interests  with  regard  to  that  matter  were  at  this  juncture  so 
opposite.  The  pope's  endeavours  to  remove  the  causes  of  discord  between 
Charles  and  Francis,  and  to  extinguish  those  mutual  animosities  which 
threatened  to  break  out  suddenly  into  open  hostility,  were  not  more 
successful. 

The  emperor's  thoughts  were  bent  so  entirely,  at  that  time,  on  the  great 
enterprise  which  he  had  concerted  against  Algiers,  that  he  listened  with 
little  attention  to  the  pope's  schemes  or  overtures,  and  hastened  to  join  his 
army  and  fleet.§ 

Algiers  still  continued  in  that  state  of  dependence  on  the  Turkish  empire 
to  which  Barbarossa  had  subjected  it.  Ever  since  he,  as  captain  Basha, 
commanded  the  Ottoman  fleet,  Algiers  had  been  governed  by  Hascen-Aga, 
a  renegado  eunuch,  who,  by  passing  through  every  station  in  the  corsair's 
service,  had  acquired  such  experience  in  war,  that  he  was  well  fitted  for  a 

*  Istuanhaffii  Hist.  Hung.  lib.  xiv.  p.  50.  Jovii  Histor.  lib.  xxxix.  p.  2476,  &c.  t  Istuanhaffii 
Hist  Hung.  lib.  xiv.  p.  15R  J  Sleid.283  fc  Sandov.  Hist.  torn.  H.  2P« 


E  M  P  E  K  O  K    C  H  A  R  L  E  S    \  .  2»* 

station  which  required  a  man  of  tried  and  daring  courage.  Hascen,  in 
order  to  show  how  well  he  deserved  that  dignity,  carried  on  his  piratical 
depredations  against  the  Christian  states  with  amazing  activity,  and  out- 
did, if  possible,  Barbarossa  himself  in  boldness  and  cruelty.  The  com- 
merce of  the  Mediterranean  was  greatly  interrupted  by  his  cruisers,  and 
such  frequent  alarms  given  to  the  coast  of  Spain,  that  there  was  a  necessity 
of  erecting  watch-towers  at  proper  distances,  and  of  keeping  guards  con- 
stantly on  foot,  in  order  to  descry  the  approach  of  his  squadrons,  and  to 
protect  the  inhabitants  from  their  descents.*  Of  this  the  emperor  had 
received  repeated  and  clamorous  complaints  from  his  subjects,  who  repre- 
sented it  as  an  enterprise  corresponding  to  his  power,  and  becoming  his 
humanity,  to  reduce  Algiers,  which,  since  the  conquest  of  Tunis,  was  the 
common  receptacle  of  all  the  free-booters ;  and  to  exterminate  that  lawless 
race,  the  implacable  enemies  of  the  Christian  name.  Moved  partly  by 
their  entreaties,  and  partly  allured  by  the  hope  of  adding  to  the  glory 
which  he  had  acquired  by  his  last  expedition  into  Africa,  Charles,  before 
he  left  Madrid  in  his  way  to  the  Low-Countries,  had  issued  orders  both  in 
Spain  and  Italy,  to  prepare  a  fleet  and  army  for  this  purpose.  No  change 
in  circumstances,  since  that  time,  could  divert  him  from  this  resolution,  or 
prevail  on  him  to  turn  his  arms  towards  Hungary ;  though  the  success  of 
the  Turks  in  that  country  seemed  more  immediately  to  require  his 
presence  there ;  though  many  of  his  most  faithful  adherents  in  Germany 
urged  that  the  defence  of  the  empire  ought  to  be  his  first  and  peculiar 
care  ;  though  such  as  bore  him  no  good-will  ridiculed  his  preposterous  con- 
duct in  flying  from  an  enemy  almost  at  hand,  that  he  might  go  in  quest  of 
a  remote  and  more  ignoble  foe.  But  to  attack  the  sultan  in  Hungary,  how 
splendid  soever  that  measure  might  appear,  was  an  undertaking  which 
exceeded  his  power,  and  was  not  consistent  with  his  interest.  To  draw 
troops  out  of  Spain  or  Italy,  to  march  them  into  a  country  so  distant  as 
Hungary,  to  provide  the  vast  apparatus  necessary  for  transporting  thither 
the  artillery,  ammunition,  and  baggage  of  a  regular  army,  and  to  push  the 
war  in  that  quarter,  where  there  was  little  prospect  of  bringing  it  to  an 
issue  during  several  campaigns,  were  undertakings  so  expensive  and 
unwieldy  as  did  not  correspond  with  the  low  condition  of  the  emperor's 
treasury.  While  his  principal  force  was  thus  employed,  his  dominions  in 
Italy  and  the  Low-Countries  must  have  lain  open  to  the  French  king,  who 
would  not  have  allowed  such  a  favourable  opportunity  of  attacking  them 
to  go  unimproved.  Whereas  the  African  expedition,  the  preparations  for 
which  were  already  finished,  and  almost  the  whole  expense  of  it  defrayed, 
would  depend  upon  a  single  effort ;  and  besides  the  security  and  satisfac- 
tion which  the  success  of  it  must  give  his  subjects,  would  detain  him  during 
ho  short  a  space,  that  Francis  could  hardly  take  advantage  of  his  absence, 
to  invade  his  dominions  in  Europe. 

On  all  these  accounts,  Charles  adhered  to  his  first  plan,  and  with  such 
determined  obstinacy,  that  he  paid  no  regard  to  the  pope,  who  advised,  or 
to  Andrew  Doria,  who  conjured  him  not  to  expose  his  whole  armament 
to  almost  unavoidable  destruction,  by  venturing  to  approach  the  dangerous 
coast  of  Algiers  at  such  an  advanced  season  of  the  year,  and  when  the 
autumnal  winds  were  so  violent.  Having  embarked  on  board  Doria's 
galleys  at  Porto  Venere  in  the  Genoese  territories,  he  soon  found  that  this 
experienced  sailor  had  not  judged  wrong  concerning  the  element  with 
which  he  was  so  well  acquainted;  for  such  a  storm  arose,  that  it  was  with 
the  utmost  difficulty  and  danger  he  reached  Sardinia,  the  place  of  general 
rendezvous.  But  as  his  courage  was  undaunted,  and  his  temper  often 
inflexible,  neither  the  renewed  remonstrances  of  the  pope  and  Dona,  nor  the 
danger  to  which  he  had  already  been  exposed  by  disregarding  their  advice* 

*  Jovii  Hist.  1.  xl.p.  266. 


300  THE   HEIGN   OF   THE  [Book  Vf. 

had  any  other  effect  than  to  confirm  him  in  his  fatal  resolution.  The  force, 
indeed,  which  he  had  collected,  was  such  as  might  have  inspired  a  prince 
less  adventurous,  and  less  confident  in  his  own  schemes,  with  the  most 
sanguine  hopes  of  success.  It  consisted  of  twenty  thousand  foot,  and  two 
thousand  horse,  Spaniards,  Italians,  and  Germans,  mostly  veterans,  together 
with  three  thousand  volunteers,  the  flower  of  the  Spanish  and  Italian 
nobility,  fond  of  paying  court  to  the  emperor  by  attending  him  in  his 
favourite  expedition,  and  eager  to  share  in  the  glory  which  they  believed 
he  was  going  to  reap ;  to  these  were  added  a  thousand  soldiers  sent  from 
Malta  by  the  order  ot  St.  John,  led  by  a  hundred  of  its  most  gallant  knight6. 

The  voyage,  from  Majorca  to  the  African  coast,  was  not  less  tedious,  or 
full  of  hazard,  than  that  which  he  had  just  finished.  When  he  approached 
the  land,  the  roll  of  the  sea,  and  vehemence  of  the  winds,  would  not  permit 
the  troops  to  disembark.  But  at  last  the  emperor,  seizing  a  favourable 
opportunity,  landed  them  without  opposition,  not  far  from  Algiers,  and 
immediately  advanced  towards  the  town.  To  oppose  this  mighty  army, 
Hascen  had  only  eight  hundred  Turks,  and  five  thousand  Moors,  partly 
natives  of  Africa,  and  partly  refugees  from  Granada.  He  returned,  how- 
ever, a  fierce  and  haughty  answer,  when  summoned  to  surrender.  But 
with  such  a  handful  of  soldiers,  neither  his  desperate  courage,  nor  consum- 
mate skill  in  war,  could  have  long  resisted  forces  superior  to  those  which 
had  defeated  Barbarossa  at  the  head  of  sixty  thousand  men,  and  which  had 
reduced  Tunis,  in  spite  of  all  his  endeavours  to  save  it. 

But  how  far  soever  the  emperor  might  think  himself  beyond  the  reach 
of  any  danger  from  the  enemy,  he  was  suddenly  exposed  to  a  more  dreadful 
calamity,  and  one  against  which  human  prudence  and  human  efforts 
availed  nothing.  On  the  second  day  after  his  landing,  and  before  he  had 
time  for  any  thing  but  to  disperse  some  light  armed  Arabs  who  molested 
his  troops  on  their  march,  the  clouds  began  to  gather,  and  the  heavens  to 
appear  with  a  fierce  and  threatening  aspect.  Towards  evening,  rain  began 
to  fall,  accompanied  with  violent  wind  ;and  the  rage  of  the  tempest  in- 
creasing, during  the  night,  the  soldiers,  who  had  brought  nothing  ashore 
but  their  arms,  remained  exposed  "to  all  its  fury,  without  tents,  or  shelter, 
or  cover  of  any  kind.  The  ground  was  soon  so  wet  that  they  could  not 
lie  down  on  it ;  their  camp  being  in  a  low  situation,  was  overflowed  with 
water,  and  they  sunk  at  every  step  to  the  ankles  in  mud  ;  while  the  wind 
blew  with  such  impetuosity,  that,  to  prevent  their  falling,  they  were 
obliged  to  thrust  their  spears  into  the  ground,  and  to  support  themselves 
by  taking  hold  of  them.  Hascen  was  too  vigilant  an  officer  to  allow  an 
enemy  in  such  distress  to  remain  unmolested.  About  the  dawn  of  morn- 
ing, he  sallied  out  with  soldiers,  who  having  been  screened  from  the  storm 
under  their  own  roofs,  were  fresh  and  vigorous.  A  body  of  Italians,  who 
were  stationed  nearest  the  city,  dispirited  and  benumbed  with  cold,  fled 
at  the  approach  of  the  Turks.  The  troops  at  the  post  behind  them  dis- 
covered greater  courage  ;  but  as  the  rain  had  extinguished  their  matches, 
and  wetted  their  powder,  their  muskets  were  useless,  and  having  scarcely 
strength  to  handle  their  other  arms,  they  were  soon  thrown  into  confusion. 
Almost  the  whole  army,  with  the  emperor  himself  in  person,  was  obliged 
to  advance,  before  the  enemy  could  be  repulsed,  who,  after  spreading  such 
general  consternation,  and  killing  a  considerable  number  of  men,  retired  at 
last  in  good  order. 

But  all  feeling  or  remembrance  of  this  loss  and  danger  were  quickly 
obliterated  by  a  more  dreadful  as  well  as  affecting  spectacle.  It  was  now 
broad  day ;  the  hurricane  had  abated  nothing  of  its  violence,  and  the  sea 
appeared  agitated  with  all  the  rage  of  which  that  destructive  element  is 
capable ;  all  the  ships,  on  which  alone  the  whole  army  knew  that  their 
safety  and  subsistence  depended,  were  seen  driven  from  their  anchors, 
some  dashing  against  each  other,  some  beat  to  pieces  on  the  rocks,  many 


EMPEKOR  CHARLES    V'  361 

forced  ashore,  and  not  a  few  sinking  in  the  waves.  In  less  than  an  hour, 
fifteen  ships  of  war,  and  a  hundred  and  forty  transports  with  eight  thousand 
men  perished ;  and  such  of  the  unhappy  crews  as  escaped  the  fury  of  the 
sea,  were  murdered  without  mercy  by  the  Arabs,  as  soon  as  they  reached 
land.  The  emperor  stood  in  silent  anguish  and  astonishment  beholding 
this  fatal  event,  which  at  once  blasted  all  his  hopes  of  success,  and  buried 
in  the  depths  the  vast  stores  which  he  had  provided,  as  well  for  annoying 
the  enemy,  as  for  subsisting  his  own  troops.  He  had  it  not  in  his  power 
to  afford  them  any  other  assistance  or  reliet  than  by  sending  some  troops  to 
drive  away  the  Arabs,  and  thus  delivering  a  few  who  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  get  ashore  from  the  cruel  fate  which  their  companions  had  met  with. 
At  last  the  wind  began  to  fall,  and  to  give  some  hopes  that  as  many  ships 
might  escape  as  would  be  sufficient  to  save  the  army  from  perishing  by 
famine,  and  transport  them  back  to  Europe.  But  these  were  only  hopes  : 
the  approach  of  evening  covered  the  sea  with  darkness ;  and  it  being- 
impossible  for  the  officers  aboard  the  ships  which  had  outlived  the  storm, 
to  send  any  intelligence  to  their  companions  who  were  ashore,  they  remained 
during  the  night  in  all  the  anguish  of  suspense  and  uncertainty.  Next  da}-, 
a  boat  despatched  by  Doria  made  shift  to  reach  land,  with  information, 
that  having  weathered  out  the  storm,  to  which,  during  fifty  years  knowledge 
of  the  sea,  he  had  never  seen  any  equal  in  fierceness  and  horror,  he  had 
found  it  necessary  to  bear  away  with  his  shattered  ships  to  Cape  Metafuz. 
He  advised  the  emperor,  as  the  face  of  the  sky  w'as  still  lowering  anil 
tempestuous,  to  march  with  all  speed  to  that  place,  where  the  troop* 
could  re-embark  with  greater  ease. 

Whatever  comfort  this  intelligence  afforded  Charles,  from  being  assured 
that  part  of  his  fleet  had  escaped,  was  balanced  by  the  new  cares  and 
perplexity  in  which  it  involved  him  with  regard  to  his  army.  Metafuz 
was  at  least  three  days'  march  from  his  present  camp  ;  all  the  provisions 
which  he  had  brought  ashore  at  his  first  landing  were  now  consumed  ;  his 
soldiers,  worn  out  with  fatigue,  were  hardly  able  for  such  a  march,  even 
in  a  friendly  country,  and  being  dispirited  by  a  succession  of  hardships 
which  victory  itseh  would  scarcely  have  rendered  tolerable,  they  were  in 
no  condition  to  undergo  new  toils.  But  the  situation  of  the  army  was  such 
as  allowed  not  one  moment  for  deliberation,  nor  left  it  in  the  least  doubtful 
what  to  choose.  They  were  ordered  instantly  to  march,  the  wounded,  the 
sick,  and  the  feeble  being  placed  in  the  centre  ;  such  as  seemed  most 
vigorous  were  stationed  in  the  front  and  rear.  Then  the  sad  effects  of  what 
they  had  suffered  began  to  appear  more  manifestly  than  ever,  and  new- 
calamities  were  added  to  all  those  which  they  had  already  endured.  Some 
could  hardly  bear  the  weight  of  their  arms  ;  others,  spent  with  the  toil  of 
forcing  their  way  through  deep  and  almost  impassable  roads,  sunk  down 
and  died ;  many  perished  by  famine,  as  the  whole  army  subsisted  chiefly 
on  roots  and  berries,  or  the  flesh  of  horses,  killed  by  the  emperor's  order, 
and  distributed  among  the  several  battalions ;  many  were  drowned  in 
brooks,  which  were  swollen  so  much  by  the  excessive  rains,  that  in  passing 
them  they  waded  up  to  the  chin :  not  a  few  were  killed  by  the  enemy, 
who  during  the  greatest  part  of  their  retreat,  alarmed,  harassed,  and 
annoyed  them  night  and  day.  At  last  they  arrived  at  Metafuz  :  and  the 
weather  being  now  so  calm  as  to  restore  their  communication  with  the 
fleet,  they  were  supplied  with  plenty  of  provisions,  and  cheered  with  the 
prospect  of  safety. 

During  this  dreadful  series  of  calamities,  the  emperor  discovered  great 
qualities,  many  of  which  a  long  continued  flow  of  prosperity  had  scarcely 
afforded  him  an  opportunity  ot  displaying.  He  appeared  conspicuous  for 
firmness  and  constancy  of  spirit,  for  magnanimity,  fortitude,  humanity,  and 
compassion.  He  endured  as  great  hardships  as  the  meanest  soldier ;  he 
^xpo«ed  his  own  person  wherever  danger  threatened  :  be  enooirra<red  the 


-iOii  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VII. 

desponding,  visited  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  animated  all  by  his  words 
and  example.  When  the  army  embarked,  he  was  among  the  last  who  left 
the  shore,  although  a  body  of  Arabs  hovered  at  no  great  distance,  ready  to 
fall  on  the  rear.  By  these  virtues,  Charles  atoned,  in  some  degree,  for  his 
obstinacy  and  presumption  in  undertaking  an  expedition  so  fatal  to  his 
subjects. 

The  calamities  which  attended  this  unfortunate  enterprise  did  not  end 
here  ;  for  no  sooner  were  the  forces  got  on  board,  than  a  new  storm  arising, 
though  less  furious  than  the  former,  scattered  the  fleet,  and  obliged  them, 
separately,  to  make  towards  such  ports  in  Spain  or  Italy  as  they  could  first 
reach ;  thus  spreading  the  account  of  their  disasters,  with  all  the  circum- 
stances of  aggravation  and  horror,  which  their  imagination,  still  under  the 
influence  of  tear,  suggested.  The  emperor  himself,  after  escaping  great 
dangers,  and  being  forced  into  the  port  of  Bugia  in  Africa  [Dec.  2],  where 
he  was  obliged  by  contrary  winds  to  remain  several  weeks,  arrived  at  last 
in  Spain,  in  a  condition  very  different  from  that  in  which  he  had  returned 
from  his  former  expedition  against  the  infidels.* 


BOOK  VII. 


The  calamities  which  the  emperor  suffered  in  his  unfortunate  enterprise 
against  Algiers  were  great ;  and  the  account  of  these,  which  augmented  in 
proportion  as  it  spread  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  scene  of  his  disasters, 
encouraged  Francis  to  begin  hostilities,  on  which  he  had  for  some  time 
been  resolved.  But  he  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  produce,  as  the  motives 
of  this  resolution,  either  his  ancient  pretensions  to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  or 
the  emperor's  disingenuity  in  violating  his  repeated  promises  with  regard 
to  the  restitution  of  that  country.  The  former  might  have  been  a  good 
reason  against  concluding  the  truce  of  Nice,  but  was  none  for  breaking  it ; 
the  latter  could  not  be  urged  without  exposing  his  own  credulity  as  much 
as  the  emperor's  want  of  integrity.  A  violent  and  unwarrantable  action  of 
one  of  the  Imperial  generals  furnished  him  with  a  reason  to  justify  his  taking 
arms,  whichwas  of  greater  weight  than  either  of  these,  and  such  as  would 
have  roused  him,  if  he  had  been  as  desirous  of  peace  as  he  was  eager  for 
war.  Francis,  by  signing  the  treaty  of  truce  at  Nice,  without  consulting 
Solyman,  gave  (as  he  foresaw)  great  offence  to  that  haughty  monarch,  who 
considered  an  alliance  with  him  as  an  honour  of  which  a  Christian  prince 
had  cause  to  be  proud.  The  friendly  interview  of  the  French  king  with 
the  emperor  in  Provence,  followed  by  such  extraordinary  appearances  of 
union  and  confidence  which  distinguished  the  reception  of  Charles  when  ho 
passed  through  the  dominions  of  Francis  to  the  Low-Countries,  induced 
the  sultan  to  suspect  that  the  two  rivals  had  at  last  forgotten  their  ancient 
enmity,  in  order  that  they  might  form  such  a  general  confederacy  against 
the  Ottoman  power,  as  had  been  long  wished  for  in  Christendom,  and  often 
attempted  in  vain.  Charles,  with  bis  usual  art,  endeavoured  to  confirm 
and  strengthen  these  suspicions,  by  instructing  his  emissaries  at  Constanti- 
nople, as  well  as  in  those  courts  with  which  Solyman  held  any  intelligence. 
to  represent  the  concord  between  him  and  Francis  to  be  so  entire,  that 
their  sentiments,  views,  and  pursuits,  would  be  the  same  for  the  future.!    it 

*  Carol.  V.  Expeditioad  Argyrium,  per  NicolaumVillagnonem  Equitem  Rhodium,  ap.  Scarditmi. 
r.  H.3G5.  Jovii  Hist.  1.  xl.  p.  269,  &.c.  Vera  y  Zitniga  Victa  <le  Carlos  V.  p.  M  BRMOT.  BistOl 
U.  SJ9,  +  Mem.  de  Ribier,  t"in.  i.  p.  500. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  \.  JU3 

was  not  without  difficulty  that  Francis  effaced  these  impressions ;  hut  the 
address  of  Rincon,  the  French  ambassador  at  the  Porte,  together  with  the 
manifest  advantage  of  carrying  on  hostilities  against  the  house  of  Austria  in 
concert  with  France,  prevailed  at  length  on  the  sultan  not  only  to  banish 
his  suspicions,  but  to  enter  into  a  closer  conjunction  with  Francis  than  ever. 
Rincon  returned  into  France,  in  order  to  communicate  to  his  master  a  scheme 
of  the  sultan's  for  gaining  the  concurrence  of  the  Venetians  in  their  operations 
against  the  common  enemy.  Solyman  having  lately  concluded  a  peace 
with  that  republic,  to  which  the  mediation  of  Francis  and  the  good  offices 
of  Rincon  had  greatly  contributed,  thought  it  not  impossible  to  allure  the 
senate  by  such  advantages,  as,  together  with  the  example  of  the  French 
monarch,  might  overbalance  any  scruples  arising  either  from  decency  or 
caution,  that  could  operate  on  the  other  side.  Francis,  warmly  approving 
of  this  measure,  despatched  Rincon  back  to  Constantinople,  and  directing 
him  to  go  by  Venice  along  with  Fregoso,  a  Genoese  exile,  whom  he 
appointed  his  ambassador  to  that  republic,  empowered  them  to  negotiate 
the  matter  with  the  senate,  to  whom  Solyman  had  sent  an  envoy  for  the 
same  purpose.*  The  marquis  del  Guasto,  governor  of  the  Milanese,  an 
officer  of  great  abilities,  but  capable  of  attempting  and  executing  the  most 
atrocious  actions,  got  intelligence  of  the  motions  and  destinations  of  these 
ambassadors.  Ashe  knew  how  much  his  master  wished  to  discover  the 
intentions  of  the  French  king,  and  of  what  consequence  it  was  to  retard  the 
execution  of  his  measures,  he  employed  some  soldiers  belonging  to  the 
garrison  of  Pavia  to  lie  in  wait  for  Rincon  and  Fregoso  as  they  sailed  down 
the  Po,  who  murdered  them  and  most  of  then-  attendants,  and  seized  their 
papers.  Upon  receiving  an  account  of  this  barbarous  outrage,  committed 
during  the  subsistence  of  a  truce,  against  persons  held  sacred  by  the  most 
uncivilized  nations,  Francis's  grief  for  the  unhappy  fate  of  two  servants 
whom  he  loved  and  trusted,  his  uneasiness  at  the  interruption  of  his  schemes 
by  their  death,  and  eveiy  other  passion,  were  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  the 
indignation  which  this  insult  on  the  honour  of  his  crown  excited.  He 
exclaimed  loudly  against  Guasto,  who,  having  drawn  upon  himself  all  the 
infamy  of  assassination  without  making  any  discovery  of  importance,  as 
the  ambassadors  had  left  their  instructions  and  other  papers  of  consequence 
behind  them,  now  boldly  denied  his  being  accessary  in  any  wise  to  the 
crime.  He  sent  an  ambassador  to  the  emperor,  to  demand  suitable  repara- 
tion for  an  indignity,  which  no  prince,  how  inconsiderable  and  pusillanimous 
soever,  could  tamely  endure  :  and  when  Charles,  impatient  at  that  time  to 
set  out  on  his  African  expedition,  endeavoured  to  put  him  off  with  an  evasive 
answer,  he  appealed  to  all  the  courts  in  Europe,  setting  forth  the  heinousness 
of  the  injury,  the  spirit  of  moderation  with  which  he  had  applied  for 
redress,  and  the  iniquity  of  the  emperor  in  disregarding  this  just  request. 

Notwithstanding  the  confidence  with  which  Guasto  asserted  his  own 
innocence,  the  accusations  of  the  French  gained  greater  credit  than  all  his 
protestations ;  and  Bellay,  the  French  commander  in  Piedmont,  procured, 
at  length,  by  his  industry  and  address,  such  a  minute  detail  of  the  transac- 
tion, with  the  testimony  of  so  many  of  the  parties  concerned,  as  amounted 
almost  to  a  legal  proof  of  the  marquis's  guilt.  In  consequence  of  this 
opinion  of  the  public,  confirmed  by  such  strong  evidence,  Francis's  com- 
plaints were  universally  allowed  to  be  well  founded,  and  the  steps  which 
he  took  towards  renewing  hostilities,  were  ascribed  not  merely  to  ambition 
or  resentment,  but  to  the  unavoidable  necessity  of  vindicating  the  honour 
of  his  crown. f 

However  just  Francis  might  esteem  his  own  cause,  he  did  not  trust  bo 
much  to  that,  as  to  neglect  the  proper  precautions  for  gaining  other  allies 
besides  the  sultan,  by  whose  aid  he  might  counterbalance  the  emperor*^ 

•  Hist-dc  Vmct.  de  Paruta.  iv.  105.  :  Bellay,  367,  &r.     ,ln\  ii  Hist  lib.  xl.2fifi 


304  THE    KElGxN    OF   THE  [Book  VII. 

superior  power.  But  his  negotiations  to  this  effect  were  attended  with  very 
little  success.  Henry  VIII.  eagerly  bent  at  that  time  upon  schemes  against 
Scotland,  which  he  knew  would  at  once  dissolve  his  union  with  France, 
was  inclinable  rather  to  take  part  with  the  emperor,  than  to  contribute  in 
any  degree  towards  favouring  the  operations  against  him.  The  pope  ad- 
hered inviolably  to  his  ancient  system  of  neutrality.  The  Venetians,  not- 
withstanding Solyman's  solicitations,  imitated  the  pope's  example.  The 
Germans, satisfied  with  the  religious  liberty  which  they  enjoyed,  found  it 
more  their  interest  to  gratify  than  to  irritate  the  .emperor  ;  so  that  the  kings 
of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  who  on  this  occasion  were  first  drawn  in  to 
interest  themselves  in  the  quarrels  of  the  more  potent  monarchs  of  the 
south,  and  the  duke  of  Cleves,  who  had  a  dispute  with  the  emperor  about 
the  possession  of  Gueldres,  were  the  only  confederates  whom  Francis 
secured.  But  the  dominions  of  the  two  former  lay  at  such  a  distance,  and 
the  power  of  the  latter  was  so  inconsiderable,  that  he  gained  little  by  their 
alliance. 

But  Francis  by  vigorous  efforts  of  his  own  activity  supplied  every  defect. 
Being  afflicted  at  this  time  with  a  distemper,  which  was  the  effect  of  hi? 
irregular  pleasures,  and  which  prevented  his  pursuing  them  with  the  same 
licentious  indulgence,  he  applied  to  business  with  more  than  his  usual 
industry.  The  same  cause  which  occasioned  this  extraordinary  attention 
to  his  affairs,  rendered  him  morose  and  dissatisfied  with  the  ministers  whom 
he  had  hitherto  employed.  This  accidental  peevishness  being  sharpened 
by  reflecting  on  the  false  steps  into  which  he  had  lately  been  betrayed,  as 
well  as  the  insults  to  which  he  had  been  exposed,  some  of  those  in  whom 
he  had  usually  placed  the  greatest  confidence  felt  the  effects  of  this  change 
in  his  temper,  and  were  deprived  of  their  offices.  At  last  he  disgraced 
Montmorency  himself,  who  had  long  directed  affairs,  as  well  civil  as  military, 
with  all  the  authority  of  a  minister  no  less  beloved  than  trusted  by  his 
master  ;  and  Francis  being  fond  of  showing  that  the  fall  of  such  a  pow- 
erful favourite  did  not  affect  the  vigour  or  prudence  of  his  administration, 
this  was  a  new  motive  to  redouble  his  diligence  in  preparing  to  open  the 
war  by  some  splendid  and  extraordinary  effort. 

1542.]  He  accordingly  brought  into  the  field  five  armies.  One  to  act  in 
Luxemburg  under  the  duke  of  Orleans,  accompanied  by  the  duke  of 
Lorraine  as  his  instructer  in  the  art  of  war.  Another,  commanded  by  the 
dauphin,  marched  towards  the  frontiers  of  Spain.  A  third,  led  by  Van 
Rossem  the  marshal  of  Gueldres,  and  composed  chiefly  of  the  troops  of 
Cleves,  had  Brabant  allotted  for  the  theatre  of  its  operations.  A  fourth- 
of  which  the  duke  of  Vendome  was  general,  hovered  on  the  borders  of 
Flanders.  The  last,  consisting  of  the  forces  cantoned  in  Piedmont,  was 
destined  for  the  admiral  Annebaut.  The  dauphin  and  his  brother  were 
appointed  to  command  where  the  chief  exertions  were  intended,  and  the 
greatest  honour  to  be  reaped ;  the  army  of  the  former  amounted  to  forty 
thousand,  that  of  the  latter  to  thirty  thousand  men.  Nothing  appears 
more  surprising  than  that  Francis  did  not  pour  with  these  numerous  and 
irresistible  armies  into  the  Milanese  ;  which  had  so  long  been  the  object  of 
his  wishes  as  well  as  enterprises  ;  and  that  he  should  choose  rather  to  turn 
almost  his  whole  strength  into  another  direction,  and  towards  new  con- 
quests. But  the  remembrance  of  the  disasters  which  he  had  met  with  in 
his  former  expeditions  into  Italy,  together  with  the  difficulty  of  supporting 
a  war  carried  on  at  such  a  distance  from  his  own  dominions,  had  gradually 
abated  his  violent  inclination  to  obtain  footing  in  that  country,  and  made 
him  willing  to  try  the  fortune  of  his  arms  in  another  quarter.  At  the  same 
time  he  expected  to  make  such  a  powerful  impression  on  the  frontier  oi 
Spain,  where  there  were  few  towns  of  any  strength,  and  no  army  assembled 
to  oppose  him,  as  might  enable  him  to  recover  possession  of  the  country 
of  Roussillon,  lately  dismembered  tmin  the  French  crown,  before  Charles 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  305 

could  bring  into  the  field  any  force  able  to  obstruct  his  progress.  The 
necessity  of  supporting  his  ally  the  duke  of  Cleves,  and  the  hope  of  draw- 
ing a  considerable  body  of  soldiers  out  of  Germany  by  his  means,  deter- 
mined him  to  act  with  vigour  in  the  Low-Countries. 

The  dauphin  and  duke  of  Orleans  opened  the  campaign  much  about 
the  same  time  [June] ;  the  former  laying  siege  to  Perpignan  the  capital 
of  Roussillon,  and  the  latter  entering  Luxemburg.  The  duke  of  Orleans 
pushed  his  operations  with  the  greatest  rapidity  and  success,  one  town 
falling  after  another,  until  no  place  in  that  large  dutchy  remained  in  the 
emperor's  hands  but  Thionville.  Nor  could  he  have  failed  of  overrunning 
the  adjacent  provinces  with  the  same  ease,  if  he  had  not  voluntarily  stopped 
short  in  this  career  of  victory.  But  a  report  prevailing  that  the  emperor 
had  determined  to  hazard  a  battle  in  order  to  save  Perpignan,  on  a  sudden 
the  duke,  prompted  by  youthful  ardour,  or  moved  perhaps  by  jealousy  of 
his  brother,  whom  he  both  envied  and  hated,  abandoned  his  own  conquest, 
and  hastened  towards  Roussillon,  in  order  to  divide  with  him  the  glory  of 
the  victory. 

On  his  departure,  some  of  his  troops  were  disbanded,  others  deserted 
their  colours,  and  the  rest,  cantoned  in  the  towns  which  he  had  taken,  re- 
mained inactive.  By  this  conduct,  which  leaves  a  dishonourable  imputa- 
tion either  on  his  understanding  or  his  heart,  or  on  both,  he  not  only 
renounced  whatever  he  could  have  hoped  from  such  a  promising  com- 
mencement of  the  campaign,  but  gave  the  enemy  an  opportunity  of 
recovering,  before  the  end  of  summer,  all  the  conquests  which  he  had 
gained.  On  the  Spanish  frontier,  the  emperor  was  not  so  inconsiderate  as 
to  venture  on  a  battle,  the  loss  of  which  might  have  endangered  his  king- 
dom. Perpignan,  though  poorly  fortified,  and  briskly  attacked,  having 
been  largely  supplied  with  ammunition  and  provisions  by  the  vigilance  of 
Doria,*  was  defended  so  long  and  so  vigorously  by  the  duke  of  Alva,  the 
persevering  obstinacy  of  whose  temper  fitted  him  admirably  for  such  a 
service,  that  at  last  the  French,  after  a  siege  of  three  months,  wasted  by 
diseases,  repulsed  in  several  assaults,  and  despairing  of  success,  relin- 
quished the  undertaking,  and  retired  into  their  own  country.t  Thus  all 
Francis's  mighty,  preparations,  either  from  some  defect  in  his  own  conduct, 
or  from  the  superior  power  and  prudence  of  his  rival,  produced  no  effects 
which  bore  any  proportion  to  his  expense  and  efforts,  or  such  as  gratified, 
in  any  degree,  his  own  hopes,  or  answered  the  expectation  of  Europe. 
The  only  solid  advantage  of  the  campaign  was  the  acquisition  of  a  few 
towns  in  Piedmont,  which  Bellay  gained  rather  by  stratagem  and  address, 
than  by  the  force  of  his  arms.i 

1543.]  The  emperor  and  Francis,  though  both  considerably  exhausted 
by  such  great  but  indecisive  efforts,  discovering  no  abatement  of  their 
mutual  animosity,  employed  all  their  attention,  tried  every  expedient,  and 
turned  themselves  towards  every  quarter,  in  order  to  acquire  new  allies, 
together  with  such  a  reinforcement  of  strength  as  would  give  them  the 
superiority  in  the  ensuing  campaign.  Charles,  taking  advantage  of  the 
terror  and  resentment  of  the  Spaniards,  upon  the  sudden  invasion  of  their 
country,  prevailed  on  the  Cortes  of  the  several  kingdoms  to  grant  him  sub- 
sidies with  a  more  liberal  hand  than  usual.  At  the  same  time  he  borrowed 
a  large  sum  from  John  king  of  Portugal,  and,  by  way  of  security  for  his 
repayment,  put  him  in  possession  of  the  Molucca  isles  in  the  East  Indies, 
with  the  gainful  commerce  of  precious  spices,  which  that  sequestered 
corner  of  the  globe  yields.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  negotiated  a  mar- 
riage between  Philip  his  only  son,  now  in  his  sixteenth  year,  and  Mary, 
daughter  of  that  monarch,  with  whom  her  father,  the  most  opulent  prince 

*  Sigonii  Vila  A.  Doric,  p.  HOT.        |  BsndoT.  Mist.  torn.  U.  315.       i  lb.  ii.  318.    Bellav.  38"! 
&c.     Ferrer,  ix.  'ZT7. 

Vol.  II.-t39 


COG  THE   REIGN   OF   THE-        [Book  V  I  J. 

in  Europe,  gave  a  large  dower  ;  and  having  likewise  persuaded  the  Cortea 
of  Aragon  and  Valencia  to  recognise  Philip  as  the  heir  of  these  crowns, 
he  obtained  from  them  the  donative  usual  on  such  occasions.*  These 
extraordinary  supplies  enabled  him  to  make  such  additions  to  his  forces  in 
Spain  that  he  could  detach  a  great  body  into  the  Low-Countries,  and  yet 
reserve  as  many  as  were  sufficient  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom.  Having 
thus  provided  lor  the  security  of  Spain,  and  committed  the  government  of 
it  to  his  son,  he  sailed  for  Italy  [May],  in  his  way  to  Germany.  But  how 
attentive  soever  to  raise  the  funds  for  carrying  on  the  war,  or  eager  to  grasp 
at  any  new  expedient  for  that  purpose,  he  was  not  so  inconsiderate  as  to 
accept  of  an  overture  which  Paul,  knowing  his  necessities,  artfully  threw 
out  to  him.  That  ambitious  pontiff,  no  less  sagacious  to  discern,  than 
watchful  to  seize  opportunities  of  aggrandizing  his  family,  solicited  him 
to  grant  Octavio  his  grandchild,  whom  the  emperor  had  admitted  to  the 
honour  of  being  his  son-in-law,  the  investiture  of  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  in 
return  for  which  he  promised  such  a  sum  of  money  as  would  have  gone  far 
towards  supplying  all  his  present  exigencies.  But  Charles,  as  well  from 
unwillingness  to  alienate  a  province  01  so  much  value,  as  from  disgust  at 
the  pope,  who  had  hitherto  refused  to  join  in  the  war  against  Francis, 
rejected  the  proposal.  His  dissatisfaction  with  Paul  at  that  juncture  was 
so  great,  that  he  even  refused  to  approve  his  alienating  Parma  and  Pla- 
centia  from  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  and  settling  them  on  his  son  and 
grandson  as  a  fief  to  be  held  of  the  holy  see.  As  no  other  expedient  for 
raising  money  among  the  Italian  states  remained,  he  consented  to  withdraw 
the  garrisons  which  he  had  hitherto  kept  in  the  citadels  of  Florence  and 
Leghorn ;  in  consideration  for  which  he  received  a  large  present  from 
Cosmo  di  Medici,  who  by  this  means  secured  his  own  independence, 
nnd  got  possession  of  two  forts,  which  were  justly  called  the  fetters  of 
Tuscany,  t 

But  Charles,  while  he  seemed  to  have  turned  his  whole  attention  towards 
raising  the  sums  necessary  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  year,  had  not 
been  negligent  of  objects  more  distant,  though  no  less  important,  and  had 
concluded  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with  Henry  VIII.  from  which 
he  derived,  in  the  end,  greater  advantage  than  from  all  his  other  prepara- 
tions. Several  slight  circumstances  which  have  already  been  mentioned, 
had  begun  to  alienate  the  affections  of  that  monarch  from  Francis,  with 
whom  he  had  been  for  some  time  in  close  alliance  ;  and  new  incidents  of 
greater  moment  had  occurred  to  increase  his  disgust  and  animosity. 
Henry,  desirous  of  establishing  an  uniformity  in  religion  in  both  the  British 
kingdoms,  as  well  as  fond  of  making  proselytes  to  his  own  opinions,  had 
formed  a  scheme  of  persuading  his  nephew  the  king  of  Scots  to  renounce 
the  pope's  supremacy,  and  to  adopt  the  same  system  of  reformation,  which 
he  had  introduced  into  England.  This  measure  he  pursued  with  his  usual 
eagerness  and  impetuosity,  making  such  advantageous  offers  to  James, 
whom  he  considered  as  not  over  scrupulously  attached  to  any  religious 
tenets,  that  he  hardly  doubted  of  success.  His  propositions  were  accord- 
ingly received  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  flattered  himself  with  having 
gained  his  point.  But  the  Scottish  ecclesiastics,  foreseeing  how  fatal  the 
union  of  their  sovereign  with  England  must  prove  both  to  their  own  power, 
and  to  the  established  system  of  religion;  and  the  partizans  of  France,  no 
less  convinced  that  it  would  put  an  end  to  the  influence  of  that  crown  upon 
the  public  councils  of  Scotland ;  combined  together,  and  by  their  insinua- 
tions defeated  Henry's  scheme  at  the  very  moment  when  he  expected  it  to 
have  taken  effect.J     Too  haughty  to  brook  such  a  disappointment,  which 

*  Fen-eras,  it.  238.  2-13.    Jovii  Hist.  lib.  xlii.  298.  li.  j  Adrian!  Ialoria,  i.  105.    Sleid.  312. 

•lovii  Hiet.lib.  xliii.  ..,  301.     Viladl  Coa  Mediri  <li  Rnldini.  p.  34.  i  Hist,  of  8co*  vol.i.  p.  71. 

*c.  <)tri  edit.  8vo. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  307 

he  imputed  as  much  to  the  arts  of  the  French,  as  to  the  levity  of  the  Scottish 
monarch,  he  took  arms  against  Scotland,  threatening  to  subdue  the  king- 
dom, since  he  could  not  gain  the  friendship  of  its  king.  At  the  same  time, 
his  resentment  against  Francis  quickened  his  negotiations  with  the  em- 
peror, an  alliance  with  whom  he  was  now  as  forward  to  accept  as  the  other 
could  be  to  offer  it.  During  this  war  with  Scotland,  and  before  the  con- 
clusion of  his  negotiations  with  Charles,  James  V.  died,  leaving  his  crown 
to  Mary  his  only  daughter,  an  infant  of  a  few  days  old*  Upon  this  event, 
Henry  altered  at  once  his  whole  system  with  regard  to  Scotland,  and 
abandoning  all  thoughts  of  conquering  it,  aimed  at  what  was  more  advan- 
tageous as  well  as  more  practicable,  a  union  with  that  kingdom  by  a 
marriage  between  Edward  his  only  son  and  the  young  queen.  But  here, 
too,  he  apprehended  a  vigorous  opposition  from  the  French  faction  in  Scot- 
land, which  began  to  bestir  itself  in  order  to  thwart  the  measure.  The 
necessity  of  crushing  this  parly  among  the  Scots,  and  of  preventing  Francis 
from  furnishing  them  any  effectual  aid,  confirmed  Henry's  resolution  of 
breaking  with  France,  and  pushed  him  on  to  put  a  finishing  hand  to  the 
treaty  of  confederacy  with  the  emperor. 

In  this  league  [Feb.  11]  were  contained  first  of  all,  articles  for  securing 
their  future  amity  and  mutual  defence  ;  then  were  enumerated  the  demands 
which  they  were  respectively  to  make  upon  Francis  ;  and  the  plan  of  their 
operations  was  fixed,  if  he  should  refuse  to  grant  them  satisfaction.  They 
agreed  to  require  that  Francis  should  not  only  renounce  his  alliance  with 
Solyman,  which  had  been  the  source  of  infinite  calamities  to  Christendom, 
but  also  that  he  should  make  reparation  for  the  damages  which  that  unna- 
tural union  had  occasioned  ;  that  he  should  restore  Burgundy  to  the  emperor, 
that  he  should  desist  immediately  from  hostilities,  and  leave  Charles  at 
leisure  to  oppose  the  common  enemy  of  the  Christian  faith ;  and  that  he 
should  immediately  pay  the  sums  due  to  Henry,  or  put  some  towns  in  his 
hands  as  security  to  that  effect.  If,  within  forty  days,  he  did  not  comply 
with  these  demands,  they  then  engaged  to  invade  France  each  with  twenty 
thousand  foot  and  five  thousand  horse,  and  not  lay  down  their  arms  until 
they  had  recovered  Burgundy,  together  with  the  towns  on  the  Somme,  for 
the  emperor,  and  Normandy  and  Guienne,  or  even  the  whole  realm  of 
France,  for  Henry.*  Their  heralds,  accordingly,  set  out  with  these  haughty 
requisitions ;  and  though  they  were  not  permitted  to  enter  France,  the  two 
monarchs  held  themselves  fully  entitled  to  execute  whatever  was  stipulated 
in  their  treaty. 

Francis,  on  his  part,  was  not  less  diligent  in  preparing  for  the  approach 
ing  campaign.  Having  early  observed  symptoms  of  Henry's  disgust  and 
alienation,  and  finding  all  his  endeavours  to  soothe  and  reconcile  him  inef- 
fectual, he  knew  his  temper  too  well  not  to  expect  that  open  hostilities 
would  quickly  follow  upon  this  secession  of  friendship.  For  this  reason  he 
redoubled  his  endeavours  to  obtain  from  Solyman  such  aid  as  might  coun- 
terbalance the  great  accession  of  strength  which  the  emperor  would  receive 
by  his  alliance  with  England.  In  order  to  supply  the  place  of  the  two 
ambassadors  murdered  by  Guasto,  he  sent  as  his  envoy,  first  to  Venice,  and 
then  to  Constantinople,  Paulin,  who,  though  in  no  higher  rank  than  a  captain 
of  foot,  was  deemed  worthy  of  being  raised  to  this  important  station,  to 
which  he  was  recommended  by  Bellay,  who  had  trained  him  to  the  arts  of 
negotiation,  and  made  trial  of  his  address  and  talents  on  several  occasions. 
Nor  did  he  belie  the  opinion  conceived  of  his  courage  and  abilities.  Has- 
tening to  Constantinople,  without  regarding  the  dangers  to  which  he  was 
exposed,  he  urged  his  master's  demands  with  such  boldness,  and  availed 
himself  of  every  circumstance  with  such  dexterity,  that  he  soon  removed 
3II  the  sultan's  difficulties.     As  some  of  the  bashaws,  swayed  either  by 

•  Rvm.  xiv.  7GS.  Herb.  238 


308  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  VII. 

their  own  opinion,  or  influenced  by  the  emperor's  emissaries,  who  had  mad* 
their  way  even  into  this  court,  had  declared  in  the  divan  against  acting  in 
concert  with  France,  he  found  means  either  to  convince  or  silence  them.* 
At  last  he  obtained  orders  for  Barbarossa  to  sail  with  a  powerful  fleet,  and 
to  regulate  all  his  operations  by  the  directions  of  the  French  king.  Francis 
was  not  equally  successful  in  his  attempts  to  gain  the  princes  of  the  em- 
pire. The  extraordinary  rigour  with  which  he  thought  it  necessary  to 
punish  such  of  his  subjects  as  had  embraced  the  protestant  opinions,  in  order 
to  give  some  notable  evidence  of  his  own  zeal  for  the  catholic  faith,  and  to 
wipe  off  the  imputations  to  which  he  was  liable  from  his  confederacy  with 
the  Turks,  placed  an  insuperable  barrier  between  him  and  such  of  the  Ger- 
mans as  interest  or  inclination  would  have  prompted  most  readily  to  join  him.t 
His  chief  advantage,  however,  over  the  emperor,  he  derived  on  this,  as  on 
other  occasions,  from  the  contiguity  of  his  dominions,  as  well  as  from  the 
extent  of  the  royal  authority  in  France,  which  exempted  him  from  all  the 
delays  and  disappointments  unavoidable  wherever  popular  assemblies  pro- 
vide for  the  expenses  of  government  by  occasional  and  frugal  subsidies. 
Hence  his  domestic  preparations  were  always  carried  on  with  vigour  and 
rapidity,  while  those  of  the  emperor,  unless  when  quickened  by  some  foreign 
supply,  or  some  temporary  expedient,  were  extremely  slow  and  dilatory. 

Long  before  any  army  was  in  readiness  to  oppose  him,  Francis  took  the 
field  in  the  Low-Countries,  against  which  he  turned  the  whole  weight  of 
the  war.  He  made  himself  master  of  Landrecy,  which  he  determined  to 
keep  as  the  key  to  the  whole  province  of  Hainault ;  and  ordered  it  to  be- 
fortified  with  great  care.  Turning  from  thence  to  the  right,  he  entered  the 
dutchy  of  Luxemburg,  and  found  it  in  the  same  defenceless  state  as  in  the 
former  year.  While  he  was  thus  employed,  the  emperor,  having  drawn 
together  an  army,  composed  of  all  the  different  nations  subject  to  his  gov- 
ernment, entered  the  territories  of  the  duke  of  Cleves,  on  whom  he  had 
vowed  to  inflict  exemplary  vengeance.  This  prince,  whose  conduct  and 
situation  were  similar  to  that  of  Robert  de  la  Mark  in  the  first  war  between 
Charles  and  Francis,  resembled,  him  likewise  in  his  fate.  Unable,  with 
his  feeble  army,  to  face  the  emperor,  who  advanced  at  the  head  of  forty- 
four  thousand  men,  he  retired  at  his  approach  ;  and  the  Imperialists,  being 
at  liberty  to  act  as  they  pleased,  immediately  invested  Duren.  That  town, 
though  gallantly  defended,  was  taken  by  assault ;  all  the  inhabitants  were 
put  to  the  sword,  and  the  place  itself  reduced  to  ashes.  This  dreadful 
example  of  severity  struck  the  people  of  the  country  with  such  general 
terror,  that  all  the  other  towns,  even  such  as  were  capable  of  resistance, 
sent  their  keys  to  the  emperor  [August  24]  ;  and  before  a  body  of  French, 
detached  to  his  assistance,  could  come  up,  the  duke  himself  was  obliged 
to  make  his  submission  to  Charles  in  the  most  abject  manner.  Being  ad- 
mitted into  the  Imperial  presence,  he  kneeled,  together  with  eight  of  his 
principal  subjects,  and  implored  mercy.  The  emperor  allowed  him  to 
remain  in  that  ignominious  posture,  and  eyeing  him  with  a  haughty  and 
severe  look,  without  deigning  to  answer  a  single  word,  remitted  him  to  his 
ministers.  The  conditions,  however,  which  they  prescribed,  were  not  so 
rigorous  as  he  had  reason  to  have  expected  after  such  a  reception.  He  was 
obliged  [Sept.  7]  to  renounce  his  alliance  with  France  and  Denmark  ;  to 
resign  all  his  pretensions  to  the  dutchy  of  Gueldres  ;  to  enter  into  perpetual 
amity  with  the  emperor  and  king  of  the  Romans.  In  return  for  which,  all 
his  hereditary  dominions  were  restored,  except  two  towns  which  the  em- 
peror kept  as  pledges  of  the  duke's  fidelity  during  the  continuance  of  the 
war ;  and  he  was  reinstated  in  his  privileges  as  a  prince  of  the  empire. 
Not  long-  after,  Charles,  as  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  reconcilement- 
gave  him  in  marriage  one  of  the  daughters  of  his  brother  Ferdinand-J 

*  Sandov.  Hisfor.  torn.  ii.  346.     .Tovii  Hist.  lib.  xli.  28.>,  &c.  300,  ic.  Brantome.  t  Beck,  lib. 

lii.  403.  i  Hartri  Anna),  Brtbant.  t.  i.  B'JH.     Recueil  des  Fraitez,  t.  ii.  ■■US. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  :w* 

Having  thus  chastised  the  presumption  of  the  duke  of  Cleves,  detached 
one  of  his  allies  from  Francis,  and  annexed  to  his  own  dominions  in  the 
Low-Countries  a  considerable  province  which  lay  contiguous  to  them, 
Charles  advanced  towards  Hainault,  and  laid  siege  to  Landrecy.  There, 
as  the  first  fruits  of  his  alliance  with  Henry,  he  was  joined  by  six  thousand 
English  under  Sir  John  Wallop.  The  garrison,  consisting  of  veteran  troops 
commanded  by  De  La  Lande  and  Desse,  two  officers  ot  reputation,  made 
a  vigorous  resistance.  Francis  approached  with  all  his  forces  to  relieve 
that  place  ;  Charles  covered  the  siege ;  both  were  determined  to  hazard 
an  engagement ;  and  all  Europe  expected  to  see  this  contest,  which  had 
continued  so  long,  decided  at  last  by  a  battle  between  two  great  armies 
led  by  their  respective  monarchs  in  person.  But  the  ground  which  sepa- 
rated their  two  camps  was  such,  as  put  the  disadvantage  manifestly  on  his 
side  who  should  venture  to  attack,  and  neither  of  them  chose  to  run  that 
risk.  Amidst  a  variety  of  movements  in  order  to  draw  the  enemy  into 
the  snare,  or  to  avoid  it  themselves,  Francis,  with  admirable  conduct  and 
equally  good  fortune,  threw  first  a  supply  of  fresh  troops,  and  then  a  con- 
voy of  provisions,  into  the  town,  so  that  the  emperor,  despairing  of 
success,  withdrew  into  winter-quarters,*  in  order  to  preserve  his  army  from 
being  entirely  ruined  by  the  rigour  of  the  season. 

During  this  campaign,  Solyman  fulfilled  his  engagements  to  the  French 
king  with  great  punctuality.  He  himself  marched  into  Hungary  with  a 
numerous  army  [November]  ;  and  as  the  princes  of  the  empire  made  no 
great  effort  to  save  a  country  which  Charles,  by  employing  his  own  force 
against  Francis,  seemed  willing  to  sacrifice,  there  was  no  appearance  of 
any  body  of  troops  to  oppose  his  progress.  He  besieged,  one  after  another, 
Q,uinque  Ecclesiae,  Alba,  and  Gran,  the  three  most  considerable  towns  in 
the  kingdom,  of  which  Ferdinand  had  kept  possession.  The  first  was 
taken  by  storm  ;  the  other  two  surrendered ;  and  the  whole  kingdom,  a  small 
corner  excepted,  was  subjected  to  the  Turkish  yoke.j  About  the  same 
time,  Barbarossa  sailed  with  a  fleet  of  a  hundred  and  ten  galleys,  and 
coasting  along  the  shore  of  Calabria,  made  a  descent  at  Rheggio,  which 
he  plundered  and  burnt ;  and  advancing  from  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,  he  stopped  there  to  water.  The  citizens  of  Rome,  ignorant  of  his 
destination,  and  filled  with  terror,  began  to  fly  with  such  general  precipi- 
tation, that  the  city  would  have  been  totally  deserted,  if  they  had  not 
resumed  courage  upon  letters  from  Paulin  the  French  envoy,  assuring  them 
that  no  violence  or  injury  would  be  offered  by  the  Turks  to  any  state  in 
alliance  with  the  king  his  master.|  From  Ostia,  Barbarossa  sailed  to 
Marseilles,  and  being  joined  by  the  French  fleet  with  a  body  of  land 
forces  on  board,  under  the  count  d'Enguien,  a  gallant  young  prince  of  the 
house  of  Bourbon,  they  directed  their  course  towards  Nice,  the  sole  retreat 
of  the  unfortunate  duke  of  Savoy  [August  10].  There,  to  the  astonishment 
and  scandal  of  all  Christendom,  the  lilies  of  France  and  crescent  of 
Mahomet  appeared  in  conjunction  against  a  fortress  on  which  the  cross  of 
Savoy  was  displayed.  The  town,  however,  was  bravely  defended  against 
their  combined  force  by  Montfort,  a  Savoyard  gentleman,  who  stood  3 
general  assault,  and  repulsed  the  enemy  with  great  loss  before  he  retired 
into  the  castle.  That  fort,  situated  upon  a  rock,  on  which  the  artillery 
made  no  impression,  and  which  could  not  be  undermined,  he  held  out  so 
long,  that  Doria  had  time  to  approach  with  his  fleet,  and  the  marquis  del 
Guasto  to  march  with  a  body  of  troops  from  Milan.  Upon  intelligence  of 
this,  the  French  and  Turks  raised  the  siege  [Sept.  8]  ;§  and  Francis  had 
not  even  the  consolation  of  success,  to  render  the  infamy  which  he  drew 
on  himself,  by  calling  in  such  an  auxiliary,  more  pardonable. 

*  Bcllay,  405,  &c.  t  Istuanhaff.  Histor.  Hung.  1.  xv.  167.  t  -'ovii  Hist.  I.  xliii.  304,  &e 

Pallavic.  Ifin.  <\  Guiehenon  Histoire  de  Savoye.  torn.  i.  p.  651.    Bellay,  425,  &.<■ 


810  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VII. 

From  the  small  progress  of  either  party  during  this  campaign,  it  was 
ohvious  to  what  a  length  the  war  might  be  drawn  out  between  two 
princes,  whose  power  was  so  equally  balanced,  and  who,  by  their  own 
talents  or  activity,  could  so  vary  and  multiply  their  resources.  The  trial 
which  they  had  now  made  of  each  other's  strength  might  have  taught 
them  the  imprudence  of  persisting  in  a  war,  wherein  there  was  greater 
appearance  of  their  distressing  their  own  dominions  than  of  conquering 
those  of  their  adversary,  and  should  have  disposed  both  to  wish  for  peace. 
If  Charles  and  Francis  had  been  influenced  by  considerations  of  interest 
or  prudence  alone,  this,  without  doubt,  must  have  been  the  manner  in 
which  they  would  have  reasoned.  But  the  personal  animosity,  which 
mingled  itself  in  all  their  quarrels,  had  grown  to  be  so  violent  and  impla- 
cable, that,  for  the  pleasure  of  gratifying  it,  they  disregarded  every  thing 
else  ;  and  were  infinitely  more  solicitous  how  to  hurt  each  other,  than  how 
to  secure  what  would  be  of  advantage  to  themselves.  No  sooner  then 
did  the  season  force  them  to  suspend  hostilities,  than,  without  paying  any 
attention  to  the  pope's  repeated  endeavours  or  paternal  exhortations  to 
re-establish  peace,  they  began  to  provide  for  the  operations  of  the  next 
year  with  new  vigour,  and  an  activity  increasing  with  their  hatred.  Charles 
turned  his  chief  attention  towards  gaining  the  princes  of  the  empire,  and 
endeavoured  to  rouse  the  formidable  but  unwieldy  strength  of  the  Ger- 
manic body  against  Francis.  In  order  to  understand  the  propriety  of  the 
steps  which  he  took  for  that  purpose,  it  is  necessary  to  review  the  chief 
tiansactions  in  that  countiy  since  the  diet  of  Ratisbon  in  the  year  1541. 

Much  about  the  time  that  that  assembly  broke  up,  Maurice  succeeded 
his  father  Henry  in  the  government  of  that  part  of  Saxony  which  belonged 
to  the  Albertine  branch  of  the  Saxon  family.  This  young  prince,  then 
only  in  his  twentieth  year,  had,  even  at  that  early  period,  begun  to  dis- 
cover the  great  talents  which  qualified  him  for  acting  such  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  affairs  of  Germany.  As  soon  as  he  entered  upon  the  adminis- 
tration, he  struck  out  into  such  a  new  and  singular  path,  as  showed  that 
he  aimed  from  the  beginning,  at  something  great  and  uncommon.  Though 
zealously  attached  to  the  protestant  opinions,  both  from  education  and 
principle,  he  refused  to  accede  to  the  league  of  Smalkalde,  being  deter- 
mined, as  he  said,  to  maintain  the  purity  of  religion,  which  was  the  original 
object  of  that  confederacy,  but  not  to  entangle  himself  in  the  political 
interests  or  combinations  to  which  it  had  given  rise.  At  the  same  time, 
foreseeing  a  rupture  between  Charles  and  the  confederates  o^  Smalkalde, 
and  perceiving  which  of  them  was  most  likely  to  prevail  in  the  contest, 
instead  of  that  jealousy  and  distrust  which  the  other  protestants  expressed 
of  all  the  emperor's  designs,  he  affected  to  place  in  him  an  unbounded 
confidence  :  and  courted  his  favour  with  the  utmost  assiduity.  When  the 
other  protestants,  in  the  year  1542,  either  declined  assisting  Ferdinand  in 
Hungary,  or  afforded  him  reluctant  and  feeble  aid,  Maurice  marched  thither 
in  person,  and  rendered  himself  conspicuous  by  his  zeal  and  courage. 
From  the  same  motive,  he  had  led  to  the  emperor's  assistance,  during  the 
last  campaign,  a  body  of  his  own  troops  ;  and  the  gracefulness  of  his  per- 
son, his  dexterity  in  all  military  exercises,  together  with  his  intrepidity, 
which  courted  and  delighted  in  danger,  did  not  distinguish  him  more  in 
the  field,  than  his  great  abilities  and  insinuating  address  won  upon  the 
emperor's  confidence  and  favour.*  While  by  this  conduct,  which  appeared 
extraordinary  to  those  who  held  the  same  opinions  with  him  concerning 
religion,  Maurice  endeavoured  to  pay  court  to  the  emperor,  he  began  to 
discover  some  degree  of  jealousy  of  his  cousin  the  elector  of  Saxony. 
This,  which  proved  in  the  sequel  so  fatal  to  the  elector,  had  almost  occa- 
sioned an  open  rupture  between  them  ,  and  soon  after  Maurice's  accession 

*  Sleid.  316.    Seek.  I.  iii.  3T1.  386.  428 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  311 

to  the  government,  they  both  took  arms  with  equal  rage,  upon  account  of 
a  dispute  about  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  a  paltry  town  situated  on  the 
Moldaw.  They  were  prevented,  however,  from  proceeding  to  action  by 
the  mediation  of  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  whose  daughter  Maurice  had 
married,  as  well  as  by  the  powerful  and  authoritative  admonitions  of 
Luther.* 

Amidst  these  transactions,  the  pope,  though  extremely  irritated  at  the 
emperor's  concessions  to  the  protestants  at  the  dbt  of  Ratisbon,  was  so 
warmly  solicited  on  all  hands,  by  such  as  were  most  devoutly  attached  to 
the  see  of  Rome,  no  less  than  by  those  whose  fidelity  or  designs  he  suspected, 
to  summon  a  general  council,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  avoid  any  longer 
calling  that  assembly.  The  impatience  for  its  meeting,  and  the  expecta- 
tions of  great  effects  from  its  decisions,  seemed  to  grow  in  proportion  to 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  it.  He  still  adhered,  however,  to  his  original 
resolution  of  holding  it  in  some  town  of  Italy,  where,  by  the  number  of 
ecclesiastics,  retainers  to  his  court,  and  depending  on  his  favour,  who  could 
repair  to  it  without  difficulty  or  expense,  he  might  influence  and  even 
direct  all  its  proceedings.  This  proposition,  though  often  rejected  by  the 
Germans,  he  instructed  his  nuncio  to  the  diet  held  at  Spires  [March  3],  in 
the  year  1542,  to  renew  once  more  ;  and  if  he  found  it  gave  no  greater 
satisfaction  than  formerly,  he  empowered  him,  as  a  last  concession,  to  pro- 
pose for  the  place  of  meeting,  Trent,  a  city  in  the  Tyrol,  subject  to  the 
king  of  the  Romans,  and  situated  on  the  confines  between  Germany  and 
Italy.  The  catholic  princes  in  the  diet,  after  giving  it  as  their  opinion 
that  the  council  might  have  been  held  with  greater  advantage  in  Ratisbon, 
Cologne,  or  some  of  the  great  cities  of  the  empire,  were  at  length  induced 
to  approve  of  the  place  which  the  pope  had  named.  The  protestants 
unanimously  expressed  their  dissatisfaction,  and  protested  that  they  would 
pay  no  regard  to  a  council  held  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  empire, 
called  by  the  pope's  authority,  and  in  which  he  assumed  the  right  of 
presiding.! 

The  pope,  without  taking  any  notice  of  their  objections,  published  the 
bull  of  intimation  [May  22,  1542],  named  three  cardinals  to  preside  as  his 
legates,  and  appointed  them  to  repair  to  Trent  before  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber, the  day  he  had  fixed  for  opening  the  council.  But  if  Paul  had  de- 
sired the  meeting  of  a  council  as  sincerely  as  he  pretended,  he  would  not 
have  pitched  on  such  an  improper  time  for  calling  it.  Instead  of  that 
general  union  and  tranquillity,  without  which  the  deliberations  of  a  coun- 
cil could  neither  be  conducted  with  security,  nor  attended  with  authority, 
such  a  fierce  war  was  Just  kindled  between  the  emperor  and  Francis,  as 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  ecclesiastics  from  many  parts  of  Europe  to 
resort  thither  in  safety.  The  legates,  accordingly,  remained  several  months 
at  Trent ;  but  as  no  person  appeared  there,  except  a  few  prelates  from 
the  ecclesiastical  state,  the  pope,  in  order  to  avoid  the  ridicule  and  con- 
tempt which  this  drew  upon  him  from  the  enemies  of  the  church,  recalled 
them,  and  prorogued  the  council.! 

Unhappily  for  the  authority  of  the  papal  see,  at  the  very  time  that  the 
German  protestants  took  every  occasion  of  pouring  contempt  upon  it,  the 
emperor  and  king  of  the  Romans  found  it  necessary  not  only  to  connive  at 
their  conduct,  but  to  court  their  favour  by  repeated  acts  of  indulgence. 
In  the  same  diet  of  Spires,  in  which  they  had  protested  in  the  most  disre- 
spectful terms  against  assembling  a  council  at  Trent,  Ferdinand,  who  de- 
pended on  their  aid  for  the  defence  of  Hungary,  not  only  permitted  that 
protestation  to  be  inserted  in  the  records  of  the  diet,  but  renewed  in  their 
favour  all  the  emperor's  concessions  at  Ratisbon,  adding  to  them  whatever 

*  Sleid.  292.    Seek.  1.  iii  403.  *  SMd.  201.    Swk   I.  iii.  283.  i  F.  Panl,  p.  97. 

STpmI.  2W. 


312  THE  REIGN  OFTHE  [Book  VII. 

they  demanded  for  their  farther  security.  Among  other  particulars,  he 
granted  a  suspension  of  a  decree  of  the  Imperial  chamber  against  the  city 
of  Goslar  (one  of  those  which  had  entered  into  the  league  of  Smalkalde), 
on  account  of  its  having  seized  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  within  its  do- 
mains, and  enjoined  Henry  duke  of  Brunswick  to  desist  from  his  attempts 
to  carry  that  decree  into  execution.  But  Henry,  a  furious  bigot,  and  no 
less  obstinate  than  rash  in  all  his  undertakings,  continuing  to  disquiet  the 

Eeople  of  Goslar  by  his  incursions,  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of 
[esse,  that  they  might  not  suffer  any  member  of  the  Smalkaldic  body  to 
be  oppressed,  assembled  their  forces,  declared  war  in  form  against  Henry, 
and  in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks,  stripping  him  entirely  of  his  dominions, 
drove  him  as  a  wretched  exile  to  take  refuge  in  the  court  of  Bavaria. 
By  this  act  of  vengeance,  no  less  severe  than  sudden,  they  filled  all  Ger- 
many with  dread  of  their  power,  and  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde  ap- 
peared, by  this  first  effort  of  their  arms,  to  be  as  ready  as  they  were  able 
to  protect  those  who  had  joined  their  association.* 

Emboldened  by  so  many  concessions  in  their  favour,  as  well  as  by  the 
progress  which  their  opinions  daily  made,  the  princes  of  the  league  of 
Smalkalde  took  a  solemn  protest  against  the  Imperial  chamber,  and  de- 
clined its  jurisdiction  for  the  future,  because  that  court  had  not  been  visited 
or  reformed  according  to  the  decree  of  Ratisbon,  and  continued  to  discover 
a  most  indecent  partiality  in  all  its  proceedings.  Not  long  after  this,  they 
ventured  a  step  farther ;  and  protesting  against  the  recess  of  a  diet  held 
at  Nuremberg  [April  23,  1543],  which  provided  for  the  defence  of  Hun- 
gary, refused  to  furnish  their  contingent  for  that  purpose  unless  the  Impe- 
rial chamber  were  reformed,  and  full  security  were  granted  them  in  every 
point  with  regard  to  religion.! 

1544.]  Such  were  the  lengths  to  which  the  protestants  had  proceeded, 
and  such  their  confidence  in  their  own  power  when  the  emperor  returned 
from  the  Low-Countries,  to  bold  a  diet  which  he  had  summoned  to  meet 
at  Spires.  The  respect  due  to  the  emperor,  as  well  as  the  importance  of 
the  affairs  which  were  to  be  laid  before  it,  rendered  this  assembly  extremely 
full.  All  the  electors,  a  great  number  of  princes  ecclesiastical  and  secular, 
with  the  deputies  of  most  of  the  cities,  were  present.  Charles  soon  per- 
ceived that  this  was  not  a  time  to  offend  the  jealous  spirit  of  the  protes- 
tants, by  asserting  in  any  high  tone  the  authority  and  doctrines  of  the 
church,  or  by  abridging,  in  the  smallest  article,  the  liberty  which  they  now 
enjoyed  ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  expected  any  support  from  them, 
or  wished  to  preserve  Germany  from  intestine  disorders  while  he  was  en- 
gaged in  a  foreign  war,  he  must  soothe  them  by  new  concessions,  and  a 
more  ample  extension  of  their  religious  privileges.  He  began  accordingly 
with  courting  the  elector  of  Saxony,  and  landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  heads  of 
the  protestant  party,  and  by  giving  up  some  things  in  their  favour,  and 
granting  liberal  promises  with  regard  to  others,  he  secured  himself  from 
any  danger  of  opposition  on  their  part.  Having  gained  this  capital  point, 
he  then  ventured  to  address  the  diet  with  greater  freedom.  He  began  by 
representing  his  own  zeal,  and  unwearied  efforts  with  regard  to  two  things 
most  essential  to  Christendom,  the  procuring  of  a  general  council  in  order 
to  compose  the  religious  dissensions  which  had  unhappily  arisen  in  Ger- 
many, and  the  providing  some  proper  means  for  checking  the  formidable 
progress  of  the  Turkish  arms.  But  he  observed,  with  deep  regret,  that 
his  pious  endeavours  had  been  entirely  defeated  by  the  unjustifiable  ambi- 
tion of  the  French  king,  who  having  wantonly  kindled  the  flame  of  war 
in  Europe,  which  had  been  so  lately  extinguished  by  the  truce  of  Nice, 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  fathers  of  the  church  to  assemble  in  council, 

*  Sleid.  296.     Commemoratio  Eiiccincta  Causarum  Belli,  &c.  a  Smalkaldicis  contra  Ifenr. 
Bransw.  ab  iisdem.  edita :  ap.  Scardium,  torn.  ii.  307.        t  Sleid.  304.  307     Seek.  I.  iii.  404.  41f. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  313 

or  to  deliberate  with  security  ;  and  obliged  him  to  employ  those  forces  in 
his  own  defence,  which,  with  greater  satisfaction  to  himself,  as  well  as 
more  honour  to  Christendom,  he  would  have  turned  againet  the  infidels  : 
that  Francis,  not  thinking  it  enough  to  have  called  him  off  from  opposing 
the  Mahometans,  had,  with  unexampled  impiety,  invited  them  into  the 
heart  of  Christendom,  and  joining  his  arms  to  theirs,  had  openly  attacked 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  a  member  of  the  empire  ;  that  Barbarossa's  fleet  was 
now  in  one  of  the  ports  of  France,  waiting  only  the  return  of  spring  to 
carry  terror  and  desolation  to  the  coast  of  some  Christian  state  :  that  in 
such  a  situation  it  was  folly  to  think  of  distant  expeditions  against  the 
Turk,  or  of  marching  to  oppose  his  armies  in  Hungary,  while  such  a  pow- 
erful ally  received  him  into  the  centre  of  Europe,  and  gave  him  footing 
there.  It  was  a  dictate  of  prudence,  he  added,  to  oppose  the  nearest  and 
most  imminent  danger,  first  of  all,  and  by  humbling  the  power  of  France, 
to  deprive  Solyman  of  the  advantages  which  he  derived  from  the  unnatu- 
ral confederacy  formed  between  him  and  a  monarch,  who  still  arrogated 
the  name  of  Most  Christian :  that,  in  truth,  a  war  against  the  French 
king  and  the  sultan  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  same  thing ;  and  that 
every  advantage  gained  over  the  former  was  a  severe  and  sensible  blow  to 
the  latter :  on  all  these  accounts,  he  concluded  with  demanding  their  aid 
against  Francis,  not  merely  as  an  enemy  of  the  Germanic  body,  or  of  him 
who  was  its  head,  but  as  an  avowed  ally  of  the  infidels,  and  a  public 
enemy  to  the  Christian  name. 

In  order  to  give  greater  weight  to  this  violent  invective  of  the  emperor, 
the  king  of  the  Romans  stood  up,  and  related  the  rapid  conquests  of  the 
sultan  in  Hungary,  occasioned,  as  he  said,  by  the  fatal  necessity  imposed 
on  his  brother,  of  employing  his  arms  against  France.  When  he  had 
finished,  the  ambassadors  of  Savoy  gave  a  detail  of  Barbarossa's  opera- 
tions at  Nice,  and  of  the  ravages  which  he  had  committed  on  that  coast. 
All  these,  added  to  the  general  indignation  which  Francis's  unprecedented 
union  with  the  Turks  excited  in  Europe,  made  such  an  impression  on  the 
diet  as  the  emperor  wished,  and  disposed  most  of  the  members  to  grant 
him  such  effectual  aid  as  he  had  demanded.  The  ambassadors  whom 
Francis  had  sent  to  explain  the  motives  of  his  conduct,  were  not  permitted 
to  enter  the  bounds  of  the  empire  ;  and  the  apology  which  they  published 
lor  their  master,  vindicating  his  alliance  with  Solyman,  by  examples  drawn 
from  scripture,  and  the  practice  of  Christian  princes,  was  little  regarded 
by  men  who  were  irritated  already,  or  prejudiced  against  him  to  such  a 
degree,  as  to  be  incapable  of  allowing  their  proper  weight  to  any  argu- 
ments in  his  behalf. 

Such  being  the  favourable  disposition  of  the  Germans,  Charles  perceived 
that  nothing  could  now  obstruct  his  gaining  all  that  he  aimed  at,  but  the 
fears  and  jealousies  of  the  protestants,  which  he  determined  to  quiet  by 
granting  every  thing  that  the  utmost  solicitude  of  these  passions  could  de- 
sire for  the  security  of  their  religion.  With  this  view,  he  consented  to  a 
recess,  whereby  all  the  rigorous  edicts  hitherto  issued  against  the  protes- 
tants were  suspended  ;  a  council  either  general  or  national  to  be  assembled 
in  Germany  was  declared  necessary,  in  order  to  re-establish  peace  in  the 
rhurch  ;  until  one  of  these  should  be  held  (which  the  emperor  undertook 
to  bring  about  as  soon  as  possible),  the  free  and  public  exercise  of  the 
protestant  religion  was  authorized  ;  the  Imperial  chamber  was  enjoined  to 
give  no  molestation  to  the  protestants ;  and  when  the  term,  for  which  the 
present  judges  in  that  court  were  elected,  should  expire,  persons  duly 
qualified  were  then  to  be  admited  as  members,  without  any  distinction  on 
account  of  religion.  In  return  for  these  extraordinary  acts  of  indulgence, 
the  protestants  concurred  with  the  other  members  of  the  diet,  in  declaring 
war  against  Francis  in  name  of  the  empire  ;  in  voting  the  emperor  a  body 
of  twenty-four  thousand  foot,  and  four  thousand  horse,  to  be  maintained  at 

Vol.  II.— 40 


314  THE  R  E I G  N   O  E  THE  [Book  V II, 

the  public  expense  for  six  months,  and  to  be  employed  against  France  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  diet  imposed  a  poll-tax  to  be  levied  throughout 
all  Germany  on  every  person  without  exception,  for  the  support  of  the 
war  against  the  Turks. 

Charles,  while  he  gave  the  greatest  attention  to  the  minute  and  intricate 
detail  of  particulars  necessary  towards  conducting  the  deliberations  of  a 
numerous  and  divided  assembly  to  such  a  successful  period,  negotiated  a 
separate  peace  with  the  king  of  Denmark;  who,  though  he  had  hitherto 
performed  nothing  considerable  in  consequence  of  his  alliance  with  Francis, 
had  it  in  his  power,  however,  to  make  a  troublesome  diversion  in  favour  of 
that  monarch.*  At  the  same  time,  he  did  not  neglect  proper  applications 
to  the  king  of  England,  in  order  to  rouse  him  to  more  vigorous  efforts 
against  their  common  enemy.  Little,  indeed,  was  wanting  to  accomplish 
this  ;  for  such  events  had  happened  in  Scotland  as  inflamed  Henry  to  the 
most  violent  pitch  of  resentment  against  Francis.  Having  concluded  with 
the  parliament  of  Scotland  a  treaty  of  marriage  between  his  son  and  their 
young  queen,  by  which  he  reckoned  himself  secure  of  effecting  the  union  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  which  had  been  long  desired,  and  often  attempted  without 
success  by  his  predecessors,  Mary  of  Guise  the  queen  mother,  cardinal 
Beatoun,  and  other  partisans  of  France,  found  means  not  only  to  break 
off"  the  match,  but  to  alienate  the  Scottish  nation  entirely  from  the  friend- 
ship of  England,  and  to  strengthen  its  ancient  attachment  to  France. 
Henry,  however,  did  not  abandon  an  object  of  so  much  importance  ;  and 
as  the  humbling  of  Francis,  besides  the  pleasure  of  taking  revenge  upon 
an  enemy  who  had  disappointed  a  favourite  measure,  appeared  the  most 
effectual  method  of  bringing  the  Scots  to  accept  once  more  of  the  treaty 
which  they  had  relinquished,  he  was  so  eager  to  accomplish  this,  that  he 
was  ready  to  second  whatever  the  emperor  could  propose  to  be  attempted 
against  the  French  king.  The  plan,  accordingly,  which  they  concerted, 
was  such,  if  it  had  been  punctually  executed,  as  must  have  ruined  France 
in  the  first  place,  and  would  have  augmented  so  prodigiously  the  emperor's 
power  and  territories,  as  might  in  the  end  have  proved  fatal  to  the  liberties 
of  Europe.  They  agreed  to  invade  France  each  with  an  army  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  and,  without  losing  time  in  besieging  the  frontier  towns, 
to  advance  directly  towards  the  interior  provinces,  and  to  join  their  forces 
near  Paris. f 

Francis  stood  alone  in  opposition  to  all  the  enemies  whom  Charles  was 
mustering  against  him.  Solyman  had  been  the  only  ally  who  did  not 
desert  him  ;-  but  the  assistance  which  he  received  from  him  had  rendered 
him  so  odious  to  all  Christendom,  that  he  resolved  rather  to  forego  all  the 
advantages  of  his  friendship,  than  to  become,  on  that  account,  the  object 
of  general  detestation.  For  this  reason,  he  dismissed  Barbarossa  as  soon 
as  winter  was  over,  who,  after  ravaging  the  coast  of  Naples  and  Tuscany, 
returned  to  Constantinople.  As  Francis  could  not  hope  to  equal  the  forces 
of  so  many  powers  combined  against  him,  he  endeavoured  to  supply  that 
defect  by  despatch,  which  was  more  in  his  power,  and  to  get  the  start  of 
them  in  taking  the  field.  Early  in  the  spring  the  count  d'Enguien  invested 
Carignan,  a  town  in  Piedmont,  which  the  marquis  del  Guasto  the  Imperial 
general  having  surprised  the  former  year,  considered  of  so  much  importance, 
that  he  had  fortified  it  at  great  expense.  The  count  pushed  the  siege  with 
such  vigour,  that  Guasto,  fond  of  his  own  conquest,  and  seeing  no  other 
way  of  saving  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  resolved  to 
hazard  a  battle  in  order  to  relieve  it.  He  began  his  march  from  Milan  for 
this  purpose,  and  as  he  was  at  no  pains  to  conceal  his  intention,  it  was 
soon  known  in  the  French  camp.  Enguien,  a  gallant  and  enterprising 
young  man,  wished  passionately  to  try  the  fortune  of  a  battle  ;  his  troops 

•  Ttn  Mont  Corps  Diplom.  torn.  iv.  p.  2.  p.  274.  t  Herbert.  245.     Rellav.  44» 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  315 

desired  it  with  no  less  ardour ;  but  the  peremptory  injunction  of  the  king- 
not  to  venture  a  general  engagement,  flowing  from  a  prudent  attention  to 
the  present  situation  of  affairs,  as  well  as  from  the  remembrance  of  former 
disasters,  restrained  him  from  venturing  upon  it.  Unwilling,  however,  to 
abandon  Carignan,  when  it  was  just  ready  to  yield,  and  eager  to  distinguish 
his  command  by  some  memorable  action,  he  despatched  Monluc  to  court, 
in  order  to  lay  before  the  king  the  advantages  of  fighting  the  enemy,  and 
the  hopes  which  he  had  of  victory.  The  king  referred  the  matter  to  his 
privy  council ;  all  the  ministers  declared  one  after  another,  against  fighting, 
and  supported  their  sentiments  by  reasons  extremely  plausible.  While 
thev  were  delivering  their  opinions,  Monluc,  who  was  permitted  to  be 
present,  discovered  such  visible  and  extravagant  symptoms  of  impatience 
to  speak,  as  well  as  such  dissatisfaction  with  what  he  heard,  that  Francis, 
diverted  with  his  appearance,  called  on  him  to  declare  what  he  could  offer 
in  reply  to  sentiments  which  seemed  to  be  as  just  as  they  were  general. 
Upon  this,  Monluc,  a  plain  but  spirited  soldier,  and  of  known  courage, 
represented  the  good  condition  of  the  troops,  their  eagerness  to  meet  the 
enemy  in  the  field,  their  confidence  in  their  officers,  together  with  the 
everlasting  infamy  which  the  declining  of  a  battle  would  bring  on  the 
French  arms ;  and  he  urged  his  arguments  with  such  lively  impetuosity, 
and  such  a  flow  of  military  eloquence,  as  gained  over  to  his  opinion,  not 
only  the  king,  naturally  fond  of  daring  actions,  but  several  of  the  council. 
Francis,  catching  the  same  enthusiasm  which  had  animated  his  troops, 
suddenly  started  up,  and  having  lifted  his  hands  to  heaven,  and  implored 
the  Divine  protection,  he  then  addressed  himself  to  Monluc, "  Go,"  says 
he,  "  return  to  Piedmont,  and  fight  in  the  name  of  God."* 

No  sooner  was  it  known  that  the  king  had  given  Enguien  leave  to  fight 
the  Imperialists,  than  such  was  the  martial  ardour  of  the  gallant  and  high 
spirited  gentlemen  of  that  age,  that  the  court  was  quite  deserted,  every 
person  desirous  of  reputation  or  capable  of  service,  hurrying  to  Piedmont, 
in  order  to  share,  as  volunteers,  in  the  danger  and  glory  of  the  action. 
Encouraged  by  the  arrival  of  so  many  brave  officers,  Enguien  immedi- 
ately prepared  for  battle,  nor  did  Guasto  decline  the  combat.  The  number 
of  cavalry  was  almost  equal,  but  the  Imperial  infantry  exceeded  the  French 
by  at  least  ten  thousand  men.  They  met  near  Cerisoles  [April  11],  in  an 
open  plain,  which  afforded  to  neither  any  advantage  of  ground,  and  both 
had  full  time  to  form  their  army  in  proper  order.  The  shock  was  such 
as  might  have  been  expected  between  veteran  troops,  violent  and  obstinate. 
The  French  cavalry  rushing  forward  to  the  charge  with  their  usual  vivacity, 
bore  down  every  thing  that  opposed  them ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
steady  and  diiciplined  valour  of  the  Spanish  infantry  having  forced  the 
body  which  they  encountered  to  give  way,  victory  remained  in  suspense, 
ready  to  declare  for  whichever  general  could  make  the  best  use  of  that 
critical  moment.  Guasto,  engaged  in  that  part  of  his  army  which  was 
thrown  into  disorder,  and  afraid  oT  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  whose 
vengeance  he  dreaded  on  account  of  the  murder  of  Rincon  and  Fregoso, 
lost  his  presence  of  mind,  and  forgot  to  order  a  large  body  of  reserve  to 
advance ;  whereas  Enguien,  with  admirable  courage  and  equal  conduct, 
supported  at  the  head  of  his  gens  d'armes,  such  of  his  battalions  as  began 
to  yield ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  ordered  the  Swiss  in  his  service,  who 
had  been  victorious  wherever  they  fought,  to  fall  upon  the  Spaniards. 
This  motion  proved  decisive.  All  that  followed  was  confusion  and 
slaughter.  The  marquis  del  Guasto,  wounded  in  the  thigh,  escaped  only 
by  the  swiftness  of  his  horse.  The  victory  of  the  French  was  complete, 
ten  thousand  of  the  Imperialists  being  slain,  and  a  considerable  number, 
with  all  their  tents,  baggage,  and  artillery,  taken.     On  the  part  of  the 

'  Mnmnires  dp  Mnnlnr. 


316  THE   REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  VII. 

conquerors,  their  joy  was  without  allay,  a  few  only  being  killed,  and  among 
these  no  officer  of  distinction.* 

This  splendid  action,  beside  the  reputation  with  which  it  was  attended, 
delivered  France  from  an  imminent  danger,  as  it  ruined  the  army  with 
which  Guasto  had  intended  to  invade  the  countiy  between  the  Rhone  and 
Saone,  where  there  were  neither  fortified  towns  nor  regular  forces  to 
oppose  his  progress-  But  it  was  not  in  Francis's  power  to  pursue  the 
victory  with  such  vigour  as  to  reap  all  the  advantages  which  it  might 
have  yielded  ;  for  though  the  Milanese  remained  now  almost  defenceless  ; 
though  the  inhabitants  who  had  long  murmured  under  the  rigour  of  the 
Imperial  government,  were  ready  to  throw  off  the  yoke  ;  though  Enguien, 
flushed  with  success,  urged  the  king  to  seize  this  happy  opportunity  of 
recovering  a  country,  the  acquisition  of  which  had  been  long  his  favourite 
object  ;  yet,  as  the  emperor  and  the  king  of  England  were  preparing  to 
break  in  upon  the  opposite  frontier  of  France  with  numerous  armies,  it 
became  necessary  to  sacrifice  all  thoughts  of  conquest  to  the  public 
safety  ;  and  to  recall  twelve  thousand  of  Enguien's  best  troops  to  be  em- 
ployed in  defence  of  the  kingdom.  Enguien's  subsequent  operations  were, 
of  consequence,  so  languid  and  inconsiderable,  that  the  reduction  of  Ca- 
rignan  and  some  other  towns  in  Piedmont,  was  all  that  he  gained  by  his 
great  victory  at  Cerisoles.t 

The  emperor,  as  usual,  was  late  in  taking  the  field,  but  he  appeared, 
towards  the  beginning  of  June,  at  the  head  of  an  army  more  numerous 
and  better  appointed  than  any  which  he  had  hitherto  led  against  France. 
It  amounted  almost  to  fifty  thousand  men,  and  part  of  it  having  reduced 
Luxemburg  and  some  other  towns  in  the  Netherlands,  before  he  himself 
joined  it,  he  now  marched  with  the  whole  towards  the  frontiers  of  Cham- 

f)agne  [June].  Charles,  according  to  his  agreement  with  the  king  of  Eng- 
and,  ought  to  have  advanced  directly  towards  Paris ;  and  the  dauphin, 
who  commanded  the  only  army  to  which  Francis  trusted  for  the  security 
of  his  dominions  in  that  quarter,  was  in  no  condition  to  oppose  him.  But 
the  success  with  which  the  French  had  defended  Provence  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-six,  had  taught  them  the  most 
effectual  method  of  distressing  an  invading  enemy.  Champagne,  a  country 
abounding  more  in  vines  than  corn,  was  incapable  of  maintaining  a  great 
army  ;  and  before  the  emperor's  approach,  whatever  could  be  of  any  use 
to  his  troops  had  been  carried  off  or  destroyed.  This  rendered  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  be  master  of  some  places  of  strength  in  order  to  secure 
the  convoys,  on  which  alone  he  now  perceived  that  he  must  depend  for 
subsistence ;  and  he  found  the  frontier  towns  so  ill  provided  for  defence, 
that  he  hoped  it  would  not  be  a  work  either  of  much  time  or  difficulty  to 
reduce  them.  Accordingly  Ligny  and  Commercy,  which  he  first  attacked, 
surrendered  after  a  short  resistance.  He  then  invested  St.  Disier  [July  8], 
which,  though  it  commanded  an  important  pass  on  the  Marne,  was  des- 
titute of  eveiy  thing  necessary  for  sustaining  a  siege.  But  the  count  de 
Sancerre  and  M.  De  la  Lande,  who  had  acquired  such  reputation  by  the 
defence  of  Landrecy,  generously  threw  themselves  into  the  town,  and  un- 
dertook to  hold  it  out  to  the  last  extremity.  The  emperor  soon  found  how 
capable  they  were  of  making  good  their  promise,  and  that  he  could  not 
expect  to  take  the  town  without  besieging  it  in  form.  This  accordingly 
he  undertook  ;  and  as  it  was  his  nature  never  to  abandon  any  enterprise  in 
which  he  had  once  engaged,  he  persisted  in  it  with  an  inconsiderate 
obstinacy. 

The  king  of  England's  preparations  for  the  campaign  were  completed 
long  before  the  emperor's  ;  but  as  he  did  not  choose,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
encounter  alone  the  whole  power  of  France,  and  was  unwilling,  on  the 

*  Bella?,  429.  Ar.    Memoires  <\o  Monlnr.    .Invii  Hist.  1.  vliv.  p.  307.  6.  t  Bellav.  43P.  &c. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  317 

other,  that  his  troops  should  remain  inactive,  he  took  that  opportunity 
of  chastising  the  Scots,  by  sending  his  fleet,  together  with  a  considerable 

Bart  of  his  infantry,  under  the  earl  of  Hertford,  to  invade  their  country, 
lertford  executed  his  commission  with  vigour,  plundered  and  bum!; 
Edinburgh  and  Leith,  laid  waste  the  adjacent  country,  and  re-embarked 
his  men  with  such  despatch  that  they  joined  their  sovereign  soon  after 
his  landing  in  France*  [July  14].  When  Henry  arrived  in  that  kingdom, 
he  found  the  emperor  engaged  in  the  siege  of  St.  Disier ;  an  ambassador, 
however,  whom  he  sent  to  congratulate  the  English  monarch  on  his  safe 
arrival  on  the  continent,  solicited  him  to  march,  in  terms  of  the  treaty, 
directly  to  Paris.  But  Charles  had  set  his  ally  such  an  ill  example  of 
fulfilling  the  conditions  of  their  confederacy  with  exactness,  that  Henry, 
observing  him  employ  his  time  and  forces  in  taking  towns  for  his  own 
behoof,  saw  no  reason  why  he  should  not  attempt  the  reduction  of  some 
places  that  lay  conveniently  for  himself.  Without  paying  any  regard  to 
the  emperor's  remonstrances,  he  immediately  invested  Boulogne,  and 
commanded  the  duke  of  Norfolk  to  press  the  siege  of  Montreuil,  which 
had  been  begun  before  his  arrival,  by  a  body  of  Flemings,  in  conjunction 
with  some  English  troops.  While  Charles  and  Henry  showed  such  at- 
tention each  to  his  own  interest,  they  both  neglected  the  common  cause. 
Instead  of  the  union  and  confidence  requisite  towards  conducting  the 
great  plan  that  they  had  formed,  they  early  had  discovered  a  mutual 
jealousy  of  each  other,  which,  by  degrees,  begot  distrust,  and  ended  in 
open  hatred.! 

By  this  time,  Francis  had,  with  unwearied  industry,  drawn  together  an 
army,  capable,  as  well  from  the  number  as  from  the  valour  of  the  troops, 
of  making  head  against  the  enemy.  But  the  dauphin,  who  still  acted  as 
general,  prudently  declining  a  battle,  the  loss  of  which  would  have  en- 
dangered the  kingdom,  satisfied  himself  with  harassing  the  emperor 
with  his  light  troops,  cutting  off  his  convoys,  and  laying  waste  the  country 
around  him.  Though  extremely  distressed  by  these  operations,  Charles 
still  pressed  the  siege  of  St.  Disier,  which  Sancerre  defended  with  aston- 
ishing fortitude  and  conduct.  He  stood  repeated  assaults,  repulsing  the 
enemy  in  them  all  ;  and  undismayed  even  by  the  death  of  his  brave  asso- 
ciate, De  la  Lande,  who  was  killed  by  a  cannon-ball,  he  continued  to 
show  the  same  bold  countenance  and  obstinate  resolution.  At  the  end  of 
five  weeks,  he  was  still  in  a  condition  to  hold  out  some  time  longer,  when 
an  artifice  of  Granville's  induced  him  to  surrender.  That  crafty  politi- 
cian, having  intercepted  the  key  to  the  cipher  which  the  duke  of  Guise 
used  in  communicating  intelligence  to  Sancerre,  forged  a  letter  in  his 
name,  authorizing  Sancerre  to  capitulate,  as  the  king,  though  highly  satis- 
fied with  his  behaviour,  thought  it  imprudent  to  hazard  a  battle  for  his 
relief.  This  letter  he  conveyed  into  the  town  in  a  manner  which  could 
raise  no  suspicion,  and  the  governor  fell  into  the  snare.  Even  then,  he 
obtained  such  honourable  conditions  as  his  gallant  defence  merited,  and 
among  others,  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for  eight  days,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  bound  himself  to  open  the  gates,  if  Francis,  during  that  time, 
did  not  attack  the  Imperial  army,  and  throw  fresh  troops  into  the  town.} 
Thus  Sancerre,  by  detaining  the  emperor  so  long  before  an  inconsiderable 
place,  afforded  his  sovereign  full  time  to  assemble  all  his  forces,  and, 
what  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  an  officer  in  such  an  inferior  command,  ac- 
quired the  glory  of  having  saved  his  country. 

As  soon  as  St.  Disier  surrendered,  the  emperor  advanced  into  the  heart 
of  Champagne  [August  17],  but  Sancerre's  obstinate  resistance  had  damped 
his  sanguine  hopes  of  penetrating  to  Paris,  and  led  him  seriously  to  re- 
flect on  what   lie  might  expect  before  towns  of  greater  strength,  and 

*  Hint.  Sfotland.  *  Herbert.  t  Brantmne.  torn,  vi.  4°f> 


318  THE    REIGN    UF    THE  [Book  \  if. 

defended  by  more  numerous  garrisons.  At  the  same  time,  the  procuring 
subsistence  for  his  army  was  attended  with  great  difficulty,  which  in- 
creased in  proportion  as  he  withdrew  farther  from  his  own  frontier.  He 
bad  lost  a  great  number  of  his  best  troops  in  the  siege  of  St.  Disier,  and 
many  fell  daily  in  skirmishes,  which  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  avoid, 
though  they  wasted  his  army  insensibly,  without  leading  to  any  decisive 
action.  The  season  advanced  apace,  and  he  had  not  yet  the  command 
either  of  a  sufficient  extent  of  territory,  or  of  any  such  considerable  town 
as  rendered  it  safe  to  winter  in  the  enemy's  country.  Great  arrears,  too, 
were  now  due  to  his  soldiers,  who  were  upon  the  point  of  mutinying  for 
their  pay,  while  he  knew  not  from  what  funds  to  satisfy  them.  All  these 
considerations  induced  him  to  listen  to  the  overtures  of  peace,  which  a 
Spanish  Dominican,  the  confessor  of  his  sister,  the  queen  of  France,  had 
secretly  made  to  his  confessor,  a  monk  of  the  same  order.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  plenipotentiaries  were  named  on  both  sides,  and  began 
their  conferences  in  Chause,  a  small  village  near  Chalons.  At  the  same 
time,  Charles,  either  from  a  desire  of  making  one  great  final  effort  against 
France,  or  merely  to  gain  a  pretext  for  deserting  his  ally,  and  concluding 
a  separate  peace,  sent  an  ambassador  formally  to  require  Henry,  accord- 
ing to  the  stipulation  in  their  treaty,  to  advance  towards  Paris.  While 
he  expected  a  return  from  him,  and  waited  the  issue  of  the  conferences  at 
Chause,  he  continued  to  march  forward,  though  in  the  utmost  distress 
from  scarcity  of  provisions.  But  at  last,  by  a  fortunate  motion  on  his 
part,  or  through  some  neglect  or  treachery  on  that  of  the  French*  he  sur- 
prised first  Esperney,  and  then  Chateau  Thierry,  in  both  of  Which  were 
considerable  magazines.  No  sooner  was  it  known  that  these  towns,  the 
latter  of  which  is  not  two  days  march  from  Paris,  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  than  that  great  capital,  defenceless,  and  susceptible  of  any 
violent  alarm  in  proportion  to  its  greatness,  was  filled  with  consternation. 
The  inhabitants,  as  if  the  emperor  had  been  already  at  their  gates,  fled  in 
the  wildest  confusion  and  despair,  many  sending  their  wives  and  children 
down  the  Seine  to  Rouen,  others  to  Orleans,  and  the  towns  upon  the 
Loire.  Francis  himself,  more  afflicted  with  this  than  with  any  other 
event  during  his  reign,  and  sensible  as  well  of  the  triumph  that  his  rival 
would  enjoy  in  insulting  his  capital,  as  of  the  danger  to  which  the  king- 
dom was  exposed,  could  not  refrain  from  crying  out,  in  the  first  emotion 
of  his  surprise  and  sorrow,  "  How  dear,  O  my  God,  do  I  pay  for  this 
crown,  which  I  thought  thou  hadst  granted  me  freely  !"*  But  recovering 
in  a  moment  from  this  sudden  sally  of  peevishness  and  impatience,  he 
devoutly  added,  "  Thy  will,  however,  be  done  ;"  and  proceeded  to  issue 
the  necessary  orders  for  opposing  the  enemy  with  his  usual  activity  and 
presence  of  mind.  The  dauphin  detached  eight  thousand  men  to  Paris, 
which  revived  the  courage  of  the  affrighted  citizens  ;  he  threw  a  strong 
garrison  into  Meaux,  and,  by  a  forced  march,  got  into  Ferte,  between  the 
Imperialists  and  the  capital. 

Upon  this,  the  emperor,  who  began  again  to  feel  the  want  of  provisions, 
perceiving  that  the  dauphin  still  prudently  declined  a  battle,  and  not 
daring  to  attack  his  camp  with  forces  so  much  shattered  and  reduced  by 
bard  service,  turned  suddenly  to  the  right,  and  began  to  fall  back  towards 
Soissons.  Having  about  this  time  received  Henry's  answer,  whereby  he 
refused  to  abandon  the  sieges  of  Boulogne  and  Montreuil,  of  both  which 
he  expected  every  moment  to  get  possession,  he  thought  himself  absolved 
from  all  obligations  of  adhering  to  the  treaty  with  him,  and  at  full  liberty 
1o  consult  his  own  interest  in  what  manner  soever  he  pleased.  He  con- 
sented, therefore,  to  renew  the  conference,  which  the  surprise  of  Esper- 
neyhad  broken  off.     To  conclude  a  peace  between  two  princes,  one  oi 

■  Brantoiue  torn,  ri  381. 


EMPEROK   CHARLES   \.  319 

whom  greatly  desired,  and  the  other  greatly  needed  it,  did  not  require  a 
long  negotiation.  It  was  signed  at  Crespy,  a  small  town  near  Meaux,  on 
the  eighteenth  of  September.  The  chief  articles  of  it  were,  that  all  the 
conquests  which  either  party  had  made  since  the  truce  of  Nice  shall  be 
restored  :  that  the  emperor  shall  give  in  marriage  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
either  his  own  eldest  daughter,  or  the  second  daughter  of  his  brother 
Ferdinand  ;  that  if  he  choose  to  bestow  on  him  his  own  daughter,  he  shall 
settle  on  her  all  the  provinces  of  the  Low-Countries,  to  be  erected  into  an 
independent  state,  which  shall  descend  to  the  male  issue  of  the  marriage  ; 
that  if  he  determine  to  give  him  his  niece,  he  shall,  with  her,  grant  him 
the  investiture  of  Milan  and  its  dependencies ;  that  he  shall  within  four 
months  declare  which  of  these  two  princesses  he  had  pitched  upon,  and 
fulfil  the  respective  conditions  upon  the  consummation  of  the  marriage, 
which  shall  take  place  within  a  year  from  the  date  of  the  treaty  ;  that  a.s 
soon  as  the  duke  of  Orleans  is  put  in  possession  either  of  the  Low-Coun- 
tries or  of  Milan,  Francis  shall  restore  to  the  duke  of  Savoy  all  that  he 
now  possesses  of  his  territories,  except  Pignerol  and  Montmilian  ;  that 
Francis  shall  renounce  all  pretensions  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  or  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Flanders  and  Artois,  and  Charles  shall  give  up  his  claim 
to  the  dutchy  of  Burgundy  and  county  of  Charolois  ;  that  Francis  shall 
give  no  aid  to  the  exiled  king  of  Navarre  ;  that  both  monarchs  shall  join 
in  making  war  upon  the  Turks,  towards  which  the  king  shall  furnish, 
when  required. by  the  emperor  and  empire,  six  hundred  men  at  arms,  and 
ten  thousand  foot.* 

Besides  the  immediate  motives  to  this  peace,  arising  from  the  distress 
of  his  army  through  want  of  provisions ;  from  the  difficulty  of  retreating 
out  of  France,  and  the  impossibility  of  securing  winter  quarters  there ;  the 
emperor  was  influenced,  by  other  considerations,  more  distant  indeed,  but 
not  less  weighty.  The  pope  was  offended  to  a  great  degree,  as  well  at  his 
concessions  to  the  protestants  in  the  late  diet,  as  at  his  consenting  to  call  a 
council,  and  to  admit  of  public  disputations  in  Germany,  with  a  view  of 
determining  the  doctrines  in  controversy.  Paul  considering  both  these 
steps  as  sacrilegious  encroachments  on  the  jurisdiction  as  well  as  privileges 
of  the  holy  see,  had  addressed  to  the  emperor  a  remonstrance  rather  than  a 
letter  on  this  subject,  written  with  such  acrimony  of  language,  and  in  a 
style  of  such  high  authority,  as  discovered  more  of  an  intention  to  draw  on 
a  quarrel,  than  of  a  desire  to  reclaim  him.  This  ill  humour  was  not  a 
little  inflamed  by  the  emperor's  league  with  Henry  of  England,  which,  being 
contracted  with  a  heretic  excommunicated  by  the  apostolic  see,  appeared 
to  the  pope  a  profane  alliance,  and  was  not  less  dreaded  by  him  than  that 
of  Francis  with  Solyman.  Paul's  son  and  grandson,  highly  incensed  at  the 
emperor  for  having  refused  to  gratify  them  with  regard  to  the  alienation  of 
Parma  and  Placentia,  contributed  by  their  suggestions  to  sour  and  disgust 
him  still  more.  To  all  which  was  added  the  powerful  operation  of  the 
flattery  and  promises  which  Francis  incessantly  employed  to  gain  him. 
Though  from  his  desire  of  maintaining  a  neutrality,  the  pope  had  hitherto 
suppressed  his  own  resentment,  had  eluded  the  artifices  of  his  own  family, 
and  resisted  the  solicitations  of  the  French  king,  it  was  not  safe  to  rely 
much  on  the  steadiness  of  a  man  whom  his  passions,  his  friends,  and  his 
interest  combined  to  shake.  The  union  of  the  pope  with  France,  Charles 
well  knew,  would  instantly  expose  his  dominions  in  Italy  to  be  attacked. 
The  Venetians,  he  foresaw,  would  probably  follow  the  example  of  a  pontiff, 
who  was  considered  as  a  model  of  political  wisdom  among  the  Italian; ; 
and  thus,  at  a  juncture  when  he  felt  himself  hardly  equal  to  the  burden  of 
the  present  war,  he  would  be  overwhelmed  with  (he  weight  of  a  new  con- 
federacy against  him.t    At  the  same  time,  the  Turks,  almost  unresisted, 

*  Recueil  des  Traitor.,  1. 1. 387.    Bcliii"  rtc  Onn--w  Paris  Crepiac.  in  \cIisErudit  Lips.  1763 
1  F.l'aul.  100.    Pallavir   lfi? 


320  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  VII. 

made  such  progress  in  Hungary,  reducing  town  after  town,  that  they 
approached  near  to  the  confines  of  the  Austrian  provinces.*  Above  all 
these,  the  extraordinary  progress  of  the  protestant  doctrines  in  Germany, 
and  the  dangerous  combination  into  which  the  princes  of  that  profession 
had  entered,  called  for  his  immediate  attention.  Almost  one  half  of  Ger- 
many had  revolted  from  the  established  church  ;  the  fidelity  of  the  rest  was 
much  shaken;  the  nobility  of  Austria  had  demanded  of  Ferdinand  the  free 
exercise  of  religion  ;|  the  Bohemians,  among  whom  some  seeds  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Huss  still  remained,  openly  favoured  the  new  opinions ;  the  arch- 
bishop of  Cologne,  with  a  zeal  which  is  seldom  found  among  ecclesiastics, 
had  begun  the  reformation  of  his  diocess ;  nor  was  it  possible  unless  some 
timely  and  effectual  check  were  given  to  the  spirit  of  innovation,  to  foresee 
where  it  would  end.  He  himself  had  been  a  witness,  in  the  late  diet,  to 
the  peremptory  and  decisive  tone  which  the  protestants  had  now  assumed. 
He  had  seen  how,  from  confidence  in  their  number  and  union,  they  had  for- 
gotten the  humble  style  of  their  first  petitions,  and  had  grown  to  such  bold- 
ness as  openly  to  despise  the  pope,  and  to  show  no  great  reverence  for  the 
Imperial  dignity  itself.  If,  therefore,  he  wished  to  maintain  either  the 
ancient  religion  or  his  own  authority,  and  would  not  choose  to  dwindle  into 
a  mere  nominal  head  of  the  empire,  some  vigorous  and  speedy  effort  was 
requisite  on  his  part,  which  could  not  be  made  during  a  war  that  required 
the  greatest  exertion  of  his  strength  against  a  foreign  and  powerful  enemy. 

Such  being  the  emperor's  inducements  to  peace,  he  had  the  address  to 
frame  the  treaty  of  Crespy  so  as  to  promote  all  the  ends  which  he  had  in 
view.  By  coming  to  an  agreement  with  Francis,  he  took  from  the  pope 
all  prospect  of  advantage  in  courting  the  friendship  of  that  monarch  in 
preference  to  his.  By  the  proviso  with  regard  to  a  war  with  the  Turks, 
he  not  only  deprived  Solyman  of  a  powerful  ally,  but  turned  the  arms  of 
that  ally  against  him.  By  a  private  article,  not  inserted  in  the  treaty,  that 
it  might  not  raise  any  unseasonable  alarm,  he  agreed  with  Francis  that  both 
should  exert  all  their  influence  and  power  in  order  to  procure  a  general 
council,  to  assert  its  authority,  and  to  exterminate  the  protestant  heresy 
out  of  their  dominions.  This  cut  off  all  chance  of  assistance  which  the 
confederates  of  Smalkalde  might  expect  from  the  French  king  ;|  and  lest 
their  solicitations,  or  his  jealousy  of  an  ancient  rival,  should  hereafter  tempt 
Francis  to  forget  this  engagement,  he  left  him  embarrassed  with  a  war 
against  England,  which  would  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  take  any  consider- 
able part  in  the  affairs  of  Germany. 

Henry,  possessed  at  all  times  with  a  high  idea  of  his  own  power  and 
importance,  felt,  in  the  most  sensible  manner,  the  neglect  with  which  the 
emperor  had  treated  him  in  concluding  a  separate  peace.  But  the  situation 
of  his  affairs  was  such  as  somewhat  alleviated  the  mortification  which  this 
occasioned.  For  though  he  was  obliged  to  recall  the  duke  of  Norfolk  from 
the  siege  of  MontreuiT  [Sept.  14],  because  the  Flemish  troops  received 
orders  to  retire,  Boulogne  had  surrendered  before  the  negotiations  at  Crespy 
were  brought  to  an  issue.  While  elated  with  vanity  on  account  of  this 
conquest,  and  inflamed  with  indignation  against  the  emperor,  the  ambassa- 
dors whom  Francis  sent  to  make  overtures  of  peace,  found  him  too  arrogant 
to  grant  what  was  moderate  or  equitable.  His  demands  were  indeed 
extravagant,  and  made  in  the  tone  of  a  conqueror;  that  Francis  should 
renounce  his  alliance  with  Scotland,  and  not  only  pay  up  the  arrears  of 
former  debts,  but  reimburse  the  money  which  Henry  had  expended  in  the 
present  war.§  Francis,  though  sincerely  desirous  of  peace,  and  willing  to 
yield  a  great  deal  in  order  to  obtain  it,  being  now  free  from  the  pressure 
of  the  Imperial  arms,  rejected  these  ignominious  propositions  with  disdain ; 

*  Istuanhaffii  Hist.  Hung.  177.         *  Slcid.  285.         J  Scck.l.  iii.  4%.         <i  Mem.  de  Ribier.  i 
i  p.  572.     Herbert.  244. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  321 

and  Henry  departing-  for  England,  hostilities  continued  between  the  two 
nations. 

The  treaty  of  peace,  how  acceptable  soever  to  the  people  of  France, 
whom  it  delivered  from  the  dread  of  an  enemy  who  had  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  the  kingdom,  was  loudly  complained  of  by  the  dauphin.  He 
considered  it  as  a  manifest  proof  of  the  king  his  father's  extraordinary  par- 
tiality towards  his  younger  brother,  now  duke  of  Orleans,  and  complained 
that,  from  his  eagerness  to  gain  an  establishment  for  a  favourite  son,  he  had 
sacrificed  the  honour  of  the  kingdom,  and  renounced  the  most  ancient  as 
well  as  valuable  rights  of  the  crown.  But  as  he  durst  not  venture  to  offend 
the  king  by  refusing  to  ratify  it,  though  extremely  desirous  at  the  same 
time  of  securing  to  himself  the  privilege  of  reclaiming  what  was  now 
alienated  so  much  to  his  detriment,  he  secretly  protested,  in  presence  of 
some  of  his  adherents,  against  the  whole  transaction ;  and  declared  what- 
ever he  should  be  obliged  to  do  in  order  to  confirm  it,  null  in  itself,  and 
void  of  all  obligation.  The  parliament  of  Toulouse,  probably  by  the 
instigation  of  his  partisans,  did  the  same.*  But  Francis,  highly  pleased  as 
well  with  having  delivered  his  subjects  from  the  miseries  ot  an  invasion,  as 
with  the  prospect  of  acquiring  an  independent  settlement  for  his  son  at 
no  greater  price  than  that  of  renouncing  conquests  to  which  he  had  no  just 
claim ;  titles  which  had  brought  so  much  expense  and  so  many  disasters 
upon  the  nation ;  and  rights  grown  obsolete  and  of  no  value ;  ratified  the 
treaty  with  great  joy.  Charles,  within  the  time  prescribed  by  the  treaty, 
declared  his  intention  of  giving  Ferdinand's  daughter  in  marriage  to  the 
duke  of  Orleans,  together  with  the  dutchy  of  Milan  as  her  dowry. )  Every 
circumstance  seemed  to  promise  the  continuance  of  peace.  The  emperor, 
cruelly  afflicted  with  the  gout,  appeared  to  be  in  no  condition  to  undertake 
any  enterprise  where  great  activity  was  requisite,  or  much  fatigue  to  be 
endured.  He  himself  felt  this,  or  wished  at  least  that  it  should  be  believed ; 
and  being  so  much  disabled  by  this  excruciating  distemper,  when  a  French 
ambassador  followed  him  to  Brussels,  in  order  to  be  present  at  his  ratifi- 
cation of  the  treaty  of  peace,  that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  he 
signed  his  name,  he  observed,  that  there  was  no  great  danger  of  his  violating 
these  articles,  as  a  hand  that  could  hardly  hold  a  pen,  was  little  able  to 
brandish  a  lance. 

The  violence  of  his  disease  confined  the  emperor  several  months  in 
Brussels,  and  was  the  apparent  cause  of  putting  off  the  execution  of  the 
great  scheme  which  he  had  formed  in  order  to  humble  the  protestant  party 
in  Germany.  But  there  were  other  reasons  for  this  delay.  For,  however 
prevalent  the  motives  were  which  determined  him  to  undertake  this  enter- 
prise, the  nature  of  that  great  body  which  he  was  about  to  attack,  as  well 
as  the  situation  of  his  own  affairs,  made  it  necessary  to  deliberate  long,  to 
proceed  with  caution,  and  not  too  suddenly  to  throw  aside  the  vail  under 
which  he  had  hitherto  concealed  his  real  sentiments  and  schemes.  He  was 
sensible  that  the  protestants,  conscious  of  their  own  strength,  but  under 
continual  apprehensions  of  his  designs,  had  all  the  boldness  of  a  powerful 
confederacy  joined  to  the  jealousy  of  a  feeble  faction ;  and  were  no  less 
quick-sighted  to  discern  the  first  appearance  of  danger,  than  ready  to  take 
arms  in  order  to  repel  it.  At  the  same  time,  he  still  continued  involved  in 
a  Turkish  war;  and  though,  in  order  to  deliver  himself  from  this  incum- 
brance, he  had  determined  to  send  an  envoy  to  the  Porte  with  most 
advantageous  and  even  submissive  overtures  of  peace,  the  resolutions  of 
that  haughty  court  were  so  uncertain,  that  before  these  were  known,  it 
would  have  been  highly  imprudent  to  have  kindled  the  flames  of  civil  war 
in  his  own  dominions. 

Upon  this  account,  he  appeared  dissatisfied  with  a  bull  issued  by  the 

*  Recueil  des  TraiWsc,  t.  ii.  035. 038.  t  TWuc-il  drs  Traiter,  t,  ii.  038. 

Vol.  U  —41 


822  THE  REIGN   OF   THE  [Boor VII. 

pope  immediately  after  the  peace  of  Crespy  [Nov.  19],  summoning  the 
council  to  assemble  at  Trent  early  next  spring,  and  exhorting  al I  Chris- 
tian princes  to  embrace  the  opportunity  that  the  present  happy  inter- 
val of  tranquillity  aflbrded  them,  of  suppressing  those  heresies  which 
threatened  to  subvert  whatever  was  sacred  or  venerable  among- Christians. 
But  after  such  a  slight  expression  of  dislike,  as  was  necessary  in  order  to 
cover  his  designs,  he  determined  to  countenance  the  council,  which  might 
become  no  inconsiderable  instrument  towards  accomplishing  his  projects, 
and  therefore  not  only  appointed  ambassadors  to  appear  there  in  his  name, 
but  ordered  the  ecclesiastics  in  his  dominions  to  attend  at  the  time 
prefixed.* 

1545.]  Such  were  the  emperor's  views  when  the  Imperial  diet,  after 
several  prorogations,  was  opened  at  Worms  [March  24].  The  protestants, 
who  enjoyed  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion  by  a  very  precarious  tenure, 
having  no  other  security  for  it  than  the  recess  of  the  fast  diet,  which  was 
to  continue  in  force  only  until  the  meeting  of  a  council,  wished  earnestly 
to  establish  that  important  privilege  upon  some  firmer  basis,  and  to  hold 
it  by  a  perpetual  not  a  temporary  title.  But  instead  of  offering  them  any 
additional  security,  Ferdinand  opened  the  diet  with  observing,  that  there 
were  two  points  which  chiefly  required  consideration,  the  prosecution  of 
the  war  against  the  Turks,  and  the  state  of  religion  ;  that  the  former  was 
the  most  urgent,  as  Solyman,  after  conquering  the  greatest  part  of  Hungary, 
was  now  ready  to  fall  upon  the  Austrian  provinces ;  that  the  emperor, 
who,  from  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  had  neglected  no  opportunity  of 
annoying  this  formidable  enemy,  and  with  the  hazard  of  his  own  person 
had  resisted  his  attacks,  being  animated  still  with  the  same  zeal,  had  now 
consented  to  stop  short  in  the  career  of  his  success  against  France,  that,  in 
conjunction  with  his  ancient  rival,  he  might  turn  his  arms  with  greater 
vigour  against  the  common  adversaiy  of  the  Christian  faith  ;  that  it  became 
all  the  members  of  the  empire  to  second  those  pious  endeavours  of  its 
head  ;  that,  therefore,  they  ought,  without  delay,  to  vote  him  such  effectual 
aid  as  not  only  their  duty  but  their  interest  called  upon  them  to  furnish  ; 
that  the  controversies  about  religion  were  so  intricate,  and  of  such  difficult 
discussion,  as  to  give  no  hope  of  its  being  possible  to  bring  them  at  pre- 
sent to  any  final  issue  ;  that  by  perseverance  and  repeated  solicitations  the 
emperor  had  at  length  prevailed  on  the  pope  to  call  a  council,  for  which 
they  had  so  often  wished  and  petitioned  ;  that  the  time  appointed  for  its 
meeting  was  now  come,  and  both  parties  ought  to  wait  for  its  decrees,  and 
submit  to  them  as  the  decisions  of  the  universal  church. 

The  popish  members  of  the  diet  received  this  declaration  with  great 
applause,  and  signified  their  entire  acquiescence  in  every  particular  which 
it  contained.  The  protestants  expressed  great  surprise  at  propositions, 
which  were  so  manifestly  repugnant  to  the  recess  of  the  former  diet  they 
insisted  that  the  questions  with  regard  to  religion,  as  first  in  dignity  and 
importance,  ought  to  come  first  under  deliberation  ;  that,  alarming  as  the 
progress  of  the  Turks  was  to  all  Germany,  the  securing  the  free  exercise 
of  their  religion  touched  them  still  more  nearly,  nor  could  they  prosecute 
a  foreign  war  with  spirit,  while  solicitous  and  uncertain  about  their  domestic 
tranquillity ;  that  if  the  latter  were  once  rendered  firm  and  permanent, 
they  would  concur  with  their  countrymen  in  pushing  the  former,  and  yield 
to  none  of  them  in  activity  or  zeal.  But  if  the  danger  from  the  Turkish 
arms  was  indeed  so  imminent,  as  not  to  admit  of  such  a  delay  as  would 
be  occasioned  by  an  immediate  examination  of  the  controverted  points  in 
religion,  they  required  that  a  diet  should  be  instantly  appointed,  to  which 
the  final  settlement  of  their  religious  disputes  should  be  referred ;  and 
that  in  the  mean  time  the  decree  of  the  former  diet  concerning  religion 

*  F.  Paul.  » 01- 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  323 

•mould  be  explained  in  a  point  which  they  deemed  essential.  By  the 
recess  of  Spires  it  was  provided,  that  they  should  enjoy  unmolested  the 
public  exercise  of  their  religion,  until  the  meeting  of  a  legal  council ;  but 
as  the  pope  had  now  called  a  council,  to  which  Ferdinand  had  required 
them  to  submit,  they  began  to  suspect  that  their  adversaries  might  take 
advantage  of  an  ambiguity  in  the  terms  of  the  recess,  and  pretending  that 
the  event  therein  mentioned  had  now  taken  place,  might  pronounce  them 
to  be  no  longer  entitled  to  the  same  indulgence.  In  order  to  guard  against 
this  interpretation,  they  renewed  their  former  remonstrances  against  a 
council  called  to  meet  without  the  bounds  of  the  empire,  summoned  by 
the  pope's  authority,  and  in  which  he  assumed  the  right  of  presiding  ;  and 
declared  that,  notwithstanding  the  convocation  of  any  such  illegal  assem- 
bly, they  still  held  the  recess  of  the  late  diet  to  be  in  full  force. 

At  other  junctures,  when  the  emperor  thought  it  of  advantage  to  soothe 
and  gain  the  protestants,  he  had  devised  expedients  for  giving  them  satis- 
faction with  regard  to  demands  seemingly  more  extravagant ;  but  his  views 
at  present  being  very  different,  Ferdinand,  by  his  command,  adhered 
inflexibly  to  his  first  propositions,  and  would  make  no  concessions  which 
had  the  most  remote  tendency  to  throw  discredit  on  the  council,  or  to 
weaken  its  authority.  The  protestants,  on  their  part,  were  no  less  inflexi- 
ble ;  and  after  much  time  spent  in  fruitless  endeavours  to  convince  each 
other,  they  came  to  no  agreement.  Nor  did  the  presence  of  the  emperor, 
who  upon  his  recovery  arrived  at  Worms  [May  15],  contribute  in  any 
degree  to  render  the  protestants  more  compliant.  Fully  convinced  that 
they  were  maintaining  the  cause  of  God  and  of  truth,  they  showed  them- 
selves superior  to  the  allurements  of  interest,  or  the  suggestions  of  fear ; 
and  in  proportion  as  the  emperor  redoubled  his  solicitations,  or  discovered 
his  designs,  their  boldness  seems  to  have  increased.  At  last  they  openly 
declared,  that  they  would  not  even  deign  to  vindicate  their  tenets  in  pre- 
sence of  a  council,  assembled  not  to  examine,  but  to  condemn  them ;  and 
that  they  would  pay  no  regard  to  an  assembly  held  under  the  influence 
of  a  pope,  who  had  already  precluded  himself  from  all  title  to  act  as  a 
judge,  by  his  having  stigmatized  their  opinions  with  the  name  of  heresy, 
and  denounced  against  them  the  heaviest  censures,  which,  in  the  plenitude 
of  his  usurped  power,  he  could  inflict** 

While  the  protestants,  with  such  union  as  well  as  firmness,  rejected  all 
intercourse  with  the  council,  and  refused  their  assent  to  the  Imperial 
demands,  in  respect  to  the  Turkish  war,  Maurice  of  Saxony  alone  showed 
an  inclination  to  gratify  the  emperor  with  regard  to  both.  Though  he 
professed  an  inviolable  regard  for  the  protestant  religion,  he  assumed  an 
appearance  of  moderation  peculiar  to  himself,  by  which  he  confirmed  the 
favourable  sentiments  which  the  emperor  already  entertained  of  bim,  and 
gradually  paved  the  way  for  executing  the  ambitious  designs  which  always 
occupied  his  active  andi  enterprising  mind.f  His  example,  however,  had 
little  influence  upon  such  as  agreed  with  him  in  their  religious  opinions  ; 
and  Charles  perceived  that  he  could  not  hope  either  to  procure  present 
aid  from  the  protestants  against  the  Turks,  or  to  quiet  their  fears  and 
jealousies  on  account  of  their  religion.  But  as  his  schemes  were  not  yet  ripe 
for  execution,  nor  his  preparations  so  far  advanced  that  he  could  force  the 
compliance  of  the  protestants,  or  punish  their  obstinacy,  he  artfully  con- 
cealed his  own  intentions.  That  he  might  augment  their  security,  he 
[August  4]  appointed  a  diet  to  be  held  at  Ratisbon  early  next  year,  in 
order  to  adjust  what  was  now  left  undetermined  ;  and  previous  to  it,  he 
agreed  that  a  certain  number  of  divines  of  each  party  should  meet,  in 
order  to  confer  upon  the  points  in  dispute.! 

*  Slcid.  343,  &.r.    Seek   Hi  543.  fee.    Thrtan.  Histor  lib   ii  p.  5C  *  Seek.  iii.  571. 

i  Sleid.  36!. 


324  T  H  E   K  E 1 G  N    O  F  T  H  E  |Book  VII. 

But,  how  far  soever  this  appearance  of  a  desire  to  maintain  the  present 
tranquillity  might  have  imposed  upon  the  protestants,  the  emperor  was 
incapable  of  such  uniform  and  thorough  dissimulation,  as  to  hide  altogether 
from  their  view  the  dangerous  designs  which  he  was  meditating  against 
them.  Herman  count  de  Wied,  archbishop  and  elector  of  Cologne,  a 
prelate  conspicuous  for  his  virtue  and  primitive  simplicity  of  manners, 
though  not  more  distinguished  for  learning  than  the  other  descendants  of 
noble  families,  who  in  that  age  possessed  most  of  the  great  benefices  in 
Germany,  having  become  a  proselyte  to  the  doctrines  of  the  reformers, 
had  begun  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty -three,  with  the 
assistance  of  Melancthon  and  Bucer,  to  abolish  the  ancient  superstition  in 
his  diocess,  and  to  introduce  in  its  place  the  rites  established  among  the 
protestants.  But  the  canons  of  his  cathedral,  who  were  not  possessed 
with  the  same  spirit  of  innovation,  and  who  foresaw  how  fatal  the  levelling 
genius  of  the  new  sect  would  prove  to  their  dignity  and  wealth,  opposed, 
irom  the  beginning,  this  unprecedented  enterprise  of  their  archbishop,  with 
all  the  zeal  flowing  from  reverence  for  old  institutions,  heightened  by  con- 
cern for  their  own  interest.  This  opposition,  which  the  archbishop  con- 
sidered only  as  a  new  argument  to  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  a  reforma- 
tion, neither  shook  his  resolution,  nor  slackened  his  ardour  in  prosecuting 
his  plan.  The  canons,  perceiving  all  their  endeavours  to  check  his  career 
to  be  ineffectual,  solemnly  protested  against  his  proceedings,  and  appealed 
for  redress  to  the  pope  and  emperor,  the  former  as  ecclesiastical,  the  latter 
as  his  civil  superior.  This  appeal  being  laid  before  the  emperor,  during 
his  residence  in  Worms,  he  took  the  canons  of  Cologne  under  his 
immediate  protection  ;  enjoined  them  to  proceed  with  rigour  against  all 
who  revolted  from  the  established  church ;  prohibited  the  archbishop  to 
make  any  innovation  in  his  diocess ;  and  summoned  him  to  appear  at 
Brussels  within  thirty  days,  to  answer  the  accusations  which  should  be 
preferred  against  him.* 

To  this  clear  evidence  of  his  hostile  intentions  against  the  protestant 
party,  Charles  added  other  proofs  still  more  explicit.  In  his  hereditary 
dominions  of  the  Low-Countries,  he  persecuted  all  who  were  suspected  of 
Lutheranism  with  unrelenting  rigour.  As  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Worms, 
he  silenced  the  protestant  preachers  in  that  city.  He  allowed  an  Italian 
monk  to  inveigh  against  the  Lutherans  from  the  pulpit  of  his  chapel,  and 
to  call  upon  him,  as  he  regarded  the  favour  of  God,  to  exterminate  that 
pestilent  heresy.  He  despatched  the  embassy,  which  has  been  already 
mentioned,  to  Constantinople,  with  overtures  of  peace,  that  he  might  be 
free  from  any  apprehension  of  danger  or  interruption  from  that  quarter. 
Nor  did  any  of  these  steps,  or  their  dangerous  tendency,  escape  the  jealous 
observation  of  the  protestants,  or  fail  to  alarm  their  fears,  and  to  excite 
their  solicitude  for  the  safety  of  their  sect. 

Meanwhile,  Charles's  good  fortune,  which  predominated  on  all  occasions 
over  that  of  his  rival  Francis,  extricated  him  out  of  a  difficulty,  from 
which,  with  all  his  sagacity  and  address,  he  would  have  found  it  no  easy 
matter  to  have  disentangled  himself.  Just  about  the  time  when  the  duke 
of  Orleans  should  have  received  Ferdinand's  daughter  in  marriage,  and 
together  with  her  the  possession  of  the  Milanese,  he  died  of  a  malignant 
fever  [Sept.  8].  By  this  event,  the  emperor  was  freed  from  the  necessity 
of  giving  up  a  valuable  province  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  or  from  the 
indecency  of  violating  a  recent  and  solemn  engagement,  which  must  have 
occasioned  an  immediate  rupture  with  France.  He  affected,  however,  to 
express  great  sorrow  for  the  untimely  death  of  a  young  prince,  who  was 
to  have  been  so  nearly  allied  to  him  ;  but  he  carefully  avoided  entering 
into  any  fresh  discussions  concerning  the  Milanese  ;  and  would  not  listec 

*  Sleid.  310.  340.  331.    Secktmd.  iii.  «3.  553. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    V.  22b 

to  a  proposal  which  came  from  Francis  of  new-modelling  the  treaty  of 
Crespy,  so  as  to  make  him  some  reparation  for  the  advantages  which  he 
had  lost  by  the  demise  of  his  son.  In  the  more  active  and  vigorous  part 
of  Francis's  reign,  a  declaration  of  war  would  have  been  the  certain  and 
instantaneous  consequence  of  such  a  flat  refusal  to  comply  with  a  demand 
seemingly  so  equitable  ;  but  the  declining  state  of  his  own  health,  the  ex- 
hausted condition  of  his  kingdom,  together  with  the  burden  of  the  war 
against  England,  obliged  him,  at  present,  to  dissemble  his  resentment,  and 
to  put.  off  thoughts  of  revenge  to  some  other  juncture.  In  consequence  of 
this  event,  the  unfortunate  duke  of  Savoy  lost  all  hope  of  obtaining  the 
restitution  of  his  territories;  and  the  rights  or  claims  relinquished  by  the 
treaty  of  Crespy  returned  in  full  force  to  the  crown  of  France,  to  serve  as 
pretexts  for  future  wars.* 

Upon  the  first  intelligence  of  the  duke  of  Orleans'  death,  the  confede- 
rates of  Smalkalde  flattered  themselves  that  the  essential  alterations  which 
appeared  to  be  unavoidable  consequences  of  it  could  hardly  fail  of  pro- 
ducing a  rupture,  which  would  prove  the  means  of  their  safety.  But 
they  were  not  more  disappointed  with  regard  to  this,  than  in  their  expec- 
tations from  an  event  which  seemed  to  be  the  certain  prelude  of  a  quarrel 
between  the  emperor  and  the  pope.  When  Paul,  whose  passion  for  ag- 
grandizing his  family  increased  as  he  advanced  in  years,  and  as  he  saw 
the  dignity  and  power  which  they  derived  immediately  from  him  beco- 
ming more  precarious,  found  that  he  could  not  bring  Charles  to  approve 
of  his  ambitious  schemes,  he  ventured  to  grant  his  son  Peter  Lewis  the 
investiture  of  Parma  and  Placentia,  though  at  the  risk  of  incurring  the 
displeasure  of  the  emperor.  At  a  time  when  a  great  part  of  Europe 
inveighed  openly  against  the  corrupt  manners  and  exorbitant  power  of 
ecclesiastics,  and  when  a  council  was  summoned  to  reform  the  disorders  in 
the  church,  this  indecent  grant  of  such  a  principality,  to  a  son,  of  whose 
illegitimate  birth  the  pope  ought  to  have  been  ashamed,  and  whose  licen- 
tious morals  all  good  men  detested,  gave  general  offence.  Some  cardinals 
in  the  Imperial  interest  remonstrated  against  such  an  unbecoming  aliena- 
tion of  the  patrimony  of  the  church  ;  the  Spanish  ambassador  would  not 
be  present  at  the  solemnity  of  his  infeoffment ;  and  upon  pretext  that  these 
cities  were  part  of  the  Milanese  state,  the  emperor  peremptorily  refused 
to  confirm  the  deed  of  investiture.  But  both  the  emperor  and  pope  being 
intent  upon  one  common  object  in  Germany,  they  sacrificed  their  particu- 
lar passions  to  that  public  cause,  and  suppressed  the  emotions  of  jealousy 
or  resentment  which  were  rising  on  this  occasion,  that  they  might  jointly 
pursue  what  each  deemed  to  be  of  greater  importance.! 

About  this  time  the  peace  of  Germany  was  disturbed  by  a  violent  but 
short  eruption  of  Henry  duke  of  Brunswick.  This  prince,  though  still 
stript  of  his  dominions,  which  the  emperor  held  in  sequestration,  until  his 
differences  with  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde  should  be  adjusted,  pos- 
sessed however  so  much  credit  in  Germany,  that  he  undertook  to  raise 
for  the  French  king  a  considerable  body  of  troops  to  be  employed  in  the 
war  against  England.  The  money  stipulated  for  this  purpose  was  duly 
advanced  by  Francis ;  the  troops  were  levied ;  but  Henry,  instead  of 
leading  them  towards  France,  suddenly  entered  his  own  dominions  at 
their  head,  in  hopes  of  recovering  possession  of  them  before  any  army 
could  be  assembled  to  oppose  him.  The  confederates  were  not  more 
surprised  at  this  unexpected  attack,  than  the  king  of  France  was  astonished 
at  a  mean  thievish  fraud,  so  unbecoming  the  character  of  a  prince.  But 
the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  with  incredible  expedition,  collected  as  many 
men  as  put  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  Henry's  undisciplined  forces,  and 

Kelcarii  Comment.  769.     Parirta.  Hist.  Vem*.  Iv.  p,  177.  t  Faruta.  Hist.  Vrnet.  iv.  178- 

Pallavtc.  JW>. 


326  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VII. 

being  joined  by  his  son-in-law,  Maurice,  and  by  some  troops  belonging-  to 
the  elector  of  Saxony,  he  gained  such  advantages  over  Henry,  who  was 
rash  and  bold  in  forming  his  schemes,  but  feeble  and  undetermined  in  exe- 
cuting them,  as  obliged  him  to  disband  his  army,  and  to  surrender  himself, 
together  with  his  eldest  son,  prisoners  at  discretion.  He  was  kept  in  close 
confinement,  until  a  new  reverse  of  affairs  procured  him  liberty.* 

As  this  defeat  of  Henry's  wild  enterprise  added  new  reputation  to  the 
arms  of  the  protestants,  the  establishment  of  the  protestant  religion  in  the 
palatinate  brought  a  great  accession  of  strength  to  their  party.  Frederick, 
who  succeeded  his  brother  Lewis  in  that  electorate,  had  long  been  sus- 
pected of  a  secret  propensity  to  the  doctrines  of  the  reformers,  which, 
upon  his  accession  to  the  principality,  he  openly  manifested.  But  as  he 
expected  that  something  effectual  towards  a  general  and  legal  establish- 
ment of  religion,  would  be  the  fruit  of  so  many  diets,  conferences,  and 
negotiations,  he  did  not,  at  first,  attempt  any  public  innovation  in  his  do- 
minions. Finding  all  these  issue  in  nothing,  he  thought  himself  called,  at 
length  [Jan.  10,  1546],  to  countenance  by  his  authority  the  system  which 
he  approved  of,  and  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  his  subjects,  who,  by  their 
intercourse  with  the  protestant  states,  had  almost  universally  imbibed  their 
opinions.  As  the  warmth  and  impetuosity,  which  accompanied  the  spirit 
of  reformation  in  its  first  efforts,  had  somewhat  abated,  this  change  was 
made  with  great  order  and  regularity ;  the  ancient  rites  were  abolished, 
and  new  forms  introduced,  without  any  acts  of  violence,  or  symptom  of 
discontent.  Though  Frederick  adopted  the  religious  system  of  the  pro- 
testants, he  imitated  the  example  of  Maurice,  and  did  not  accede  to  the 
league  of  Smalkalde.f 

A  few  weeks  before  this  revolution  in  the  palatinate,  the  general  coun- 
cil was  opened  with  the  accustomed  solemnities  at  Trent.  The  eyes  of 
the  catholic  states  were  turned  with  much  expectation  towards  an  assem- 
bly, which  all  had  considered  as  capable  of  applying  an  effectual  remedy 
for  the  disorders  of  the  church  when  they  first  broke  out,  though  many 
were  afraid  that  it  was  now  too  late  to  hope  for  great  benefit  from  it, 
when  the  malady,  by  being  suffered  to  increase  during  twenty-eight  years, 
had  become  inveterate,  and  grown  to  such  extreme  violence.  The  pope, 
by  his  last  bull  of  convocation,  had  appointed  the  first  meeting  to  be  held 
in  March.  But  his  views  and  those  of  the  emperor  were  so  different, 
that  almost  the  whole  year  was  spent  in  negotiations.  Charles,  who  fore- 
saw that  the -rigorous  decrees  of  the  council  against  the  protestants  would 
soon  drive  them,  in  self-defence  as  well  as  from  resentment,  to  some  des- 
perate extreme,  laboured  to  put  off  its  meeting  until  his  warlike  prepara 
tions  were  so  far  advanced,  that  he  might  be  in  a  condition  to  second  its 
decisions  by  the  force  of  his  arms.  The  pope,  who  had  early  sent  to 
Trent  the  legates  who  were  to  preside  in  his  name,  knowing  to  Avhat  con- 
tempt it  would  expose  his  authority,  and  what  suspicions  it  would  beget 
of  his  intentions,  if  the  fathers  of  the  council  should  remain  in  a  state  of 
inactivity,  when  the  church  was  in  such  danger  as  to  require  their  imme- 
diate and  vigorous  interposition,  insisted  either  upon  translating  the  coun- 
cil to  some  city  in  Italy,  or  upon  suspending  altogether  its  proceedings  at 
that  juncture,  or  upon  authorizing  it  to  begin  its  deliberations  immediately. 
The  emperor  rejected  the  two  former  expedients  as  equally  offensive  to 
the  Germans  of  every  denomination ;  but  finding  it  impossible  to  elude 
the  latter,  he  proposed  that  the  council  should  begin  with  reforming  the 
disorders  in  the  church,  before  it  proceeded  to  examine  or  define  articles 
of  faith.  This  was  the  very  thing  which  the  court  of  Rome  dreaded 
most,  and  which  had  prompted  it  to  employ  so  many  artifices  in  order  to 
prevent  the  meeting  of  such  a  dangerous  judicatory.     Paul,  though  more 

*  Sleid.  352.    Set*.  1.  iii.  5S7.  t  Sleid.  350.    Heck.  !  iii.  616. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  32T 

compliant  than  some  of  his  predecessors  with  regard  to  calling  a  council, 
was  no  less  jealous  than  they  had  heen  of  its  jurisdiction,  and  saw  what 
matter  of  triumph  such  a  method  of  proceeding  would  afford  the  heretics. 
He  apprehended  consequences  not  only  humbling  but  fatal  to  the  papal 
see,  if  the  council  came  to  consider  an  inquest  into  abuses  as  their  only 
business ;  or  if  inferior  prelates  were  allowed  to  gratify  their  own  envy 
and  peevishness,  by  prescribing  rules  to  those  who  are  exalted  above 
them  in  dignity  and  power.  Without  listening,  therefore,  to  this  insidious 
proposal  ot  the  emperor,  he  instructed  his  legates  to  open  the  council. 

Jan.  18.]  The  first  session  was  spent  in  matters  of  form.  In  a  subse- 
quent one,  it  was  agreed  that  the  framing  a  confession  of  faith,  wherein 
should  be  contained  all  the  articles  which  the  church  required  its  mem- 
bers to  believe,  ought  to  be  the  first  and  principal  business  of  the  council : 
but  that,  at  the  same  time,  due  attention  should  be  given  to  what  was 
necessary  towards  the  reformation  of  manners  and  discipline.  From  this 
first  symptom  of  the  spirit  with  which  the  council  was  animated,  from  the 
high  tone  of  authority  which  the  legates  who  presided  in  it  assumed,  and 
from  the  implicit  deference  with  which  most  of  the  members  followed 
their  directions,  the  protestants  conjectured  with  ease  what  decisions  they 
might  expect.  It  astonished  them,  however,  to  see  forty  prelates  (for  no 
greater  number  were  yet  assembled)  assume  authority  as  representatives 
of  the  universal  church,  and  proceed  to  determine  the  most  important 
points  of  doctrine  in  its  name.  Sensible  of  this  indecency,  as  well  as  ot" 
the  ridicule  with  which  it  might  be  attended,  the  council  advanced  slowly 
in  its  deliberations,  and  all  its  proceedings  were  for  some  time  languishing 
and  feeble.*  As  soon  as  the  confederates  of  Smaikalde  received  infor- 
mation of  the  opening  of  the  council,  they  published  a  long  manifesto, 
containing  a  renewal  of  their  protest  against  its  meeting,  together  with  the 
reasons  which  induced  them  to  decline  its  jurisdictions.!  The  pope  and 
emperor,  on  their  part,  were  so  little  solicitous  to  quicken  or  add  vigour 
to  its  operations,  as  plainly  discovered  that  some  object  of  greater  import- 
ance occupied  and  interested  them. 

The  protestants  were  not  inattentive  or  unconcerned  spectators  of  the 
motions  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  and  of  Charles,  and  they  entertained 
every  day  more  violent  suspicions  of  their  intentions,  in  consequence  of 
intelligence  received  from  different  quarters  of  the  machinations  carrying 
on  against  them.  The  king  of  England  informed  them,  that  the  emperor, 
having  long  resolved  to  exterminate  their  opinions,  would  not  fail  to  employ 
this  interval  of  tranquillity  which  he  now  enjoyed,  as  the  most  favourable 
juncture  for  carrying  his  design  into  execution.  The  merchants  of  Augs- 
burg, which  was  at  that  time  a  city  of  extensive  trade,  received  advice,  try 
means  of  their  correspondents  in  Italy,  among  whom  were  some  who 
secretly  favoured  the  protestant  cause,J  that  a  dangerous  confederacy 
against  it  was  forming  between  the  pope  and  emperor.  In  confirmation  of 
this  they  heard  from  the  Low-Countries,  that  Charles  had  issued  orders, 
though  with  every  precaution  which  could  keep  the  measure  concealed, 
for  raising  troops  both  there  and  in  other  parts  of  his  dominions.  Such  a 
variety  of  information,  and  corroborating  all  that  their  own  jealousy  or 
observation  led  them  to  apprehend,  left  the  protestants  little  reason  to  doubt 
of  the  emperor's  hostile  intentions.  Under  this  impression,  the  deputies 
of  the  confederates  of  Smaikalde  assembled  at  Frankfort,  and  by  commu- 
nicating their  intelligence  and  sentiments  to  each  other,  reciprocally 
heightened  their  sense  of  the  impending  danger.  But  their  union  was  not 
such  as  their  situation  required,  or  the  preparations  of  their  enemies  ren- 
dered necessary.  Their  league  had  now  subsisted  ten  years.  Among  so 
many  members,  whose  territories  were  intermingled  with  each  other,  and 

*  F.  Paul.  J20.  &c.    Pallaric.  r>.  IPO.  fee  *  BeekemL  1.  lit.  f)02.  Sir.         J  TbM.  57?. 


328  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  VII. 

who,  according  to  the  custom  of  Germany,  had  created  an  infinite  variety 
of  mutual  rights  and  claims  by  intermarriages,  alliances,  and  contracts  of 
different  kinds,  subjects  of  jealousy  and  discord  had  unavoidably  arisen. 
Some  of  the  confederates,  being  connected  with  the  duke  of  Brunswick, 
were  highly  disgusted  with  the  landgrave,  on  account  of  the  rigour  with 
which  he  had  treated  that  rash  and  unfortunate  prince.  Others  taxed  the 
elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave,  the  heads  of  the  league,  with  having 
involved  the  members  in  unnecessary  and  exorbitant  expenses  by  their 
profuseness  or  want  of  economy.  1  he  views,  likewise,  and  temper  of 
those  two  princes,  who  by  their  superior  power  and  authority,  influenced 
and  directed  the  whole  body,  being  extremely  different,  rendered  all  its 
motions  languid,  at  a  time  when  the  utmost  vigour  and  despatch  were 
requisite.  The  landgrave,  of  a  violent  and  enterprising  temper,  but  not 
forgetful,  amidst  his  zeal  for  religion,  of  the  usual  maxims  of  human  policy, 
insisted  that  as  the  danger  which  threatened  them  was  manifest  and  una- 
voidable, they  should  have  recourse  to  the  most  effectual  expedient  for 
securing  their  own  safety,  by  courting  the  protection  of  the  kings  of  France 
and  England,  or  by  joining  in  alliance  with  the  protestant  cantons  of  Swit- 
zerland, from  whom  they  might  expect  such  powerful  and  present  assist- 
ance as  their  situation  demanded.  The  elector  on  the  other  hand,  with 
the  most  upright  intentions  of  any  prince  in  that  age,  and  with  talents 
which  might  have  qualified  him  abundantly  for  the  administration  of 
government  in  any  tranquil  period,  was  possessed  with  such  superstitious 
veneration  for  all  the  parts  of  the  Lutheran  system,  and  such  bigotten 
attachment  to  all  its  tenets,  as  made  him  averse  to  a  union  with  those  who 
differed  from  him  in  any  article  of  faith,  and  rendered  him  very  incapable 
of  undertaking  its  defence  in  times  of  difficulty  and  danger.  He  seemed 
to  think,  that  the  concerns  of  religion  were  to  be  regulated  by  principles 
and  maxims  totally  different  from  those  which  apply  to  the  common  affairs 
of  life  ;  and  being  swayed  too  much  by  the  opinions  of  Luther,  who  was 
not  only  a  stranger  to  the  rules  of  political  conduct,  but  despised  them ; 
he  often  discovered  an  uncomplying  spirit,  that  proved  of  the  greatest 
detriment  Jo  the  cause  which  he  wished  to  support.  Influenced,  on  this 
occasion,  by  the  severe  and  rigid  notions  of  that  reformer,  he  refused  to 
enter  into  any  confederacy  with  Francis,  because  he  was  a  persecutor  of 
the  truth ;  or  to  solicit  the  friendship  of  Henry,  because  he  was  no  less 
impious  and  profane  than  the  pope  himself ;  or  even  to  join  in  alliance 
with  the  Swiss,  because  they  differed  from  the  Germans  in  several  essential 
articles  of  faith.  This  dissension,  about  a  point  of  such  consequence,  pro- 
duced its  natural  effects.  Each  secretly  censured  and  reproached  the 
other.  The  landgrave  considered  the  elector  as  fettered  by  narrow  pre- 
judices, unworthy  of  a  prince  called  to  act  a  chief  part  in  a  scene  of  such 
importance.  The  elector  suspected  the  landgrave  of  loose  principles  and 
ambitious  views,  which  corresponded  ill  with  the  sacred  cause  wherein 
they  were  engaged.  But  though  the  elector's  scruples  prevented  their 
timely  application  for  foreign  aid  ;  and  the  jealousy  or  discontent  of  the 
other  princes  defeated  a  proposal  for  renewing  their  original  confederacy, 
the  term  during  which  it  was  to  continue  in  iorce  being  on  the  point  of 
expiring  ;  yet  the  sense  of  their  common  danger  induced  them  to  agree 
with  regard  to  other  points,  particularly  that  they  would  never  acknow- 
ledge the  assembly  at  Trent  as  a  lawful  council,  nor  suffer  the  archbishop 
of  Cologne  to  be  oppressed  on  account  of  the  steps  which  he  had  taken 
towards  the  reformation  of  his  diocess.* 

The  landgrave,  about  this  time,  desirous  of  penetrating  to  the  bottom  oi 
the  emperor's  intentions,  wrote  to  Granvelle,  whom  he  knew  to  be  tho- 
roughly acquainted  with  all  his  masters    schemes,  informing  him  of  the 

*  Seek.  1.  iii.  5CC.  570.  613.    Sleid.  aS5. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  329 

several  particulars  which  raised  the  suspicions  of  the  protestants,  and  beg- 
ging an  explicit  declaration  of  what  they  had  to  fear  or  to  hope.  Gran- 
velle,  in  return,  assured  them,  that  the  intelligence  which  they  had  received 
of  the  emperor's  military  preparations  was  exaggerated,  and  all  their  sus- 
picions destitute  of  foundation  ;  that  though,  in  order  to  guard  his  frontiers 
against  any  insult  of  the  French  or  English,  he  had  commanded  a  small 
body  of  men  to  be  raised  in  the  Low-Countries,  he  was  as  solicitous  as 
ever  to  maintain  tranquillity  in  Germany.* 

But  the  emperor's  actions  did  not  correspond  with  these  professions  of 
his  minister.  For  instead  of  appointing  men  of  known  moderation  and  a 
pacific  temper  to  appear  in  detence  of  the  catholic  doctrines  at  the  con- 
ference which  had  been  agreed  on,  he  made  choice  of  fierce  bigots, 
attached  to  their  own  system  with  a  blind  obstinacy,  that  rendered  all  hope 
of  a  reconcilement  desperate.  Malvenda,  a  Spanish  divine,  who  took  upon 
him  the  conduct  of  the  debate  on  the  part  of  the  catholics,  managed  it 
with  all  the  subtle  dexterity  of  a  scholastic  metaphysician,  more  studious 
to  perplex  his  adversaries  than  to  convince  them,  and  more  intent  on  pal- 
liating error  than  on  discovering  truth.  The  protestants,  filled  with  indig- 
nation, as  well  at  his  sophistry  as  at  some  regulations  which  the  emperor 
endeavoured  to  impose  on  the  disputants,  broke  off  the  conference  abruptly, 
being  now  fully  convinced  that,  in  all  his  late  measures,  the  emperor  could 
have  no  other  view  than  to  amuse  them,  and  to  gain  time  for  ripening  his 
own  schemes.! 


BOOK  VIII. 

While  appearances  of  danger  daily  increased,  and  the  tempest  which 
had  been  so  long  a  gathering  was  ready  to  break  forth  in  all  its  violence 
against  the  protestant  church,  Luther  was  saved,  by  a  seasonable  death, 
from  feeling  or  beholding  its  destructive  rage.  Having  gone,  though  in  a 
declining  state  of  health,  and  during  a  rigorous  season,  to  his  native  city  of 
Eysleben,  in  order  to  compose,  by  his  authority,  a  dissension  among  the 
counts  of  Mansfield,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  inflammation  in  his  stomach, 
which  in  a  few  days  put  an  end  to  his  life,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age 
[Feb.  18].  As  he  was  raised  up  by  Providence  to  be  the  author  of  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  interesting  revolutions  recorded  in  history,  there  is  not  any 
person  perhaps  whose  character  has  been  drawn  with  such  opposite  colours. 
In  his  own  age,  one  party,  struck  with  horror  and  inflamed  with  rage,  when 
they  saw  with  what  a  daring  hand  he  overturned  every  thing  which  they 
held  to  be  sacred,  or  valued  as  beneficial,  imputed  to  him  not  only  all  the 
defects  and  vices  of  a  man,  but  the  qualities  of  a  demon.  The  other, 
warmed  with  the  admiration  and  gratitude,  which  they  thought  he  merited 
as  the  restorer  of  light  and  liberty  to  the  Christian  church,  ascribed  to  him 
perfections  above  the  condition  of  humanity,  and  viewed  all  his  actions 
with  a  veneration  bordering  on  that  which  should  be  paid  only  to  those 
who  are  guided  by  the  immediate  inspiration  of  Heaven.  It  is  his  own 
conduct,  not  the  undistinguishing  censure  or  the  exaggerated  praise  of  his 
contemporaries,  that  ought  to  regulate  the  opinions  of  the  present  age  con- 
cerning him.  Zeal  for  what  he  regarded  as  truth,  undaunted  intrepidity 
to  maintain  his  own  system,  abilities,  both  natural  and  acquired,  to  defend 

*  Sleid.  X,K.  *  Ibid.  35P.    Fork.  I.  iji.  650. 

Vol..  II.— 42 


330  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  VI if. 

his  principles,  and  unwearied  industry  in  propagating  them,  are  virtues 
which  shine  so  conspicuously  in  every  part  of  his  behaviour,  that  even  his 
enemies  must  allow  him  to  have  possessed  them  in  an  eminent  degree.  To 
these  may  be  added,  with  equal  justice,  such  purity  and  even  austerity  of 
manners,  as  became  one  who  assumed  the  character  of  a  Reformer ;  such 
sanctity  of  life  as  suited  the  doctrine  which  he  delivered ;  and  such  per- 
fect disinterestedness  as  affords  no  slight  presumption  of  his  sincerity. 
Superior  to  all  selfish  considerations,  a  stranger  to  the  elegancies  of  life, 
and  despising  its  pleasures,  he  left  the  honours  and  emoluments  of  the  church 
to  his  disciples,  remaining  satisfied  himself  in  his  original  state  of  professor 
in  the  university,  and  pastor  of  the  town  of  Wittemberg,  with  the  moderate 
appointments  annexed  to  these  offices.  His  extraordinary  qualities  were 
allayed  with  no  inconsiderable  mixture  of  human  frailty  and  human  pas- 
sions. These,  however,  were  of  such  a  nature,  that  they  cannot  be  imputed 
to  malevolence  or  corruption  of  heart,  but  seem  to  have  taken  their  rise 
from  the  same  source  with  many  of  his  virtues.  His  mind,  forcible  and 
vehement  in  all  its  operations,  roused  by  great  objects,  or  agitated  by 
violent  passions,  broke  out,  on  many  occasions,  with  an  impetuosity  which 
astonishes  men  of  feebler  spirits,  or  such  as  are  placed  in  a  more  tranquil 
situation.  By  carrying  some  praiseworthy  dispositions  to  excess,  he 
bordered  sometimes  on  what  was  culpable,  and  was  often  betrayed  into 
actions  which  exposed  him  to  censure.  His  confidence  that  his  own 
opinions  were  well-founded,  approached  to  arrogance  ;  his  courage  in 
asserting  them,  to  rashness  ;  his  firmness  in  adhering  to  them,  to  obstinacy ; 
and  his  zeal  in  confuting  his  adversaries,  to  rage  and  scurrility.  Accus- 
tomed himself  to  consider  every  thing  as  subordinate  to  truth,  he  expected 
the  same  deference  for  it  from  other  men  ;  and  without  making  any 
allowances  for  their  timidity  or  prejudices,  he  poured  forth  against  such  as 
disappointed  him  in  this  particular,  a  torrent  of  invective  mingled  with 
contempt.  Regardless  of  any  distinction  of  rank  or  character  when  his 
doctrines  were  attacked,  he  chastised  all  his  adversaries  indiscriminately, 
with  the  same  rough  hand  ;  neither  the  royal  dignity  of  Henry  VIII.  nor 
the  eminent  learning  and  abilities  of  Erasmus,  screened  them  from  the  same 
gross  abuse  with  which  he  treated  Tetzel  or  Eccius. 

But  these  indecencies  of  which  Luther  was  guilty,  must  not  be  imputed 
wholly  to  the  violence  of  his  temper.  They  ought  to  be  charged  in  part 
on  the  manners  of  the  age.  Among  a  rude  people,  unacquainted  with 
those  maxims,  which,  by  putting  continual  restraint  on  the  passions  of  in- 
dividuals, have  polished  society,  and  rendered  it  agreeable,  disputes  of 
every  kind  were  managed  with  heat,  and  strong  emotions  were  uttered 
in  their  natural  language  without  reserve  or  delicacy.  At  the  same  time, 
the  works  of  learned  men  were  all  composed  in  Latin,  and  they  were  not 
only  authorized,  by  the  example  of  eminent  writers  in  that  language,  to 
use  their  antagonists  with  the  most  illiberal  scurrility  ;  but,  in  a  dead 
tongue,  indecencies  of  every  kind  appear  less  shocking  than  in  a  living 
language,  whose  idioms  and  phrases  seem  gross,  because  they  are  familiar. 

In  passing  judgment  upon  the  characters  of  men,  we  ought  to  try  them 
by  the  principles  and  maxims  of  their  own  age,  not  by  those  of  another. 
For  although  virtue  and  vice  are  at  all  times  the  same,  manners  and  cus- 
toms vary  continually.  Some  parts  of  Luther's  behaviour,  which  appear 
to  us  most  culpable,  gave  no  disgust  to  his  contemporaries.  It  was  even 
by  some  of  those  qualities,  which  we  are  now  apt  to  blame,  that  he  was 
fitted  for  accomplishing  the  great  work  which  he  undertook.  To  rouse 
mankind,  when  sunk  in  ignorance  or  superstition,  and  to  encounter  the 
rage  of  bigotry  armed  with  power,  required  the  utmost  vehemence  ot 
zeal,  as  well  as  a  temper  daring  to  excess.  A  gentle  call  would  neither 
have  reached,  nor  have  excited  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  A 
spirit,  more  amiable,  but   less  vigorous  than  Luther's,  would   have  shrunk 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.  331 

back  from  the  dangers  which  he  braved  and  surmounted.  Towards  the 
close  of  Luther's  lite,  though  without  any  perceptible  diminution  of  his 
zeal  or  abilities,  the  infirmities  of  his  temper  increased  upon  him,  so  that 
he  grew  daily  more  peevish,  more  irascible,  and  more  impatient  of  con- 
tradiction. Having  lived  to  be  a  witness  of  his  own  amazing  success,  to 
see  a  great  part  of  Europe  embrace  his  doctrines  ;  and  to  shake  the 
foundation  of  the  papal  throne,  before  which  the  mightiest  monarchs  had 
trembled,  he  discovered,  on  some  occasions,  symptoms  of  vanity  and  self- 
applause.  He  must  have  been,  indeed,  more  than  man,  if,  upon  contem- 
plating all  that  he  actually  accomplished,  he  had  never  felt  any  sentiment 
of  this  kind  rising  in  his  breast.* 

Some  time  beiore  his  death  he  felt  his  strength  declining,  his  constitu- 
tion being  worn  out  by  a  prodigious  multiplicity  ot  business,  added  to 
the  labour  of  discharging  his  ministerial  functions  with  unremitting  dili- 
gence, to  the  fatigue  of  constant  study,  besides  the  composition  of  works 
as  voluminous  as  if  he  had  enjoyed  uninterrupted  leisure  and  retirement. 
His  natural  intrepidity  did  not  forsake  him  at  the  approach  of  death  ;  his 
last  conversation  with  his  friends  was  concerning  the  happiness  reserved 
for  good  men  in  a  future  life,  of  which  he  spoke  with  the  fervour  and 
delight  natural  to  one  who  expected  and  wished  to  enter  soon  upon  the 
enjoyment  of  it.t  The  account  of  his  death  filled  the  Roman  catholic  party 
with  excessive  as  well  as  indecent  joy,  and  damped  the  spirits  of  all  his 
followers  ;  neither  party  sufficiently  considering  that  his  doctrines  were 
now  so  firmly  rooted,  as  to  be  in  a  condition  to  flourish  independent  of 
the  hand  which  had  first  planted  them.  His  funeral  was  celebrated  by 
order  of  the  elector  of  Saxony  with  extraordinary  pomp.  He  left  several 
children  by  his  wife,  Catharine  a  Boria,  who  survived  him.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  last  century,  there  were  in  Saxony  some  of  his  descendants 
in  decent  and  honourable  stations.^ 

The  emperor,  meanwhile,  pursued  the  plan  of  dissimulation  with 
which  he  had  set  "out,  employing  every  art  to  amuse  the  protestants,  and 
to  quiet  their  fears  and  jealousies.  For  this  purpose  he  contrived  to  have 
an  interview  with  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  most  active  of  all  the  con- 
federates, and  the  most  suspicious  of  his  designs.  To  him  he  made  such 
warm  professions  of  his  concern  for  the  happiness  of  Germany,  and  of  his 
aversion  to  all  violent  measures  ;  he  denied,  in  such  express  terms,  his 
having  entered  into  any  league,  or  having  begun  any  military  preparations 
which  should  give  any  just  cause  of  alarm  to  the  protestants,  as  seem  to 
have  dispelled  all  the  landgrave's  doubts  and  apprehensions,  and  sent 
him  away  fully  satisfied  of  his  pacific  intentions.  This  artifice  was  of 
great  advantage,  and  effectually  answered  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
employed.  The  landgrave,  upon  his  leaving  Spires,  where  he  had  been 
admitted  to  this  interview,  went  to  Worms,  where  the  Smalkaldic  con- 
federates were  assembled,  and  gave  them  such  a  flattering  representation 
of  the  emperor's  favourable  disposition  towards  them,  that  they,  who 
were  too  apt,  as  well  from  the  temper  of  the  German  nation,  as  from  the 
genius  of  all  great  associations  or  bodies  of  men,  to  be  slow,  and  dilatory, 
and  undecisive  in  their  deliberations,  thought  there  was  no  necessity  oi 
taking  any  immediate  measures  against  danger,  which  appeared  to  be 
distant  or  imaginary .§ 

*  A  remarkable  instance  of  this,  as  well  as  of  a  certain  singularity  and  elevation  of  sentiment, 
ia  found  in  bit  Last  Will.  Though  the  effects  which  he  had  to  bequeath  were  very  inconsiderable, 
he  thought  it  necessary  to  make  a  Testament,  but  scorned  to  frame  it  with  the  usual  legal  formali- 
ties. Notue  sum,  says  he,  in  coelo,  in  terra,  et  inferno,  et  auctoritatcm  ad  hoc  sulhcientem  habeo, 
ut  milii  soli  credatur,  cum  Deus  mihi,  homini  licet  damnabili,  et  miserabili  peccatori,  ex  paterna 
misericordia  Evangelium  filii  eui  crediderit,  dederitque  ut  in  eo  verai  et  fidelis  fueriin,  ita  ut  mulli 
in  mundo  illud  per  me  acceperint,  et  me  pro  Doctore  verilatis  agnoverint,  spreto  banno  papa>, 
Cassaris,  regum,  principum  et  sacerdotum,  immo  omnium  da>monum  odio.  Uuidni,  igilur,  ad  dis- 
positionem  hanc,  in  re  exigua,  sufliciat,  si  adsit  manus  me*  testimonium,  et  did  possit,  mec  scrlpsit 
D.  Martinus  Luther,  Notarius  Dei,  et  testis  Evangelii  ejus.     Sec.  1.  hi.  p.  651. 

T  Sleid.  362.    Seek.  lib.  iii.  632,  Ice.  t  Seek.  lib.  iii.  651.  <S  Sleid.  Hist.  3fi7. 373. 


333  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  Book  VIII. 

Such  events,  however,  soon  occurred,  as  staggered  the  credit  which  the 
protestants  had  given  to  the  emperor's  declarations.  The  council  of 
Trent,  though  still  composed  of  a  small  number  of  Italian  and  Spanish 
prelates,  without  a  single  deputy  from  many  of  the  kingdoms,  which  it 
assumed  a  right  of  binding  by  its  decrees,  being  ashamed  of  its  long 
inactivity,  proceeded  now  to  settle  articles  of  the  greatest  importance. 
Having  begun  with  examining  the  first  and  chief  point  in  controversy 
between  the  church  of  Home  and  the  reformers,  concerning  the  rule  which 
should  be  held  as  supreme  and  decisive  in  matters  of  faith,  the  council, 
by  its  infallible  authority,  determined  [Apr.  8],  "That  the  books  to 
which  the  designation  of  Jlpocryphul  hath  been  given,  are  of  equal  autho- 
rity with  those  which  were  received  by  the  Jews  and  primitive  Christians 
into  the  sacred  canon  ;  that  the  traditions  handed  down  from  the  apostolic 
age,  and  preserved  in  the  church,  are  entitled  to  as  much  regard  as  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  which  the  inspired  authors  have  committed  to 
writing  ;  that  the  Latin  translation  of  the  scriptures,  made  or  revised  by 
St.  Jerome,  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Vulgate  translation,  should  be 
read  in  churches,  and  appealed  to  in  the  schools  as  authentic  and  canoni- 
cal." Against  all  who  disclaimed  the  truth  of  these  tenets,  anathemas 
were  denounced  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority,  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  decision  of  these  points,  which  undermined  the  main  foundation  of 
the  Lutheran  system,  was  a  plain  warning  to  the  protestants  what  judg- 
ment they  might  expect  when  the  council  should  have  leisure  to  take  into 
consideration  the  particular  and  subordinate  articles  of  their  creed.* 

This  discovery  of  the  council's  readiness  to  condemn  the  opinions  of 
the  protestants  was  soon  followed  by  a  striking  instance  of  the  pope's 
resolution  to  punish  such  as  embraced  them.  The  appeal  of  the  canons  of 
Cologne  against  their  archbishop  having  been  carried  to  Rome,  Paul 
eagerly  seized  on  that  opportunity,  both  of  displaying  the  extent  of  his 
own  authority,  and  of  teaching  the  German  ecclesiastics  the  danger  of 
revolting  from  the  established  church.  As  no  person  appeared  in  behalf  of 
the  archbishop,  he  was  held  to  be  convicted  of  the  crime  of  heresy,  and  a 
papal  bull  was  issued  [Apr.  IdJ  depriving  him  of  his  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nity, inflicting  on  him  the  sentence  of  excommunication,  and  absolving  his 
subjects  from  the  oath  of  allegiance  which  they  had  taken  to  him  as  their 
civil  superior.  The  countenance  which  he  had  given  to  the  Lutheran 
heresy  was  the  only  crime  imputed  to  him,  as  well  as  the  only  reason 
assigned  to  justify  the  extraordinary  severity  of  this  decree.  The  protes- 
tants could  hardly  believe  that  Paul,  how  zealous  soever  he  might  be  to 
defend  the  established  system,  or  to  humble  those  who  invaded  it,  would 
have  ventured  to  proceed  to  such  extremities  against  a  prince  and  elector 
of  the  empire,  without  having  previously  secured  such  powerful  protection 
as  would  render  his  censure  something  more  than  an  impotent  and  despi- 
cable sally  of  resentment.  They  were,  of  course,  deeply  alarmed  at  this 
sentence  against  the  archbishop,  considering  it  as  a  sure  indication  of  the 
malevolent  intentions  not  only  of  the  pope,  but  of  the  emperor,  against  the 
whole  party.j 

Upon  this  fresh  revival  of  their  fears,  with  such  violence  as  is  natural 
to  men  roused  from  a  false  security,  and  conscious  of  their  having  been 
deceived,  Charles  saw  that  it  now  became  necessary  to  throw  aside  the 
mask,  and  to  declare  openly  what  part  he  determined  to  act.  By  a  long 
series  of  artifice  and  fallacy,  he  had  gained  so  much  time,  that  his  mea- 
sures, though  not  altogether  ripe  for  execution,  were  in  great  forwardness. 
The  pope,  by  his  proceedings  against  the  elector  of  Cologne,  as  well  as 
by  the  decree  of  the  council,  had  precipitated  matters  into  such  a  situation, 
as  rendered  a  breach  between  the  emperor  and  the  protestants  almost 

•P.Paul,  lit,    Pallav.206.  ♦  gleid.  35*.    F.Paul.  155.    Pallavie.  354. 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.  m 

-unavoidable.  Charles  had,  therefore,  no  choice  left  him,  but  either  to 
take  part  with  them  in  overturning  what  the  see  of  Rome  had  determined, 
or  to  support  the  authority  of  the  church  openly  by  force  of  arms.  Nor 
did  the  pope  think  it  enough  to  have  brought  the  emperor  under  a  neces- 
sity of  acting ;  he  pressed  him  to  begin  his  operations  immediately,  and 
to  carry  them  on  with  such  vigour  as  t_<uld  not  fail  of  securing  success. 
Transported  by  his  zeal  against  heresy,  Paul  forgot  all  the  prudent  and 
cautious  maxims  of  the  papal  see,  with  regard  to  the  danger  of  extending 
the  Imperial  authority  beyond  due  bounds;  and,  in  order  to  crush  the 
Lutherans,  he  was  willing  to  contribute  towards  raising  up  a  master  that 
might  one  day  prove  formidable  to  himself  as  well  as  to  the  rest  of  Italy. 

But,  besides  the  certain  expectation  of  assistance  from  the  pope,  Charles 
was  now  secure  from  any  danger  of  interruption  to  his  designs  by  the 
Turkish  arms.  His  negotiations  at  the  Porte,  which  he  had  carried  on 
with  great  assiduity  since  the  peace  of  Crespy,  were  on  the  point  of 
beine  terminated  in  such  a  manner  as  he  desired.  Solyman,  partly  in  com- 
pliance with  the  French  king,  who,  in  order  to  avoid  the  disagreeable 
obligation  of  joining  the  emperor  against  his  ancient  ally,  laboured  with 
great  zeal  to  bring  about  an  accommodation  between  them,  and  partly 
from  its  being  necessary  to  turn  his  arms  towards  the  east,  where  the  Per- 
sians threatened  to  invade  his  dominions,  consented  without  difficulty  to  a 
truce  for  five  years.  The  chief  article  of  it  was,  that  each  should  retain 
possession  of  what  he  now  held  in  Hungary;  and  Ferdinand,  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  pride  of  the  sultan,  submitted  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  ol  fifty  thou- 
sand crowns.* 

But  it  was  upon  the  aid  and  concurrence  of  the  German?  themselves 
that  ihe  emperor  relied  with  the  greatest  confidence.  The  Germanic 
body,  he  knew,  was  of  such  vast  strength,  as  to  be  invincible  if  it  were 
united,  and  that  it  was  only  by  employing  its  own  force  that  he  could 
hope  to  subdue  it.  Happily  for  him,  the  union  of  the  several  members  of 
this  great  system  was  so  feeble,  the  whole  frame  was  so  loosely  com- 
pacted, and  its  different  parts  tended  so  violently  towards  separation  from 
each  other,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  it,  on  any  important  emergence, 
to  join  in  a  general  or  vigorous  effort.  In  the  present  juncture,  the  sources 
of  discord  were  as  many,  and  as  various,  as  had  been  known  on  any  oc- 
casion. The  Roman  catholics,  animated  with  zeal  in  defence  of  their 
religion  proportional  to  the  fierceness  with  which  it  had  been  attacked, 
were  eager  to  second  any  attempt  to  humble  those  innovators,  who  had 
overturned  it  in  many  provinces,  and  endangered  it  in  more.  John  and 
Albert  of  Brandenburgh,  as  well  as  several  other  princes,  incensed  at  the 
haugiicmess  and  rigour  with  which  the  duke  of  Brunswick  had  been 
treated  by  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde,  were  impatient  to  rescue  him, 
and  to  be  revenged  on  them.  Charles  observed,  with  satisfaction,  the 
working  of  those  passions  in  their  minds,  and  counting  on  them  as  sure 
auxiliaries  whenever  he  should  think  it  proper  to  act,  he  found  it,  in  the 
mean  time,  more  necessary  to  moderate  than  to  inflame  their  rage. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs,  such  the  discernment  with  which  the 
emperor  foresaw  and  provided  for  every  event,  when  the  diet  of  the  empire 
met  at  Ratisbon.  Many  of  the  Roman  catholic  members  appeared  there 
in  person,  but  most  of  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde,  under  pretence  of 
being  unable  to  bear  the  expense  occasioned  by  the  late  unnecessary  fre- 
quency of  such  assemblies,  sent  only  deputies.  Their  jealousy  of  the 
emperor,  together  with  an  apprehension  that  violence  might  perhaps  be 
employed,  in  order  to  force  their  approbation  of  what  he  should  propose 
in  the  diet,  was  the  true  cause  of  their  absence.  The  speech  with  which 
the  emperor  opened  the  diet  was  extremely  artful.    Alter  professing,  m 

*  Iatiraninffii  Hi<t.  Han.  180.    Han.  da  RiWer,  torn.  i.  588. 


BS4  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  VIIL 

common  form,  his  regard  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Germanic  body,  and 
declaring,  that,  in  order  to  bestow  his  whole  attention  upon  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  its  order  and  tranquillity,  he  had  at  present  abandoned  all 
other  cares,  rejected  the  most  pressing  solicitations  of  his  other  subjects  to 
reside  among  them,  and  postponed  affairs  of  the  greatest  importance;  he 
took  notice,  with  some  disapprobation,  that  his  disinterested  example  had 
not  been  imitated  ;  many  members  of  chief  consideration  having  neglected 
to  attend  an  assembly  to  which  he  had  repaired  with  such  manifest  incon- 
venience to  himself.  He  then  mentioned  their  unhappy  dissensions  about 
religion  ;  lamented  the  ill  success  of  his  past  endeavours  to  compose  them  ; 
complained  of  the  abrupt  dissolution  of  the  late  conference,  and  craved 
their  advice  with  regard  to  the  best  and  most  effectual  method  of  restoring 
union  to  the  churches  of  Germany,  together  with  that  happy  agreement  in 
articles  of  faith,  which  their  ancestors  had  found  to  be  of  no  less  advantage 
to  their  civil  interest,  than  becoming  their  Christian  profession. 

By  this  gracious  and  popular  method  of  consulting  the  members  of  the 
diet,  rather  than  of  obtruding  upon  them  any  opinion  of  his  own,  besides 
the  appearance  of  great  moderation,  and  the  merit  of  paying  much  respect 
to  their  judgment,  the  emperor  dexterously  avoided  discovering  his  own 
sentiments,  and  reserved  to  himself,  as  his  only  part,  that  of  carrying  into 
execution  what  they  should  recommend.  Nor  was  he  less  secure  of  such 
a  decision  as  he  wished  to  obtain,  by  referring  it  wholly  to  themselves. 
The  Roman  Catholic  members,  prompted  by  their  own  zeal,  or  prepared 
by  his  intrigues,  joined  immediately  in  representing  that  the  authority  of 
the  council  now  met  at  Trent  ought  to  be  supreme  in  all  matters  of  con- 
troversy ;  that  all  Christians  should  submit  to  its  decrees  as  the  infallible 
rule  of  their  faith  ;  and  therefore  they  besought  him  to  exert  the  power, 
with  which  he  was  invested  by  the  Almighty,  in  protecting  that  assembly, 
and  in  compelling  the  protestants  to  acquiesce  in  its  determinations.  The 
protestants,  on  the  other  hand,  presented  a  memorial,  in  which,  after  re- 
peating their  objections  to  the  council  of  Trent,  they  proposed,  as  the  only 
effectual  method  of  deciding  the  points  in  dispute,  that  either  a  free  general 
council  should  be  assembled  in  Germany,  or  a  national  council  of  the 
empire  should  be  called,  or  a  select  number  of  divines  should  be  appointed 
out  of  each  party  to  examine  and  define  articles  of  faith.  They  men- 
tioned the  recesses  of  several  diets  favourable  to  this  proposition,  and 
which  had  afforded  them  the  prospect  of  terminating  all  their  differences 
in  this  amicable  manner;  they  now  conjured  the  emperor  not  to  depart 
from  his  former  plan,  and  by  offering  violence  to  their  consciences,  to  bring 
calamities  upon  Germany,  the  very  thought  of  which  must  fill  every  lover 
of  his  country  with  horror.  The  emperor  receiving  this  paper  with  a 
contemptuous  smile,  paid  no  farther  regard  to  it.  Having  already  taken 
his  final  resolution,  and  perceiving  that  nothing  but  force  could  compel 
them  to  acquiesce  in  it,  he  despatched  the  cardinal  of  Trent  to  Rome 
[June  9],  in  order  to  conclude  an  alliance  with  the  pope,  the  terms  of  which 
were  already  agreed  on  ;  he  commanded  a  body  of  troops,  levied  on 
purpose  in  the  Low-Countries,  to  advance  towards  Germany  ;  he  gave 
commissions  to  several  officers  for  raising  men  in  different  parts  of  the 
empire ;  he  warned  John  and  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  that  now  was  the 
proper  time  of  exerting  themselves,  in  order  to  rescue  their  ally,  Henry  of 
Brunswick,  from  captivity.* 

All  these  things  could  not  be  transacted  without  the  observation  and 
knowledge  of  the  protestants.  The  secret  was  now  in  many  hands  ; 
under  whatever  veil  the  emperor  still  affected  to  conceal  his  designs,  his 
officers  kept  no  such  mysterious  reserve  ;  and  his  allies  and  subjects  spoke 
out  his  intentions  plainly.     Alarmed  with  reports  of  this  kind  from  every 

*  Sleid.  374.    Peck.  Hi.  fi.'.P 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  006 

quarter,  as  well  as  with  the  preparations  for  war  which  they  could  not 
but  observe,  the  deputies  of  the  confederates  demanded  audience  of  the 
emperor,  and,  in  the  name  of  their  masters,  required  to  know  whether 
these  military  preparations  were  carried  on  by  his  command,  and  for  what 
end,  and  against  what  enemy  ?  To  a  question  put  in  such  a  tone,  and  at  a 
time  when  facts  were  become  too  notorious  to  be  denied,  it  was  necessary 
to  give  an  explicit  answer.  Charles  owned  the  orders  which  he  had  issued, 
and  professing  his  purpose  not  to  molest  on  account  of  religion  those  who 
should"  act  as  dutiful  subjects ;  declared,  that  he  had  nothing  in  view  but 
to  maintain  the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  Imperial  dignity,  and  by 
punishing  some  factious  members,  to  preserve  the  ancient  constitution  of 
the  empire  from  being  impaired  or  dissolved  By  their  irregular  and  licen- 
tious conduct.  Though  the  emperor  did  not  name  the  persons  whom  he 
charged  with  such  high  crimes,  and  destined  to  be  the  objects  of  his  ven- 

feance,  it  was  obvious  that  he  had  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of 
Iesse  in  view.     Their  deputies  considering  what  he  had  said,  as  a  plain 
declaration  of  his  hostile  intentions,  immediately  retired  from  Ratisbon.* 

The  cardinal  of  Trent  found  it  no  difficult  matter  to  treat  with  the  pope, 
who,  having  at  length  brought  the  emperor  to  adopt  that  plan  which  he 
had  long  recommended,  assented  with  eagerness  to  every  article  that  he 
proposed.  The  league  was  signed  [July  26]  a  few  days  after  the  cardinal's 
arrival  at  Rome.  The  pernicious  heresies  which  abounded  in  Germany, 
the  obstinacy  of  the  protestants  in  rejecting  the  holy  council  assembled 
at  Trent,  and  the  necessity  of  maintaining  sound  doctrine,  together  with 
good  order  in  the  church,  are  mentioned  as  the  motives  of  this  union  be- 
tween the  contracting  parties.  In  order  to  check  the  growth  of  these  evils, 
and  to  punish  such  as  had  impiously  contributed  to  spread  them,  the  em- 
peror, having  long  and  without  success  made  trial  of  gentler  remedies, 
engaged  instantly  to  take  the  field  with  a  sufficient  army,  that  he  might 
compel  all  who  disowned  the  council,  or  had  apostatized  from  the  religion 
of  their  forefathers,  to  return  into  the  bosom  of  the  church,  and  submit  with 
due  obedience  to  the  holy  see.  He  likewise  bound  himself  not  to  con- 
clude a  peace  with  them  during  six  months  without  the  pope's  consent,  nor 
without  assigning  bim  his  share  in  any  conquests  which  should  be  made 
upon  them  ;  and  that  even  after  this  period  he  should  not  agree  to  any 
accommodation  which  might  be  detrimental  to  the  church,  or  to  the  interest 
of  religion.  On  his  part,  the  pope  stipulated  to  deposite  a  large  sum  in 
the  bank  of  Venice  towards  defraying  the  expense  of  the  war  ;  to  maintain, 
at  his  own  charge,  during  the  space  of  six  months,  twelve  thousand  foot, 
and  five  hundred  horse  ;  to  grant  the  emperor,  for  one  year,  half  of  the 
ecclesiastical  revenues  throughout  Spain  ;  to  authorize  him,  by  a  bull,  to 
alienate  as  much  of  the  lands,  belonging  to  religious  houses  in  that  country, 
as  would  amount  to  the  sum  of  five  nundred  thousand  crowns ;  and  to 
employ  not  only  spiritual  censures,  but  military  force,  against  any  prince 
who  should  attempt  to  interrupt  or  defeat  the  execution  of  this  treaty.t 

Notwithstanding  the  explicit  terms  in  which  the  extirpation  of  heresy 
was  declared  to  be  the  object  of  the  war  which  was  to  follow  upon  this 
treaty,  Charles  still  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  Germans  that  he  had  no 
design  to  abridge  their  religious  liberty,  but  that  he  aimed  only  at  vindi- 
cating his  own  authority,  and  repressing  the  insolence  of  such  as  had 
encroached  upon  it.  With  this  view,  he  wrote  circular  letters  in  the  same 
strain  with  his  answer  to  the  deputies  at  Ratisbon,  to  most  of  the  free  cities, 
and  to  several  of  the  princes  who  had  embraced  the  protestant  doctrines. 
In  these  he  complained  loudly,  but  in  general  terms,  of  the  contempt  into 
which  the  Imperial  dignity  had  fallen,  and  of  the  presumptuous  as  well  as 
disorderly  behaviour  of  some  members  of  the  empire.     He  declared  that 

* Sleid. 37K  fIUd.381.    PMUnrSSS.    Do  HbntOorpaDiplom.lt 


336  THE    REIGN    OF    THE         [Book  VIII. 

he  now  took  arms,  not  in  a  religious,  but  in  a  civil  quarrel ;  not  to  oppress 
any  who  continued  to  behave  as  quiet  and  dutiful  subjects,  but  to  humble 
the  arrogance  of  such  as  had  thrown  off  all  sense  of  that  subordination  in 
which  they  were  placed  under  him  as  head  of  the  Germanic  body.  Gross 
as  this  deception  was,  and  manifest  as  it  might  have  appeared  to  all  who 
considered  the  emperor's  conduct  with  attention,  it  became  necessary  lor 
him  to  make  trial  of  its  effect  ;  and  such  was  the  confidence  and  dexterity 
with  which  he  employed  it,  that  he  derived  the  most  solid  advantages  from 
this  artifice.  If  he  had  avowed  at  once  an  intention  of  overturning  the 
protestant  church,  and  of  reducing  all  Germany  under  its  former  state  of 
subjection  to  the  papal  see,  none  ol  the  cities  or  princes  who  had  embraced 
the  new  opinions  could  have  remained  neutral  after  such  a  declaration,  far 
less  could  they  have  ventured  to  assist  the  emperor  in  such  an  enterprise. 
Whereas  by  concealing,  and  even  disclaiming  any  intention  of  that  kind,  he 
not  only  saved  himself  from  the  danger  of  being  overwhelmed  by  a  general 
confederacy  of  all  the  protestant  states,  but  he  furnished  the  timid  with  an 
excuse  for  continuing  inactive,  and  the  designing  or  interested  with  a  pre- 
text for  joining  him,  without  exposing  themselves  to  the  infamy  of  aban- 
doning their  own  principles,  or.taking  part  openly  in  suppressing  them.  At 
the  same  time  the  emperor  well  knew,  that  if,  by  their  assistance,  he  were 
enabled  to  break  the  power  of  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  the  landgrave,  he 
might  afterwards  prescribe  what  terms  he  pleased  to  the  feeble  remains 
of  a  party  without  union,  and  destitute  of  leaders,  who  would  then  regret, 
too  late,  their  mistaken  confidence  in  him,  and  their  inconsiderate  desertion 
of  their  associates. 

The  pope,  by  a  sudden  and  unforeseen  display  of  his  zeal,  had  well 
nigh  disconcerted  this  plan  which  the  emperor  had  formed  with  so  much 
care  and  .art.  Proud  of  having  been  the  author  of  such  a  formidable  league 
against  the  Lutheran  heresy,  and  happy  in  thinking  that  the  glory  of  extir- 
pating it  was  reserved  for  his  pontificate,  he  published  the  articles  of  his 
treaty  with  the  emperor,  in  order  to  demonstrate  the  pious  intention  of 
their  confederacy,  as  well  as  to  display  his  own  zeal,  which  prompted  him 
to  make  such  extraordinary  efforts  for  maintaining  the  faith  in  its  purity. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  soon  "after  issued  a  bull,  containing  most  liberal 
promises  of  indulgence  to  all  who  should  engage  in  this  holy  enterprise, 
together  with  warm  exhortations  to  such  as  could  not  bear  a  part  in  it 
themselves,  to  increase  the  fervour  of  their  prayers,  and  the  severity  of 
their  mortifications,  that  they  might  draw  down  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
upon,  those  who  undertook  it.*  Nor  was  it  zeal  alone  which  pushed  the 
pope  to  make  declarations  so  inconsistent  with  the  account  which  the 
emperor  himself  gave  of  his  motives  for  taking  arms.  He  was  much  scan- 
dalized at  Charles's  dissimulation  in  such  a  cause  ;  at  his  seeming  to  be 
ashamed  of  owning  his  zeal  for  the  church,  and  at  his  endeavours  to  make 
that  pass  for  a  political  contest,  which  he  ought  to  have  gloried  in  as  a 
war  which  had  no  other  object  than  the  defence  of  religion.  With  as  much 
solicitude,  therefore,  as  the  emperor  laboured  to  disguise  the  purpose  of 
the  confederacy,  did  the  pope  endeavour  to  publish  their  real  plan,  in  order 
that  they  might  come  at  once  to  an  open  rupture  with  the  protestants,  that 
all  hope  of  reconcilement  might  be  cut  off,  and  that  Charles  might  be 
under  fewer  temptations,  and  have  it  less  in  his  power  than  at  present, 
to  betray  the  interest  of  the  church  by  any  accommodation  beneficial  to 
himself.f  - 

The  emperor,  though  not  a  little  offended  at  the  pope's  indiscretion  or 
malice  in  making  this  discovery,  continued  boldly  to  pursue  his  own  plan, 
and  to  assert  his  intentions  to  be  no  other  than  what  he  had  originally 
avowed.    Several  of  the  protestant  states,  whom  he  had  previously  gained. 

*  Ou  Mont  Corps  Diplom.        +  F.Panl.  188.  '  Tliuan.  Hist.  i.  81. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  \.  3S7 

thought  themselves  justified,  in  some  measure,  by  his  declarations,  for 
abandoning  their  associates,  and  even  forgiving  assistance  to  him. 

But  these  artifices  did  not  impose  on  the  greater  and  sounder  part  of  the 
protestant  confederates.  They  clearly  perceived  it  to  be  against  the 
reformed  religion  that  the  emperor  had  taken  arms,  and  that  not  only  the 
suppression  of  it,  but  the  extinction  of  the  German  liberties,  would  be  the 
certain  consequence  of  his  obtaining  such  an  entire  superiority  as  would 
enable  him  to  execute  his  schemes  in  their  full  extent.  They  determined, 
therefore,  to  prepare  for  their  own  defence,  and  neither  to  renounce  those 
religious  truths,  to  the  knowledge  of  which  they  had  attained  by  means  so 
wonderful,  nor  to  abandon  those  civil  rights  which  had  been  transmitted  to 
them  by  their  ancestors.  In  order  to  give  the  necessary  directions  for  this 
purpose,  their  deputies  met  at  Ulm,  soon  after  their  abrupt  departure 
from  Ratisbon.  Their  deliberations  were  now  conducted  with  such  vigour 
and  unanimity,  as  the  imminent  danger  which  threatened  them  required. 
The  contingent  of  troops,  which  each  of  the  confederates  was  to  furnish, 
having  been  fixed  by  the  original  treaty  of  union,  orders  were  given  for 
bringing  them  immediately  into  the  field.  Being  sensible,  at  last,  that 
through  the  narrow  prejudices  of  some  of  their  members,  and  the  impru- 
dent security  of  others,  they  had  neglected  too  long  to  strengthen  themselves 
by  foreign  alliances,  they  now  applied  with  great  earnestness  to  the  Vene- 
tians and  Swiss. 

To  the  Venetians  they  represented  the  emperor's  intention  of  overturning 
the  present  system  of  Germany,  and  of  raising  himself  to  absolute  power 
in  that  country  by  means  of  foreign  force  furnished  by  the  pope  ;  they 
warned  them  how  fatal  this  event  would  prove  to  the  liberties  of  Italy,  and 
that  by  suffering  Charles  to  acquire  unlimited  authority  in  the  one  country, 
they  would  soon  feel  his  dominion  to  be  no  less  despotic  in  the  other;  they 
besought  them,  therefore,  not  to  grant  a  passage  through  their  territories  to 
those  troops,  which  ought  to  be  treated  as  common  enemies,  because  by 
subduing  Germany  they  prepared  chains  for  the  rest  of  Europe.  These 
reflections  had  not  escaped  the  sagacity  of  those  wise  republicans.  They 
had  communicated  their  sentiments  to  the  pope,  and  had  endeavoured  to 
divert  him  from  an  alliance,  which  tended  to  render  irresistible  the  power 
of  a  potentate,  whose  ambition  he  already  knew  to  be  boundless.  But 
they  had  found  Paul  so  eager  in  the  prosecution  of  his  own  plan,  that  he 
disregarded  all  their  remonstrances.*  This  attempt  to  alarm  the  pope 
having  proved  unsuccessful,  they  declined  doing  any  thing  more  towards 
preventing  the  dangers  which  they  foresaw ;  and  in  return  to  the  applica- 
tion from  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde,  they  informed  them,  that  they 
could  not  obstruct  the  march  of  the  pope's  troops  through  an  open  country, 
but  by  levying  an  army  strong  enough  to  face  them  in  the  field ;  and  that 
this  would  draw  upon  themselves  the  whole  weight  of  his  as  well  as  of 
the  emperor's  indignation.  For  the  same  reason  Ihey  declined  lending  a 
sum  of  money,  which  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  proposed  to 
borrow  of  them,  towards  carrying  on  the  war.t 

The  demands  of  the  confederates  upon  the  Swiss  were  not  confined  to 
the  obstructing  of  the  entrance  of  foreigners  into  Germany;  they  required 
ot  them,  as  the  nearest  neighbours  and  closest  allies  of  the  empire,  to 
interpose  with  their  wonted  vigour  for  the  preservation  of  its  liberties,  and 
not  to  stand  as  inactive  spectators,  while  their  brethren  were  oppressed 
and  enslaved.  But  with  whatever  zeal  some  of  the  cantons  might  have 
been  disposed  to  act  when  the  cause  of  the  reformation  was  in  danger,  the 
Helvetic  body  was  so  divided  with  regard  to  religion,  as  to  render  it  unsafe 
for  the  protestants  to  take  any  step  without  consulting  their  catholic  asso- 

*  Adriani  Istorin  ili  snoi  Tempi,  Uv.  v.  p.  XV2.        t  SIpM.  331.    Taruta  Istor.  Vcnet.  torn.  iv.  180, 
Lamhertua  Hortenaiusde  Bello Gemumioo,  apud  9canKuin,vol.  'i  ;>.  .ht 
V,,r.   [{.— 43 


THE   REIGN  OF  THE         [Book  VIII 

dates  ;  and  among  them  the  emissaries  of  the  pope  and  emperor  had  such 
influence,  that  a  resolution  of  maintaining  an  exact  neutrality  between  the 
contending  parties  was  the  utmost  which  could  be  procured.* 

Being  disappointed  in  both  these  applications,  the  protestants,  not  long 
after,  had  recourse  to  the  kings  of  France  and  England ;  the  approach  of 
danger  either  overcoming  the  elector  of  Saxony's  scruples,  or  obliging  him 
to  yield  to  the  importunities  of  his  associates.  The  situation  of  the  two 
monarchs  flattered  them  with  hopes  of  success.  Though  hostilities  between 
them  had  continued  for  some  time  after  the  peace  of  Crespy,  they  became 
weary  at  last  of  a  war,  attended  with  no  glory  or  advantage  to  either,  and 
had  lately  terminated  all  their  differences  by  a  peace  concluded  at  Campe 
near  Ardres.  Francis  having  with  great  difficulty  procured  his  allies,  the 
Scots,  to  be  included  in  the  treaty,  in  return  tor  that  concession  he  engaged 
to  pay  a  great  sum  which  Henry  demanded  as  due  to  him  on  several 
accounts,  and  he  left  Boulogne  in  the  hands  of  the  English  as  a  pledge  for 
his  faithful  performance  of  that  article.  But  though  the  re-establishment 
of  peace  seemed  to  leave  the  two  monarchs  at  liberty  to  turn  their  atten- 
tion towards  Germany,  so  unfortunate  were  the  protestants,  that  they 
derived  no  immediate  advantage  from  this  circumstance.  Henry  appeared 
unwilling  to  enter  into  any  alliance  with  them,  but  on  such  conditions  as 
would  render  him  not  only  the  head,  but  the  supreme  director  of  their 
league  ;  a  pre-eminence  which,  as  the  bonds  of  union  or  interest  between 
them  were  but  feeble,  and  as  he  differed  from  them  so  widely  in  his  reli- 
gious sentiments,  they  had  no  inclination  to  admit. t  Francis,  more  power- 
fully inclined  by  political  considerations  to  afford  them  assistance,  found 
his  kingdom  so  much  exhausted  by  a  long  war,  and  was  so  much  afraid 
of  irritating  the  pope,  by  entering  into  close  union  with  excommunicated 
heretics,  that  he  durst  not  undertake  the  protection  of  the  Smalkaldic 
league.  By  this  ill-timed  caution,  or  by  a  superstitious  deference  to  scruples, 
to  which  at  other  times  he  was  not  much  addicted,  he  lost  the  most 
promising  opportunity  of  mortifying  and  distressing  his  rival,  which  pre- 
sented itself  during  his  whole  reign. 

But,  notwithstanding  their  ill  success  in  their  negotiations  with  foreign 
courts,  the  confederates  found  no  difficulty  at  home,  in  bringing  a  sufficient 
force  into  the  field.  Germany  abounded  at  that  time  with  inhabitants ; 
the  feudal  institutions,  which  subsisted  in  full  force,  enabled  the  nobles  to 
call  out  their  numerous  vassals,  and  to  put  them  in  motion  on  the  shortest 
warning ;  the  martial  spirit  of  the  Germans,  not  broken  or  enervated  by  the 
introduction  of  commerce  and  arts,  had  acquired  additional  vigour  during 
the  continual  wars  in  which  they  had  been  employed,  for  half  a  century, 
either  in  the  pay  of  the  emperors  or  the  kings  of  I  ranee.  Upon  every  op- 
portunity of  entering  into  service,  they  were  accustomed  to  run  eagerly  to 
arms  ;  and  to  every  standard  that  was  erected,  volunteers  flocked  from  all 
quarters.J  Zeal  seconded,  on  this  occasion,  their  native  ardour.  Men  on 
whom  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation  had  made  that  deep  impression 
which  accompanies  truth  when  first  discovered,  prepared  to  maintain  it 
with  proportional  vigour  ;  and  among  a  warlike  people  it  appeared  infa- 
mous to  remain  inactive,  when  the  defence  of  religion  was  the  motive  for 
taking  arms.  Accident  combined  with  all  these  circumstances  in  facili- 
tating the  levy  of  soldiers  among  the  confederates.  A  considerable  number 
of  Germans  in  the  pay  of  France,  being  dismissed  by  the  king  on  the  pros- 
pect of  peace  with  England,  joined  in  a  body  the  standard  of  the  pro- 
testants. J  By  such  a  concurrence  of  causes,  they  were  enabled  to  assemble 
in  a  few  weeks  an  army  composed  of  seventy  thousand  foot  and  fifteen 
thousand  horse,  provided  with  a  train  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  cannon, 
fight  hundred  ammunition  wagons,  eight  thousand  beasts  of  burden,  and 

*  Sleid.  802.       \  Eynier.  xv.  93.    Her^rt.  858.  i  Secfc.  1.  iii.  101 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V  339 

sis  thousand  pioneers.*  This  army,  one  of  the  most  numerous,  and  un- 
doubtedly the  best  appointed,  of  any  which  had  been  levied  in  Europe 
during  that  century,  did  not  require  Ihe  united  effort  of  the  whole  protestant 
body  to  raise  it.  The  elector  of  Saxony,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  duke 
of  YVurtemberg,  the  princes  of  Auhalt,  and  the  Imperial  cities  of  Augsburg, 
Ulm,  and  Strasburg,  wrere  the  only  powers  which  contributed  towards  this 
great  armament :  the  electors  of  Cologne,  of  Brandenburg,  and  the  count 
Palatine,  overawed  by  the  emperor's  threats,  or  deceived  by  his  professions, 
remained  neuter.  John  marquis  of  Brandenburg  Bareith,  and  Albert  of 
Brandenburg  Anspach,  though  both  early  converts)  to  Lutheranism,  entered 
openly  into  the  emperor's  service,  under  pretext  of  having^  obtained  his 
promise  for  the  security  of  the  protestant  religion  ;  and  Maurice  of  Saxony 
soon  followed  their  example. 

The  number  of  their  troops,  as  well  as  the  amazing  rapidity  wherewith 
they  had  assembled  them,  astonished  the  emperor,  and  filled  him  with  the 
most  disquieting  apprehensions.  He  was,  indeed,  in  no  condition  to  resist 
such  a  mighty  force.  Shut  up  in  Ratisbon,  a  town  of  no  great  strength, 
whose  inhabitants,  being  mostly  Lutherans,  would  have  been  more  ready 
to  betray  than  to  assist  him,  with  only  three  thousand  Spanish  foot,  who 
had  served  in  Hungary,  and  about  five  thousand  Germans  who  had  joined 
him  from  different  parts  of  the  empire,  he  must  have  been  overwhelmed 
by  the  approach  of  such  a  formidable  army,  which  he  could  not  fight,  nor 
could  he  even  hope  to  retreat  from  it  in  safety.  The  pope's  troops,  though 
in  full  march  to  his  relief,  had  hardly  reached  the  frontiers  of  German}' ;  the 
forces  which  he  expected  from  the  Low-Countries  had  not  yet  begun  to 
move,  and  were  even  far  from  being  complete.!  His  situation,  however, 
called  for  more  immediate  succour,  nor  did  it  seem  practicable  for  him  to 
wait  for  such  distant  auxiliaries,  with  whom  his  junction  was  so  precarious. 

But  it  happened  fortunately  for  Charles,  that  the  confederates  did  not 
avail  themselves  of  the  advantage  which  lay  so  full  in  their  view.  In  civil 
wars,  the  first  steps  are  commonly  taken  with  much  timidity  and  hesitation. 
Men  are  solicitous,  at  that  time,  to  put  on  the  semblance  of  moderation  and 
equity  ;  they  strive  to  gain  partisans  by  seeming  to  adhere  strictly  to 
known  forms ;  nor  can  they  be  brought,  at  once,  to  violate  those  established 
institutions,  which  in  times  of  tranquillity  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
reverence  ;  hence  their  proceedings  are  often  feeble  or  dilatory,  when  they 
ought  to  be  most  vigorous  and  decisive.  Influenced  by  those  considera- 
tions, which,  happily  for  the  peace  of  society,  operate  powerfully  on  the 
human  mind,  the  confederates  could  not  think  of  throwing  off  that  allegiance 
which  they  owed  to  the  head  of  the  empire,  or  of  turning  their  arms  against 
him  without  one  solemn  appeal  more  to  his  candour,  and  to  the  impartial 
judgment  of  their  fellow-subjects.  For  this  purpose,  they  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  emperor  [July  15],  and  a  manifesto  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Germany.  The  tenor  of  both  was  the  same.  They  represented  their  own 
conduct  with  regard  to  civil  affairs  as  dutiful  and  submissive  ;  they  men- 
tioned the  inviolable  union  in  which  they  had  lived  with  the  emperor,  as 
well  as  the  many  and  recent  marks  of  his  good-will  and  gratitude  where- 
withal they  had  been  honoured  ;  they  asserted  religion  to  be  the  sole  cause 
oi  the  violence  which  the  emperor  now  meditated  against  them  ;  and  in 
proof  of  this  produced  many  arguments  to  convince  those  who  were  so 
weak  as  to  be  deceived  by  those  artifices  with  which  he  endeavoured  to 
cover  his  real  intentions;  they  declared  their  own  resolution  to  risk  every 
thing  in  maintenance  of  their  religious  rights,  and  foretold  the  dissolution 
of  the  German  constitution,  if  the  emperor  should  finally  prevail  against 
them.  J 

*  Thuan.  1.  i.  601.  Ludovici  ab  Avila  et  Zuniga  Corumciuariorum  de  Bel.  Germ.  lib.  duo,  Antvr. 
1360,  12mo.  r>.  13,  a.  fSleid.389.    Avila,  8,  fr.  }  Sleid.  384. 


J40  T  H  E   R  E 1 G  N   O  F    T  H  E         [Book  V 111. 

Charles,  though  in  such  a  perilous  situation  as  might  have  inspired  hini 
with  moderate  sentiments,  appeared  as  inflexible  and  haughty  as  it  his  affairs 
had  been  in  the  most  prosperous  state.  His  only  reply  to  the  address  and 
manifesto  of  the  protestants,  was  to  publish  the  ban  of  the  empire  [July 
20],  against  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of  Hesse,  their  leaders, 
and  against  all  who  should  dare  to  assist  them.  By  this  sentence,  the 
ultimate  and  most  rigorous  one  which  the  German  jurisprudence. has  pro- 
vided for  the  punishment  of  traitors,  or  enemies  to  their  country,  they  were 
declared  rebels  and  outlaws,  and  deprived  of  every  privilege  which  they 
enjoyed  as  members  of  the  Germanic  body;  their  goods  were  confiscated  ; 
their  subjects  absolved  from  their  oath  of  allegiance  ;  and  it  became  not 
only  lawful  but  meritorious  to  invade  their  territories.  The  nobles,  and 
free  cities,  who  framed  or  perfected  the  constitution  of  the  German  govern- 
ment, had  not  been  so  negligent  of  their  own  salety  and  privileges  as  to 
trust  the  emperor  with  this  formidable  jurisdiction.  The  authority  of  a  diet 
of  the  empire  ought  to  have  been  interposed  before  any  of  its  members 
could  be  put  under  the  ban.  But  Charles  overlooked  that  formality,  weli 
knowing  that,  if  his  arms  were  crowned  with  success,  there  would  remain 
none  who  would  have  either  power  or  courage  to  call  in  question  what  ho 
had  done.*  The  emperor,  however,  did  not  found  his  sentence  against  the 
elector  and  landgrave  on  their  revolt  from  the  established  church,  or  their 
conduct  with  regard  to  religion  ;  he  affected  to  assign  for  it  reasons  purely 
civil,  and  those  too  expressed  in  such  general  and  ambiguous  terms,  without 
specifying  the  nature  or  circumstances  of  their  guilt,  as  rendered  it  more 
like  an  act  of  despotic  power  than  of  a  legal  and  limited  jurisdiction.  Nov 
was  it  altogether  from  choice,  or  to  conceal  his  intentions,  that  Charles  had 
recourse  to  the  ambiguity  of  general  expressions  ;  but  he  durst  not  mention 
too  particularly  the  causes  of  his  sentence,  as  every  action  which  he  could 
have  charged  upon  the  elector  and  landgrave  as  a  crime,  might  have  been 
employed  with  equal  justice  to  condemn  many  of  the  protestants  whom 
he  still  pretended  to  consider  as  faithful  subjects,  and  whom  it  would  have 
been  extremely  imprudent  to  alarm  or  disgust. 

The  confederates,  now  perceiving  all  hopes  of  accommodation  to  be  at 
nn  end,  had  only  to  choose  whether  they  would  submit  without  reserve  to 
the  emperor's  will,  or  proceed  to  open  hostilities.  They  were  not  desti- 
tute either  of  public  spirit,  or  of  resolution  to  make  the  proper  choice.  A 
few  days  after  the  ban  of  the  empire  was  published,  they,  according  to 
the  custom  of  that  age,  sent  a  herald  to  the  Imperial  camp,  with  a  solemn 
declaration  of  war  against  Charles,  to  whom  they  no  longer  gave  any  other 
title  than  that  of  pretended  emperor,  and  renounced  all  allegiance,  homage, 
or  duty  which  he  might  claim,  or  which  they  had  hitherto  yielded  to  him. 
But  previous  to  this  formality,  part  of  their  troops  had  begun  to  act.  The 
command  of  a  considerable  body  of  men  raised  by  the  city  of  Augsburg 
having  been  given  to  Sebastian  Schertel,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  who,  by  the 
booty  that  he  had  got  when  the  Imperialists  plundered  Rome,  together 
w  ilh  the  merit  of  long  service,  bad  acquired  wealth  and  authority  which 
placed  him  on  a  level  with  the  chief  of  the  German  nobles :  that  gallant 
veteran  resolved,  before  he  joined  the  main  body  of  the  confederates,  to 
attempt  something  suitable  to  his  former  fame,  and  to  the  expectation  of 
bis  countrymen.  As  the  pope's  forces  were  hastening  towards  Tyrol,  in 
order  to  penetrate  into  Germany  by  the  narrow  passes  through  the  moun- 
tains which  run  across  that  country,  he  advanced  thither  with  the  utmost 
rapidity,  and  seized  Ehrenberg  and  Cuffstein,  two  strong  castles  which 
commanded  the  principal  defiles.  Without  stopping  a  moment,  he  con- 
tinued his  march  towards  Inspruck,  by  getting  possession  of  which  hi 
would  have  obliged  the  Italians  to  stop  short,  and  with  a  small  body  of 

"'396.  Pu  Mont  Corps  Diplom.iv.n  .11.314.  Pfeffel  Hist  Afaregddu  Droit  FuH 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  341 

men  could  have  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the  greatest  armies.  Castlealto, 
the  governor  of  Trent,  knowing  what  a  fatal  blow  this  would  be  to  the 
emperor,  all  whose  designs  must  have  proved  abortive  if  his  Italian  aux- 
iliaries had  been  intercepted,  raised  a  few  troops  with  the  utmost  despatch, 
and  threw  himself  into  the  town.  Schertel,  however,  did  not  ahandon  the 
enterprise,  and  was  preparing  to  attack  the  place,  when  the  intelligence 
of  the  approach  of  the  Italians,  and  an  order  from  the  elector  and  land- 
grave, obliged  him  to  desist.  By  his  retreat  the  passes  were  left  open, 
and  the  Italians  entered  Germany  without  any  opposition,  but  from  the  gar- 
risons which  Schertel  had  placed  in  Ehrenberg  and  Cuffstein,  and  these, 
having  no  hopes  of  being  relieved,  surrendered,  after  a  short  resistance.* 

Nor  was  the  recalling  of  Schertel  the  only  error  of  which  the  confede- 
rates were  guilty.  As  the  supreme  command  of  their  army  was  committed, 
in  terms  of  the  league  of  Smalkalde,  to  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave 
of  Hesse  with  equal  power,  all  the  inconveniences  arising  from  a  divided 
and  co-ordinate  authority,  which  is  always  of  fatal  consequence  in  the 
operations  of  war,  were  immediately  felt.  The  elector,  though  intrepid 
in  his  own  person  to  excess,  and  most  ardently  zealous  in  the  cause,  was 
slow  in  deliberating,  uncertain  as  well  as  irresolute  in  his  determinations, 
and  constantly  preterred  measures  which  were  cautious  and  safe,  to  such 
as  were  bold  or  decisive.  The  landgrave,  of  a  more  active  and  enter- 
prising nature,  formed  ail  his  resolutions  with  promptitude,  wished  to 
execute  them  with  spirit,  and  uniformly  preferred  such  measures  as  tended 
to  bring  the  contest  to  a  speedy  issue.  Thus  their  maxims,  with  regard 
to  the  conduct  of  the  war,  differed  as  widely  as  those  by  which  they 
were  influenced  in  preparing  for  it.  Such  perpetual  contrariety  in  their 
sentiments  gave  rise,  imperceptibly,  to  jealousy  and  the  spirit  of  contention. 
These  multiplied  the  dissensions  flowing  from  the  incompatibility  of  their 
natural  tempers,  and  rendered  them  more  violent.  The  other  members  of 
the  league  considering  themselves  as  independent,  and  subject  to  the 
elector  and  landgrave,  only  in  consequence  of  the  articles  of  a  voluntary 
confederacy,  did  not  long  retain  a  proper  veneration  for  commanders  who 
proceeded  with  so  little  concord  ;  and  the  numerous  army  of  the  protes- 
tants,  like  a  vast  machine  whose  parts  are  ill  compacted,  and  which  is 
destitute  of  any  power  sufficient  to  move  arid  regulate  the  whole,  acted 
with  no  consistency,  vigour,  or  effect. 

The  emperor,  who  was  afraid  that,  by  remaining  at  Ratisbon,  he  might 
render  it  impossible  for  the  pope's  forces  to  join  him,  having  boldly 
advanced  to  Landshut  on  the  Iser,  the  confederates  lost  some  days  in 
deliberating  whether  it  was  proper  to  follow  him  into  the  territories  of  the 
duke  of  Bavaria,  a  neutral  prince.  When  at  last  they  surmounted  that 
scruple,  and  began  to  move  towards  his  camp,  they  suddenly  abandoned 
the  design,  and  "hastened  to  attack  Ratisbon,  in  which  town  Charles  could 
leave  only  a  small  garrison.  By  this  time  the  papal  troops,  amounting 
fully  to  that  number  which  Paul  had  stipulated  to  furnish,  had  reached 
Landshut,  and  were  soon  followed  by  six  thousand  Spaniards  of  the  veteran 
band  stationed  in  Naples.  The  confederates,  after  Schertel's  spirited  but 
fruitless  expedition,  seem  to  have  permitted  these  forces  to  advance  unmo- 
lested to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  without  any  attempt  to  attack  either 

*  Seckend.  lib.  ii.  70.  Adriani  Istoria  d\  suoi  Tempi,  lib.  3115.  Seckendorf,  the  industrious 
author  of  the  Commentarius  Apoioceticu*  de  Lutueranismo,  whom  I  have  so  long  and  safely  fol. 
lowed  as  my  guide  in  German  affairs,  was  a  descendant  from  Schertel  With  the  care  and  solici- 
tude of  a  German,  who  was  bimmlr'of  noble  birth,  Seckendorf  lias  published  a  long  digression 
concerning  his  ancestor,  calculated  chiefly  to  show  how  Schertel  waa  ennobled,  and  bis  posterity 
allied  to  many  of  the  most  ancient  families  in  the  empire.  Among  other  curious  particulars,  ho 
gives  us  an  account  of  his  wealth,  tbe  chief  BOUrceof  winch  was  (he  plunder  he  got  at  Rome.  His 
landed^state  alone  was  sold  by  Mis  grandsons  for  six  hundred  thousand  florins,  liy  this  we  may 
form  some  idea  of  the  riches  amassed  by  the  Condottieri,  or  commanders  of  mercenary  bands  in 
that  aw.     At  the  taking  of  Rome.  Schertel  was  only  a  captain.     Seckend.  lib  ii.  7:t. 


342  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  VTli. 

them  or  the  emperor  separately,  or  to  prevent  their  junction.*  The  Impe- 
rial army  amounted  now  to  thirty-six  thousand  men,  and  was  -till  more 
formidable  by  the  discipline  and  valour  of  the  troops,  than  by  their  num- 
ber. Avila,  a  commendator  of  Alcantara,  who  had  been  present  in  all  the 
wars  carried  on  by  Charles,  and  had  served  in  the  armies  which  gained 
the  memorable  victory  at  Pavia,  which  conquered  Tunis,  and  invaded 
France,  gives  this  the  preference  to  any  military  force  he  had  ever  seen 
assembled.!  Octavio  Farnese,  the  pope's  grandson,  assisted  by  the  ablest 
officers  formed  in.the  long  wars  between  Charles  and  Francis,commanded 
the  Italian  auxiliaries.  His  brother,  the  cardinal  Farnese,  accompanied 
him  as  a  papal  legate  ;  and  in  order  to  give  the  war  the  appearance  of  a 
religious  enterprise,  he  proposed  to  march  at  the  head  of  the  army,  with 
a  cross  carried  before  him,  and  to  publish  indulgences  wherever  he  came. 
to  all  who  should  give  them  any  assistance,  as  had  anciently  been  the 
practice  in  the  crusades  against  the  infidels.  But  this  the  emperor  strictly 
prohibited,  as  inconsistent  with  all  the  declarations  which  he  had  made  to 
the  Germans  of  his  own  party;  and  the  legate  perceiving,  to  his  astonish- 
ment, that  the  exercise  of  the  protestant  religion,  the  extirpation  of  which 
he  considered  as  the  sole  object  of  the  war,  was  publicly  permitted  in 
the  Imperial  camp,  soon  returned  in  disgust  to  Italy. J 

The  arrival  of  these  troops  enabled  the  emperor  to  send  such  a  rein- 
forcement to  the  garrison  at  Ratisbon,  that  the  confederates,  relinquishing 
all  hopes  of  reducing  that  town,  marched  towards  Ingoldstadt  on  the 
Danube,  near  to  which  Charles  was  now  encamped.  They  exclaimed 
loudly  against  the  emperor's  notorious  violation  of  the  laws  and  constitu- 
tion of  the  empire,  in  having  called  in  foreigners  to  lay  waste  Germany, 
and  to  oppress  its  liberties.  As,  in  that  age,  the  dominion  of  the  Roman 
see  was  so  odious  to  the  protestants,  that  the  name  of  the  pope  alone  was 
sufficient  to  inspire  them  with  horror  at  any  enterprise  which  he  counte- 
nanced, and  to  raise  in  their  minds  the  blackest  suspicions,  it  came  to  be 
universally  believed  among  them,  that  Paul,  not  satisfied  with  attacking 
them  openly  by  force  of  arms,  had  dispersed  his  emissaries  all  over  Ger- 
many, to  set  on  fire  their  towns  and  magazines,  and  to  poison  the  wells 
and  fountains  of  water.  Nor  did  this  rumour,  which  was  extravagant  and 
frightful  enough  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  the  credulity  of  the  vulgar, 
spread  among  them  only;  even  the  leaders  of  the  party,  blinded  by  their 
prejudices,  published  a  declaration,  in  which  they  accused  the  pope  of 
having  employed  such  antichristian  and  diabolical  arts  against  them.§ 
These  sentiments  of  the  confederates  were  confirmed,  in  some  measure", 
by  the  behaviour  of  the  papal  troops,  who,  thinking  nothing  too  rigorous 
towards  heretics  anathematized  by  the  church,  were  guilty  of  great 
excesses  in  the  territories  of  the  Lutheran  states,  and  aggravated  the 
calamities  of  war,  by  mingling  with  it  all  the  cruelty  of  bigoted  zeal. 

The  first  operations  in  the  field,  however,  did  not  correspond  with  the 
violence  of  those  passions  which  animated  individuals.  The  emperor  had 
prudently  taken  the  resolution  of  avoiding  an  action  with  an  army  so  far 
superior  in  number,||  especially  as  he  foresaw  that  nothing  could  keep  a 
body  composed  of  so  many  and  such  dissimilar  members  "from  falling  to 
pieces,  but  the  pressing  to  attack  it  with  an  inconsiderate  precipitancy. 
The  confederates,  though  it  was  no  less  evident  that  to  them  every 
moment's  delay  was  pernicious,  were  still  prevented  by  the  weakness  or 
division  of  their  leaders  from  exerting  that  vigour,  with  which  their  situa- 
tion, as  well  as  the  ardour  of  their  soldiers,  ought  to  have  inspired  them. 
On  their  arrival  at  Ingoldstadt  [Aug.  29],  they  found  the  emperor  in  a 
camp  not  remarkable  for  strength,  and  surrounded  only  by  a  slight  entrench- 

*  Adriani  Iatoria  <li  suoi  Tempi,  lib.  v.  340.  t  Avila.  IP.  *  F  Paul.  191.  <S  Sleid, 

399.  |!  Avila,  78,  a 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  \.  343 

iijent.  Before  the  camp  lay  a  plain  of  such  extent,  as  afforded  sufficient 
space  for  drawing  out  the  whole  army,  and  bringing  it  to  act  at  once.  Eveiy 
consideration  should  have  determined  them  to  have  seized  this  opportunity 
of  attacking  the  emperor ;  and  their  great  superiority  in  numbers,  the 
eagerness  of  their  troops,  together  with  the  stability  of  the  German  infantry 
in  pitched  battles,  afforded  them  the  most  probable  expectation  of  victory. 
The  land  have  urged  this  with  great  warmth,  declaring  that  if  the  sole 
command  were  vested  in  him,  he  would  terminate  the  war  on  that  occa- 
sion, and  decide  by  one  general  action  the  fate  of  the  two  parties.  But 
the  elector,  reflecting  on  the  valour  and  discipline  of  the  enemy's  forces, 
animated  by  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  and  conducted  by  the  best 
officers  of  the  age,  would  not  venture  upon  an  action,  which  he  thought 
to  be  so  doubtful,  as  the  attacking  such  a  body  of  veterans  on  ground 
which  they  themselves  had  chosen,  and  while  covered  by  fortifications 
which,  though  imperfect,  would  afford  them  no  small  advantage  in  the 
combat.  Notwithstanding  his  hesitation  and  remonstrances,  it  was  agreed 
to  advance  towards  the  enemy's  camp  in  battle  array,  in  order  to  make  a 
trial  whether  by  that  insult,  and  by  a  turious  cannonade  which  they  began, 
they  could  draw  the  Imperialists  out  of  their  works.  But  the  emperor 
had  too  much  sagacity  to  fall  into  this  snare.  He  adhered  to  his  own 
system  with  inflexible  constancy  ;  and  drawing  up  his  soldiers  behind  their 
trenches,  that  they  might  be  ready  to  receive  the  confederates  if  they 
should  venture  upon  an  assault,  calmly  waited  their  approach,  and  care- 
fully restrained  his  own  men  from  any  excursions  or  skirmishes  which 
might  bring  on  a  general  engagement.  Meanwhile  he  rode  along  the  lines, 
and  addressing  the  troops  of  the  different  nations  in  their  own  language, 
encouraged  them  not  only  by  his  words,  but  by  the  cheerfulness  of  his 
voice  and  countenance  ;  he  exposed  himself  in  places  of  the  greatest 
danger,  and  amidst  the  warmest  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery,  the  most 
numerous  that  had  hitherto  been  brought  into  the  field  by  any  army. 
Roused  by  his  example,  not  a  man  quitted  his  ranks  ;  it  was  thought 
infamous  to  discover  any  symptom  of  fear  when  the  emperor  appeared  so 
intrepid  ;  and  the  meanest  soldier  plainly  perceived,  that  their  declining 
the  combat  at  present  was  not  the  effect  of  timidity  in  their  general,  but 
the  result  of  a  well-grounded  caution.  The  confederates,  after  firing 
several  hours  on  the  Imperialists,  with  more  noise  and  terror  than  execu- 
tion, seeing  no  prospect  of  alluring  them  to  fight  on  equal  terms,  retired  to 
their  own  camp.  The  emperor  employed  the  night  with  such  diligence  in 
strengthening  his  works,  that  the  confederates,  returning  to  the  cannonade 
next  day,  found  that,  though  they  had  now  been  willing  to  venture  upon 
such  a  bold  experiment,  the  opportunity  of  making  an  attack  with  advan- 
tage was  lost.* 

After  such  a  discovery  of  the  feebleness  or  irresolution  of  their  leaders, 
and  the  prudence  as  well  as  firmness  of  the  emperor's  conduct,  the  con- 
federates turned  their  whole  attention  towards  preventing  the  arrival  of  a 
powerful  reinforcement  often  thousand  foot,  and  four  thousand  horse,  which 
the  count  de  Buren  was  bringing  to  the  emperor  from  the  Low-Countries. 
But  though  that  general  had  to  traverse  such  an  extent  of  country ;  though 
his  route  lay  through  the  territories  of  several  states  warmly  disposed  to 
favour  the  confederates;  though  they  were  apprised  of  his  approach,  and 
by  their  superiority  in  numbers  might  easily  have  detached  a  tbrce  suffi- 
cient to  overpower  him,  he  advanced  with  such  rapidity,  and  by  such  well 
concerted  movements,  while  they  opposed  him  with  such  remissness,  and 
so  little  military  skill,  that  he  conducted  this  body  to  the  Imperial  camp 
without  any  loss.t  [Sept.  10.] 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  Flemings,  in  whom  he  placed  great  confidence, 

«■ 
•  J» lokt.  395. 397.    Avila,  27.  a.    Lamb.  Hortens.  op.  Seard.  ii,  t  Sleid.  403. 


344  THE   REIGN  OF   T  H E  [Book  VIII. 

the  emperor  altered,  in  some  degree,  his  plan  of  operations,  and  began  to 
act  more  upon  the  offensive,  though  he  still  avoided  a  battle  with  the  utmost 
industry.  He  made  himself  master  of  Neuburg,  Dillingen,  and  Donawert 
on  the  Danube ;  of  Nordlingen,  and  several  other  towns,  situated  on  the 
most  considerable  streams  which  fall  into  that  mighty  river.  By  this  he 
got  the  command  of  a  great  extent  of  country,  though  not  without  being 
obliged  to  engage  in  several  sharp  encounters,  of  which  the  success  was 
various,  nor  without  being  exposed  oftener  than  once,  to  the  danger  of 
being  drawn  into  a  battle.  In  this  manner  the  whole  autumn  was  spent ; 
neither  party  gained  any  remarkable  superiority  over  the  other,  and 
nothing  was  yet  done  towards  bringing  the  war  to  a  period.  The  emperor 
had  often  foretold,  with  confidence,  that  discord  and  the  want  of  money 
would  compel  the  confederates  to  disperse  that  unwieldy  body,  which 
they  had  neither  abilities  to  guide,  nor  funds  to  support.*  Though  he 
waited  with  impatience  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  prediction,  there 
was  no  prospect  of  that  event  being  at  hand.  But  he  himself  began  to 
suffer  from  the  want  of  forage  and  provisions  ;  even  the  catholic  provinces 
being  so  much  incensed  at  the  introduction  of  foreigners  into  the,  empire, 
that  they  furnished  them  with  reluctance,  while  the  camp  of  the  confede- 
rates abounded  with  a  profusion  of  all  necessaries,  which  the  zeal  of  their 
friends  in  the  adjacent  countries  poured  in  with  the  utmost  liberality  and 
good-will.  Great  numbers  of  the  Italians  and  Spaniards,  unaccustomed 
to  the  food  or  climate  of  Germany,  were  become  unfit  for  service  through 
sickness.j  Considerable  arrears  were  now  due  to  the  troops,  who  had 
scarcely  received  any  money  since  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  ;  the 
emperor,  experiencing  on  this,  as  well  as  on  former  occasions,  that  his 
jurisdiction  was  more  extensive  than  his  revenues,  and  that  the  former 
enabled  him  to  assemble  a  greater  number  of  soldiers,  than  the  latter  were 
sufficient  to  support.  Upon  all  these  accounts,  he  found  it  difficult  to 
keep  his  army  in  the  field  ;  some  of  his  ablest  generals,  and  even  the  duke 
of  Alva  himself,  persevering  and  obstinate  as  he  usually  was  in  the  pro- 
secution of  every  measure,  advising  him  to  disperse  his  troops  into  winter 
quarters.  But  as  the  arguments-against  any  plan  which  he  had  adopted, 
rarely  made  much  impression  upon  the  emperor,  he  paid  no  regard  to  their 
opinion,  and  determined  to  continue  his  efforts  in  order  to  weary  out  the 
confederates  ;  being  well  assured  that  if  he  could  once  oblige  them  to 
separate,  there  was  little  probability  of  their  uniting  again  in  a  body  .J 
Still,  however,  it  remained  a  doubtful  point,  whether  his  steadiness  was 
most  likely  to  fail,  or  their  zeal  to  be  exhausted.  It  was  still  uncertain 
which  party,  by  first  dividing  its  forces,  wuold  give  the  superiority  to  the 
other  ;  when  an  unexpected  event  decided  the  contest,  and  occasioned  a 
fatal  reverse  in  the  affairs  of  the  confederates. 

Maurice  of  Saxony  having  insinuated  himself  into  the  emperor's  confi- 
dence, by  the  arts  which  have  already  been  described,  no  sooner  saw  hos- 
tilities ready  to  break  out  between  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde  and  that 
monarch,  than  vast  prospects  of  ambition  began  to  open  upon  him.  That 
portion  of  Saxony,  which  descended  to  him  by  his  ancestors,  was  far  from 
satisfying  his  aspiring  mind  ;  and  he  perceived  with  pleasure  the  approach 
of  civil  war,  as,  amidst  the  revolutions  and  convulsions  occasioned  by  it, 
opportunities  of  acquiring  additional  power  or  dignity,  which  at  other 
times  are  sought  in  vain,  present  themselves  to  an  enterprising  spirit.  As 
he  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  two  contending  parties, 
and  the  qualities  of  their  leaders,  he  did  not  hesitate  long  in  determining 
on  which  side  the  greatest  advantages  were  to  be  expected.  Having 
revolved  all  these  things  in  his  own  breast,  and  having  taken  his  final  reso- 

*  Belli  Sinalkaldici  Commentarius  Grxco  germone  scrintus  a  Joach.  Camerario,  ap.  Frcherum, 
vol.  iii.  p.  479.  t  Camerar.  ap.  Freher.  48:t.  i  Thuan.  83. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  345 

iution  of  joining  the  emperor,  he  prudently  determined  to  declare  early  in 
his  favour ;  that  by  the  merit  of  this,  he  might  acquire  a  title  to  a  propor- 
lional  recompense.  With  this  view,  he  had  repaired  to  Ratisbon  in  the 
month  of  May,  under  pretext  of  attending  the  diet ;  and  after  many  con- 
ferences with  Charles  or  his  ministers,  he,  with  the  most  mysterious  secrecy, 
concluded  a  treaty,  in  which  he  engaged  to  concur  in  assisting  the  emperor, 
as  a  faithful  subject ;  and  Charles,  in  return,  stipulated  to  bestow  on  him 
all  the  spoils  of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  his  dignities  as  well  as  territories.* 
History  hardly  records  any  treaty  that  can  be  considered  as  a  more  mani- 
fest violation  of  the  most  powerful  principles  which  ought  to  influence 
human  actions.  Maurice,  a  professed  protestant,  at  a  time  when  the  belief 
of  religion,  as  well  as  zeal  for  its  interests,  took  strong  possession  of  every 
mind,  binds  himself  to  contribute  bis  assistance  towards  carrying  on  a  war 
which  had  manifestly  no  other  object  than  the  extirpation  gf  the  protestant 
doctrines.  He  engages  to  take  arms  against  his  father-in-law,  and  to  strip 
his  nearest  relation  of  his  honours  and  dominions.  He  joins  a  dubious 
friend  against  a  known  benefactor,  to  whom  his  obligations  were  both 
great  and  recent.  Nor  was  the  prince  who  ventured  upon  all  this,  one  of 
those  audacious  politicians,  who,  provided  they  can  accomplish  their  ends, 
and  secure  their  interest,  avowedly  disregard  the  most  sacred  obligations, 
and  glory  in  contemning  whatever  is  honourable  or  decent.  Maurice's 
conduct,  if  the  whole  must  be  ascribed  to  policy,  was  more  artful  and  mas- 
terly ;  he  executed  his  plan  in  all  its  parts,  and  yet  endeavoured  to  pre- 
serve, in  every  step  which  he  took,  the  appearance  of  what  was  fair,  and 
virtuous,  and  laudable.  It  is  probable,  from  his  subsequent  behaviour, 
that,  with  regard  to  the  protestant  religion  at  least,  his  intentions  were 
upright,  that  he  fondly  trusted  to  the  emperor's  promises  for  its  security, 
but  that,  according  to  the  fate  of  all  who  refine  too  much  in  policy,  and 
who  tread  in  dark  and  crooked  paths  in  attempting  to  deceive  others,  he 
himself  was,  in  some  degree,  deceived. 

His  first  care, 'however,  was  to  keep  the  engagements  into  which  he 
had  entered  with  the  emperor  closely  concealed :  and  so  perfect  a  master 
was  he  in  the  art  of  dissimulation,  that  the  confederates,  notwithstanding 
his  declining  all  connections  with  them,  and  his  remarkable  assiduity  in 
paying  court  to  the  emperor,  seemed  to  have  entertained  no  suspicion  of 
his  designs.  Even  the  elector  of  Saxony,  when  he  marched  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  campaign  to  join  his  associates,  committed  his  dominions  to 
Maurice's  protection,  which  he,  with  an  insidious  appearance  of  friend- 
ship, readily  undertook.!  But  scarcely  had  the  elector  taken  the  field, 
when  Maurice  began  to  consult  privately  with  the  king  of  the  Romans 
how  to  invade  those  very  territories,  with  the  defence  of  which  he  was 
intrusted.  Soon  after,  the  emperor  sent  him  a  copy  of  the  Imperial  ban 
denounced  against  the  elector  and  landgrave.  As  he  was  next  heir  to  the 
former,  and  particularly  interested  in  preventing  strangers  from  getting  his 
dominions  into  their  possession,  Charles  required  him,  not  only  for  his  own 
sake,  but  upon  the  allegiance  and  duty  which  he  owed  to  the  head  of  the 
empire,  instantly  to  seize  and  detain  in  his  hands  the  forfeited  estates  of 
the  elector ;  warning  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  if  he  neglected  to  obey 
these  commands,  he  should  be  held  as  accessaiy  to  the  crimes  of  his  kins- 
man, and  be  liable  to  the  same  punishment.J 

This  artifice,  which  it  is  probable  Maurice  himself  suggested,  was 
employed  by  him  in  order  that  his  conduct  towards  the  elector  "might  seem 
a  matter  of  necessity  but  not  of  choice,  an  act  of  obedience  to  his  superior, 
rather  than  a  voluntary  invasion  of  the  rights  of  his  kinsman  and  ally. 
But  in  order  to  give  some  more  specious  appearance  to  this  thiu  veil  with 

*  Hasiri  Annal.  Brabant,  vol.  i.  f>38.  Struvii  Corp.  104?.  Thuan.  84.  +  Struvii  Corp.  104fi. 
1  Sleid.  3U1.    Thuan.  84. 

Vol.  I!.— 44 


346  T  H  E   R  E  I  G  N    O  F   T  1 1  E         [Book  VIII. 

which  he  endeavoured  to  cover  his  ambition, he,  soon  after  his  return  from 
Ratisbon,  had  called  together  the  states  of  his  country  ;  and  representing 
to  them  that  a  civil  war  between  the  emperor  and  confederates  of 
Smalkalde  was  now  become  unavoidable,  desired  their  advice  with  regard 
to  the  part  which  he  should  act  in  th.it  event.  They  having  been  pre- 
pared, no  doubt,  and  tutored  beforehand,  and  being  desirous  of  gratifying 
their  prince,  whom  they  esteemed  as  well  as  loved,  gave  such  counsel  as 
(hey  knew  would  be  most  agreeable ;  advising  him  to  offer  his  mediation 
towards  reconciling  the  contending  parties  ;  but  if  that  were  rejected,  and 
he  could  obtain  proper  security  tor  the  protestant  religion,  they  delivered 
it  as  their  opinion,  that,  in  all  other  points,  he  ought  to  yield  obedience  to 
the  emperor.  Upon  receiving  the  Imperial  rescript,  together  with  the  ban 
against  the  elector  and  landgrave,  Maurice  summoned  the  states  of  his 
country  a  second  time  ;  he  laid  before  them  the  orders  which  he  had 
received,  and  mentioned  the  punishment  with  which  he  was  threatened  in 
case  of  disobedience  ;  he  acquainted  them,  that  the  confederates  had 
refused  to  admit  of  his  mediation,  and  that  the  emperor  had  given  him  the 
most  satisfactory  declarations  with  regard  to  religion;  he  pointed  out  hi^ 
own  interest  in  securing  possession  of  the  electoral  dominions,  as  well  as 
the  danger  of  allowing  strangers  to  obtain  an  establishment  in  Saxony; 
and  upon  the  whole,  as  the  point  under  deliberation  respected  his  subjects 
no  less  than  himself,  he  desired  to  know  their  sentiments,  how  he  should 
steer  in  that  difficult  and  arduous  conjuncture.  The  states,  no  less  obse- 
quious and  complaisant  than  formerly,  professing  their  own  reliance  on  the 
emperor's  promises  as  a  perfect  security  for  their  religion,  proposed  that, 
before  he  had  recourse  to  more  violent  methods,  they  would  write  to  the 
elector,  exhorting  him,  as  the  best  means,  not  only  of  appeasing  the  em- 
peror, but  of  preventing  his  dominions  from  being  seized  by  foreign  or 
hostile  powers,  to  give  his  consent  that  Maurice  should  take  possession  of 
them  quietly  and  without  opposition.  Maurice  himself  seconded  their 
arguments  in  a  letter  to  the  landgrave,  his  father-in-law.  'Such  an  extrava- 
gant proposition  was  rejected  with  the  scorn  and  indignation  which  it 
deserved.  The  landgrave,  in  return  to  Maurice,  taxed  him  with  his 
treachery  and  ingratitude  towards  a  kinsman  to  whom  he  was  so  deeply 
indebted  ;  he  treated  with  contempt  his  affectation  of  executing  the  Impe- 
rial ban,  which  he  could  not  but  know  to  be  altogether  void  by  the  uncon- 
stitutional and  arbitrary  manner  in  which  it  had  been  issued  ;  he  besought 
him,  not  to  suffer  himself  to  be  so  far  blinded  by  ambition,  as  to  forget 
the  obligations  of  honour  and  friendship,  or  to  betray  the  protestant  religion, 
the  extirpation  of  which  out  of  Germany,  even  by  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  pope  himself,  was  the  great  object  of  the  present  war.* 

But  Maurice  had  proceeded  too  far  to  be  diverted  from  pursuing  his 
plan  by  reproaches  or  arguments.  Nothing  now  remained  but  to  execute 
with  vigour,  what  he  hitherto  carried  on  by  artifice  and  dissimulation. 
Nor  was  his  boldness  in  action  inferior  to  his  subtlety  in  contrivance. 
Having  assembled  about  twelve  thousand  men,  he  suddenly  invaded  one 
part  ol  the  electoral  provinces,  while  Ferdinand,  with  an  army  composed 
of  Bohemians  and  Hungarians,  overran  the  other.  Maurice,  in  two  sharp 
encounters,  defeated  the  troops  which  the  elector  had  left  to  guard  his 
country;  and  improving  these  advantages  to  the  utmost,  made  himseh 
master  of  all  the  electorate,  except  VV ittemberg,  Gotha,  and  Eisenach, 
which  being  places  of  considerable  strength,  and  defended  by  sufficient 
garrisons,  refused  to  open  their  gates.  The  news  of  these  rapid  conquests 
soon  reached  the  Imperial  and  confederate  camps.  In  the  former,  satis- 
faction with  an  event,  which  it  was  foreseen  would  be  productive  ol  the 
most  important  consequences,  was  expressed  by  every  possible  demon 

'   Hlnid.  405,  &c.    Tbuan  85.    Camerar.  484. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES    \.  347 

stration  oi"  joy.  The  latter  was  filled  with  astonishment  and  terror.  The 
name  of  Maurice  was  mentioned  with  execration,  as  an  apostate  from  reli- 
gion, a  betrayer  of  the  German  liberty,  and  a  contemner  of  the  most 
sacred  and  natural  ties.  Eveiy  thing  that  the  rage  or  invention  of  the 
party  could  suggest,  in  order  to  blacken  and  render  him  odious,  invectives, 
satires,  and  lampoons,  the  furious  declamations  of  their  preachers,  together 
with  the  rude  wit  of  their  authors,  were  all  employed  against  him. 
While  he,  confiding  in  the  arts  which  he  had  so  long  practised,  as  if  his 
actions  could  have  admitted  of  any  serious  justification,  published  a  mani- 
festo, containing  the  same  frivolous  reasons  for  his  conduct,  which  he  had 
formerly  alleged  in  the  meeting  of  his  states,  and  in  his  letter  to  the  land- 
grave.* 

The  elector,  upon  the  first  intelligence  of  Maurice's  motions,  proposed 
to  return  home  with  his  troops  for  the  defence  of  Saxony.  But  the  depu- 
ties of  the  league,  assembled  at  Ulm,  prevailed  on  him,  at  that  time,  to 
remain  with  the  army,  and  to  prefer  the  success  of  the  common  cause  be- 
fore the  security  of  his  own  dominions.  At  length  the  sufferings  and  com- 
plaints of  his  subjects  increased  so  much,  that  he  discovered  the  utmost 
impatience  to  set  out,  in  order  to  rescue  them  from  the  oppression  ot 
Maurice,  and  from  the  cruelty  of  the  Hungarians,  who,  having  been  accus- 
tomed to  that  licentious  and  merciless  species  of  war  which  was  thought 
lawful  against  the  Turks,  committed,  wherever  they  came,  the  wildest 
acts  of  rapine  and  violence.  This  desire  of  the  elector  was  so  natural 
and  so  warmly  urged,  that  the  deputies  at  Ulm,  though  fully  sensible  of 
the  unhappy  consequences  of  dividing  their  army,  durst  not  refuse  their 
consent,  how  unwilling  soever  to  grant  it.  In  this  perplexity,  they  repaired 
to  the  camp  of  the  confederates  at  Giengen,  on  the  Brenz,  in  order  to  con- 
sult their  constituents.  Nor  were  they  less  at  a  loss  what  to  determine  in 
this  pressing  emergence.  But,  after  having  considered  seriously  the  open 
desertion  of  some  of  their  allies  ;  the  scandalous  lukewarmness  of  others, 
who  had  hitherto  contributed  nothing  towards  the  war ;  the  intolerable 
load  which  had  fallen  of  consequence  upon  such  members  as  were  most 
zealous  for  the  cause,  or  most  faithful  to  their  engagements  ;  the  ill  suc- 
cess of  all  their  endeavours  to  obtain  foreign  aid ;  the  unusual  length  of 
the  campaign  ;  the  rigour  of  the  season  ;  together  with  the  great  number 
oH  soldiers,  and  even  officers,  who  had  quitted  the  service  on  that  account ; 
they  concluded  that  nothing  could  save  them,  but  either  the  bringing  the 
contest  to  the  immediate  decision  of  a  battle,  by  attacking  the  Imperial 
army,  or  an  accommodation  of  all  their  differences  with  Charles  by  a 
treaty.  Such  was  the  despondency  and  dejection  which  now  oppressed 
the  party,  that  of  these  two  they  chose  what  was  most  feeble  and  unmanly, 
empowering  a  minister  of  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  to  propound  over- 
tures of  peace  in  their  name  to  the  emperor. 

No  sooner  did  Charles  perceive  this  haughty  confederacy  which  had  so 
lately  threatened  to  drive  him  out  of  Germany,  condescending  to  make 
the  first  advances  towards  an  agreement,  than  concluding  their  spirit  to  be 
gone,  or  their  union  to  be  broken,  he  immediately  assumed  the  tone  of  a 
conqueror  ;  and,  as  if  they  had  been  already  at  his  mercy,  would  not  hear 
of  a  negotiation,  but  upon  condition  that  the  elector  of  Saxony  should  pre- 
viously give  up  himself  and  his  dominions  absolutely  to  his  disposal. f 
As  nothing  more  intolerable  or  ignominious  could  have  been  prescribed, 
even  in  the  worst  situation  of  their  affairs,  it  is  no  wonder  that  this  propo- 
sition should  be  rejected  by  a  party,  which  was  rather  humbled  and  his- 
concerted  than  subdued.  But  though  they  refused  to  submit  tamely  to 
the  emperor's  will,  they  wanted  spirit  to  pursue  the  only  plan  which  could 
have  preserved  their  independence  ;  and  forgetting  that  it  was  the  union 

*  Sleid.  409, 4in.  fHortenatuB,  ap.  Scafd.  ii.  4s,~. 


348  THE   REIGN   OF   THE         [Book  VIII. 

of  their  troops  in  one  body  which  had  hitherto  rendered  the  confederacy 
formidable,  and  had  more  than  once  obliged  the  Imperialists  to  'hink  of 
quitting  the  field,  they  inconsiderately  abandoned  their  advantage,  which, 
in  spite  of  the  diversion  in  Saxony,  would  still  have  kept  the  emperor  in 
awe  ;  and  yielding  to  the  elector's  entreaties,  consented  to  his  proposal  of 
dividing  the  army.  Nine  thousand  men  were  left  in  the  dutchy  of  Wur- 
temberg,  in  order  to  protect  that  province,  as  well  as  the  free  cities  of 
Upper  Germany;  a  considerable  body  marched  with  the  elector  towards 
Saxony;  but  the  greater  part  returned  with  their  respective  leaders  into 
their  own  countries,  and  were  dispersed  there.* 

The  moment  that  the  troops  separated,  the  confederacy  ceased  to  be 
the  object  of  tenor ;  and  the  members  of  it,  who,  while  they  composed 
part  of  a  great  body,  had  felt  but  little  anxiety  about  their  own  security, 
began  to  tremble  when  they  reflected  that  they  now  stood  exposed  singly 
to  the  whole  weight  of  the  emperor's  vengeance.  "Charles  did  not  allow 
them  leisure  to  recover  from  their  consternation,  or  to  form  any  new 
schemes  of  union.  As  soon  as  the  confederates  began  to  retire,  he  put  his 
army  in  motion,  and  though  it  was  now  in  the  depth  of  winter,  he  resolved 
to  keep  the  field,  in  order  to  make  the  most  of  that  favourable  juncture 
for  which  he  had  waited  so  long.  Some  small  towns  in  which  the  pro- 
testants  had  left  garrisons,  immediately  opened  their  gates.  Norlingen, 
Rotenberg,  and  Hall,  Imperial  cities,  submitted  soon  after.  Though 
Charles  could  not  prevent  the  elector  from  levying,  as  he  retreated,  large 
contributions  upon  the  archbishop  of  Mentz,  the  abbot  of  Fulda,  and  other 
ecclesiastics,!  this  was  more  than  balanced  by  the  submission  of  Ulm,  one 
of  the  chief  cities  of  Suabia,  highly  distinguished  by  its  zeal  for  the 
Smalkaldic  league.  As  soon  as  an  example  was  set  of  deserting  the  com- 
mon cause,  the  rest  of  the  members  became  instantly  impatient  to  follow 
it,  and  seemed  afraid  lest  others,  by  getting  the  start  of  them  in  returning 
to  their  duty,  should,  on  that  account,  obtain  more  favourable  terms.  The 
elector  Palatine,  a  weak  prince,  who,  notwithstanding  his  professions  of 
neutrality,  had,  very  preposterously,  sent  to  the  confederates  four  hundred 
horse,  a  body  so  inconsiderable  as  to  be  scarcely  any  addition  to  their 
strength,  but  great  enough  to  render  him  guilty  in  the  eyes  of  the  empe- 
ror, made  his  acknowledgments  in  the  most  abject  manner.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Augsburg,  shaken  by  so  many  instances  of  apostacy,  expelled  the 
brave  Schertel  out  of  their  city,  and  accepted  such  conditions  as  the  em- 
peror was  pleased  to  grant  them. 

1547.]  The  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  though  among  the  first  who  had  offered 
1o  submit,  was  obliged  to  sue  for  pardon  on  his  knees;  and  even  after  this 
mortifying  humiliation,  obtained  it  with  difficulty.!  Memmingen,  and 
other  free  cities  in  Suabia,  being  now  abandoned  by  all  their  former  asso- 
ciates, found  it  necessary  to  provide  for  their  own  safety,  by  throwing 
themselves  on  the  emperor's  mercy.  Strasburg  and  Frankfort  on  the 
Maine,  cities  far  remote  from  the  seat  of  danger,  discovered  no  greater 
steadiness  than  those  which  lay  more  exposed.  Thus  a  confederacy,  lately 
so  powerful  as  to  shake  the  Imperial  throne,  fell  to  pieces,  and  was  dis- 
solved in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks;  hardly  any  member  of  that  formida- 
ble combination  now  remaining  in  arms,  but  the  elector  and  landgrave, 
whom  the  emperor,  having  from  the  beginning  marked  out  as  the  victims 
of  his  vengeance,  was  at  no  pains  to  offer  terms  of  reconciliation.  Nor 
did  he  grant  those  who  submitted  to  him  a  generous  and  unconditional 
pardon.  Conscious  of  his  own  superiority,  he  treated  them  both  with 
haughtiness  and  rigour.  All  the  princes  in  person,  and  the  cities  by  their 
deputies,  were  compelled  to  implore  mercy  in  the  humble  posture  of  sup- 
plicants.   As  the  emperor  laboured  under  great  difficulties  from  the  want 

*  Sleid.  410.  tThuan.  88.  J  Mem.  de  Ribier.  tnm.  i  S8B. 


•      EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  349 

of  money,  he  imposed  heavy  fines  upon  them,  which  he  levied  with  most 
rapacious  exactness.  The  duke  of  Wurtemberg  paid  three  hundred  thou- 
sand crowns;  the  city  of  Augsburg  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ;  Ulm 
a  hundred  thousand  ;  Frankfort  eighty  thousand ;  Memmingen  fifty  thou- 
sand ;  and  the  rest  in  proportion  to  their  abilities,  or  their  different  degrees 
of  guilt.  They  were  obliged,  besides,  to  renounce  the  league  of  Smal- 
kalde  ;  to  furnish  assistance,  if  required,  towards  executing  the  Imperial 
ban  against  the  elector  and  landgrave  ;  to  give  up  their  artillery  and  war- 
like stores  to  the  emperor ;  to  admit  garrisons  into  their  principal  cities 
and  places  of  strength  ;  and,  in  this  disarmed  and  dependent  situation,  to 
expect  the  final  award  which  the  emperor  should  think  proper  to  pro- 
nounce when  the  war  came  to  an  issue.*  But  amidst  the  great  variety  of 
articles  dictated  by  Charles  on  this  occasion,  he  in  conformity  to  his  original 
plan,  took  care  that  nothing  relating  to  religion  should  be  inserted  ;  and  to 
such  a  degree  were  the  confederates  humbled  or  overawed,  that  forgetting 
the  zeal  which  had  so  long  animated  them,  they  were  solicitous  only  about: 
their  own  safety,  without  venturing  to  insist  on  a  point,  the  mention  of, 
which  they  saw  the  emperor  avoiding  with  so  much  industry.  The  inha- 
bitants of  Memmingen  alone  made  some  feeble  efforts  to  procure  a  pro- 
mise of  protection  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  but  were  checked  so 
severely  by  the  Imperial  ministers,  that  they  instantly  fell  from  their 
demand. 

The  elector  of  Cologne,  whom,  notwithstanding  the  sentence  of  excom- 
munication issued  against  him  by  the  pope,  Charles  had  hitherto  allowed 
to  remain  in  possession  of  the  archiepiscopal  see,  being  now  required  by 
the  emperor  to  submit  to  the  censures  of  the  church,  this  virtuous  and  disin- 
terested prelate,  unwilling  to  expose  his  subjects  to  the  miseries  of  war  on 
his  own  account,  voluntarily  resigned  that  high  dignity  [Jan.  25].  With  a 
moderation  becoming  his  age  and  character,  he  chose  to  enjoy  truth,  together 
with  the  exercise  of  his  religion,  in  the  retirement  of  a  private  life,  rather 
than  to  disturb  society  by  engaging  in  a  doubtful  and  violent  struggle  in 
order  to  retain  his  office. t 

During  these  transactions,  the  elector  of  Saxony  reached  the  frontiers  of 
his  country  unmolested.  As  Maurice  could  assemble  no  force  equal  to  thr 
army  vyhich  accompanied  him,  he  in  a-  short  time,  not  only  recovered 
possession  of  his  own  territories,  but  overran  Misnia,  and  stripped  bis  rival 
of  all  that  belonged  to  him,  except  Dresden  and  Leipsic,  which,  being- 
towns  of  some  strength,  could  not  be  suddenly  reduced.  Maurice,  obliged 
to  quit  the  field,  and  to  shut  himself  up  in  his  capital,  despatched  courier 
after  courier  to  the  emperor,  representing  his  dangerous  situation,  and  soli- 
citing him  with  the  most  earnest  importunity  to  march  immediately  to  his 
relief.  But  Charles,  busy  at  that  time  in  prescribing  terms  to  such  members 
of  the  league  as  were  daily  returning  to  their  allegiance,  thought  it  sufficient 
to  detach  Albert  marquis  of  Brandenburg-Anspach  with  three  thousand  men 
to  his  assistance.  Albert,  though  an  enterprising  and  active  officer,  was 
unexpectedly  surprised  by  the  elector,  who  killed  many  of  his  troops,  dis- 
persed the  remainder,  and  took  him  prisoner,  j  Maurice  continued  as  much 
oxposed  as  formerly ;  and  if  his  enemy  had  known  how  to  improve  the 
opportunity  which  presented  itself,  his  ruin  must  have  been  immediate  and 
unavoidable.  But  the  elector,  no  less  slow  and  dilatory  when  invested 
with  the  sole  command,  than  he  had  been  formerly  when  joined  in  autho- 
rity with  a  partner,  never  gave  any  proof  of  military  activity  but  in  this 
enterprise  against  Albert.  Instead  of  marching  directly  towards  Maurice, 
whom  the  defeat  of  his  ally  had  greatly  alarmed,  he  inconsiderately  listened 
to  overtures  of  accommodation,  which  his  artful  antagonist  proposed  with 

*  Sleid.4U,  &.c.    Tliuan.  lib.  iv.  p.  135.    Mem.  de  Ribifr,  torn.  i.  606.        tSleid.418     Thnan 
us.  iv.  I?*.       A   Aviia  99.6     Mem.  de  Ribier.  torn. i  880 


35U  THE    REIGN   OF    THE  (Book  VIII.    ' 

no  other  intention  than  to  amuse  him,  and  to  slacken  the  vigour  of  re- 
operations. 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  posture  of  the  emperor's  affairs,  that  lie  could  not 
march  instantly  to  the  relief  of  his  ally.  Soon  after  the  separation  of  the 
confederate  army,  he,  in  order  to  ease  himself  of  the  burden  of  maintaining 
a  superfluous  number  of  troops,  had  dismissed  the  count  of  Buren  with  his 
Flemings,*  imagining  that  the  Spaniards  and  Germans,  together  with  the 
papal  forces,  would  be  fully  sufficient  to  crush  any  degree  of  vigour  that 
yet  remained  among  the  members  of  the  league.  But  Paul,  growing  wise 
loo  late,  began  now  to  discern  the  imprudence  of  that  measure  from  which 
the  more  sagacious  Venetians  had  endeavoured  in  vain  to  dissuade  him. 
The  rapid  progress  of  the  Imperial  arms,  and  the  ease  with  which  they 
had  broken  a  combination  that  appeared  no  less  firm  than  powerful,  opened 
his  eves  at  length,  and  made  him  not  only  forget  at  once  all  the  advantages 
which  he  had  expected  from  such  a  complete  triumph  over  heresy,  but 
placed,  in  the  strongest  light',  his  own  impolitic  conduct,  in  having  contri- 
buted towards  acquiring  for  Charles  such  an  immense  increase  of  power,  as 
would  enable  him,  after  oppressing  the  liberties  of  Germany,  to  give  lav 
with  absolute  authority  to  all  the  states  of  Italy.  The  moment  that  he  per- 
ceived his  error,  he  endeavoured  to  correct  it.  Without  giving  the  emperor 
any  warning  of  his  intention,  he  ordered  Farnese,  his  grandson,  to  return 
instantly  to  Italy  with  all  the  troops  under  his  command,  and  at  the  same 
time  recalled  the  license  which  he  had  granted  Charles,  of  appropriating 
to  his  own  use  a  large  share  of  the  church  lands  in  Spain.  He  was  not 
destitute  of  pretences  to  justify  this  abrupt  desertion  of  his  ally.  The  term 
of  six  months,  during  which  the  stipulations  in  their  treaty  were  to  continue 
in  force,  was  now  expired  ;  the  league,  in  opposition  to  which  their  alliance 
had  been  framed,  seemed  to  be  entirely  dissipated  ;  Charles,  in  all  his 
negotiations  with  the  princes  and  cities  which  had  submitted  to  his  will, 
had  neither  consulted  the  pope,  nor  had  allotted  him  any  part  of  the  con- 
quests which  he  had  made,  nor  had  allowed  him  any  share  in  the  vast 
contributions  which  he  had  raised.  He  had  not  even  made  any  provision 
for  the  suppression  of  heresy,  or  the  re-establishment  of  the  catholic  religion, 
which  were  Paul's  chief  inducements  to  bestow  the  treasures  of  the  church 
co  liberally  in  carrying  on  the  war.  These  colours,  however  specious,  did 
not  conceal  from  the  emperor  that  secret  jealousy  which  was  the  true 
motive  of  the  pope's  conduct.  But  as  Paul's  orders  with  regard  to  the 
march  of  his  troops  were  no  less  peremptory  than  unexpected,  it  was 
impossible  to  prevent  their  retreat.  Charles  exclaimed  loudly  against  hi* 
treachery,  in  abandoning  him  so  unseasonably,  while  he  was  prosecuting  a 
war  undertaken  in  obedience  to  the  papal  injunctions,  and  from  which,  it 
successful,  so  much  honour  and  advantage  would  redound  to  the  church. 
To  complaints  he  added  threats  and  expostulations.  But  Paul  remained 
inflexible  ;  his  troops  continued  their  march  towards  the  ecclesiastical 
state,  and  in  an  elaborate  memorial,  intended  as  an  apology  for  his  conduct, 
he  discovered  new  and  more  manifest  symptoms  of  alienation  from  the 
emperor,  together  with  a  deep  rooted  dread  of  his  power.f  Charles, 
weakened  by  the  withdrawing  of  so  great  a  body  from  his  army,  which 
was  already  much  diminished  by  the  number  ot  garrisons  that  he  had 
been  obliged  to  throw  into  the  towns  which  had  capitulated,  found  it  neces- 
sary to  recruit  his  forces  by  new  levies,  before  he  could  venture  to  march 
in  person  towards  Saxony. 

The  fame  and  splendour  of  his  success  could  not  have  failed  of  attracting' 
such  multitudes  of  soldiers  into  his  service  from  all  the  extensive  territories 
now  subject  to  his  authority,  as  must  soon  have  put  him  in  a  condition  ot 
faking  the  field  against  the  elector;  but  the  sudden  and  violent  eruption  ot 

*Afala,83. 6.  Mem.  de RIbier.  torn.  i.  502.       *  F.  T\nil.  208.  PaDavic.  par.  ii.  p;  5   Tmran.126 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  351 

a  conspiracy  at  Genoa,  as  well  as  the  great  revolutions  which  that  event, 
extremely  mysterious  in  its  first  appearances,  seemed  to  portend,  obliged 
him  to  avoid  entangling  himself  in  new  operations  in  Germany,  until  he 
had  fully  discovered  its  source  and  tendency.  The  form  of  government 
which  had  been  established  in  Genoa,  at  the  time  when  Andrew  Doria 
restored  liberty  to  his  country,  though  calculated  to  obliterate  the  memory 
of  former  dissensions,  and  received  at  first  with  eager  approbation,  did  not. 
after  a  trial  of  near  twenty  years,  give  universal  satisfaction  to  those  turbu- 
lent and  factious  republicans.  As  the  entire  administration  of  affaire  wa3 
now  lodged  in  a  certain  number  of  noble  families,  many,  envying  them 
that  pre-eminence,  wished  for  the  restitution  of  a  popular  government,  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  ;  and  though  all  reverenced  the  disinter- 
ested virtue  of  Doria,  and  admired  his  talents,  not  a  few  were  jealous  of 
that  ascendant  which  he  had  acquired  in  the  councils  of  the  commonwealth. 
His  age,  however,  his  moderation,  and  his  love  of  liberty,  afforded  ample 
security  to  his  countrymen  that  he  would  not  abuse  his  power,  nor  stain 
the  close  of  his  days  by  attempting  to  overturn  that  fabric,  which  it  had 
been  the  labour  and  pride  of  his  life  to  erect.  But  the  authority  and  influ- 
ence which  in  his  hands  were  innocent,  they  easily  saw  would  prove 
destructive,  if  usurped  by  any  citizen  of  greater  ambition,  or  less  virtue. 
A  citizen  of  this  dangerous  character  had  actually  formed  such  pretensions, 
and  with  some  prospect  of  success.  Giannetino  Doria,  whom  his  grand 
uncle  Andrew  destined  to  be  the  heir  of  his  private  fortune,  aimed  likewise 
at  being  his  successor  in  power.  His  temper,  haughty,  insolent,  and  over- 
bearing to  such  a  degree  as  would  hardly  have  been  tolerated  in  one  born 
to  reign,  was  altogether  unsupportable  in  the  citizen  of  a  free  state.  The 
more  sagacious  among  the  Genoese  already  feared  and  hated  him  as  the 
enemy  of  those  liberties  for  which  they  were  indebted  to  his  uncle.  While 
Andrew  himself,  blinded  by  that  violent  and  undiscerning  affection  which 
persons  in  advanced  age  often  contract  for  the  younger  members  of  their 
family,  set  no  bounds  to  the  indulgence  with  which  he  treated  him ;  seeming- 
less  solicitous  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the  freedom  of  the  commonwealth, 
than  to  aggrandize  that  undeser\yng  kinsman. 

But  whatever  suspicion  of  Doria's  designs,  or  whatever  dissatisfaction 
with  the  system  of  administration  in  the  commonwealth,  these  circumstances 
might  have  occasioned,  they  would  have  ended,  it  is  probable,  in  nothing 
more  than  murmurings  and  complaints,  if  John  Lewis  Fiesco  count  of 
Lavagna,  observing  this  growing  disgust,  had  not  been  encouraged  by  it 
to  attempt  one  of  the  boldest  actions  recorded  in  history.  That  young 
nobleman,  the  richest  and  most  illustrious  subject  in  the  republic,  possessed, 
in  an  eminent  degree,  all  the  qualities  which  win  upon  the  human  heart, 
which  command  respect,  or  secure  attachment.  He  was  graceful  and 
majestic  in  his  person  ;  magnificent  even  to  profusion  ;  of  a  generosity  that 
anticipated  the  wishes  of  his  friends,  and  exceeded  the  expectations  of 
strangers ;  of  an  insinuating  address,  gentle  manners,  and  a  flowing  affability. 
But  under  the  appearance  of  these  virtues,  which  seemed  to  form  him  for 
enjoying  and  adorning  social  life,  he  concealed  all  the  dispositions  which 
mark  men  out  for  taking  the  lead  in  the  most  dangerous  and  dark  conspi- 
racies ;  an  insatiable  and  restless  ambition,  a  courage  unacquainted  with 
fear,  and  a  mind  that  disdained  subordination.  Such  a  temper  could  ill 
brook  that  station  of  inferiority,  wherein  he  was  placed  in  the  republic  ; 
and  as  he  envied  the  power  which  the  elder  Doria  had  acquired,  he  was 
filled  with  indignation  at  the  thoughts  of  its  descending,  like  an  hereditary 
possession,  to  Giannetino.  These  various  passions,  preying  with  violence 
on  his  turbulent  and  aspiring  mind,  determined  him  to  attempt  overturning 
that  domination  to  which  he  could  not  submit. 

As  the  most  effectual  method  of  accomplishing  this,  he  thought  at  firsl 
of  forming  a  connection  with  Francis,  and  even  proposed  it  to  the  French 


36ii  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  [Rook  V HI. 

ambassador  at  Rome;  and  after  expelling  Doria,  together  with  the  Im- 
perial faction,  by  his  assistance,  he  offered  to  put  the  republic  once  more 
under  the  protection  of  that  monarch,  hoping  in  return  for  that  service  to 
be  intrusted  with  the  principal  share  in  the  administration  of  government. 
But  having  communicated  his  scheme  to  a  few  chosen  confidants,  from 
whom  he  kept  nothing  secret,  Verrina,  the  chief  of  them,  a  man  of  des- 
perate fortune,  capable  alike  of  advising  and  executing  the  most  audacious 
deeds,  remonstrated  with  earnestness  against  the  folly  of  exposing  himself 
to  the  most  imminent  danger,  while  he  allowed  another  to  reap  all  the 
fruits  of  his  success  ;  and  exhorted  him  warmly  to  aim  himself  at  that  pre- 
eminence in  his  country,  to  which  he  was  destined  by  his  illustrious  birth, 
was  called  by  the  voice  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  would  be  raised  by  the 
zeal  of  his  friends.  This  discourse  opened  such  great  prospects  to  Fiesco. 
and  so  suitable  to  his  genius,  that  abandoning  his  own  plan,  he  eagerly 
adopted  that  of  Verrina.  The  other  persons  present,  though  sensible  of 
the  hazardous  nature  of  the  undertaking,  did  not  choose  to  condemn  what 
their  patron  had  so  warmly  approved."  It  was  instantly  resolved,  in  this 
dark  cabal,  to  assassinate  the  two  Dorias,  as  well  as  the  principal  persons 
of  their  party,  to  overturn  the  established  system  of  government,  and  to 
place  Fiesco  on  the  ducal  throne  of  Genoa.  Time,  however,  and  pre- 
parations were  requisite  to  ripen  such  a  design  for  execution ;  and  while 
he  was  employed  in  carrying  on  these,  Fiesco  made  it  his  chief  care  to 
guard  against  every  thing  that  might  betray  his  secret,  or  create  suspicion. 
The  disguise  he  assumed,  was  of  all  others  the  most  impenetrable.  He 
seemed  to  be  abandoned  entirely  to  pleasure  and  dissipation.  A  perpetual 
gayety,  diversified  by  the  pursuit  of  all  the  amusements  in  which  persons 
of  his  age  and  rank  are  apt  to  delight,  engrossed,  in  appearance,  the  whole 
of  his  time  and  thoughts.  But  amidst  this  hurry  of  dissipation,  he  prose- 
cuted his  plan  with  the  most  cool  attention,  neither  retarding  the  design  by 
a  timid  hesitation,  nor  precipitating  the  execution  by  an  excess  of  impatience. 
He  continued  his  correspondence  with  the  French  ambassador  at  Rome, 
though  without  communicating  to  him  his  real  intentions,  that  by  his  means 
he  might  secure  the  protectioruof  the  French  arms,  if  hereafter  he  should 
find  it  necessary  to  call  them  in  to  his  aid.  He  entered  into  a  close  con- 
federacy with  Farnese  duke  of  Parma,  who,  being  disgusted  with  the  em- 
peror for  refusing  to  grant  him  the  investiture  of  that  dutchy,  was  eager  to 
promote  any  measure  that  tended  to  diminish  his  influence  in  Italy,  or  to 
ruin  a  family  so  implicitly  devoted  to  him  as  that  of  Doria.  Being  sensible 
that,  in  a  maritime  state,  the  acquisition  of  naval  power  was  what  he  ought 
chiefly  to  aim  at,  he  purchased  four  galleys  from  the  pope,  who  probably 
was  not  unacquainted  with  the  design  which  he  had  formed,  and  did  not 
disapprove  of  it.  Under  colour  of  fitting  up  one  of  these  galleys  to  sail 
on  a  cruise  against  the  Turks,  he  not  only  assembled  a  good  number  of  his 
own  vassals,  but  engaged  in  his  service  many  bold  adventurers,  whom  the 
truce  between  the  emperor  and  Solyman  had  deprived  of  their  usual  occu- 
pation and  subsistence. 

While  Fiesco  was  taking  these  important  steps,  he  preserved  so  ad- 
mirably his  usual  appearance  of  being  devoted  entirely  to  pleasure  and 
amusement,  and  paid  court  with  such  artful  address  to  the  two  Dorias,  as 
imposed  not  only  on  the  generous  and  unsuspicious  mind  of  Andrew,  but 
deceived  Giannetino,  who,  conscious  of  his  own  criminal  intentions,  was 
more  apt  to  distrust  the  designs  of  others.  So  many  instruments  being 
now  prepared,  nothing  now  remained  but  to  strike  the  blow.  Varion- 
consultations  were  held  by  Fiesco  with  his  confidants,  in  order  to  settle 
Ihe  manner  of  doing  it  with  the  greatest  certainly  and  effect.  At  first,  they 
proposed  to  murder  the  Dorias  and  their  chid  adherents,  during  the  cele- 
bration of  high  mass  in  the  principal  church  ;  but,  as  Andrew  was  often 
ibsent  from  religious  solemnities  on  account  of  his  great  agSj  thai  desigi 


LMPEKOR   CHARLES    V.  359 

\,as  laid  aside.  It  was  then  concerted  that  Fiesco  should  invite  the  uncle 
mid  nephew,  with  all  their  friends  whom  he  had  marked  out  as  victims, 
to  his  house ;  where  it  would  he  easy  to  cut  them  off  at  once  without 
danger  or  resistance  ;  hut  as  Giannetino  was  obliged  to  leave  the  town  on 
the  day  which  they  had  chosen,  it  became  necessary  likewise  to  alter  this 
plan.  They  at  last  determined  to  attempt  by  open  force,  what  they  found 
difficult  to  effect  by  stratagem,  and  fixed  on  the  night  between  the  second 
and  third  of  January,  for  the  execution  of  their  enterprise.  The  time  was 
chosen  with  great  propriety;  for  as  the  doge  of  the  former  year  was  to 
quit  his  office,  according  to  custom,  on  the  first  of  the  month,  and  his  suc- 
cessor could  not  be  elected  sooner  than  the  fourth,  the  republic  remained 
during  that  interval  in  a  sort  of  anarchy ,-and  Fiesco  might  with  less  violence 
take  possession  of  the  vacant  dignity. 

The  morning  of  that  day  Fiesco  employed  in  visiting  his  friends,  passing 
some  hours  among  them  with  a  spirit  as  gay  and  unembarrassed  as  at  other 
times.  Towards  evening,  he  paid  court  to  the  Dorias  with  his  usual 
marks  of  respect,  and  surveying  their  countenance  and  behaviour  with  the 
attention  natural  in  his  situation,  was  happy  to  observe  the  perfect  security 
in  which  they  remained,  without  the  least  foresight  or  dread  of  that  storm 
which  had  been  so  long  a  gathering,  and  was  now  ready  to  burst  over 
their  heads.  From  their  palace  he  hastened  to  his  own,  which  stood  by 
itself  in  the  middle  of  a  large  court,  surrounded  by  a  high  wall.  The 
gates  had  been  set  open  in  the  morning,  and  all  persons,  without  distinction, 
were  allowed  to  enter,  but  strong  guards  posted  within  the  court  suffered 
no  one  to  return.  Verrina,  meanwhile,  and  a  few  persons  trusted  with  the 
secret  of  the  conspiracy,  after  conducting  Fiesco's  vassals,  as  well  as  the 
crews  of  his  galleys,  into  the  palace  in  small  bodies,  with  as  little  noise  as 
possible,  dispersed  themselves  through  the  city,  and,  in  the  name  of  their 
patron,  invited  to  an  entertainment  the  principal  citizens  whom  they  knew 
to  be  disgusted  with  the  administration  of  the  Dorias,  and  to  have  inclination 
as  well  as  courage  to  attempt  a  change  in  the  government.  Of  the  vast 
number  of  persons  who  now  filled  the  palace,  a  few  only  knew  for  what 
purpose  they  were  assembled ;  the  rest^  astonished  at  finding,  instead  of 
the  preparations  for  a  feast,  a  court  crowded  with  armed  men,  and  apart- 
ments filled  with  the  instruments  of  war,  gazed  on  each  other  with  a  mix- 
ture of  curiosity,  impatience,  and  terror. 

While  their  minds  were  in  this  state  of  suspense  and  agitation,  Fiesco 
appeared.  With  a  look  full  of  alacrity  and  confidence,  he  addressed 
himself  to  the  persons  of  chief  distinction,  telling  them,  that  they  were  not 
now  called  to  partake  of  the  pleasure  of  an  entertainment,  but  to  join  in  a 
deed  of  valour,  which  would  lead  them  to  liberty  and  immortal  renown. 
He  set  before  their  eyes  the  exorbitant  as  well  as  intolerable  authority  of 
the  elder  Doria,  which  the  ambition  of  Giannetino,  and  the  partiality  of 
the  emperor  to  a  family  more  devoted  to  him  than  to  their  country,  was 
about  to  enlarge  and  to  render  perpetual.  This  unrighteous  dominion, 
continued  he,  you  have  it  now  in  your  power  to  subvert,  and  to  establish 
the  freedom  of  your  country  on  a  firm  basis.  The  tyrants  must  be  cut  off. 
I  have  taken  the  most  effectual  measures  for  this  purpose.  My  associates 
are  numerous.  I  can  depend  on  allies  and  protectors  if  necessary.  Hap- 
pily, the  tyrants  are  as  secure  as  I  have  been  provident.  Their  insolent 
'  contempt  of  their  countrymen  has  banished  the  suspicion  and  timidity 
which  usually  render  the  guilty  quick-sighted  to  discern,  as  well  as  saga- 
cious to  guard  against  the  vengeance  which  they  deserve.  They  will  now 
feel  the  blow,  before  they  suspect  any  hostile  hand  to  be  nigh.  Let  us 
then  sally  forth,  that  we  may  deliver  our  country  by  one  generous  effort, 
almost  unaccompanied  with  danger,  and  certain  of  success.  These  words, 
uttered  with  that  irresistible  fervour  which  animates  the  mind  when  roused 
by  great  objects,  made  the  desired  impression  on  the  audience.    Fiesco's 

\r0L,  H. -45 


354  THE  KE1GN   OF  THE  [Book  VHI. 

vassals,  ready  to  execute  whatever  their  master  should  command,  received 
his  discourse  with  a  murmur  of  applause.  To  many,  whose  fortunes  were 
desperate,  the  license  and  confusion  of  an  insurrection  afforded  an  agreeable 
prospect.  Those  of  higher  rank  and  more  virtuous  sentiments,  durst  not 
discover  the  surprise  or  horror  with  which  they  were  struck  at  the  proposal 
of  an  enterprise  no  less  unexpected  than  atrocious ;  as  each  of  them 
imagined  the  other  to  be  in  the  secret  of  the  conspiracy,  and  saw  himself 
surrounded  by  persons  who  waited  only  a  signal  from  their  leader  to  per- 
petrate the  greatest  crime.  With  one  voice  then  all  applauded,  or  feigned 
to  applaud,  the  undertaking. 

Fiesco  having  thus  fixed  and  encouraged  his  associates,  before  he  eave 
them  his  last  orders,  he  hastened  for  a  moment  to  the  apartment  of  his 
wife,  a  lady  of  the  noble  house  of  Cibo,  whom  he  loved  with  tender 
affection,  and  whose  beauty  and  virtue  rendered  her  worthy  of  his  love. 
The  noise  of  the  armed  men  who  crowded  the  court  and  palace,  having 
long  before  this  reached  her  ears,  she  concluded  some  hazardous  enterprise 
to  be  in  hand,  and  she  trembled  for  her  husband.  He  found  her  in  all  the 
anguish  of  uncertainty  and  fear ;  and,  as  it  was  now  impossible  to  keep 
his  design  concealed,  he  informed  her  of  what  he  had  undertaken.  The 
prospect  of  a  scene  so  full  of  horror  as  well  as  danger,  completed  her 
agony ;  and  foreboding  immediately  in  her  mind  the  fatal  issue  of  it,  she 
endeavoured,  by  her  tears,  her  entreaties,  and  her  despair,  to  divert  him 
from  his  purpose.  Fiesco,  after  trying  in  vain  to  soothe  and  to  inspire  her 
with  hope,  broke  from  a  situation  into  which  an  excess  of  tenderness  had 
unwarily  seduced  him,  though  it  could  not  shake  his  resolution.  "  Farewell," 
he  cried,  as  he  quitted  the  apartment,  "  you  shall  either  never  see  me 
more,  or  you  shall  behold  to-morrow  every  thing  in  Genoa  subject  to  your 
power." 

As  soon  as  he  rejoined  his  companions,  he  allotted  each  his  proper  sta- 
tion :  some  were  appointed  to  assault  and  seize  the  different  gates  of  the 
city  ;  some  to  make  themselves  masters  of  the  principal  streets  or  places 
of  strength  :  Fiesco  reserved  for  himself  the  attack  of  the  harbour,  where 
Doria's  galleys  were  laid  up,  as  the  post  of  chief  importance,  and  of 
greatest  danger.  It  was  now  midnight,  and  the  citizens  slept  in  the  secu- 
rity of  peace,  when  this  band  of  conspirators,  numerous,  desperate,  and 
well-armed,  rushed  out  to  execute  their  plan.  They  surprised  some  of 
the  gates,  without  meeting  with  any  resistance.  They  got  possession  of 
others  after  a  sharp  conflict  with  the  soldiers  on  guard.  Verrina,  with 
the  galley  which  had  been  fitted  out  against  the  Turks,  blocked  up  the 
mouth  of  the  Darsena  or  little  harbour  where  Doria's  fleet  lay.  All  pos- 
sibility of  escape  being  cut  off  by  tin's  precaution,  when  Fiesco  attempted 
to  enter  the  galleys  from  the  shore,  to  which  they  were  made  fast,  they 
were  in  no  condition  to  make  resistance,  as  they  were  not  only  unrigged 
and  disarmed,  but  had  no  crew  on  board,  except  the  slaves  chained  to  the 
oar.  Every  quarter  of  the  city  was  now  filled  with  noise  and  tumult,  all 
the  streets  resounding  with  the  cry  of  Fiesco  and  Liberty.  At  that  name, 
so  popular  and  beloved,  many  of  the  lower  rank  took  arms  and  joined  the 
conspirators.  The  nobles  and  partisans  of  the  aristocracy,  astonished  or 
affrighted,  shut  the  gates  of  their  houses,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  of 
securing  them  from  pillage.  At  last  the  noise  excited  by  this  scene  of 
violence  and  confusion,  reached  the  palace  of  Doria  ;  Giannetino  started 
immediately  from  his  bed,  and,  imagining  that  it  was  occasioned  by  some 
mutiny  among  the  sailors,  rushed  out  with  a  few  attendants,  and  hurried 
towards  the  harbour.  The  gate  of  St.  Thomas,  through  which  he  had  to 
pass,  was  already  in  the  possession  of  the  conspirators,  who,  the  moment  he 
appeared,  fell  upon  him  with  the  utmost  fury,  and  murdered  him  on  the 
spot.  The  same  must  have  been  the  fate  of  the  elder  Doria,  if  Jerome 
U'  Fiesco  had  executed  his  brother's  plan,  and  had  proceeded  immedi- 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  356 

jiely  to  attack  him  in  his  palace  ;  but  he,  from  the  sordid  consideration 
of  preventing  its  being  plundered  amidst  the  confusion,  having  forbid  his 
followers  to  advance,  Andrew  got  intelligence  of  his  nephew's  death,  as 
well  as  of  his  own  danger ;  and,  mounting  on  horseback,  saved  himself 
by  flight.  Amidst  this  general  consternation,  a  few  senators  had  the 
courage  to  assemble  in  the  palace  of  the  republic*  At  first,  some  of  the 
most  daring  among  them  attempted  to  rally  the  scattered  soldiers,  and  to 
attack  a  body  of  the  conspirators  ;  but  being  repulsed  with  loss,  all  agreed 
that  nothing  now  remained  but  to  treat  with  the  party  which  seemed 
to  be  irresistible.  Deputies  were  accordingly  sent  to  learn  of  Fiesco 
what  were  the  concessions  with  which  he  would  be  satisfied,  or  rather  to 
submit  to  whatever  terms  he  should  please  to  prescribe. 

Bat  by  this  time  Fiesco,  with  whom  they  were  empowered  to  nego- 
tiate, was  no  more.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  leave  the  harbour,  where 
every  thing  had  succeeded  to  his  wish,  that  he  might  join  his  victorious 
companions,  he  heard  some  extraordinary  uproar  on  board  the  admiral 
galley.  Alarmed  at  the  noise,  and  fearing  that  the  slaves  might  break 
their  chains,  and  overpower  his  associates,  ne  ran  thither  ;  but  the  plank 
which  reached  from  the  shore  to  the  vessel  happening  to  overturn,  he  fell 
into  the  sea,  whilst  he  hurried  forward  too  precipitately.  Being  loaded 
with  heavy  armour,  he  sunk  to  the  bottom,  and  perished  in  the  very 
moment  when  he  must  have  taken  full  possession  of  every  thing  that  his 
ambitious  heart  could  desire.  Verrina  was  the  first  who  discovered  this- 
Jatal  accident,  and  foreseeing,  at  once,  all  its  consequences,  concealed  it 
with  the  utmost  industry  from  every  one  but  a  few  leaders  of  the  con- 
spiracy. Nor  was  it  difficult,  amidst  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  the 
night,  to  have  kept  it  secret,  until  a  treaty  with  the  senators  should  have 
put  the  city  in  the  power  of  the  conspirators  All  thpir  hopes  of  this  were 
disconcerted  by  the  imprudence  of  Jerome  Fiesco,  who,  when  the  deputies 
of  the  senate  inquired  for  his  brother,  the  count  of  Lavagna,  that  they 
might  make  their  proposals  to  him,  replied,  with  a  childish  vanity,  "  I 
am  now  the  only  person  to  whom  that  title  belongs,  and  with  me  you 
must  treat."  These  words  discovered  as  well  to  his  friends  as  to  his 
enemies  what  had  happened,  and  made  the  impression  which  might  have 
been  expected  upon  both.  The  deputies,  encouraged  by  this  event,  the 
only  one  which  could  occasion  such  a  sudden  revolution  as  might  turn  to 
fheir  advantage,  assumed  instantly,  with  admirable  presence  of  mind,  a 
new  tone,  suitable  to  the  change  in  their  circumstances,  and  made  high 
demands.  While  they  endeavoured  to  gain  time  by  protracting  the  nego- 
tiation, the  rest  of  the  senators  were  busy  in  assembling  their  partisan?, 
and  in  forming  a  body  capable  of  defending  the  palace  of  the  republic. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  conspirators,  astonished  at  the  death  of  a  man 
whom  they  adored  and  trusted,  and  placing  no  confidence  in  Jerome,  a 
giddy  youth,  felt  their  courage  die  away,  and  their  arms  fall  from  their 
hands.  That  profound  and  amazing  secrecy  with  which  the  conspiracy 
had  been  concerted,  and  which  had  contributed  hitherto  so  much  to  its 
success,  proved  now  the  chief  cause  of  its  miscarriage.  The  leader  was 
gone  ;  the  greater  part  of  those  who  acted  under  him,  knew  not  his  con- 
fidants, and  were  strangers  to  the  object  at  which  he  aimed.  There  was 
no  person  among  them  whose  authority  or  abilities  entitled  him  to 
assume  Fiesco's  place,  or  to  finish  his  plan  ;  after  having  lost  the  spirit 
which  animated  it,  life  and  activity  deserted  the  whole  body.  Many  of 
the  conspirators  withdrew  to  their  houses,  hoping  that  amidst  the  darkness 
of  the  night  they  had  passed  unobserved,  and  might  remain  unknown, 
i  Others  sought  for  safety  by  a  timely  retreat ;  and,  before  break  of  day, 

*  n-pai  ■  EfigBOrife 


356  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  (Book  LY. 

most  of  them  lied  with  precipitation  from  a  city,  which  but  a  few  hours 
in  tore,  was  ready  to  acknowledge  them  as  masters. 

Next  morning  every  thing  was  quiet  in  Genoa  ;  not  an  enemy  was  to 
be  seen ;  kw  marks  of  the  violence  of  the  former  night  appeared,  the 
conspirators  having  conducted  their  enterprise  with  more  noise  than 
bloodshed,  and  gained  all  their  advantages  by  surprise,  rather  than  by 
force  of  arms.  Towards  evening,  Andrew  Doria  returned  to  the  city, 
being  met  by  all  the  inhabitants,  who  received  him  with  acclamations  of 
joy.  Though  the  disgrace  as  well  as  danger  of  the  preceding  night 
were  fresh  in  his  mind,  and  the  mangled  body  of  his  kinsman  still  before 
bis  eyes,  such  was  his  moderation  as  well  as  magnanimity,  that  the  decree 
issued  by  the  senate  against  the  conspirators,  did  not  exceed  that  just 
measure  of  severity  which  was  requisite  for  the  support  of  government, 
and  was  dictated  neither  by  the  violence  of  resentment,  nor  the  rancour 
of  revenge.* 

After  taking  the  necessary  precautions  for  preventing  the  flame,  which 
was  now  so  happily  extinguished,  from  breaking  out  anew,  the  first  care 
ot  the  senate  was  to  send  an  ambassador  to  the  emperor,  to  give  him  a 
particular  detail  of  what  had  happened,  and  to  beg  his  assistance  towards 
the  reduction  of  Montobbio,  a  strong  fort  on  the  hereditary  estate  of  the 
Fiesci,  in  which  Jerome  had  shut  himself  up.  Charles  was  no  less  alarmed 
than  astonished  at  an  event  so  strange  and  unexpected.  He  could  not 
believe  that  Fiesco,  how  bold  or  adventurous  soever,  durst  have  attempted 
such  an  enterprise,  but  on  foreign  suggestion,  and  from  the  hope  of  foreign 
aid.  Being  informed  that  the  duke  of  Parma  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  plan  of  the  conspirators,  he  immediately  supposed  that  the  pope  could 
*>ot  be  ignorant  of  a  measure,  which  his  son  had  countenanced.  Proceed- 
ing from  this  to  a  farther  conjecture,  which  Paul's  cautious  maxims  of 
policy  in  other  instances  rendered  extremely  probable,  he  concluded  that 
the  French  king  must  have  known  and  approved  of  the  design  ;  and  he 
began  to  apprehend  that  this  spark  might  again  kindle  the  flame  of  war 
which  had  raged  so  long  in  Italy.  As  he  had  drained  his  Italian  territories 
of  troops  on  account  ot  the  German  war,  he  was  altogether  unprovided 
for  resisting  any  hostile  attack  in  that  country ;  and  on  the  first  appearance 
of  danger,  be  must  have  detached  thither  the  greatest  part  of  his  forces  for 
its  defence.  In  this  situation  of  affairs,  it  would  have  been  altogether  impru- 
dent in  the  emperor  to  have  advanced  in  person  against  the  elector,  until 
he  should  learn  with  some  degree  of  certainty  whether  such  a  scene  were 
not  about  to  open  in  Italy,  as  might  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  keep  the 
field  with  an  army  sufficient  to  oppose  him. 


BOOK   IX. 

The  emperor's  dread  of  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  pope  and  French 
king  did  not  proceed  from  any  imaginary  or  ill-grounded  suspicion.  Paul 
had  already  given  the  strongest  proofs  both  of  his  jealousy  and  enmity. 

*  Thuan.  93.  Sigonii  Vita  Andree  Doria;,  1196.  La  Conjuration  du  Compte  de  Ficsque,  par 
Cardin.  de  Retz.  Adriani  Istoria.  lib.  vi.  369.  Folietxe  Conjiiratio  Jo  Lud.  Fiesci,  ap.  Grav. 
Thee.  Hal.  i.  883.  It  is  remarkable,  that  Cardinal  de  Retz,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  composed 
a  history  of  this  conspiracy,  containing  such  a  discovery  of  his  admiration  of  Fiesco  and  his  en- 
terprise, as  rendered  it  not  surprising  that  a  minister,  so  jealous  and  discerning  as  Richelieu,  should 
be  led,  by  the  perusal  of  it,  to  predict  the  turbulent  and  dangerous  spirit  of  thafrvoune  ecclesiastic 
Mem.  de  Retz,  torn.  i.  p.  13. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  o57 

Charles  could  not  hope  that  Francis,  after  a  rivalship  of  so  long  continu- 
ance, would  behold  the  great  advantages  which  he  had  gained  over  the 
confederate  protestants,  without  feeling  his  ancient  emulation  revive.  He 
was  not  deceived  in  this  conjecture.  Francis  had  observed  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  his  arms  with  deep  concern,  and  though  hitherto  prevented  by 
circumstances  which  have  been  mentioned,  from  interposing  in  order  to 
check  them,  he  was  now  convinced  that,  if  he  did  not  make  some  extra- 
ordinary and  timely  effort,  Charles  must  acquire  such  a  degree  of  power 
as  would  enable  him  to  give  law  to  the  rest  of  Europe.  This  apprehen- 
sion, which  did  not  take  its  rise  from  the  jealousy  of  rivalship  alone,  but 
was  entertained  by  the  wisest  politicians  of  the  age,  suggested  various 
expedients  which  might  serve  to  retard  the  course  of  the  emperor's  victo- 
ries, and  to  form  by  degrees  such  a  combination  against  him  as  might  put 
a  stop  to  his  dangerous  career. 

With  this  view,  Francis  instructed  his  emissaries  in  Germany  to  employ 
all  their  address  in  order  to  revive  the  courage  of  the  confederates,  and  to 

Erevent  them  from  submitting  to  the  emperor.  He  made  liberal  offers  of 
is  assistance  to  the  elector  and  landgrave,  whom  he  knew  to  be  the  most 
zealous  as  well  as  the  most  powerful  of  the  whole  body ;  he  used  every 
argument  and  proposed  every  advantage  which  could  either  confirm  their 
dread  of  the  emperor's  designs,  or  determine  them  not  to  imitate  the  incon- 
siderate credulity  of  their  associates,  in  giving  up  their  religion  and  liber- 
ties to  his  disposal.  While  he  took  this  step  towards  continuing  the  civil 
war  which  raged  in  Germany,  he  endeavoured  likewise  to  stir  up  foreign 
enemies  against  the  emperor.  He  solicited  Solyman  to  seize  this  favour- 
able opportunity  of  invading  Hungary,  which  had  been  drained  of  all  the 
troops  necessary  for  its  defence,  in  order  to  form  the  army  against  the  con- 
federates of  Smalkalde.  He  exhorted  the  pope  to  repair,  by  a  vigorous 
and  seasonable  effort,  the  error  of  which  he  had  been  guilty  in  contribu- 
ting to  raise  the  emperor  to  such  a  formidable  height  of  power.  Finding 
Paul,  both  from  the  consciousness  of  his  own  mistake,  and  his  dread  of  its 
consequences,  abundantly  disposed  to  listen  to  what  he  suggested,  he  availed 
himself  of  this  favourable  disposition  which  the  pontiff  began  to  discover, 
as  an  argument  to  gain  the  Venetians.  He  endeavoured  to  convince  them 
that  nothing  could  save  Italy,  and  even  Europe,  from  oppression  and  ser- 
vitude, but  their  joining  with  the  pope  and  him,  in  giving  the  first  begin- 
ning to  a  general  confederacy,  in  order  to  humble  that  ambitious  potentate, 
whom  they  had  all  equal  reason  to  dread. 

Having  set  on  foot  these  negotiations,  in  the  southern  courts,  he  turned 
his  attention  next  towards  those  in  the  north  of  Europe.  As  the  king  of 
Denmark  had  particular  reasons  to  be  offended  with  the  emperor,  Francis 
imagined  that  the  object  of  the  league  which  he  had  projected  would  be 
highly  acceptable  to  him  :  and  lest  considerations  of  caution  or  prudence 
would  restrain  him  from  joining  in  it,  he  attempted  to  overcome  these,  by 
offering  him  the  young  queen  of  Scots  in  marriage  to  his  son.*  As  the 
ministers  who  governed  England  in  the  name  of  Edward  VI.  had  openly 
declared  themselves  converts  to  the  opinions  of  the  reformers,  as  soon  as  it 
became  safe  upon  Henry's  death  to  lay  aside  that  disguise  which  his  intol- 
erant bigotry  had  forced  them  to  assume,  Francis  nattered  himself  that 
their  zeal  would  not  allow  them  to  remain  inactive  spectators  of  the  over- 
throw and  destruction  of  those  who  professed  the  same  faith  with  them- 
selves. He  hoped,  that  notwithstanding  the  struggles  of  faction  incident 
to  a  minority,  and  the  prospect  of  an  approaching  rupture  with  the  Scots, 
he  might  prevail  on  them  likewise  to  take  part  in  the  common  cause. 1 

While  I4  rands  employed  such  a  variety  of  expedients,  and  exerted  him- 
self with  such  extraordinary  activity,  to  rouse  the  different  states  of  Eu- 

i  tttSB-  d»-  Ribier.  i.  fine.  fiOfi.  f  tWdi  635. 


35«  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  IX. 

rope  against  his  rival,  he  did  not  neglect  what  depended  on  himself  alone. 
He  levied  troops  in  all  parts  of 'his  dominions;  he  collected  military- 
stores  ;  he  contracted  with  the  Swiss  cantons  for  a  considerable  body  of 
men  ;  he  put  his  finances  in  admirable  order  ;  he  remitted  considerable 
sums  to  the  elector  and  landgrave  ;  and  took  all  the  other  steps  necessary 
towards  commencing  hostilities  on  the  shortest  warning,  and  with  the 
greatest  vigour* 

Operations  so  complicated,  and  which  required  the  putting  so  many 
instruments  in  motion,  did  not  escape  the  emperor's  observation.  He  was 
early  informed  of  Francis's  intrigues  in  the  several  courts  of  Europe,  as 
well  as  of  his  domestic  preparations ;  and  sensible  how  fatal  an  interrup- 
tion a  foreign  war  would  prove  to  his  designs  in  Germany,  he  trembled  at 
the  prospect  of  that  event.  The  danger,  however,  appeared  to  him  as 
unavoidable  as  it  was  great.  He  knew  the  insatiable  and  well  directed 
ambition  of  Solyman,  and  that  he  always  chose  the  season  for  beginning 
his  military  enterprises  with  prudence  equal  to  the  valour  with  which  he 
conducted  them.  The  pope,  as  he  had  good  reason  to  believe,  wanted  not 
pretexts  to  justify  a  rupture,  nor  inclination  to  begin  hostilities.  He  had 
already  made  some  discovery  of  his  sentiments,  by  expressing  a  joy  alto- 
gether unbecoming  the  head  of  the  church,  upon  receiving  an  account  of 
the  advantage  which  the  elector  of  Saxony  had  gained  over  Albert  of 
Brandenburg;  and  as  he  was  now  secure  of  finding,  in  the  French  king, 
an  ally  of  sufficient  power  to  support  him,  he  was  at  no  pains  to  conceal 
the  violence  and  extent  of  his  enmity. t  The  Venetians,  Charles  was  well 
assured,  had  long  observed  the  growth  of  his  power  with  jealousy,  which, 
added  to  the  solicitations  and  promises  of  France,  might  at  last  quicken 
their  slow  counsels,  and  overcome  their  natural  caution.  The  Danes  and 
English,  it  was  evident,  had  both  peculiar  reason  to  be  disgusted,  as  well 
as  strong  motives  to  act  against  him.  But  above  all,  he  dreaded  the  active 
emulation  of  Francis  himself,  whom  he  considered  as  the  soul  and  mover 
of  any  confederacy  that  could  be  formed  against  him  ;  and  as  that  monarch 
had  afforded  protection  to  Verrina,  who  sailed  directly  to  Marseilles  upon 
the  miscarriage  of  Fiesco's  conspiracy,  Charles  expected  every  moment 
to  see  the  commencement  of  those  hostile  operations  in  Italy,  of  which  he 
conceived  the  insurrection  in  Genoa  to  have  been  only  the  prelude. 

But  while  he  remained  in  this  state  of  suspense  and  solicitude,  there 
was  one  circumstance  which  afforded  him  some  prospect  of  avoiding  the 
danger.  The  French  king's  health  began  to  decline.  A  disease,  which 
was  the  effect  of  his  intemperance  and  inconsiderate  pursuit  of  pleasure, 
preyed  gradually  on  his  constitution.  The  preparations  for  war,  as  well 
as  the  negotiations  in  the  different  courts,  began  to  languish,  together  with 
the  monarch  who  gave  spirit  to  both.  The  Genoese,  during  that  interval 
[March]  reduced  Montobbio,  took  Jerome  Fiesco  prisoner,  and  having  put 
him  to  death,  together  with  his  chief  adherents,  extinguished  all  remains 
of  the  conspiracy.  Several  of  the  Imperial  cities  in  Germany,  despairing 
of  timely  assistance  from  France,  submitted  to  the  emperor.  Even  the 
landgrave  seemed  disposed  to  abandon  the  elector,  and  to  bring  matters  to 
a  speedy  accommodation,  on  such  terms  as  he  could  obtain.  In  the  mean 
time,  Charles  waited  with  impatience  the  issue  of  a  distemper,  which  was 
to  decide  whether  he  must  relinquish  all  other  schemes,  in  order  to  pre- 
pare for  resisting  a  combination  of  the  greater  part  of  Europe  against  him. 
or  whether  he  might  proceed  to  invade  Saxony,  without  interruption  or 
fear  of  danger. 

The  good  fortune,  so  remarkably  propitious  to  his  family,  that  some 
historians  have  called  it  the  Star  of  the  House  of  Austria,  did  not  desert 
him  on  this  occasion.     Francis  died  at  Rambouillet,  on  the  last  day  nt 

*  Mem.  de  Ribier,  i.  595.  f  (bid.  637. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  359 

March,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-third  of  his  reign. 
During  twenty-eight  years  of  that  time,  an  avowed  rivalship  subsisted 
between  him  and  the  emperor,  which  involved  not  only  their  own  domi- 
nions, but  the  greater  part  of  Europe,  in  wars,  which  were  prosecuted 
with  more  violent  animosity,  and  drawn  out  to  a  greater  length,  than  had 
been  known  in  any  former  period.  Many  circumstances  contributed  to 
this.  Their  animosity  was  founded  in  opposition  of  interest,  heightened 
by  personal  emulation,  and  exasperated  not  only  by  mutual  injuries,  but 
by  reciprocal  insults.  At  the  same  time,  whatever  advantage  one  seemed 
to  possess  towards  gaining  the  ascendant,  was  wonderfully  balanced  by 
some  favourable  circumstance  peculiar  to  the  other.  The  emperor's  do- 
minions were  of  greater  extent,  the  French  king's  lay  more  compact^ 
Francis  governed  his  kingdom  with  absolute  power ;  that  of  Charles  was 
limited,  but  he  supplied  the  want  of  authority  by  address :  the  troops  of 
the  former  were  more  impetuous  and  enterprising  ;  those  of  the  latter  bet- 
ter disciplined,  and  more  patient  of  fatigue.  The  talents  and  abilities  of 
the  two  monarchs  were  as  different  as  the  advantages  which  they  pos- 
sessed, and  contributed  no  less  to  prolong  the  contest  between  them. 
Francis  took  his  resolutions  suddenly,  prosecuted  them  at  first  with  warmth, 
and  pushed  them  into  execution  with  a  most  adventurous  courage ;  but 
being  destitute  of  the  perseverance  necessary  to  surmount  difficulties,  he 
often  abandoned  his  designs,  or  relaxed  the  vigour  of  pursuit,  from  impa- 
tience, and  sometimes  from  levity.  Charles  deliberated  long,  and  deter- 
mined with  coolness  ;  but  having  once  fixed  his  plan,  he  adhered  to  it  with 
inflexible  obstinacy,  and  neither  danger  nor  discouragement  could  turn  him 
aside  from  the  execution  of  it.  The  success  of  their  enterprises  was 
suitable  to  the  diversity  of  their  characters,  and  was  uniformly  influenced 
by  it.  Francis,  by  his  impetuous  activity,  often  disconcerted  the  emperor's 
best  laid  schemes  ;  Charles,  by  a  more  calm  but  steady  prosecution  of  his 
designs,  checked  the  rapidity  of  his  rival's  career,  and  baffled  or  repulsed 
bis  most  vigorous  efforts.  The  former,  at  the  opening  of  a  war  or  of  a 
campaign,  broke  in  upon  his  enemy  with  the  violence  of  a  torrent,  and 
carried  all  before  him  :  the  latter,  waiting  until  he  saw  the  force  of  his 
rival  begin  to  abate,  recovered  in  the  end  not  only  all  that  he  had  lost,  but 
made  new  acquisitions.  Few  of  the  French  monarch's  attempts  towards 
conquest,  whatever  promising  aspect  they  might  wear  at  first,  were  con- 
ducted to  a  happy  issue  ;  many  of  the  emperor's  enterprises,  even  after 
they  appeared  desperate  and  impracticable,  terminated  in  the  most  pros- 
perous manner.  Francis  was  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  an  underta- 
king ;  Charles  was  allured  by  the  prospect  of  its  turning  to  his  advantage. 
The  degree,  however,  of  their  comparative  merit  and  reputation  has 
not  been  fixed  either  by  a  strict  scrutiny  into  their  abilities  for  government, 
or  by  an  impartial  consideration  of  the  greatness  and  success  of  their 
undertakings  ;  and  Francis  is  one  of  those  monarchs  who  occupies  a  higher 
rank  in  the  temple  of  Fame,  than  either  his  talents  or  performances  entitle 
him  to  hold.  This  pre-eminence  he  owed  to  many  different  circumstances. 
The  superiority  which  Charles  acquired  by  the  victory  of  Pavia,  and 
which  from  that  period  he  preserved  through  the  remainder  of  his  reign, 
was  so  manifest,  that  Francis's  struggle  against  his  exorbitant  and  growing 
dominion  was  viewed  by  most  of  the  other  powers,  not  only  with  the  par- 
tiality which  naturally  arises  for  those  who  gallantly  maintain  an  unequal 
contest,  but  with  the  favour  due  to  one  who  was  resisting  a  common 
enemy,  and  endeavouring  to  set  bounds  to  a  monarch  equally  formidable 
to  them  all.  The  characters  of  princes,  too,  especially  among  their  con- 
temporaries, depend  not  only  upon  their  talents  for  government,  but  upon 
their  qualities  as  men.  Francis,  notwithstanding  the  many  errors  conspi- 
cuous in  his  foreign  policy  and  domestic  administration,  was  nevertheless 
humane,  beneficent,  and  srenerons.     He  possessed  dignity  without  pride  : 


360  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  HSook  IX. 

affability  free  from  meanness  ;  and  courtesy  exempt  from  deceit.  All  who 
had  access  to  him,  and  no  man  of  merit  was  ever  denied  that  privilege, 
respected  and  loved  him.  Captivated  with  his  personal  qualities,  his  sub- 
jects forgot  his  defects  as  a  monarch,  and  admiring  him  as  the  most  accom- 
plished and  amiable  gentleman  in  his  dominions,  they  hardly  murmured  at 
acts  of  maleadministration,  which,  in  a  prince  of  less  engaging  disposi- 
tions, would  have  been  deemed  unpardonable.  This  admiration,  how- 
ever, must  have  been  temporary  only,  and  would  have  died  away,  with 
the  courtiers, who  bestowed  it ;  the  illusion  arising  from  his  private  virtues 
must  have  ceased,  and  posterity  would  have  judged  of  his  public  conduct 
with  its  usual  impartiality ;  but  another  circumstance  prevented  this,  and 
his  name  hath  been  transmitted  to  posterity  with  increasing  reputation. 
Science  and  the  arts  had,  at  that  time,  made  little  progress  in  France. 
They  were  just  beginning  to  advance  beyond  the  limits  of  Italy,  where 
they  had  revived,  and  which  had  hitherto  been  their  only  seat.  Francis 
took  them  immediately  under  his  protection,  and  vied  with  Leo  himself, 
in  the  zeal  and  munificence  with  which  he  encouraged  them.  He  invited 
learned  men  to  his  court,  he  conversed  with  them  iamiliarly,  he  employed 
them  in  business,  he  raised  them  to  offices  of  dignity,  and  honoured  them 
with  his  confidence.  That  order  of  men,  not  more  prone  to  complain  when 
denied  the  respect  to  which  they  conceive  themselves  entitled,  than  apt 
to  be  pleased  when  treated  with  the  distinction  which  they  consider  as 
their  due,  thought  they  could  not  exceed  in  gratitude  to  such  a  benefactor, 
and  strained  their  invention,  and  employed  all  their  ingenuity  in  panegyric. 
Succeeding  authors,  warmed  with  their  descriptions  of  Francis's  bounty, 
adopted  their  encomiums,  and  even  added  to  them.  The  appellation  of 
Father  of  Letters  bestowed  upon  Francis,  hath  rendered  his  memory  sacred 
among  historians  •  and  they  seem  to  have  regarded  it  as  a  sort  of  impiety 
to  uncover  his  infirmities,  or  to  point  out  his  defects.  Thus  Francis,  not- 
withstanding his  inferior  abilities,  and  want  of  success,  hath  more  than 
equalled  the  fame  of  Charles.  The  good  qualities  which  he  possessed  as 
a  man,  have  entitled  him  to  greater  admiration  and  praise  than  have  been 
bestowed  upon  the  extensive  £erniu';  ami  fortunate  arts  of  a  more  capable, 
but  less  amiable  rival; 

By  his  death  a  considerable  change  was  made  in  the  state  of  Europe. 
Charles,  grown  old  in  the  arts  of  government  and  command,  had  now  to 
contend  only  with  younger  monarchs,  who  could  not  be  regarded  as  worthy 
to  enter  the  lists  with  him,  who  had  stood  so  many  encounters  with  Henry 
VIII.  and  Francis  I.,  and  come  off  with  honour  in  all  those  different  strug- 
gles. By  this  event,  he  was  eased  of  all  his  disquietude,  and  was  happy 
to  find  that  he  might  begin  with  safety  those  operations  against  the  elector 
of  Saxony,  which  he  had  hitherto  been  obliged  to  suspend.  He  knew 
the  abilities  of  Henry  II.,  who  had  just  mounted  the  throne  of  France,  to 
be  greatly  inferior  to  those  of  his  father,  and  foresaw  that  he  would  be  so 
much  occupied  for  some  time  in  displacing  the  late  king's  ministers,  whom 
he  hated,  and  in  gratifying  the  ambitious  demands  of  his  own  favourites, 
that  he  had  nothing  to  dread,  either  from  his  personal  efforts,  or  from  any 
confederacy  which  this  inexperienced  prince  could  form. 

But  as  it  was  uncertain  how  long  such  an  interval  of  security  might 
continue,  Charles  determined  instantly  to  improve  it :  and  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  Francis's  demise,  he  began  his  march  [April  13]  from  Egra  on 
the  borders  of  Bohemia.  But  the  departure  of  the  papal  troops,  together 
with  the  retreat  of  the  Flemings,  had  so  much  diminished  his  army,  that 
sixteen  thousand  men  were  all  he  could  assemble.  With  this  inconsidera- 
ble body  he  set  out  on  an  expedition,  the  event  of  which  was  to  decide 
what  degree  of  authority  he  should  possess  from  that  period  in  Germany ; 
but  as  this  little  army  consisted  chiefly  of  the  veteran  Spanish  and  Italian 
bands,  he  did  not.  in  trusting  to  them,  commit  much  to  the  decision  of 


EMPEROR    CHARLES   V.  3ftl 

most  sanguine  hopes  of  success.  The  Elector  had  levied  an  army  greatly- 
superior  in  number ;  but  neither  the  experience  and  discipline  of  his 
troops,  nor  the  abilities  of  his  officers,  were  to  be  compared  with  those  ot 
the  emperor.  The  elector,  besides,  had  already  been  "guilty  of  an  error, 
which  deprived  him  of  all  the  advantage  which  he  might  have  derived 
from  his  superiority  in  number,  and  was  alone  sufficient  to  have  occasioned 
his  ruin.  Instead  of  keeping  his  forces  united,  he  detached  one  great  body 
towards  the  frontiers  of  Bohemia,  in  order  to  facilitate  his  junction  with 
the  malecontents  of  that  kingdom,  and  cantoned  a  considerable  part  of 
what  remained  in  different  places  of.  Saxony,  where  he  expected  the 
emperor  .would  make  the  first  impression,  vainly  imagining  that  open 
towns,  with  small  garrisons,  might  be  rendered  tenable  against  an  enemy. 

The  emperor  entered  the  southern  frontier  of  Saxony,  and  attacked 
Altorf  upon  the  Elster.  The  impropriety  of  the  measure  which  the 
elector  had  taken  was  immediately  seen,  the  troops  posted  in  that  town 
surrendering  without  resistance  ;  and  those  in  all  the  other  places  between 
that  and  the  Elbe,  either  imitated  their  example,  or  fled  as  the  Imperialists 
approached.  Charles,  that  they  might  not  recover  from  the  panic  with 
which  they  seemed  to  be  struck,  advanced  without  losing  a  moment. 
The  elector,  who  had  fixed  his  head  quarters  at  Meissen,  continued  in  his 
wonted  state  of  fluctuation  and  uncertainty.  He  even  became  more  unde- 
termined, in  proportion  as  the  danger  drew  near,  and  called  for  prompt 
and  decisive  resolutions.  Sometimes  he  acted  as  if  he  had  resolved  to 
defend  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  and  to  hazard  a  battle  with  the  enemy,  as 
soon  as  the  detachments  which  he  had  called  in  were  able  to  join  him. 
At  other  times  he  abandoned  this  as  rash  and  perilous,  seeming  to  adopt 
the  more  prudent  counsels  of  those  who  advised  him  to  endeavour  at  pro- 
tracting the  war,  and  for  that  end  to  retire  under  the  fortifications  oi 
YVittemherg,  where  the  Imperialists  could  not  attack  him  without  manifest 
disadvantage,  and  where  he  might  wait,  in  safety,  for  the  succours  which 
he  expected  from  Mecklenburgh,  Pomerania,  and  the  protestant  cities  on 
the  Baltic.  Without  fixing  upon  either  of  these  plans,  he  broke  down  the 
bridge  at  Meissen,  and  marched  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Elbe  to  Muhl- 
berg.  There  he  deliberated  anew,  and,  after  much  hesitation,  adopted 
one  of  those  middle  schemes,  which  are  always  acceptable  to  feeble  minds 
incapable  of  deciding.  He  left  a  detachment  at  Muhlberg  to  oppose  the 
Imperialists,  if  they  should  attempt  to  pass  at  that  place,  and  advancing  a 
few  miles  with  his  main  body,  encamped  there  in  expectation  of  the  event, 
according  to  which  he  proposed  to  regulate  his  subsequent  motions. 

Charles,  meanwhile,  pushing  forward  incessantly,  arrived  the  evening 
of  the  twenty-third  of  April  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  opposite  to  Muhl- 
berg. The  river,  at  that  place,  was  three  hundred  paces  in  breadth, 
above  four  feet  in  depth,  its  current  rapid,  and  the  bank  possessed  by  the 
Saxons  was  higher  than  that  which  he  occupied.  Undismayed,  however, 
by  all  these  obstacles,  he  called  together  his  general  officers,  and,  without 
asking  their  opinions,  communicated  to  them  his  intention  of  attempting 
next  morning  to  force  his  passage  over  the  river,  and  to  attack  the  enemy 
wherever  he  could  come  up  with  them.  They  all  expressed  their  astonish- 
ment at  such  a  bold  resolution  ;  and  even  the  duke  of  Alva,  though  naturally 
daring  and  impetuous,  and  Maurice  of  Saxony,  notwithstanding  his  impa- 
tience to  crush  his  rival  the  elector,  remonstrated  earnestly  against  it.  But 
the  emperor,  confiding  in  his  own  judgment  or  good  fortune,  paid  no 
regard  to  their  arguments,  and  gave  the  orders  necessary  for  executing  his 
designs. 

Early  in  the  morning  a  body  of  Spanish  and  Italian  foot  marched  towards 
the  river,  and  be?an  an  incessant  fire  upon  the  enemy.  The  long  heavy 
muskets  used  in  that  age,  did  execution  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  many 

Vor,.  If.— 4R 


362  THE   REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  IX. 

of  the  soldiers,  hurried  on  by  martial  ardour,  in  order  to  get  nearer  the 
enemy,  rushed  into  the  stream,  and,  advancing  breast  high,  fired  with  a 
more  certain  aim,  and  with  greater  effect.  Under  cover  of  their  fire,  a 
bridge  of  boats  was  begun  to  be  laid  for  the  infantry ;  and  a  peasant 
having  undertaken  to  conduct  the  cavalry  through  the  river  by  a  ford  with 
which  he  was  well  acquainted,  they  also  were  put  in  motion.  The 
Saxons  posted  in  Muhlberg  endeavoured  to  obstruct  these  operations  by  a 
brisk  fire  from  a  battery  which  they  had  erected  ;  but  as  a  thick  tog 
covered  all  the  low  grounds  upon  the  river,  they  could  not  take  aim  with 
any  certainty,  and  the  Imperialists  suffered  very  iittle  ;  at  the  same  time 
the  Saxons  being  much  galled  by  the  Spaniards  and  Italians,  they  sel  on 
fire  some  boats  which  had  been  collected  near  the  village,  and  prepared 
to  retire.  The  Imperialists  perceiving  this,  ten  Spanish  soldiers  instantl)' 
stript  themselves,  and  holding  their  swords  with  their  teeth,  swam  across 
the  river,  put  to  flight  such  of  the  Saxons  as  ventured  to  oppose  them, 
saved  from  the  flames  as  many  boats  as  were  sufficient  to  complete  their 
own  bridge,  and  by  this  spirited  and  successful  action,  encouraged  their 
companions  no  less  than  they  intimidated  the  enemy. 

By  this  time  the  cavalry,  each  trooper  having  a  foot  soldier  behind  him, 
began  to  enter  the  river,  the  light  horse  marching  in  the  front,  followed 
by  the  men  at  arms,  whom  the  emperor  led  in  person,  mounted  on  a 
Spanish  horse,  dressed  in  a  sumptuous  habit,  and  carrying  a  javelin  in  his 
hand.  Such  a  numerous  body  struggling  through  a  great  river,  in  which, 
according  to  the  directions  of  their  guide,  they  were  obliged  to  make 
several  turns,  sometimes  treading  on  a  firm  bottom,  sometimes  swimming, 
presented  to  their  companions,  whom  they  left  behind,  a  spectacle  equally 
magnificent  and  interesting.*  Their  courage,  at  last,  surmounted  every 
obstacle,  no  man  betraying  any  symptom  of  fear,  when  the  emperor  shared 
in  the  danger  no  less  than  the  meanest  soldier.  The  moment  that  they 
reached  the  opposite  side,  Charles,  without  waiting  the  arrival  of  the 
rest  of  the  infantry,  advanced  towards  the  Saxons  with  the  troops  which 
had  passed  along  with  him,  who,  flushed  with  their  good  fortune,  and 
despising  an  enemy  who  had  neglected  to  oppose  them,  when  it  might 
have  been  done  with  such  advantage,  made  no  account  of  their  superior 
numbers,  and  marched  on  as  to  a  certain  victory. 

During  all  these  operations,  which  necessarily  consumed  much  time, 
the  elector  remained  inactive  in  his  camp  ;  and  from  an  infatuation  which 
appears  to  be  so  amazing,  that  the  best  informed  historians  impute  it  to 
the  treacherous  arts  of  nis  generals,  who  deceived  him  by  false  intelli- 
gence, he  would  not  believe  that  the  emperor  had  passed  the  river,  or 
could  be  so  near  at  hand.t  Being  convinced,  at  last,  of  his  fatal  mistake, 
by  the  concurring  testimony  of  eye-witnesses,  he  gave  orders  for  retreating 
towards  Wittemberg.  But  a  German  army,  encumbered,  as  usual,  with 
baggage  and  artillery,  could  not  be  put  suddenly  in  motion.  They  had 
just  begun  to  march  when  the  light  troops  of  the  enemy  came  in  view, 
and  the  elector  saw  an  engagement  to  be  unavoidable.  As  he  was  no  less 
bold  in  action  than  irresolute  in  council,  he  made  the  disposition  for  battle 
with  the  greatest  presence  of  mind,  and  in  the  most  proper  manner,  taking 
advantage  of  a  great  forest  to  cover  his  wings,  so  as  to  prevent  his  being 
surrounded  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which  were  far  more  numerous  than 
his  own.  The  emperor,  likewise,  ranged  his  men  in  order  as  they  came 
up,  and  riding  along  the  ranks,  exhorted  them  with  few  but  efficacious 
words  to  do  their  duty.  It  was  with  a  very  different  spirit  that  the  two 
armies  advanced  to  the  charge.  As  the  day,  which  had  hitherto  been 
dark  and  cloudy,  happened  to  cleaT  up  at  that  moment,  this  accidental 
circumstance  made  an  impression  on  the  different  parties  corresponding  to 

*  Avffe,  J  J5.  a.  t  Catwrsir.  np.  Freher.  iii.  493.    Btruv.  Corp.  Hist.  G^rro.  1047.  1049 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  S63 

the  tone  of  their  minds  ;  the  Saxons,  surprised  and  disheartened,  felt  pain 
at  being  exposed  fully  to  the  view  of  the  enemy  ;  the  Imperialists,  being 
now  secure  that  the  protestant  forces  could  not  escape  from  them,  rejoiced 
at  the  return  of  sunshine,  as  a  certain  presage  of  victory.  The  shock  ot 
battle  would  not  have  been  long  doubtful,  it  the  personal  courage  which 
the  elector  displayed,  together  with  the  activity  which  he  exerted  irom 
the  moment  that  the  approach  of  the  enemy  rendered  an  engagement  cer- 
tain, and  cut  off  all  possibility  of  hesitation,  had  not  revived  in  some  degree 
the  spirit  of  his  troops.  They  repulsed  the  Hungarian  light-horse  who 
began  the  attack,  and  received  with  firmness  the  men  at  arms  who  next 
advanced  to  the  charge ;  but  as  these  were  the  flower  of  the  Imperial 
army,  were  commanded  by  experienced  officers,  and  fought  under  the 
emperor's  eye,  the  Saxons  soon  began  to  give  way,  and  the  light  troops 
rallying  at  the  same  time,  and  falling  on  their  flanks,  the  flight  became 
general.  A  small  body  of  chosen  soldiers,  among  whom  the  elector  had 
fought  in  person,  still  continued  to  defend  themselves,  and  endeavoured  to 
save  their  master  by  retiring  into  the  forest ;  but  being  surrounded  on  every 
side,  the  elector  wounded  in  the  face,  exhausted  with  fatigue,  and  per- 
ceiving  all  resistance  to  be  vain,  surrendered  himself  a  prisoner.  He  was 
conducted  immediately  towards  the  emperor,  whom  he  found  just  returned 
from  the  pursuit,  standing  on  the  field  of  battle  in  the  full  exultation  ot 
success,  and  receiving  the  congratulations  of  his  officers,  upon  this  complete 
victory  obtained  by  his  valour  and  conduct.  Even  in  such  an  unfortunate 
and  humbling  situation,  the  elector's  behaviour  was  equally  magnanimous 
and  decent.  Sensible  of  his  condition,  he  approached  his  conqueror  with- 
out any  of  the  sullenness  or  pride  which  would  have  been  improper  in  a 
captive  ;  and  conscious  of  his  own  dignity,  he  descended  to  no  mean  sub- 
mission, unbecoming  the  high  station  which  he  held  among  the  German 
princes.     "  The  fortune  of  war,"  said  he,  "  has  made  me  your  prisoner, 

most  gracious  emperor,  and  I  hope  to  be  treated" Here  Charles  harshly 

interrupted  him  :  "  And  am  I  then,  at  last,  acknowledged  to  be  emperor? 
Charles  of  Ghent  was  the  only  title  you  lately  allowed  me.  You  shall  be 
treated  as  you  deserve."  At  these  words  he  turned  from  him  abruptly 
with  a  haughty  air.  To  this  cruel  repulse,  the  king  of  the  Romans  added 
reproaches  in  his  own  name,  using  expressions  still  more  ungenerous  and 
insulting.  The  elector  made  no  reply ;  but,  with  an  unaltered  countenance, 
which  discovered  neither  astonishment  nor  dejection,  accompanied  the 
Spanish  soldiers  appointed  to  guard  him.* 

This  decisive  victory  cost  the  Imperialists  only  fifty  men.  Twelve  hun- 
dred of  the  Saxons  were  killed,  chiefly  in  the  pursuit,  and  a  greater  number 
taken  prisoners.  About  four  hundred  kept  in  a  body,  and  escaped  to 
Wittemberg,  together  with  the  electoral  prince,  who  had  likewise  been 
wounded  in  the  action.  After  resting  two  days  in  the  field  of  battle, 
partly  to  refresh  his  army,  and  partly  to  receive  the  deputies  of  the  adja- 
cent towns,  which  were  impatient  to  secure  his  protection  by  submitting 
to  his  will,  the  emperor  began  to  move  towards  Wittemberg,  that  he  might 
terminate  the  war  at  once,  by  the  reduction  of  that  city.  The  unfortunate 
elector  was  carried  along  in  a  sort  of  triumph,  and  exposed  every  where, 
as  a  captive,  to  his  own  subjects  ;  a  spectacle  extremely  afflicting  to  them, 
who  both  honoured  and  loved  him  ;  though  the  insult  was  so  far  from  sub- 
duing his  firm  spirit,  that  it  did  not  even  ruffle  the  wonted  tranquillity  and 
composure  of  his  mind. 

As  Wittemberg,  the  residence,  in  that  age,  of  the  electoral  branch  of  the 
Saxon  family,  was  one  of  the  strongest  cities  in  Germany,  and  could  not. 
be   taken,  if  properly  defended,  without  great  difficulty,  the   emperov 

*  Sleid.  Hist.  42G.  Tliuan.  136.  Horlensius  de  Bello  German,  ap.  Scatd.  vol.  ii.  498.  Desolr-t, 
Pngiiaj  Mulbere.  ibid.  p.  509.    P.  HwnVr.  Rer.  A«str.  lib.  xli.  r.  13.  p.  298. 


364  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  IX. 

marched  thither  with  the  utmost  despatch,  hoping  that  while  the  conster- 
nation occasioned  by  his  victory  was  still  recent,  the  inhabitants  might 
imitate  the  example  of  their  countrymen,  and  submit  to  his  power,  as  soon 
as  he  appeared  before  their  walls.  But  Sybilla  of  Cleves,  the  elector's 
wife,  a  woman  no  less  distinguished  by  her  abilities  than  her  virtue,  instead 
of  abandoning  herself  to  tears  and  lamentations  upon  her  husband's  mis- 
fortune, endeavoured  by  her  example  as  well  as  exhortations,  to  animate 
the  citizens.  She  inspired  them  with  such  resolution,  that,  when  summoned 
to  surrender,  they  returned  a  vigorous  answer,  warning  the  emperor  to 
behave  towards  their  sovereign  with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank,  as  they 
were  determined  to  treat  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  who  was  still  a  prisoner, 
precisely  in  the  same  manner  that  he  treated  the  elector.  The  spirit  of 
the  inhabitants,  no  less  than  the  strength  of  the  city,  seemed  now  to  render 
a  siege  in  form  necessary.  After  such  a  signal  victory,  it  would  have  been 
disgraceful  not  to  have  undertaken  it,  though  at  the  same  time  the  emperor 
was  destitute  of  every  thing  requisite  for  carrying  it  on.  But  Maurice 
removed  all  difficulties  by  engaging  to  furnish  provisions,  artillery,  ammu- 
nition, pioneers,  and  whatever  else  should  be  needed.  Trusting  to  this. 
Charles  gave  orders  to  open  the  trenches  before  the  town.  It  quickly  ap- 
peared, that  Maurice's  eagerness  to  reduce  the  capital  of  those  dominions, 
which  he  expected  as  his  reward  for  taking  arms  against  his  kinsman,  and 
deserting  the  protestant  cause,  had  led  him  to  promise  what  exceeded  his 
power  to  perform.  A  battering  train  was,  indeed,  carried  safely  down  the 
Elbe  from  Dresden  to  Wittemberg  ;  but  as  Maurice  had  not  sufficient  force 
to  preserve  a  secure  communication  between  his  own  territories  and  the 
camp  of  the  besiegers,  count  Mansfeldt,  who  commanded  a  body  of  elec- 
toral troops,  intercepted  and  destroyed  a  convoy  of  provisions  and  military 
stores,  and  dispersed  a  band  of  pioneers  destined  for  the  service  of  the 
Imperialists.  This  put  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  the  siege,  and  convinced 
the  emperor,  that  as  he  could  not  rely  on  Maurice's  promises,  recourse 
ought  to  be  had  to  some  more  expeditious  as  well  as  more  certain  method 
of  getting  possession  of  the  town. 

The  unfortunate  elector  was  in  his  hands  and  Charles  was  ungenerous 
and  hard-hearted  enough  to  take  advantage  of  this,  in  order  to  make  an 
experiment  whether  he  might  not  bring  about  his  design,  by  working  upon 
the  tenderness  of  a  wife  for  her  husband,  or  upon  the  piety  of  children 
-towards  their  parent.  With  this  view,  he  summoned  Sybilla  a  second  time 
to  open  the  gates,  letting  her  know  that  if  she  again  refused  to  comply, 
the  elector  should  answer  with  his  head  for  her  obstinacy  To  convince 
her  that  this  was  not  an  empty  threat,  he  brought  his  prisoner  to  an  imme- 
diate trial.  The  proceedings  against  him  were  as  irregular  as  the  stratagem 
was  barbarous.  Instead  of  consulting  the  states  of  the  empire,  or  remit- 
ting the  cause  to  any  court,  which,  according  to  the  German  constitution, 
might  have  legally  taken  cognizance  of  the  elector's  crime,  he  subjected 
the  greatest  prince  in  the  empire  to  the  jurisdiction  of  a  court-martial, 
composed  of  Spanish  and  Italian  officers,  and  in  which  the  unrelenting 
duke  of  Alva,  a  fit  instrument  for  any  act  of  violence,  presided  [May  10]. 
This  strange  tribunal  founded  its  chaige  upon  the  ban  of  the  empire  which 
had  been  issued  against  the  prisoner  by  the  sole  authority  of  the  emperor, 
and  was  destitute  of  every  legal  formality  which  could  render  it  valid. 
But  the  court-martial,  presuming  the  elector  to  be  thereby  manifestly  con- 
victed of  treason  and  rebellion,  condemned  him  to  suffer  death  by  being 
beheaded.  This  decree  was  intimated  to  the  elector  while  he  was  amusing 
himself  in  playing  at  chess  with  Ernest  of  Brunswick  his  fellow-prisoner. 
He  paused  for  a  moment,  though  without  discovering  any  symptom  either 
of  surprise  or  terror  ;  and  after  taking  notice  of  the  irregularity  as  well  as 
injustice  of  the  emperor's  proceedings  :  "  It  is  easy,  continued  he,  to  com- 
prehend his  scheme.     I  must  die.  because  Wittemberg  will  not  surrender  ; 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  36£> 

and  I  shall  lay  down  my  life  with  pleasure,  if,  by  that  sacrifice,  I  can  pre- 
serve the  dignity  of  my  house,  and  transmit  to  my  posterity  the  inheritance 
which  belongs  to  them.  Would  to  God  that  this  sentence  may  not  affect 
my  wife  and  children  more  than  it  intimidates  me!  and  that  they,  for  the 
sake  of  adding  a  few  days  to  a  life  already  too  long,  may  not  renounce 
honours  and  territories  which  they  were  born  to  possess!"*  He  then 
turned  to  his  antagonist,  whom  he  challenged  to  continue  the  game.  He 
played  with  his  usual  attention  and  ingenuity,  and  having  beat  Ernest, 
expressed  all  the  satisfaction  which  is  commonly  felt  on  gaining  such  victo- 
ries. After  this,  he  withdrew  to  his  own  apartment,  that  he  might  employ 
the  rest  of  his  time  in  such  religious  exercises  as  were  proper  in  his 
situation.! 

It  was  not  with  the  same  indifference,  or  composure,  that  the  account 
of  the  elector's  danger  was  received  in  Wittemberg.  Sybilla,  who  had 
supported  with  such  undaunted  fortitude  her  husband's  misfortunes,  while 
she  imagined  that  they  could  reach  no  farther  than  to  diminish  his  power 
or  territories,  felt  all  her  resolution  fail  as  soon  as  his  life  was  threatened. 
Solicitous  to  save  that,  she  despised  every  other  consideration ;  and  was 
willing  to  make  any  sacrifice,  in  order  to  appease  an  incensed  conqueror. 
At  the  same  time,  the  duke  of  Cleves,  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  and 
Maurice,  to  none  of  whom  Charles  had  communicated  the  true  motives  of 
his  violent  proceedings  against  the  elector,  interceded  warmly  with  him 
to  spare  his  life.  The  first  was  prompted  so  to  do  merely  in  compassion 
for  his  sister,  and  regard  for  his  brother-in-law.  The  two  others  dreaded 
the  universal  reproach  that  they  would  incur,  if,  after  having  boasted  so 
often  of  the  ample  security  which  the  emperor  had  promised  them  with 
respect  to  their  religion,  the  first  effect  of  their  union  with  him  should  be 
the  public  execution  of  a  prince,  who  was  justly  held  in  reverence  as  the 
most  zealous  protector  of  the  protestant  cause.  Maurice,  in  particular, 
foresaw  that  he  must  become  the  object  of  detestation  to  the  Saxons,  and 
could  never  hope  to  govern  them  with  tranquillity,  if  he  were  considered 
by  them  as  accessary  to  the  death  of  his  nearest  kinsman,  in  order  that  he 
might  obtain  possession  of  his  dominions. 

While  they,  from  such  various  motives,  solicited  Charles,  with  {he  most 
earnest  importunity,  not  to  execute  the  sentence  ;  Sybilla,  and  his  chil- 
dren, conjured  the  elector,  by  letters  as  well  as  messengers,  to  scruple  at 
no  concession  that  would  extricate  him  out  of  the  present  danger,  and 
deliver  them  from  their  fears  and  anguish  on  his  account.  The  emperor, 
perceiving  that  the  expedient  which  he  had  tried  began  to  produce  the 
effect  that  he  intended,  fell  by  degrees  from  his  former  rigour,  and  allowed 
himself  to  soften  into  promises  of  clemency  and  forgiveness,  if  the  elector 
would  show  himself  worthy  of  his  favour,  by  submitting  to  reasonable 
terms.  The  elector,  on  whom  the  consideration  of  what  he  might  suffer 
himself  had  made  no  impression,  was  melted  by  the  tears  of  his  wife  whom 
he  loved,  and  could  not  resist  the  entreaties  of  his  family.  In  compliance 
with  their  repeated  solicitations,  he  agreed  to  articles  of  accommodation 
[May  19],  which  he  would  otherwise  have  rejected  with  disdain.  Tin- 
chief  of  them  were,  that  he  should  resign  the  electoral  dignity,  as  well  for 
himself  as  for  his  posterity,  into  the  emperor's  hands,  to  be  disposed  of 
entirely  at  his  pleasure  ;  that  he  should  instantly  put  the  Imperial  troops  in 
possession  of  the  cities  of  Wittemberg  andGotha;  that  he  should  set 
Albert  of  Brandenburg  at  liberty  without  ransom  ;  that  he  should  submit  to 
the  decrees  of  the  Imperial  chamber,  and  acquiesce  in  whatever  reforma- 
tion the  emperor  should  make  in  the  constitution  of  that  court ;  that  he 
should  renounce  all  leagues  against  the  emperor  or  king  of  the  Romans,  and 
enter  into  no  alliance  for  the  future,  in  which  they  were  not  comprehended . 

*  Thuan.  ill?  ■;•  StravU  Corpus,  1050 


36tt  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  IX. 

In  return  for  these  important  concessions,  the  emperor  not  only  promised  to 
spare  his  life,  but  to  settle  on  him  and  his  posterity  the  city  of  Gotfaa  and 
its  territories,  together  with  an  annual  pension  of  fifty  thousand  florins,  pay- 
able out  of  the  revenues  of  the  electorate ;  and  likewise  to  grant  him  a 
sum  in  ready  money  to  be  applied  towards  the  discharge  of  his  debts. 
Even  these  articles  of  grace  were  clogged  with  the  mortifying  condition  of 
his  remaining  the  emperor's  prisoner  during  the  rest  of  his  life.*  To  the 
whole,  Charles  had  subjoined,  that  he  should  submit  to  the  decrees  of  the 
pope  and  council  with  regard  to  the  controverted  points  in  religion ;  but 
the  elector,  though  he  had  been  persuaded  to  sacrifice  all  the  objects 
which  men  commonly  hold  to  be  the  dearest  and  most  valuable,  was  in- 
flexible with  regard  to  this  point ;  and  neither  threats  nor  entreaties  could 
prevail  to  make  him  renounce  what  he  deemed  to  be  truth,  or  persuade 
him  to  act  in  opposition  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience. 

As  soon  as  the  Saxon  garrison  marched  out  of  Wjttemberg,  the  emperor 
fulfilled  his  engagements  to  Maurice  ;  and  in  reward  for  his  merit  in  having 
deserted  the  protestant  cause,  and  having  contributed  with  such  success 
towards  the  dissolution  of  the  Smalkaldic  league,  he  gave  him  possession 
of  that  city,  together  with  all  the  other  towns  in  the  electorate.  It  was 
not  without  reluctance,  however,  that  he  made  such  a  sacrifice  ;  the  ex- 
traordinary success  of  his  arms  had  begun  to  operate  in  its  usual  manner, 
upon  his  ambitious  mind,  suggesting  new  and  vast  projects  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  his  family,  towards  the  accomplishment  of  which  the  retain- 
ing of  Saxony  would  have  been  of  the  utmost  consequence.  But  as  this 
scheme  was  not  then  ripe  for  execution,  he  durst  not  yet  venture  to  dis- 
close it ;  nor  would  it  have  been  either  safe  or  prudent  to  offend  Maurice 
at  this  juncture,  by  such  a  manifest  violation  of  all  the  promises  which 
had  seduced  him  to  abandon  his  natural  allies. 

The  landgrave,  Maurice's  father-in-law,  was  still  in  arms  ;  and  though 
now  left  alone  to  maintain  the  protestant  cause,  was  neither  a  feeble  nor 
contemptible  enemy.  His  dominions  were  of  considerable  extent :  his 
subjects  animated  with  zeal  for  the  reformation ;  and  if  he  could  have 
held  the  Imperialists  at  bay  for  a  short  time,  he  had  much  to  hope  from  a 
party  whose  strength  was  still  unbroken,  whose  union  as  well  as  vigour 
might  return,  and  which  had  reason  to  depend,  with  certainty,  on  being 
effectually  supported  by  the  king  of  France.  The  landgrave  thought  not 
of  any  thing  so  bold  or  adventurous  ;  but  being  seized  with  the  same  con- 
sternation which  had  taken  possession  of  his  associates,  he  was  intent  only 
on  the  means  of  procuring  favourable  terms  from  the  emperor  whom  he 
viewed  as  a  conqueror,  to  whose  will  there  was  a  necessity  of  submitting. 
Maurice  encouraged  this  tame  and  pacific  spirit,  by  magnifying,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  emperor's  power  ;  by  boasting,  on  the  other,  of  his  own  interest 
with  his  victorious  ally  ;  and  by  representing  the  advantageous  conditions 
which  he  could  not  fail  of  obtaining  by  his  intercession  for  a  friend,  whom 
he  was  so  solicitous  to  save.  Sometimes  the  landgrave  was  induced  to 
place  such  unbounded  confidence  in  his  promises,  that  he  was  impatient  to 
bring  matters  to  a  final  accommodation.  On  other  occasions,  the  emperor's 
exorbitant  ambition,  restrained  neither  by  the  scruples  of  decency,  nor  the 
maxims  of  justice,  together  with  the  recent  and  shocking  proof  which  he 
had  given  of  this  in  his  treatment  of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  came  so  full  into 
his  thoughts,  and  made  such  a  lively  impression  on  them,  that  be  broke 
off  abruptly  the  negotiations  which  he  had  begun  ;  seeming  to  be  con- 
vinced that  it  was  more  prudent  to  depend  for  safety  on  his  own  arms 
than  to  confide  in  Charles's  generosity.  But  this  bold  resolution,  which 
despair  had  suggested  to  an  impatient  spirit,  fretted  by  disappointments. 
vis  not  of  long  continuance.    Upon  a  more  deliberate  survey  ofc  tl^ 

"  Sldid.  est.    Thuan:  i-  14e.    Du  Mont,  Corps  Diplorn.  iv.  f. 11.  332> 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  367 

enemy's  power,  as  well  as  his  own  weakness,  his  doubts  and  tears  returned 
upon  him,  and  together  with  them  the  spirit  of  negotiating,  and  the  desire 
of  accommodation. 

Maurice  and  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  acted  as  mediators  between  him 
and  the  emperor ;  and  after  all  that  the  former  had  vaunted  of  his  influ- 
ence, the  conditions  prescribed  to  the  landgrave  were  extremely  rigorous. 
The  articles  with  regard  to  his  renouncing  the  league  ot  Smalkalde,  ac- 
knowledging the  emperor's  authority,  and  submitting  to  the  decrees  of  the 
Imperial  chamber,  were  the  same  which  had  been  imposed  on  the  elector 
of  Saxony.  Besides  these,  he  was  required  to  surrender  his  person  and 
territories  to  the  emperor ;  to  implore  for  pardon  on  his  knees  ;  to  pay  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  crowns  towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
war  ;  to  demolish  the  fortifications  of  all  the  towns  in  his  dominions  except 
one  ;  to  oblige  the  garrison  which  he  placed  in  it  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity 
to  the  emperor  ;  to  allow  a  free  passage  through  his  territories  to  the  Im- 
perial troops  as  often  as  it  shall  be  demanded;  to  deliver  up  all  his  artil 
Jery  and  ammunition  to  the  emperor ;  to  set  at  liberty,  without  ransom, 
Henry  of  Brunswick,  together  with  the  other  prisoners  whom  he  had 
taken  during  the  war  ;  and  neither  to  take  arms  himself,  nor  to  permit  any 
of  his  subjects  to  serve  against  the  emperor  or  his  allies  for  the  future .* 

The  landgrave  ratified  these  articles,  though  with  the  utmost  reluctance, 
as  they  contained  no  stipulation  with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  he  was 
to  be  treated,  and  left  him  entirely  at  the  emperor's  mercy.  Necessity, 
however,  compelled  him  to  give  his  assent  to  them.  Charles,  who  had 
assumed  the  haughty  and  imperious  tone  of  a  conqueror,  ever  since  the  re- 
duction of  Saxony,  insisted  on  unconditional  submission,  and  would  permit 
nothing  to  be  added  to  the  terms  which  he  had  prescribed,  that  could  in 
any  degree  limit  the  fulness  of  his  power,  or  restrain  him  from  behaving  as 
he  saw  meet  towards  a  prince  whom  he  regarded  as  absolutely  at  his  dis- 
posal. But  though  he  would  not  vouchsafe  to  negotiate  with  the  landgrave 
on  such  a  footing  of  equality,  as  to  suffer  any  article  to  be  inserted  among 
those  which  he  had  dictated  to  him,  that  could  be  considered  as  a  formal 
stipulation  for  the  security  and  freedom  of  his  own  person ;  he,  or  his  mi- 
nisters in  his  name,  gave  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  and  Maurice  such  ful! 
satisfaction  with  regard  to  this  point,  that  they  assured  the  landgrave,  that 
Charles  would  behave  to  him  in  the  same  way  as  he  had  done  to  the  duke 
of  Wurtemberg,  and  would  allow  him,  whenever  he  had  made  his  sub- 
mission, to  return  to  his  own  territories.  Upon  finding  the  landgrave  to  be 
still  possessed  with  his  former  suspicions  of  the  emperor's  intentions,  and 
unwilling  to  trust  verbal  or  ambiguous  declarations,  in  a  matter  of  such 
essential  concern  as  his  own  liberty,  they  sent  him  a  bond  signed  by  them 
both,  containing  the  most  solemn  obligations,  that  if  any  violence  whatso- 
ever was  offered  to  his  person,  during  his  interview  with  the  emperor, 
they  would  instantly  surrender  themselves  to  his  sons,  and  remain  in  their 
hands  to  be  treated  by  them  in  the  same  manner  as  the  emperor  should 
treat  him.t 

This,  together  with  the  indispensable  obligation  of  performing  what  was 
contained  in  the  articles  of  which  he  had  accepted,  removed  his  doubts 
and  scruples,  or  made  it  necessary  to  get  over  them.  He  repaired  for  that 
purpose,  to  the  Imperial  camp  at  Halle  in  Saxony,  where  a  circumstance 
occurred  which  revived  his  suspicions  and  increased  his  fears.  Just  as 
he  was  about  to  enter  the  chamber  of  presence,  in  order  to  make  his  pub- 
lic submission  to  the  emperor,  a  copy  of  the  articles  which  he  had  ap- 
Coved  of  was  put  into  his  hands,  in  order  that  he  might  ratify  them  anew, 
pon  perusing  them,  he  perceived  that  the  imperial  ministers  had  added 
two  new  articles  ;  one  importing,  that  if  any  dispute  should  arise  concem- 

•  Sleid.  430.    Tliuon.  I.  iv.  146.  ,-    Jfont,  Corps  Dlploob  iv.  p.  11  336 


36»  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Book  IX. 

ing  the  meaning  of  the  former  conditions,  the  emperor  should  have  the 
right  of  putting  what  interpretation  upon  them  he  thought  post  reason- 
able ;  the  other,  that  the  landgrave  was  bound  to  submit  implicitly  to  the 
decisions  of  the  council  of  1  rent.  This  unworthy  artifice,  calculated  to 
surprise  him  into  an  approbation  of  articles,  to  which  he  had  not  the  most 
distant  idea  of  assenting,  by  proposing  them  to  him  at  a  time  when  his 
mind  was  engrossed  and  disquieted  with  the  thoughts  of  that  humiliating 
ceremony  which  he  had  to  perform,  filled  the  landgrave  with  indignation, 
and  made  him  break  out  into  all  those  violent  expressions  of  rage  to  which 
his  temper  was  prone.  With  some  difficulty,  the  elector  of  Brandenburg 
and  Maurice  prevailed  at  length  on  the  emperor's  ministers  to  drop  the 
former  article  as  unjust,  and  to  explain  the  latter  in  such  a  manner  that  he 
could  agree  to  it,  without  openly  renouncing  the  protestant  religion. 

This  obstacle  being  surmounted,  the  landgrave  was  impatient  to  finish 
a  ceremony  which,  how  mortifying  soever,  had  been  declared  necessary 
towards  his  obtaining  pardon.  The  emperor  was  seated  on  a  magnificent 
throne,  with  all  the  ensigns  of  his  dignity,  surrounded  by  a  numerous  train 
of  the  princes  of  the  empire,  among  whom  was  Henry  oi  Brunswick,  lately 
the  landgrave's  prisoner,  and  now,  by  a  sudden  reverse  of  fortune,  a  spec- 
tator of  his  humiliation.  The  landgrave  was  introduced  with  great  solem- 
nity, and  advancing  towards  the  throne,  fell  upon  his  knees.  His  chancellor, 
who  walked  behind  him,  immediately  read,  by  his  master's  command,  a 
paper  which  contained  an  humble  confession  of  the  crime  whereof  he  had 
been  guilty ;  an  acknowledgment  that  he  had  merited  on  that  account  the 
most  severe  punishment ;  an  absolute  resignation  of  himself  and  his  domi- 
nions to  be  disposed  of  at  the  emperor's  pleasure  ;  a  submissive  petition 
for  pardon,  his  hopes  of  which  were  founded  entirely  on  the  emperor's 
clemency ;  and  it  concluded  with  promises  of  behaving,  for  the  future,  like 
a  subject  whose  principles  of  loyalty  and  obedience  would  be  confirmed, 
and  would  even  derive  new  force  from  the  sentiments  of  gratitude  which 
must  hereafter  fill  and  animate  his  heart.  While  the  chancellor  was  reading 
this  abject  declaration,  the  eyes  of  all  the  spectators  were  fixed  on  the 
unfortunate  landgrave  ;  few  could  behold  a  prince,  so  powerful  as  well  as 
high-spirited,  suing  for  mercy  ifethe  posture  of  a  suppliant,  without  being 
touched  with  commiseration,  ana  perceiving  serious  reflections  arise  in  their 
minds  upon  the  instability  and  emptiness  of  human  grandeur.  The  emperor 
viewed  the  whole  transaction  with  a  haughty  unfeeling  composure  ;  and 
preserving  a  profound  silence  himself,  made  a  sign  to  one  of  his  secretaries 
to  read  his  answer :  the  tenor  of  which  was,  That  though  he  might  have 
justly  inflicted  on  him  the  grievous  punishment  which  his  crimes  deserved, 
yet,  prompted  by  bis  own  generosity,  moved  by  the  solicitations  ol  several 
princes  in  behalf  of  the  landgrave,  and  influenced  by  his  penitential  ac- 
knowledgments, he  would  not  deal  with  him  according  to  the  rigour  of 
justice,  and  would  subject  him  to  no  penalty  that  was  not  specified  in  the 
articles  which  he  had  already  subscribed.  The  moment  the  secretary  had 
finished,  Charles  turned  away  abruptly,  without  deigning  to  give  the 
unhappy  suppliant  any  sign  of  compassion  or  reconcilement.  He  did  not 
even  desire  him  to  rise  from  his  knees ;  which  the  landgrave  having  ventured 
to  do  unbidden,  advanced  towards  the  emperor  with  an  intention  to  kiss 
his  hand,  flattering  himself,  that  his  guilt  being  now  fully  expiated,  he 
might  presume  to  take  that  liberty.  But  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  per- 
ceiving that  this  familiarity  would  be  offensive  to  the  emperor,  interposed. 
and  desired  the  landgrave  to  go  along  with  him  and  Maurice  to  the  duke 
of  Alva's  apartments  in  the  castle. 

He  was  received  and  entertained  by  that  nobleman  with  the  respect  and 
courtesy  due  to  such  a  guest.  But  after  supper,  while  he  was  engaged  in 
play,  the  duke  took  the  elector  and  Maurice  aside,  and  communicated  to 
dt*»m  the  emperor's  orders,  that  the  landgrave  must  remain  a  prisoner 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  369 

in  that  place  under  the  custody  of  a  Spanish  guard.  As  they  had  not 
hitherto  entertained  the  most  distant  suspicion  of  the  emperor's  sincerity  or 
rectitude  of  intention,  their  surprise  was  excessive,  and  their  indignation 
not  interior  to  it,  on  discovering  how  greatly  they  had  been  deceived  them: 
selves,  and  how  infamously  abused,  in  having  been  made  the  instruments  ot 
deceiving  and  ruining  their  friend.  They  had  recourse  to  complaints,  to 
arguments,  and  to  entreaties,  in  order  to  save  themselves  from  that  disgrace, 
and  to  extricate  him  out  of  the  wretched  situation  into  which  he  had  been 
betrayed  by  too  great  confidence  in  them.  But  the  duke  oi  Alva  remained 
inflexible,  and  pleaded  the  necessity  of  executing  the  emperor's  commands. 
By  this  time  it  grew  late,  and  the  landgrave,  who  knew  nothing  of  what 
had  passed,  nor  dreaded  the  snare  in  which  he  was  entangled,  prepared  for 
departing,  when  the  fatal  orders  were  intimated  to  him.  He  was  struck 
dumb  at  first  with  astonishment,  but  after  being  silent  a  few  moments,  he 
broke  out  into  all  the  violent  expressions  which  horror,  at  injustice  accom- 
panied with  fraud,  naturally  suggests.  He  complained,  he  expostulated, 
he  exclaimed  ;  sometimes  inveighing  against  the  emperor's  artifices  as 
unworthy  of  a  great  and  generous  prince  ;  sometimes  censuring  the  credu- 
lity of  his  friends  in  trusting  to  Charles's  insidious  promises  ;  sometimes 
charging  them  with  meanness  in  stooping  to  lend  their  assistance  towards 
the  execution  of  such  a  perfidious  and  dishonourable  scheme  ;  and  in  the 
end  he  required  them  to  remember  their  engagements  to  his  children,  and 
instantly  to  fulfil  them.  They,  after  giving  way  for  a  little  to  the  torrent 
of  his  passion,  solemnly  asserted  their  own  innocence  and  upright  intention 
in  the  whole  transaction,  and  encouraged  him  to  hope,  that  as  soon  as  they 
saw  the  emperor,  they  would  obtain  redress  of  an  injury  which  affected 
their  own  honour,  no  less  than  it  did  his  liberty.  At  the  same  time,  in  order 
to  soothe  his  rage  and  impatience,  Maurice  remained  with  him  during  the 
night  in  the  apartment  where  he  was  confined.* 

Next  morning,  the  elector  and  Maurice  applied  jointly  to  the  emperor, 
representing  the  infamy  to  which  they  would  be  exposed  throughout  Ger- 
many, if  the  landgrave  were  detained  in  custody ;  that  they  would  not  have 
advised,  nor  would  he  himself  have  consented  to  an  interview,  if  they  had 
suspected  that  the  loss  of  his  liberty  was  to  be  the  consequence  of  his  sub- 
mission ;  that  they  were  bound  to  procure  his  release,  having  plighted 
their  faith  to  that  effect,  and  engaged  their  own  persons  as  sureties  for  his. 
Charles  listened  to  their  earnest  remonstrances  with  the  utmost  coolness. 
As  he  now  stood  no  longer  in  need  of  their  services,  they  had  the  mortifi- 
cation to  find  that  their  former  obsequiousness  was  forgotten,  and  little  regard 
paid  to  their  intercession.  He  was  ignorant,  he  told  them,  of  their  parti- 
cular or  private  transactions  with  the  landgrave,  nor  was  his  conduct  to  be 
regulated  by  any  engagements  into  which  they  had  thought  fit  to  enter; 
though  he  knew  well  what  he  himself  had  promised,  which  was  not  that 
the  landgrave  should  be  exempt  from  all  restraint,  but  that  he  should  not 
be  kept  a  prisoner  during  life.f  Having  said  this  with  a  peremptory  and 
decisive  tone,  he  put  an  end  to  the  conference  ;  and  they  seeing  no  proba- 

*  Sleid.  433.    Thuan.  I.  iv.  147.    Slruv.  Corp.  Hist.  Germ.  ii.  1052. 

t  According  to  several  historians  of  great  name,  the  emperor  in  his  treaty  with  the  landgrave, 
stipulated  that  he  would  not  detain  him  in  any  prison.  But  in  executing  the  deed,  which  was  written 
in  the  German  tongue,  the  Imperial  ministers  fraudulently  substituted  the  word  ewiger,  instead  of 
einitrrr,  and  thus  the  treaty,  in  place  of  a  promise  that  he  should  not  be  detained  in  any  prison,  con- 
tained only  an  engagement  that  he  should  not  be  detained  in  perpetual  imprisonment.  But  authors, 
eminent  lor  historical  knowledge  and  critical  accuracy,  have  called  in  question  the  truth  of  this 
Common  story.  The  silence  of  Sleidan  with  regard  to  it,  as  well  as  its  not  being  mentioned  in  the 
various  memorials  which  he  has  published  concerning  the  landgrave's  imprisonment,  greatly  favour 
this  opinion.  But  as  several  books  which  contain  the  information  necessary  towards  discussing  this 
point  with  accuracy,  are  written  in  the  German  lancuage,  which  I  do  not  understand,  I  cannot  pre- 
tend to  inquire  into  this  matter  with  the  same  precision  wherewith  I  have  endeavoured  to  settle 
some  other  controverted  facts  which  have  occurred  in  the  course  of  this  history.  See  Struv. 
Corp.  1052.     Mosheim's  Ecdes.  Hist.  vol.  Ii.  j..  I<U.  162.     Enel.  edition. 

Vol.  II.— 47 


37u  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  IX. 

bility,  at  that  time,  of  making  any  impression  upon  the  emperor,  who 
seemed  to  have  taken  this  resolution  deliberately,  and  to  be  obstinately  bent 
on  adhering  to  it,  were  obliged  to  acquaint  the  unfortunate  prisoner  with 
the  ill  success  of  their  endeavours  in  his  behalf.  The  disappointment  threw 
him  into  a  new  and  more  violent  transport  of  rage,  so  that  to  prevent  his 
proceeding  to  some  desperate  extremity,  the  elector  and  Maurice  promised 
that  they  would  not  quit  the  emperor,  until,  by  the  frequency  and  fervour 
of  their  intercessions,  they  had  extorted  his  consent  to  set  him  free.  They 
accordingly  renewed  their  solicitations  a  few  days  afterwards,  but  found 
Charles  more  haughty  and  intractable  than  before,  and  were  warned  that 
if  they  touched  again  upon  a  subject  so  disagreeable,  and  with  regard  to 
which  he  had  determined  to  hear  nothing  farther,  he  would  instantly  give 
orders  to  convey  the  prisoner  into  Spain.  Afraid  of  hurting  the  landgrave 
by  an  officious  or  ill-timed  zeal  to  serve  him,  they  not  only  desisted,  but 
left  the  court,  and  as  they  did  not  choose  to  meet  the  first  sallies  of  the 
landgrave's  rage  upon  his  learning  the  cause  of  their  departure,  they 
informed  him  of  it  by  a  letter,  wherein  they  exhorted  him  to  fulfil  all  that 
he  had  promised  to  the  emperor,  as  the  most  certain  means  of  procuring  a 
speedy  release. 

Whatever  violent  emotions  their  abandoning  his  cause  in  this  manner 
occasioned,  the  landgrave's  impatience  to  recover  liberty  made  him  follow 
their  advice.  He  paid  the  sum  which  had  been  imposed  on  him,  ordered 
his  fortresses  to  be  rased,  and  renounced  all  alliances  which  could  give 
offence.  This  prompt  compliance  with  the  will  of  the  conqueror  produced 
no  effect.  He  was  still  guarded  with  the  same  vigilant  severity  ;  and  being 
carried  about,  together  with  the  degraded  elector  of  Saxony,  wherever  the 
emperor  went,  their  disgrace  and  his  triumph  was  each  day  renewed.  The 
ibrtitude  as  well  as  equanimity,  with  which  the  elector  bore  these  repeated 
insults,  were  not  more  remarkable  than  the  landgrave's  fretfulness  and 
impatience.  His  active  impetuous  mind  could  ill  brook  restraint ;  and 
reflection  upon  the  shameful  artifices,  by  which  he  had  been  decoyed  into 
that  situation,  as  well  as  indignation  at  the  injustice  with  which  he  was 
still  detained  in  it,  drove  him  often  to  the  wildest  excesses  of  passion. 

The  people  of  the  different  cfties,  to  whom  Charles  thus  wantonly  exposed 
those  illustrious  prisoners  as  a  public  spectacle,  were  sensibly  touched  with 
such  an  insult  offered  to  the  Germanic  body,  and  murmured  loudly  at  this 
indecent  treatment  of  two  of  its  greatest  princes.  They  had  soon  other 
causes  of  complaint,  and  such  as  affected  them  more  nearly.  Charles  pro- 
ceeded to  add  oppression  to  insult,  and  arrogating  to  himself  all  the  rights 
of  a  conqueror,  exercised  them  with  the  utmost  rigour.  He  ordered  his 
troops  to  seize  the  artillery  and  military  stores  belonging  to  such  as  had 
been  members  of  the  Smalkaldic  league,  and  having  collected  upwards  of 
five  hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  a  great  number  in  that  age,  he  sent  part  of 
them  into  the  Low-Countries,  part  into  Italy,  and  part  into  Spain,  in  order 
to  spread  by  this  means  the  fame  of  his  success,  and  that  they  might  serve 
as  monuments  of  his  having  subdued  a  nation  hitherto  deemed  invincible. 
He  then  levied,  by  his  sole  authority,  large  sums  of  money,  as  well  upon 
those  who  had  served  him  with  fidelity  during  the  war,  as  upon  such  as  had 
been  in  arms  against  him  ;  upon  the  former,  as  their  contingent  towards  a 
war,  which,  having  been  undertaken,  as  he  pretended,  for  the  common 
benefit,  ought  to  be  carried  on  at  the  common  charge  ;  upon  the  latter,  as 
a  fine  by  way  of  punishment  for  their  rebellion.  By  these  exactions,  Ik; 
amassed  above  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  crowns,  a  sum  which 
appeared  prodigious  in  the  sixteenth  century.  But  so  general  was  the  con- 
sternation which  had  seized  the  Germans  upon  his  rapid  success,  and  such 
the  dread  of  his  victorious  troops,  that  all  implicitly  obeyed  his  commands; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  these  extraordinary  stretches  of  power  greatly 
alarmed  a  people  jealous  of  their  privileges,  and  habituated,  during  several 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  3*1 

■ages,  to  consider  the  Imperial  authority  as  neither  extensive  nor  formidable. 
This  discontent  and  resentment,  how  industriously  soever  they  concealed, 
them,  became  universal ;  and  the  more  these  passions  were  restrained  and 
kept  down  for  the  present,  the  more  likely  were  they  to  burst  out  soon  with 
additional  violence. 

While  Charles  gave  law  to  the  Germans  like  a  conquered  people,  Fer- 
dinand treated  his  subjects  in  Bohemia  with  still  greater  rigour.  That 
kingdom  possessed  privileges  and  immunities  as  extensive  as  those  ol 
any  nation  in  which  the  feudal  institutions  were  established.  The  pre- 
rogative of  their  kings  was  extremely  limited,  and  the  crown  itself  elective. 
Ferdinand,  when  raised  to  the  throne,  had  confirmed  their  liberties  with 
every  solemnity  prescribed  by  their  excessive  solicitude  for  the  security 
of  a  constitution  of  government  to  which  they  were  extremely  attached. 
He  soon  began,  however,  to  be  weary  of  a  jurisdiction  so  much  circum- 
scribed, and  to  despise  a  sceptre  which  he  could  not  transmit  to  his  pos- 
terity ;  and  notwithstanding  all  his  former  engagements,  he  attempted  to 
overturn  the  constitution  from  its  foundations  ;  that,  instead  of  an  elective 
kingdom,  he  might  render  it  hereditary.  But  the  Bohemians  were  too 
high-spirited  tamely  to  relinquish  privileges  which  they  had  long  enjoyed. 
At  the  same  time,  many  of  them  having  embraced  the  doctrines  ot  the- 
re formers,  the  seeds  of  which  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  had 
planted  in  their  country  about  the  beginning  of  the  preceding  century, 
the  desire  of  acquiring  religious  liberty  mingled  itself  with  their  zeal  for 
their  civil  rights;  and  these  two  kindred  passions  heightening,  as  usual, 
each  other's  force,  precipitated  them  immediately  into  violent  measures. 
They  had  not  only  refused  to  serve  their  sovereign  against  the  confederates 
of  Smalkalde,  but  having  entered  into  a  close  alliance  with  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  they  had  bound  themselves,  by  a  solemn  association,  to  defend 
their  ancient  constitution ;  and  to  persist,  until  they  should  obtain  such 
additional  privileges  as  they  thought  necessary  towards  perfecting  the 
present  model  ot  their  government,  or  rendering  it  more  permanent. 
They  chose  Caspar  Phlug,  a  nobleman  of  distinction,  to  be  their  general : 
and  raised  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  to  enforce  their  petitions.  But 
either  from  the  weakness  of  their  leader,  or  from  the  dissensions  in  a  great 
unwieldy  body,  which  having  united  nastily,  was  not  thoroughly  com- 
pacted, or  from  some  other  unknown  cause,  the  subsequent  operations  ot 
the  Bohemians  bore  no  proportion  to  the  zeal  and  ardour  with  which  they 
took  their  first  resolutions.  They  suffered  themselves  to  be  amused  so 
long  with  negotiations  and  overtures  of  different  kinds*  that  before  they 
could  enter  Saxony,  the  battle  of  Muhlberg  was  fought,  die  elector 
deprived  of  his  dignity  and  territories,  the  landgrave  confined  to  close 
custody,  and  the  league  of  Smalkalde  entirely  dissipated.  The  same 
dread  of  the  emperor's  power  which  had  seized  the  rest  of  the  Germans, 
reached  them.  As  soon  as  their  sovereign  approached  with  a  body  of 
Imperial  troops,  they  instantly  dispersed,  thinking  of  nothing  but  how  to 
atone  for  their  past  guilt,  and  to  acquire  some  hope  of  forgiveness  by  a 
prompt  submission.  But  Ferdinand,  who  entered  his  dominions  full  of 
that  implacable  resentment  which  inflames  monarchs  whose  authority  has 
been  despised,  was  not  to  be  mollified  by  the  late  repentance  and  involun- 
tary return  of  rebellious  subjects  to  their  duty.  He  even  heard,  unmoved, 
the  entreaties  and  tears  of  the  citizens  of  Prague,  who  appeared  before 
him  in  the  posture  of  suppliants,  and  implored  for  mercy.  The  sentence 
which  he  pronounced  against  them  was  rigorous  to  extremity ;  he  abolished 
many  of  their  privileges,  he  abridged  others,  and  new-modelled  the  consti- 
tution according  to  his  pleasure.  He  condemned  to  death  many  of  I  hose 
who  had  been  most  active  in  forming  the  late  association  against  him,  and 
punished  a  still  greater  number  with  confiscation  of  their  goods,  or  perpe- 
tual banishment.     He  obliged  all  bis  subjects,  of  every  condition,  to  give. 


372  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  IX. 

up  their  arms  to  be  deposited  in  forts  where  he  planted  garrisons  ;  and  after 
disarming  his  people,  he  loaded  them  with  new  and  exorbitant  taxes. 
Thus,  by  an  ill-conducted  and  unsuccessful  effort  to  extend  their  privileges, 
the  Bohemians  not  only  enlarged  the  sphere  of  the  royal  prerogative,  when 
they  intended  to  have  circumscribed  it,  but  they  almost  annihilated  those 
liberties  which  they  aimed  at  establishing  on  a  broader  and  more  secure 
foundation.* 

The  emperor,  having  now  humbled,  and,  as  he  imagined,  subdued  the 
independent  and  stubborn  spirit  of  the  Germans  by  the  terror  of  arms  and 
the  rigour  of  punishment,  held  a  diet  at  Augsburg,  in  order  to  compose 
finally  the  controversies  with  regard  to  religion,  which  had  so  long  dis- 
turbed the  empire.  He  durst  not,  however,  trust  the  determination  of  a 
matter  so  interesting  to  the  free  suffrage  of  the  Germans,  broken  as  their 
minds  now  were  to  subjection.  He  entered  the  city  at  the  head  of  his 
Spanish  troops,  and  assigned  them  quarters  there.  The  rest  of  his  soldiers 
he  cantoned  in  the  adjacent  villages ;  so  that  the  members  of  the  diet, 
while  they  carried  on  their  deliberations,  were  surrounded  by  the  same 
army  which  had  overcome  their  countrymen.  Immediately  after  his 
public  entry,  Charles  gave  a  proof  of  the  violence  with  which  he  intended 
to  proceed.  He  took  possession  by  force  of  the  cathedral,  together  with 
one  of  the  principal  churches ;  and  his  priests  having,  by  various  cere- 
monies, purified  them  from  the  pollution  with  which  they  supposed  the 
unhallowed  ministrations  of  the  protestants  to  have  defiled  them,  they  re- 
established with  great  pomp  the  rites  of  the  Romish  worship.! 

The  concourse  of  members  to  this  diet  was  extraordinary;  the  im- 
portance of  the  affairs  concerning  which  it  was  to  deliberate,  added  to  the 
fear  of  giving  offence  to  the  emperor  by  an  absence  which  lay  open  to 
misconstruction,  brought  together  almost  all  the  princes,  nobles,  and  repre- 
sentatives of  cities  who  had  a  right  to  sit  in  that  assembly.  The  emperor, 
in  the  speech  with  which  he  opened  the  meeting,  called  their  attention 
immediately  to  that  point,  which  seemed  chiefly  to  merit  it.  Having 
mentioned  the  fatal  effects  of  the  religious  dissensions  which  had  arisen  in 
Germany,  and  taken  notice  of  his  own  unwearied  endeavours  to  procure  a 
general  council,  which  alone  could  provide  a  remedy  adequate  to  those 
evils,  he  exhorted  them  to  recognise  its  authority,  and  to  acquiesce  in  the 
decisions  of  an  assembly  to  which  they  had  originally  appealed,  as  having 
the  sole  right  of  judgment  in  the  case. 

But  the  council,  to  which  Charles  wished  them  to  refer  all  their  contro- 
versies, had,  by  this  time,  undergone  a  violent  change.  The  fear  and 
jealousy,  with  which  the  emperor's  first  successes  against  the  confederates 
of  Smalkalde  had  inspired  the  pope,  continued  to  increase.  Not  satisfied 
with  attempting  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  Imperial  arms,  by  the  sudden 
recall  of  his  troops,  Paul  began  to  consider  the  emperor  as  an  enemy,  the 
weight  of  whose  power  he  must  soon  feel,  and  against  whom  he  could 
no):  be  too  hasty  in  taking  precautions.  He  foresaw  that  the  immediate 
effect  of  the  emperor's  acquiring  absolute  power  in  Germany,  would  be  to 
render  him  entirely  master  of  all  the  decisions  of  the  council,  if  it  should 
continue  to  meet  m  Trent.  It  was  dangerous  to  allow  a  monarch,  so 
ambitious,  to  get  the  command  of  this  formidable  engine,  which  he  might 
employ  at  pleasure  to  limit  or  overturn  the  papal  authority.  As  the  only 
method  of  preventing  this,  he  determined  to  remove  the  council  to  some 
city  more  immediately  under  his  own  jurisdiction,  and  at  a  greater  distance 
from  the  terror  of  the  emperor's  arms,  or  the  reach  of  his  influence.  An 
incident  fortunately  occurred,  which  gave  this  measure  the  appearance  of 
being  necessary.  One  or  two  of  the  fathers  of  the  council,  together  with 
some  of  their  domestics,  happening  to  die  suddenly,  the  physicians,  deceived 

*  SleM.  418,  419.  434.    Thuan.  1.  iv.  189. 150.    Struv.  Corp.  ii.  t  SleM.  435.  437 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  373 

by  the  symptoms,  or  suborned  by  the  pope's  legates,  pronounced  the 
distemper  to  be  infectious  and  pestilential.  Some  of  the  prelates,  struck 
with  a  panic,  retired  ;  others  were  impatient  to  be  gone  ;  and  after  a  short 
consultation,  the  council  was  translated  to  Bologna  [March  11],  a  city 
subject  to  the  pope.  All  the  bishops  in  the  Imperial  interest  warmly 
opposed  this  resolution,  as  taken  without  necessity,  and  founded  on  false  or 
frivolous  pretexts.  All  the  Spanish  prelates,  and  most  of  the  Neapolitan, 
by  the  emperor's  express  command,  remained  at  Trent ;  the  rest,  to  the 
number  of  thirty-four,  accompanying  the  legates  to  Bologna.  Thus  a 
schism  commenced  in  that  very  assembly,  which  had  been  called  to  heal 
the  divisions  of  Christendom  ;  the  fathers  of  Bologna  inveighed  against 
those  who  staid  at  Trent,  as  contumacious  and  regardless  of  the  pope's 
authority ;  while  the  other  accused  them  of  being  so  far  intimidated  by  the 
fears  of  imaginary  danger,  as  to  remove  to  a  place  where  their  consulta- 
tions could  prove  of  no  service  towards  re-establishing  peace  and  order  in 
Germany.* 

The  emperor,  at  the  same  time,  employed  all  his  interest  to  procure 
the  return  of  the  council  to  Trent.  But  Paul,  who  highly  applauded  his 
own  sagacity  in  having  taken  a  step  which  put  it  out  of  Charles's  power 
to  acquire  the  direction  of  that  assembly,  paid  no  regard  to  a  request,  the 
object  of  which  was  so  extremely  obvious.  The  summer  was  consumed 
in  fruitless  negotiations  with  respect  to  this  point,  the  importunity  of  the 
one  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  other  daily  increasing.  At  last,  an  event 
happened  which  widened  the  breach  irreparably,  and  rendered  the  pope 
utterly  averse  from  listening  to  any  proposal  that  came  from  the  emperor. 
Charles,  as  has  been  already  observed,  had  so  violently  exasperated 
Peter  Lewis  Farnese,  the  pope's  son,  by  refusing  to  grant  him  the  inves- 
titure of  Parma  and  Placentia,  that  he  had  watched  ever  since  that  time 
with  all  the  vigilance  of  resentment  for  an  opportunity  of  revenging  that 
injury.  He  had  endeavoured  to  precipitate  the  pope  into  open  hostilities 
against  the  emperor,  and  had  earnestly  solicited  the  king  of  France  to 
invade  Italy.  His  hatred  and  resentment  extended  to  all  those  whom  he 
knew  that  the  emperor  favoured,  he  did  every  ill  office  in  his  power  to 
Gonzaga,  governor  of  Milan,  and  had  encouraged  Fiesco  in  his  attempl 
upon  the  life  of  Andrew  Doria,  because  both  Gonzaga  and  Doria  pos- 
sessed a  great  degree  of  the  emperor's  esteem  and  confidence.  His 
malevolence  and  secret  intrigues  were  not  unknown  to  the  emperor,  who 
could  not  be  more  desirous  to  take  vengeance  on  him,  than  Gonzaga  and 
Doria  were  to  be  employed  as  his  instruments  in  inflicting  it.  Farnese, 
by  the  profligacy  of  his  life,  and  by  enormities  of  every  kind,  equal  to 
those  committed  by  the  worst  tyrants  who  have  disgraced  human  nature, 
had  rendered  himself  so  odious,  that  it  was  thought  any  violence  whatever 
might  be  lawfully  attempted  against  him.  Gonzaga  and  Doria  soon 
found  among  his  own  subjects,  persons  who  were  eager,  and  even  deemed 
it  meritorious,  to  lend  their  hands  in  such  a  service.  As  Farnese,  animated 
with  the  jealousy  which  usually  possesses  petty  sovereigns,  had  employed 
all  the  cruelty  and  fraud,  whereby  they  endeavour  to  supply  their  defect 
of  power,  in  order  to  humble  and  extirpate  the  nobility  subject  to  his 

government,  five  noblemen  of  the  greatest  distinction  in  Placentia  com- 
ined  to  avenge  the  injuries  which  they  themselves  had  suffered,  as  well 
as  those  which  he  had  offered  to  their  order.  They  formed  their  plan  in 
conjunction  with  Gonzaga  ;  but  it  remains  uncertain  whether  he  originally 
suggested  the  scheme  to  them,  or  only  approved  of  what  they  proposed, 
and  co-operated  in  carrying  it  on.  They  concerted  all  the  previous 
steps  with  such  foresight,  conducted  their  intrigues  with  such  secrecy,  and 
displayed  such  courage   in  the  execution  of  their  design,  that  it  may  be 

*  P.  Pant.eTR  he 


37*  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Hook  IX. 

yanked  among  the  mast  audacious  deeds  of  that  nature  mentioned  in 
history.  One  body  of  the  conspirators  surprised,  at  mid-day  [Sept.  10], 
the  gates  of  the  citadel  of  Placentia  where  Farnese  resided,  overpowered 
his  guards,  and  murdered  him.  Another  party  of  them  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  town,  and  called  upon  their  fellow-citizens  to  take  arms, 
in  order  to  recover  their  liberty.  The  multitude  ran  towards  the  citadel, 
from  which  three  great  guns,  a  signal  concerted  with  Gonzaga,  had  been 
fired  ;  and  before  they  could  guess  the  cause  or  the  authors  of  the  tumult, 
they  saw  the  lifeless  body  of  the  tyrant  hanging  by  the  heels  from  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  citadel.  But  so  universally  detestable  had  he  become, 
I  hat  not  one  expressed  any  sentiment  of  concern  at  such  a  sad  reverse  of 
fortune,  or  discovered  the  least  indignation  at  this  ignominious  treatment 
of  a  sovereign  prince.  The  exultation  at  the  success  of  the  conspiracy 
was  general,  and  all  applauded  the  actors  in  it  as  the  deliverers  ol  their 
country.  The  body  was  tumbled  into  the  ditch  that  surrounded  the 
citadel,  and  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the  rabble  ;  the  rest  of  the  citizens 
returned  to  their  usual  occupations,  as  if  nothing  extraordinary  had  hap- 
pened. 

Before  next  morning,  a  body  of  troops  arriving  from  the  frontiers  of  the 
Milanese,  where  they  had  been  posted  in  expectation  of  the  event,  took 
possession  of  the  city  in  the  emperor's  name,  and  reinstated  the  inhabitants 
in  the  possession  of  their  ancient  privileges.  Parma,  which  the  Impe- 
rialists attempted  likewise  to  surprise,  was  saved  by  the  vigilance  and 
fidelity  of  the  officers  whom  Farnese  had  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
the  garrison.  The  death  of  a  son  whom,  notwithstanding  his  infamous 
vices,  Paul  loved  with  an  excess  of  parental  tenderness,  overwhelmed 
him  with  the  deepest  affliction  •  and  the  loss  of  a  city  of  such  consequence 
as  Plaeentia,  greatly  embittered  his  sorrow.  He  accused  Gonzaga,  in 
open  consistory,  of  having  committed  a  cruel  murder,  in  order  to  prepare 
the  way  for  an  unjust  usurpation,  and  immediately  demanded  of  the 
emperor  satisfaction  for  both  ;  for  the  former,  by  the  punishment  of  Gon- 
zaga ;  for  the  latter,  by  the*  restitution  of  Placentia  to  his  grandson, 
Octavia,  its  rightful  owner.  But  Charles,  who,  rather  than  quit  a  prize 
of  such  value,  was  willing  not  only  to  expose  himself  to  the  imputation 
of  being  accessary  to  the  crime  which  had  given  an  opportunity  ot  seizing 
it,  but  to  bear  the  infamy  of  defrauding  his  own  son-in-law  of  the  inheri- 
tance which  belonged  to  him,  eluded  all  his  solicitations,  and  determined 
to  keep  possession  of  the  city,  together  with  its  territories.* 

This  resolution,  flowing  from  an  ambition  so  rapacious,  as  to  be  restrained 
by  no  consideration  either  of  decency  or  justice,  transported  the  pope  so 
far  beyond  his  usual  moderation  and  prudence,  that  he  was  eager  to  take 
arms  against  the  emperor,  in  order  to  be  avenged  on  the  murderers  of  his 
son,  and  to  recover  the  inheritance  wrested  from  his  family.  Conscious, 
however,  of  his  own  inability  to  contend  with  such  an  enemy,  he  warmly 
solicited  the  French  king  and  the  republic  of  Venice  to  join  in  an  offensive 
league  against  Charles.  But  Henry  was  intent  at  that  time  on  other 
objects.  His  ancient  allies,  the  Scots,  having  been  defeated  by  the  Eng- 
lish in  one  of  the  greatest  battles  ever  fought  between  these  two  rival 
nations,  he  was  about  to  send  a  numerous  body  of  veteran  troops  into  that 
country,  as  well  to  preserve  it  from  being  conquered,  as  to  gain  the  acqui- 
sition of  a  new  kingdom  to  the  French  monarchy,  by  marrying  his  son  the 
dauphin  to  the  young  queen  of  Scotland.  An  undertaking  accompanied 
with  $uph  manifest  advantages,  the  success  of  which  appeared  to  be  so 
certain,  was  not  to  be  relinquished  for  the  remote  prospect  of  benefit  from 
an  alliance  depending  upon  the  precarious  life  of  a  pope  of  fourscore, 

♦F.Paul,  257.  Pallavic.  41,  42  ThulmTiv.  15C  M em.  de  Ribier.  59.  ttl  Natalia  Comitia 
Jlistor.  lib.  iii.  p.  64. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  375 

who  had  nothing  at  heart  but  the  gratification  of  his  own  private  resent- 
ment. Instead,  therefore,  of  rushing  headlong  into  the  alliance  proposed, 
Henry  amused  the  pope  with  such  general  professions  and  promises,  as 
might  keep  him  from  any  thoughts  of  endeavouring  to  accommodate  his 
differences  with  the  emperor,  but  at  the  same  time  he  avoided  any  such 
engagement  as  might  occasion  an  immediate  rupture  with  Charles,  or 
precipitate  him  into  a  war  for  which  he  was  not  prepared.  The  Vene- 
tians, though  much  alarmed  at  seeing  Placentia  in  the  hands  of  the  Impe- 
rialists, imitated  the  wary  conduct  of  the  French  king,  as  it  nearly 
resembled  the  spirit  which  usually  regulated  their  own  conduct.* 

But  though  the  pope  found  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  kindle  imme- 
diately the 'flames  of  war,  he  did  not  forget  the  injuries  which  he  gas 
obliged  for  the  present  to  endure  ;  resentment  settled  deeper  in  his  mind, 
and  became  more  rancorous  in  proportion  as  he  felt  the  difficulty  of  grati- 
fying it.  It  was  while  these  sentiments  of  enmity  were  in  full  force,  and 
the  desire  of  vengeance  at  its  height,  that  the  diet  of  Augsburg,  by  the 
emperor's  command,  petitioned  the  pope,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Ger- 
manic body,  to  enjoin  the  prelates  who  had  retired  to  Bologna  to  return 
again  to  Trent,  and  to  renew  their  deliberations  in  that  place.  Charles 
had  been  at  great  pains  in  bringing  the  members  to  join  in  this  request. 
Having  observed  a  considerable  variety  of  sentiments  among  the  protes- 
tants  with  respect  to  the  submission  which  he  had  required  to  the  decrees 
of  the  council,  some  of  them  being  altogether  intractable,  while  others 
were  ready  to  acknowledge  its  right  of  jurisdiction  upon  certain  conditions, 
he  employed  all  his  address  in  order  to  gain  or  to  divide  them.  He 
threatened  and  overawed  the  elector  Palatine,  a  weak  prince,  and  afraid 
that  the  emperor  might  inflict  on  him  the  punishment  to  which  he  had 
made  himself  liable  by  the  assistance  that  he  had  given  to  the  confede- 
rates of  Smalkalde.  The  hope  of  procuring  liberty  for  the  landgrave, 
together  with  the  formal  confirmation  of  his  own  electoral  dignity,  over- 
came Maurice's  scruples,  or  prevented  him  from  opposing  what  he  knew 
would  be  agreeable  to  the  emperor.  The  elector  of  Brandenburgh,  less 
influenced  by  religious  zeal  than  any  prince  of  that  age,  was  easily  induced 
to  imitate  their  example,  in  assenting  to  all  that  the  emperor  required. 
The  deputies  of  the  cities  remained  still  to  be  brought  over.  They  were 
more  tenacious  of  their  principles,  and  though  every  thing  that  could 
operate  either  on  their  hopes  or  fears  was  tried,  the  utmost  that  they 
would  promise  was,  to  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  council,  if 
effectual  provision  were  made  for  securing  to  the  divines  of  all  parties 
free  access  to  that  assembly,  with  entire  liberty  of  debate ;  and  if  all 
points  in  controversy  were  decided  according  to  scripture,  and  the  usage 
of  the  primitive  church.  But  when  the  memorial  containing  this  decla- 
ration was  presented  to  the  emperor,  he  ventured  to  put  in  practice  a  very 
extraordinary  artifice.  Without  reading  the  paper,  or  taking  any  notice 
of  the  conditions  on  which  they  had  insisted,  he  seemed  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  they  had  complied  with  his  demand,  and  gave  thanks  to 
the  deputies  for  their  full  and  unreserved  submission  to  the  decrees  of  the 
council  [Oct.  9],  The  deputies,  though  astonished  at  what  they  had 
heard,  did  not  attempt  to  set  him  right,  both  parties  being  better  pleased 
that  the  matter  should  remain  under  this  state  of  ambiguity,  than  to  push 
for  an  explanation,  which  must  have  occasioned  a  dispute,  and  would 
have  led,  perhaps,  to  a  rupture. | 

Having  obtained  this  seeming  submission  from  the  members  of  the  diet 
to  the  authority  of  the  council,  Charles  employed  that  as  an  argument  to 
enforce  their  petition  for  its  return  to  Trent.     But  the  pope,  from  the  satis- 

*  Mem.  de  Bibier,  ii.  63.  71.  78.  85.  95.  Parula  Isinr.  di  Venez.  199.203.  Thuran.  iv.  161*. 
t  F.  Paul.  259.     Pleid.  440.    Thitan.  torn.  i.  155/1 


376  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  IX. 

faction  which  he  felt  in  mortifying  the  emperor,  as  well  as  from  his  own 
aversion  to  what  was  demanded,  resolved,  without  hesitation,  that  his 
petition  should  not  be  granted  ;  though,  in  order  to  avoid  the  imputation 
of  being  influenced  wholly  by  resentment,  he  had  the  address  to  throw  it 
upon  the  fathers  at  Bologna,  to  put  a  direct  negative  upon  the  request. 
With  this  view  he  referred  to  their  consideration  the  petition  of  the  diet 
[Dec.  20],  and  they,  ready  to  confirm  by  their  assent  whatever  the  legates 
Avere  pleased  to  dictate,  declared  that  the  council  could  not,  consistently 
with  its  dignity,  return  to  Trent,  unless  the  prelates  who,  by  remaining 
there,  had  discovered  a  schismatic  spirit,  would  first  repair  to  Bologna, 
and  join  their  brethren;  and  that,  even  after  their  junction,  the  council 
could  not  renew  its  consultations  with  any  prospect  of  benefit  to  the 
church,  if  the  Germans  did  not  prove  their  intention  of  obeying  its  future 
decrees  to  be  sincere,  by  yielding  immediate  obedience  to  those  which 
it  had  already  passed.* 

This  answer  was  communicated  to  the  emperor  by  the  pope,  who  at  the 
same  time  exhorted  him  to  comply  with  demands  which  appeared  to  be 
so  reasonable.  But  Charles  was  better  acquainted  with  the  duplicity  of 
the  pope's  character  than  to  be  deceived  by  such  a  gross  artifice:  he 
knew  that  the  prelates  of  Bologna  durst  utter  no  sentiment  but  what  Paul 
inspired ;  and,  therefore,  overlooking  them  as  mere  tools  in  the  hand 
of  another,  he  considered  their  reply  as  a  full  discovery  of  the  pope's 
intentions.  As  he  could  no  longer  hope  to  acquire  such  an  ascendant  in  the 
council  as  to  render  it  subservient  to  his  own  plan,  he  saw  it  to  be  neces- 
sary that  Paul  should  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  turn  against  him  the 
authority  of  so  venerable  an  assembly.  In  order  to  prevent  this,  he  sent  two 
Spanish  lawyers  to  Bologna  [Jan.  16,  1543],  who,  in  the  presence  of  the 
legates,  protested,  That  the  translation  of  the  council  to  that  place  had 
been  unnecessary,  and  founded  on  false  or  frivolous  pretexts ;  that  while 
it  continued  to  meet  there,  it  ought  to  be  deemed  an  unlawful  and  schis- 
matical  conventicle  ;  that  all  its  decisions  ought  of  course  to  be  held  as  null 
and  invalid ;  and  that  since  the  pope,  together  with  the  corrupt  ecclesias- 
tics who  depended  on  him,  bad  abandoned  the  care  of  the  church,  the 
emperor,  as  its  protector,  would  employ  all  the  power  which  God  had 
committed  to  him,  in  order  to  preserve  it  from  those  calamities  with  which 
it  was  threatened.  A  few  days  after  [Jan.  23],  the  Imperial  ambassador 
at  Rome  demanded  an  audience  of  the  pope,  and  in  presence  of  all  the 
cardinals,  as  well  as  foreign  ministers,  protested  against  the  proceedings  of 
the  prelates  at  Bologna,  in  terms  equally  harsh  and  disrespectful.! 

It  was  not  long  before  Charles  proceeded  to  carry  these  threats,  which 
greatly  alarmed  both  the  pope  and  council  at  Bologna,  into  execution.  He 
let  the  diet  know  the  ill  success  of  his  endeavours  to  procure  a  favourable 
answer  to  their  petition,  and  that  the  pope,  equally  regardless  of  their 
entreaties,  and  of  his  services  to  the  church,  had  refused  to  gratify  them 
by  allowing  the  council  to  meet  again  at  Trent ;  that,  though  all  hope  of 
holding  this  assembly  in  a  place,  where  they  might  look  for  freedom  of 
debate  and  judgment,  was  not  to  be  given  up,  the  prospect  of  it  was,  at 
present,  distant  and  uncertain  ;  that  in  the  mean  time,  Germany  was  torn 
in  pieces  by  religious  dissensions,  the  purity  of  the  faith  corrupted,  and  the 
minds  of  the  people  disquieted  with  a  multiplicity  of  new  opinions  and 
controversies  formerly  unknown  among  Christians  ;  that,  moved  by  the 
duty  which  he  owed  to  them  as  their  sovereign,  and  to  the  church  as  its 
protector,  he  had  employed  some  divines  of  known  abilities  and  learning, 
to  prepare  a  system  of  doctrine,  to  which  all  should  conform,  until  a  coun- 
cil, such  as  they  wished  for,  could  be  convocated.     This  system  was  com- 

*  F.Paul, 250.    Pallav.  ii.  49.  *F.F»u!,264.    Pallav.  51.    Sleid.448.    fioMasti  Constit. 

Imperial,  i.  561. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  377 

piled  by  Pflug,  Helding,  and  Agricola,  of  whom  the  two  former  were  dig- 
nitaries in  the  Romish  church,  but  remarkable  for  their  pacific  and  healing: 
spirit ;  the  last  was  a  protestant  divine,  suspected,  not  without  reason,  of 
having  been  gained  by  bribes  and  promises,  to  betray  or  mislead  his  party 
on  this  occasion.  The  articles  presented  to  the  diet  of  Ratisbon  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-one,  in  order  to  reconcile  the 
contending  parties,  served  as  a  model  for  the  present  work.  But  as  the 
emperor's  situation  was  much  changed  since  that  time,  and  he  found  it  no 
longer  necessary  to  manage  the  protestants  with  the  same  delicacy  as  at 
that  juncture,  the  concessions  in  their  favour  were  not  now  so  numerous, 
nor  did  they  extend  to  points  of  so  much  consequence.  The  treatise  con- 
tained a  complete  system  of  theology,  conformable  in  almost  every  article 
to  the  tenets  of  the  Romish  church,  though  expressed,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  softest  words,  or  in  scriptural  phrases,  or  in  terms  of  studied  ambiguity. 
Every  doctrine,  however,  peculiar  to  popery,  was  retained,  and  the 
observation  of  all  the  rites,  which  the  protestants  condemned  as  inventions 
of  men  introduced  into  the  worship  of  God,  was  enjoined.  With  regard 
to  two  points  only,  some  relaxation  in  the  rigour  of  opinion  as  well  as  some 
latitude  in  the  practice  were  admitted.  Such  ecclesiastics  as  had  married, 
and  would  not  put  away  their  wives,  were  allowed,  nevertheless,  to  per- 
form all  the  functions  of  their  sacred  office ;  and  tbose  provinces  which 
had  been  accustomed  to  partake  of  the  cup  as  well  as  of  the  bread  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  were  still  indulged  in  the  privilege  of  re- 
ceiving both.  Even  these  were  declared  to  be  concessions  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  and  granted  only  for  a  season,  in  compliance  with  the  Aveakness  or 
prejudices  of  their  countrymen.* 

This  system  of  doctrine,  known  afterwards  by  the  name  of  the  Interim, 
because  it  contained  temporary  regulations,  which  were  to  continue  no 
longer  in  force  than  until  a  free  general  council  could  be  held,  the  empe- 
ror presented  to  the  diet  [May  15],  with  a  pompous  declaration  of  his  sin- 
cere intention  to  re-establish  tranquillity  and  order  in  the  church,  as  well 
as  of  his  hopes  that  their  adopting  these  regulations  would  contribute 
greatly  to  bring  about  that  desirable  event.  It  was  read  in  presence  of 
the  diet,  according  to  form.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished,  the  archbishop 
of  Mentz,  president  of  the  electoral  college,  rose  up  hastily  ;  and  having 
thanked  the  emperor  for  his  unwearied  and  pious  endeavours  in  order  to 
restore  peace  to  the  church,  he,  in  the  name  of  the  diet,  signified  their 
approbation  of  the  system  of  doctrine  which  had  been  read,  together  with 
their  resolution  of  conforming  to  it  in  every  particular.  The  whole  assem- 
bly was  amazed  at  a  declaration  so  unprecedented  and  unconstitutional,  as 
well  as  at  the  elector's  presumption  in  pretending  to  deliver  the  sense  of 
the  diet,  upon  a  point  which  had  not  hitherto  been  the  subject  of  consulta- 
tion or  debate.  But  not  one  member  had  the  courage  to  contradict  what 
the  elector  had  said;  some  being  overawed  by  fear,  others  remaining 
silent  through  complaisance.  The  emperor  held  the  archbishop's  declara- 
tion to  be  a  full  constitutional  ratification  of  the  Interim,  and  prepared  to 
enforce  the  observance  of  it,  as  a  decree  of  the  empire. f 

During  this  diet,  the  wife  and  children  of  the  landgrave,  warmly 
seconded  by  Maurice  of  Saxony,  endeavoured  to  interest  the  members  in 
behalf  of  that  unhappy  prince,  who  still  languished  in  confinement.  But 
Charles,  who  did  not  choose  to  be  brought  under  the  necessity  of  rejecting 
any  request  that  came  from  such  a  respectable  body,  in  order  to  prevent 
their  representations,  laid  before  the  diet  an  account  of  his  transactions 
with  the  landgrave,  together  with  the  motives  which  had  at  first  induced 
him  to  detain  that  prince  in  custody,  and  which  rendered  it  prudent,  as  he 

*  F.  Paul,  270.  Pallav.  ii.  60.  Sleid.  453. 457.  Struv  Corp  1054.  Goldast.  Constit.  Impsr.  i. 
518.  t  Sleid.  460.     F.  Paul.  273.     Pallav.  63. 

Vol.  II.— 48 


37S  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Boon  IX. 

alleged,  to  keep  him  still  under  restraint.  It  was  no  easy  matter  to  give 
any  good  reason  for  an  action,  incapable  of  being  justified.  But  he  thought 
the  most  frivolous  pretexts  might  be  produced  in  an  assembly  the  mem- 
bers of  which  were  willing  to  be  deceived,  and  afraid  of  nothing  so  much 
as  of  discovering  that  they  saw  his  conduct  in  its  true  colours.  His  account 
of  his  own  conduct  was  accordingly  admitted  to  be  fully  satisfactory,  and 
after  some  feeble  entreaties  that  he  would  extend  his  clemency  to  his  un- 
fortunate prisoner,  the  landgrave's  concerns  were  no  more  mentioned.* 

In  order  to  counterbalance  the  unfavourable  impression  which  this 
inflexible  rigour  might  make,  Charles,  as  a  proof  that  his  gratitude  was  no 
less  permanent  and  unchangeable  than  his  resentment,  invested  Maurice  in 
the  electoral  dignity,  with  all  the  legal  formalities.  The  ceremony  was 
performed,  with  extraordinary  pomp,  in  an  open  court,  so  near  the  apart- 
ment in  which  the  degraded  elector  was  kept  a  prisoner,  that  he  could 
view  it  from  his  windows.  Even  this  insult  did  not  ruffle  his  usual  tran- 
quillity ;  and  turning  his  eyes  that  way,  he  beheld  a  prosperous  rival 
receiving  those  ensigns  of  dignity  of  which  he  had  been  stripped,  without' 
uttering  one  sentiment  unbecoming  the  fortitude  that  he  had  preserved 
amidst  all  his  calamities.! 

Immediately  after  the  dissolution  of  the  diet,  the  emperor  ordered  the 
Interim  to  be  published  in  the  German  as  well  as  Latin  language.  It 
met  with  the  usual  reception  of  conciliating  schemes,  when  proposed  to 
men  heated  with  disputation;  both  parties  declaimed  against  it  with 
equal  violence.  The  protestants  condemned  it  as  a  system  containing  the 
grossest  errors  of  popery,  disguised  with  so  little  art,  that  it  could  impose 
only  on  the  most  ignorant,  or  on  those  who,  by  wilfully  shutting  their 
eyes,  favoured  the  deception.  The  papists  inveighed  against  it,  as  a 
work  in  which  some  doctrines  of  the  church  were  impiously  given  up, 
others  meanly  concealed,  and  alTof  them  delivered  in  terms  calculated 
rather  to  deceive  the  unwary,  than  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  or  to  reclaim 
such  as  were  enemies  to  the  truth.  While  the  Lutheran  divines  fiercely 
attacked  it  on  the  one  hand,  the  general  of  the  Dominicans  with  no  less 
vehemence  impugned  it  on  the  -other.  But  at  Rome,  as  soon  as  the  con- 
tents of  the  Interim  came  to  be  known,  the  indignation  of  the  courtiers  and 
ecclesiastics  rose  to  the  greatest  height.  They  exclaimed  against  the 
emperor's  profane  encroachment  on  the  sacerdotal  function,  in  presuming, 
with  the  concurrence  of  an  assembly  of  laymen,  to  define  articles  of  faith 
and  to  regulate  modes  of  worship.  They  compared  this  rash  deed  to  that 
of  (Jzziah,  who,  with  an  unhallowed  hand,  had  touched  the  ark  of  God ; 
or  to  the  bold  attempts  of  those  emperors,  who  had  rendered  their 
memory  detestable,  by  endeavouring  to  model  the  Christian  church 
according  to  their  pleasure.  They  even  affected  to  find  out  a  resemblance 
between  the  emperor's  conduct  and  that  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  expressed 
their  fear  of  his  imitating  the  example  of  that  apostate,  by  usurping  the 
title  as  well  as  jurisdiction  belonging  to  the  head  of  the  church.  All, 
therefore,  contended  with  one  voice,  that  as  the  foundations  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority  were  now  shaken,  and  the  whole  fabric  ready  to  be  over- 
turned by  a  new  enemy,  some  powerful  method  of  defence  should  be  pro- 
vided, and  a  vigorous  resistance  must  be  made,  in  the  beginning,  before  he 
grew  too  formidable  to  be  opposed. 

The  pope,  whose  judgment  vvas  improved  by  longer  experience  in  great 
transactions,  as  well  as  by  a  more  extensive  observation  of  human  affairs, 
viewed  the  matter  with  more  acute  discernment,  and  derived  comiort  from 
the  very  circumstance  which  filled  them  with  apprehension.  He  was 
astonished  that  a  prince  of  such  superior  sagacity  as  the  emperor,  should 

*  Rleld.  441.  t  Thuan.  Hist.   lib.  v.   176.     Struv.  Corp.  1054.    Invrsrimra  Mntiritii.  a 

>raromPTam»  TjiiCPmbnrsn  ripsrript.i.  ap.  SVardium.  ii.  .W. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  379 

be  so  intoxicated  with  a  single  victory,  as  to  imagine  that  he  might  give 
law  to  mankind,  and  decide  even  in  those  matters,  with  regaid  to  which 
they  are  most  impatient  of  dominion.  He  saw  that  by  joining  any  one  of 
the  contending  parties  in  Germany,  Charles  might  have  had  it  in  his  power 
to  have  oppressed  the  other,  but  that  the  presumption  of  success  had  now 
inspired  him  with  the  vain  thought  of  his  being  able  to  domineer  over  both. 
He  foretold  that  a  system  which  all  attacked,  and  none  defended,  could  not 
be  of  long  duration;  and  that,  for  this  reason,  there  was  no  need  ot  his 
interposing  in  order  to  hasten  its  fall ;  for  as  soon  as  the  powerful  hand 
which  now  upheld  it  was  withdrawn,  it  would  sink  oi  its  own  accord,  and 
be  forgotten,  for  ever.* 

The  emperor,  fond  of  his  own  plan,  adhered  to  his  resolution  ot  carry- 
ing it  into  full  execution.  But  though  the  elector  Palatine,  the  elector  of 
Brandenburg,  and  Maurice,  influenced  by  the  same  considerations  as 
formerly,  seemed  ready  to  yield  implicit  obedience  to  whatever  he  should 
enjoin,  he  met  not  everywhere  with  a  like  obsequious  submission.  John 
marquis  of  Brandenburg  Anspach,  although  he  had  taken  part  with  great 
zeal  in  the  war  against  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde,  refused  to  renounce 
doctrines  which  he  held  to  be  sacred  ;  and  reminding  the  emperor  of  the 
repeated  promises  which  he  had  given  his  protestant  allies,  of  allowing 
them  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  he  claimed,  in  consequence  ot 
these,  to  be  exempted  from  receiving  the  Interim.  Some  other  princes, 
also,  ventured  to  mention  the  same  scruples,  and  to  plead  the  same  indul- 
gence. But  on  this,  as  on  other  trying  occasions,  the  firmness  of  the  elector 
of  Saxony  was  most  distinguished,  and  merited  the  highest  praise.  Charles, 
well  knowing  the  authority  of  his  example  with  all  the  protestant  party, 
laboured  with  the  utmost  earnestness,  to  gain  his  approbation  of  the 
Interim,  and  by  employing  sometimes  promises  of  setting  him  at  liberty, 
sometimes  threats  of  treating  him  with  greater  harshness,  attempted  alter- 
nately to  work  upon  his  hopes  and  his  fears.  But  he  was  alike  regardless 
of  both.  After  having  declared  his  fixed  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformation,  "  I  cannot  now,"  said  he,  "  in  my  old  age,  abandon  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  I  early  contended ;  nor,  in  order  to  procure  freedom 
during  a  few  declining  years,  will  I  betray  that  good  cause,  on  account  of 
which  I  have  suffered  so  much,  and  am  still  willing  to  suffer.  Better  for 
me  to  enjoy,  in  this  solitude,  the  esteem  of  virtuous  men,  together  with 
the  approbation  of  my  own  conscience,  than  to  return  into  the  world,  with 
the  imputation  and  guilt  of  apostacy,  to  disgrace  and  embitter  the  remain- 
der of  my  days."  By  this  magnanimous  resolution,  he  set  his  countrymen 
a  pattern  of  conduct  so  very  different  from  that  which  the  emperor  wishsd 
him  to  have  exhibited  to  them,  that  it  drew  upon  him  fresh  marks  of  his 
displeasure.  The  rigour  of  his  confinement  was  increased  ;  the  number 
of  his  servants  abridged  ;  the  Lutheran  clergymen,  who  had  hitherto  been 
permitted  to  attend  him,  were  dismissed  ;  and  even  the  books  of  devotion, 
which  had  been  his  chief  consolation  during  a  tedious  imprisonment,  were 
taken  from  him.t  The  landgrave  of  Hesse,  his  companion  in  misfortune! 
did  not  maintain  the  same  constancy.  His  patience  and  fortitude  were 
both  so  much  exhausted  by  the  length  of  his  confinement,  that,  willing  to 
purchase  freedom  at  any  price,  he  wrote  to  the  emperor,  offering  not  only 
to  approve  of  the  Interim,  but  to  yield  an  unreserved  submission  to  his 
will  in  eveiy  other  particular.  But  Charles  who  knew  that  whatever 
course  the  landgrave  might  hold,  neither  his  example  nor  his  authority 
would  prevail  on  his  children  or  subjects  to  receive  the  Interim,  paid  no 
regard  to  his  offers.  He  was  kept  confined  as  strictly  as  ever;  and  while 
he  suffered  the  cruel  mortification  of  having  his  conduct  set  in  contrast  to 
that  of  the  elector,  he  derived  not  the  smallest  benefit  from  the  mean  step 
which  exposed  him  to  such  deserved  censure.J 

*  Sleirt.  4fi«.    F.  Paul.  271   Q7T.    Pallnv.  ii,  fi4.  t  SleM.  465.  t  Wd, 


3bO  THE   REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  IX. 

But  it  was  in  the  Imperial  cities  that  Charles  met  with  the  most  violent 
opposition  to  the  Interim.  These  small  commonwealths,  the  citizens  of 
which  were  accustomed  to  liberty  and  independence,  had  embraced  the 
doctrines  of  the  reformation  when  they  were  first  published,  with  remarka- 
ble eagerness ;  the  bold  spirit  of  innovation  being  peculiarly  suited  to  the 
genius  of  free  government.  Among  them,  the  protestant  teachers  had 
made  the  greatest  number  of  proselytes.  The  most  eminent  divines  of 
the  party  were  settled  in  them  as  pastors.  By  having  the  direction  of 
the  schools  and  other  seminaries  of  learning,  they  had  trained  up  disciples, 
who  were  as  well  instructed  in  the  articles  oi  their  faith,  as  they  were 
zealous  to  defend  them.  Such  persons  were  not  to  be  guided  by  example, 
or  swayed  by  authority  ;  but  having  been  taught  to  employ  their  own 
understanding  in  examining  and  deciding  with  respect  to  the  points  in 
controversy,  they  thought  that  they  were  both  qualified  and  entitled  to 
judge  for  themselves.  As  soon  as  the  contents  of  the  Interim  were  known, 
they,  with  one  voice,  joined  in  refusing  to  admit  it.  Augsburg,  Ulm, 
Strasburg,  Constance,  Bremen,  Magdeburg,  together  with  many  other 
fowns  of  less  note,  presented  remonstrances  to  the  emperor,  setting  forth 
the  irregular  and  unconstitutional  manner  in  which  the  Interim  had  been 
enacted,  and  beseeching  him  not  to  offer  such  violence  to  their  consciences, 
as  to  require  their  assent  to  a  form  of  doctrine  and  worship,  which  appeared 
to  them  repugnant  to  the  express  precepts  of  the  divine  law.  But  Charles 
having  prevailed  on  so  many  princes  of  the  empire  to  approve  of  his  new 
model,  was  not  much  moved  by  the  representations  of  those  cities,  which, 
how  formidable  soever  they  might  have  proved,  if  they  could  have  been 
formed  into  one  body,  lay  so  remote  from  each  other,  that  it  was  easy  to 
oppress  them  separately,  before  it  was  possible  for  them  to  unite. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this,  the  emperor  saw  it  to  be  requisite  that  his 
measures  should  be  vigorous,  and  executed  with  such  rapidity  as  to  allow 
no  time  for  concerting  any  common  plan  of  opposition.  Having  laid  down 
this  maxim  as  the  rule  of  his  proceedings,  his  first  attempt  was  upon  the 
city  of  Augsburg,  which,  though  overawed  by  the  presence  of  the  Spanish 
troops,  he  knew  to  be  as  much,  dissatisfied  with  the  Interim  as  any  in  the 
empire.  He  ordered  one  body  of  these  troops  to  seize  the  gates ;  he 
posted  the  rest  in  different  quarters  of  the  city;  and  assembling  all  the 
burgesses  in  the  town-hall  [Aug.  3],  he,  by  his  sole  absolute  authority, 
published  a  decree  abolishing  their  present  form  of  government,  dissolving 
all  their  corporations  and  fraternities,  and  nominating  a  small  number  of 
persons,  in  whom  he  vested  for  the  future  all  the  powers  of  government. 
Each  of  the  persons,  thus  chosen,  took  an  oath  to  observe  the  Interim. 
An  act  of  power  so  unprecedented  as  well  as  arbitrary,  which  excluded 
the  body  ot  the  inhabitants  from  any  share  in  the  government  of  their  own 
community,  and  subjected  them  to  men  who  had  no  other  merit  than  their 
servile  devotion  to  the  emperor's  will,  gave  general  disgust;  but  as  they 
durst  not  venture  upon  resistance,  they  were  obliged  to  submit  in  silence.* 
From  Augsbuig,  in  which  he  left  a  garrison,  he  proceeded  to  Ulm,  and 
new-modelled  its  government  with  the  same  violent  hand ;  he  seized 
such  of  their  pastors  as  refused  to  subscribe  the  Interim,  committed  them 
to  prison,  and  at  his  departure  carried  them  along  with  him  in  chains.t 
By  this  severity  he  not  only  secured  the  reception  of  the  Interim,  in  two 
ot  the  most  powerful  cities,  but  gave  warning  to  the  rest  what  such  as 
continued  reiactory  had  to  expect.  The  effect  of  the  example  was  as 
great  as  he  could  have  wished ;  and  many  towns,  in  order  to  save  themselves 
from  the  like  treatment,  found  it  necessary  to  comply  with  what  he  en- 
joined. This  obedience,  extorted  by  the  rigour  of  authority,  produced  no 
change  in  the  sentiments  of  the  Germans,  and  extended  no  farther  than  to 
make  them  conform  so  far  to  what  he  required,  as  was  barely  sufficient  to 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  381 

screen  them  from  punishment.  The  protestant  preachers  accompanied 
those  religious  rites,  the  observation  of  which  the  Interim  prescribed,  with 
such  an  explication  of  their  tendency,  as  served  rather  to  confirm  than  to 
remove  the  scruples  of  their  hearers  with  regard  to  them.  The  people, 
many  of  whom  had  grown  up  to  mature  years  since  the  establishment  of 
the  reformed  religion,  and  never  known  any  other  form  of  public  worship, 
beheld  the  pompous  pageantry  of  the  popish  service  with  contempt  or 
horror ;  and  in  most  places  the  Romish  ecclesiastics  who  returned  to  take 
possession  of  their  churches,  could  hardly  be  protected  from  insult,  or  their 
ministrations  from  interruption.  Thus,  notwithstanding  the  apparent  com- 
pliance of  so  many  cities,  the  inhabitants  being  accustomed  to  freedom, 
submitted  with  reluctance  to  the  power  which  now  oppressed  them. 
Their  u  lderstanding  as  well  as  inclination  revolted  against  the  doctrines 
and  ceremonies  imposed  on  them  ;  and  though,  for  the  present,  they  con- 
cealed their  disgust  and  resentment,  it  was  evident  that  these  passions 
could  not  always  be  kept  under  restraint,  but  would  break  out  at  last  in 
effects  proportional  to  their  violence.* 

Charles,  however,  highly  pleased  with  having  bent  the  stubborn  spirit 
of  the  Germans  to  such  general  submission,  departed  for  the  Low-Countries, 
fully  determined  to  compel  the  cities,  which  still  stood  out,  to  receive  tho 
Interim.     He  carried  his  two  prisoners,  the  elector  of  Saxony  and  land- 

frave  of  Hesse,  along  with  him,  either  because  he  durst  not  leave  them 
ehind  him  in  Germany,  or  because  he  wished  to  give  his  countiymen  the 
Flemings  this  illustrious  proof  of  the  success  of  his  arms,  and  the  extent 
of  his  power.  Before  Charles  arrived  at  Brussels  [Sept.  17],  he  was 
informed  that  the  pope's  legates  at  Bologna  had  dismissed  the  council  by 
an  indefinite  prorogation,  and  that  the  prelates  assembled  there  had 
returned  to  their  respective  countries.  Necessity  had  driven  the  pope  into 
this  measure.  By  the  secession  of  those  who  had  voted  against  the  trans- 
lation, together  with  the  departure  of  others,  who  grew  weary  of  continuing 
in  a  place  where  they  were  not  suffered  to  proceed  to  business,  so  few  and 
such  inconsiderable  members  remained,  that  the  pompous  appellation  of  a 
General  Council  could  not,  with  decency,  be  bestowed  any  longer  upon 
them.  Paul  had  no  choice  but  to  dissolve  an  assembly  which  was  become 
the  object  of  contempt,  and  exhibited  to  all  Christendom  a  most  glaring 
proof  of  the  impotence  of  the  Romish  see.  But  unavoidable  as  the  mea- 
sure was,  it  lay  open  to  be  unfavourably  interpreted,  and  had  the  appear- 
ance of  withdrawing  the  remedy,  at  the  very  time  when  those  for  whose 
recovery  it  was  provided,  were  prevailed  on  to  acknowledge  its  virtue, 
and  to  make  trial  of  its  efficacy.  Charles  did  not  fail  to  put  this  con- 
struction on  the  conduct  of  the  pope  ;  and  by  an  artful  comparison  of  his 
own  efforts  to  suppress  heresy,  with  Paul's  scandalous  inattention  to  a  point 
so  essential,  he  endeavoured  to  render  the  pontiff  odious  to  all  zealous 
catholics.  At  the  same  time  he  commanded  the  prelates  of  his  faction  to 
remain  at  Trent,  that  the  council  might  still  appear  to  have  a  being,  and 
might  be  ready,  whenever  it  was  thought  expedient,  to  resume  its  delibe- 
rations for  the  good  of  the  church. | 

The  motive  of  Charles's  journey  to  the  Low-Countries,  besides  gratifying 
his  favourite  passion  of  travelling  from  one  part  of  his  dominions  to  another, 
was  to  receive  Philip  his  only  son,  who  was  now  in  the  twenty-first  year 
cf  his  age,  and  whom  he  had  called  thither,  not  only  that  he  might  be 
recognised  by  the  states  of  the  Netherlands  as  heir-apparent,  but  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  execution  of  a  vast  scheme,  the  object  of  which,  and  the 
reception  it  met  with,  shall  be  hereafter  explained.  Philip  having  left  the 
government  of  Spain  to  Maximilian,  Ferdinand's  eldest  son,  to  whom  the 
emperor  had  given  the  princess  Mary  his  daughter  in  marriage,  embarked 

*  Mem.  de  Kibier,  ii.  21S.    Sleid.  491  f  Paltnv.  p.  11.  72. 


3&2  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  (Book  X. 

for  Italy,  attended  by  a  numerous  retinue  of  Spanish  nobles.*  The  squadron 
which  escorted  him,  was  commanded  by  Andrew  Doria,  who,  notwith- 
standing his  advanced  age,  insisted  on  the  honour  of  performing,  in  person, 
the  same  duty  to  the  son,  which  he  had  often  discharged  towards  the 
father.  He  landed  safely  at  Genoa  [Nov.  25]  ;  from  thence  he  went  to 
Milan,  and  proceeding  through  Germany,  arrived  at  the  Imperial  court  in 
Brussels  [April  1,  1549].  The  states  of  Brabant,  in  the  first  place,  and 
those  of  the  other  provinces  in  their  order,  acknowledged  his  right  of  suc- 
cession in  common  form,  and  he  took  the  customary  oath  to  preserve  all 
their  privileges  inviolate.t  In  all  the  towns  of  the  Low-Countries  through 
which  Philip  passed,  he  was  received  with  extraordinary  pomp.  Nothing 
that  could  either  express  the  respect  of  the  people,  or  contribute  to  his 
amusement,  was  neglected ;  pageants,  tournaments,  and  public  spectacles 
of  every  kind,  were  exhibited  with  that  expensive  magnificence  which  com- 
mercial nations  are  fond  of  displaying,  when,  on  any  occasion,  they  depart 
from  their  usual  maxims  of  frugality.  But  amidst  these  scenes  of  festivity 
and  pleasure,  Philip's  natural  severity  of  temper  was  discernible.  Youfh 
itself  could  not  render  him  agreeable,  nor  his  being  a  candidate  for  power 
form  him  to  courtesy.  He  maintained  a  haughty  reserve  in  his  behaviour, 
and  discovered  such  manifest  partiality  towards  his  Spanish  attendants, 
together  with  such  an  avowed  preference  to  the  manners  of  their  countiy, 
as  highly  disgusted  the  Flemings,  and  gave  rise  to  that  antipathy,  which 
afterwards  occasioned  a  revolution  so  fatal  to  him  in  that  part  of  his 
dominions.^ 

Charles  was  long  detained  in  the  Netherlands  by  a  violent  attack  of  the 
gout,  which  returned  upon  him  so  frequently,  and  with  such  increasing 
violence,  that  it  had  broken,  to  a  great  degree,  the  vigour  of  his  constitu- 
tion. He  nevertheless  did  not  slacken  his  endeavours  to  enforce  the  Inte- 
rim. The  inhabitants  of  Strasburg,  after  a  long  struggle,  found  it  necessary 
to  yield  obedience  ;  those  of  Constance,  who  had  taken  arms  in  their  own 
defence,  were  compelled  by  force,  not  only  to  conform  to  the  Interim,  but 
to  renounce  their  privileges  as  a  free  city,  to  do  homage  to  Ferdinand  as 
archduke  of  Austria,  and  as  his  vassals,  to  admit  an  Austrian  governor  and 

farrison.§     Magdeburg,  Bremen,  Hamburg,  and  Lubeck,  were  the  only 
mperial  cities  of  note  that  still  continued  refractory 


BOOK  X. 


While  Charles  laboured,  with  such  unwearied  industry,  to  persuade  or 
to  force  the  protestants  to  adopt  his  regulations  with  respect  to  religion,  the 
effects  of  his  steadiness  in  the  execution  of  his  plan  were  rendered  less  con- 
siderable by  his  rupture  with  the  pope,  which  daily  increased.  The  firm 
resolution  which  the  emperor  seemed  to  have  taken  against  restoring  Pla- 
centia,  together  with  his  repeated  encroachments  on  the  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction, not  only  by  the  regulations  contained  in  the  Interim,  but  by  his 
attempt  to  re-assemble  the  council  at  Trent,  exasperated  Paul  to  the  ut- 
most, who,  with  the  weakness  incident  to  old  age,  grew  more  attached  to 
his  family,  and  more  jealous  of  his  authority,  as  he  advanced  in  years. 
Pushed  on  by  these  passions,  he  made  new  efforts  to  draw  the  French  king 
into  an  alliance  against  the  emperor  :||  but  finding  that  monarch,  notwith- 
standing the  hereditary  enmity  between  him  and  Charles,  and  the  jealousj' 

*  Ochoa,  Carolea,  362.  t  Harsi.  Annul.  Brabant  692.  i  Mem.  de  Ribtar,  li.  99.  L'Kves- 
queMem.deCavd.  Oranvellc,  i.  21,       $  SIcid.  474. 493         '!  Mem.  de  Bill 


U.S30 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  383 

with  which  he  viewed  the  successful  progress  of  the  Imperial  arms,  as 
unwilling  as  formerly  to  involve  himself  in  immediate  hostilities,  he  was 
obliged  to  contract  his  views,  and  to  think  of  preventing  future  encroach- 
ments, since  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  inflict  vengeance  on  account  of  those 
which  were  past.  For  this  purpose,  he  determined  to  recall  his  grant  of 
Parma  and  Placentia,  and  after  declaring  them  to  be  re-annexed  to  the  holy- 
see,  to  indemnify  his  grandson  Octavio  by  a  new  establishment  in  the 
ecclesiastical  state.  By  this  expedient  he  hoped  to  gain  two  points  of  no 
small  consequence.  He,  first  of  all,  rendered  his  possession  of  Parma  more 
secure  ;  as  the  emperor  would  be  more  cautious  of  invading  the  patrimony 
of  the  church,  though  he  might  seize  without  scruple  a  town  belonging  to 
the  house  of  Farnese.  In  the  next  place,  he  would  acquire  a  better  chance 
of  recovering  Placentia,  as  his  solicitations  to  that  effect  might  decently  be 
urged  with  greater  importunity,  and  would  infallibly  be  attended  with  greater 
effect,  when  he  was  considered  not  as  pleading  the  cause  of  his  own  family, 
but  as  an  advocate  for  the  interest  of  the  holy  see.  But  while  Paul  was 
priding  himself  on  this  device,  as  a  happy  refinement  in  policy,  Octavio,  an 
ambitious  and  high-spirited  young  man,  who  could  not  bear  with  patience 
to  be  spoiled  of  one  half  of  his  territories  by  the  rapaciousness  of  his  father- 
in-law,  and  to  be  deprived  of  the  other  by  the  artifices  of  his  grandfather, 
took  measures  in  order  to  prevent  the  execution  of  a  plan  fatal  to  his 
interest.  He  set  out  secretly  from  Rome,  and  having  first  endeavoured  to 
surprise  Parma,  which  attempt  was  frustated  by  the  fidelity  of  the  governor 
to  whom  the  pope  had  intrusted  the  defence  of  the  town,  he  made  over- 
tures to  the  emperor,  of  renouncing  all  connexion  with  the  pope,  and  of 
depending  entirely  on  him  for  his  future  fortune.  This  unexpected  defec- 
tion of  one  of  the  pope's  own  family  to  an  enemy  whom  he  hated,  irritated* 
almost  to  madness,  a  mind  peevish  with  old  age  ;  and  there  was  no  degree 
of  severity  to  which  Paul  might  not  have  proceeded  against  a  grandson 
whom  he  reproached  as  an  unnatural  apostate.  But,  happily  for  Octavio, 
death  prevented  his  canying  into  execution  the  harsh  resolutions  which  he 
had  taken  with  respect  to  him,  and  put  an  end  to  his  pontificate  in  the  six- 
teenth year  of  his  administration,  and  the  eighty -second  year  of  his  age.* 

*  Among  many  instances  of  the  credulity  or  weakness  of  historians  in  attributing  the  death  of 
illustrious  personages  to  extraordinary  causes,  this  is  one.  Almost  all  the  historians  of  the  sixteenth 
century  affirm,  that  the  death  of  Paul  III.  was  occasioned  by  the  violent  passions  which  the 
behaviour  of  his  grandson  excited  ;  that  being  informed,  while  he  was  refreshing  himself  in  one  of  his 
gardens  near  Rome,  of  Octavio's  attempt  on  Parma,  as  well  as  of  his  negotiations  with  the  emperor 
by  means  of  Gonzaga,  he  fainted  away,  continued  some  hours  in  a  swoon,  then  became  feverish, 
and  died  within  three  days.  This  is  the  account  given  of  it  by  Thuanus,  lib.  vi.  211.  Adriani  Istor.  di 
suoi  Tempi,  lib.  vii.  480,  and  by  Father  Paul,  280.  Even  cardinal  Pallavicini,  better  informed  than 
any  writer  with  regard  to  the  events  which  happened  in  the  papal  court,  and  when  not  warped  by 
prejudice  or  system,  more  accurate  in  relating  them,  agrees  with  their  narrative  in  its  chief  circum- 
stances. Pallav.  b.  ii.  74.  Paruta,  who  wrote  hishistoryby  command  of  the  senateofVenice,relates 
it  in  the  same  manner.  Historici  Venez.  vol.  iv.  212.  But  there  was  no  occasion  to  search  for  any 
extraordinary  cause  to  account  for  the  death  of  an  old  man  of  eighty-two.  There  remains  an  au- 
thentic account  of  this  event,  in  which  we  find  none  of  those  marvellous  circumstances  of  which  the 
historians  are  so  fond.  The  cardinal  of  Ferrara,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  affairs  of  France  at  the 
court  of  Rome,  and  M.  D'Urfe,  Henry's  ambassador  in  ordinary  there,  wrote  an  account  to  that 
monarch  of  the  affair  of  Parma,  and  of  the  pope's  death.  By  these  it  appears,  that  Octavio's  attempt 
to  surprise  Parma,  was  made  on  the  twentieth  of  October ;  that  next  day  in  the  evening,  and  not 
while  he  was  ailing  himself  in  the  gardens  of  Monte  Cavallo,  the  pope  received  intelligence  of  what 
he  had  done ;  that  he  was  seized  with  such  a  transport  of  passion,  and  cried  so  bitterly,  that  his 
voice  was  heard  in  several  apartments  of  the  palace  ;  that  next  day,  however,  he  was  so  well  as  to 
give  an  audience  to  the  cardinal  of  Ferrara,  and  to  go  through  business  of  different  kinds ;  that  Octavio 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  pope,  not  to  cardinal  Farnese  his  brother,  intimating  his  resolution  of  throwing 
himself  into  the  arms  of  the  emperor  ;  that  the  pope  received  this  on  the  twenty-first  without  any 
new  symptoms  of  emotion,  and  returned  an  answer  to  it ;  that  on  the  twenty-second  of  October,  the 
day  on  which  the  cardinal  of  Ferrara's  letter  is  dated,  the  pope  was  in  his  usual  state  of  health. 
Mem.  de  Ribier,  ii.  247.  By  a  letter  of  M.  D'Urfe,  Nov.  5,  it  appears  that  the  pope  was  in  such  good 
health,  that  on  the  third  of  that  month  he  had  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  his  coronation  with  the 
usual  solemnities.  Ibidem,  851.  By  another  letter  from  the  same  person,  we  learn,  that  on  the  sixth 
of  November  a  catarrh  or  delhixion  tell  down  mi  the  pope's  lungs,  with  such  dangerous  symptoms, 
that  his  life  was  immediately  despaired  of.  Ibid.  252.  And  by  a  third  letter  we  are  informed,  that 
lie  died  November  the  tenth.  In  none  of  these  letters  is  his  death  imputed  to  any  extraordinary 
cause.  It  appears,  that  more  than  twenty  daya  elapsed  between  Octavio's  attempt  on  Parma  anil 
the  death  of  his  grandfather,  and  that  the  tlr-ease  was  the  Datura]  efled  of  old  age.  ami  not  one  of 
:iinse  occasioned  by  violence  of  passion. 


3S4  THE   REIUlv   OF    THE  [Book  X. 

1550.]  As  this  event  had  been  long  expected,  there  was  an  extraordinary 
concourse  of  cardinals  at  Rome  ;  and  the  various  competitors  having  had 
time  to  form  their  parties,  and  to  concert  their  measures,  their  ambition 
and  intrigues  protracted  the  conclave  to  a  great  length.  The  Imperial  and 
French  faction  strove,  with  emulation,  to  promote  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber, and  had,  by  turns,  the  prospect  of  success.  But  as  Paul,  during  a 
long  pontificate,  bad  raised  many  to  the  purple,  and  those  chiefly  persons 
of  eminent  abilities,  as  well  as  zealously  devoted  to  his  family,  cardinal 
Farnese  had  the  command  of  a  powerful  and  united  squadron,  by  whose 
address  and  firmness  he  exalted  to  the  papal  throne  the  cardinal  di  Monte 
[Feb.  7],  whom  Paul  had  employed  as  his  principal  legate  in  the  council 
of  Trent,  and  trusted  with  his  most  secret  intentions.  He  assumed  the 
name  of  Julius  III.,  and  in  order  to  express  his  gratitude  towards  his  bene- 
factor, the  first  act  of  his  administration  was  to  put  Octavio  Farnese  in 
possession  of  Parma.  When  the  injury  which  he  did  to  the  holy  see,  by 
alienating  a  territory  of  such  value,  was  mentioned  by  some  of  the  cardi- 
nals, he  briskly  replied,  "  That  he  would  rather  be  a  poor  pope,  with  the 
reputation  of  a  gentleman,  than  a  rich  one,  with  the  infamy  of  having  for- 
gotten the  obligations  conferred  upon  him,  and  the  promises  which  he  had 
made."*  But  all  the  lustre  of  this  candour  or  generosity  he  quickly  effaced 
by  an  action  most  shockingly  indecent.  According  to  an  ancient  and  estab- 
lished practice,  every  pope  upon  his  election  considers  it  as  his  privilege 
to  bestow,  on  whom  he  pleases,  the  cardinal's  hat,  which  falls  to  be  dis- 
posed of  by  his  being  invested  with  the  triple  crown.  Julius,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  sacred  college,  conferred  this  mark  of  distinction, 
together  with  ample  ecclesiastical  revenues,  and  the  right  of  bearing  his 
name  and  arms,  upon  one  Innocent,  a  youth  of  sixteen,  born  of  obscure 
parents,  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Ape,  from  his  having  been  trusted 
with  the  care  of  an  animal  of  that  species,  in  the  cardinal  di  Monte's 
family.  Such  a  prostitution  of  the  highest  dignity  in  the  church  would 
have  given  offence,  even  in  those  dark  periods,  when  the  credulous  super- 
stition of  the  people  emboldened  ecclesiastics  to  venture  on  the  most  fla- 
grant violations  of  decorum.  -  But  in  an  enlightened  age,  when,  by  the 
progress  of  knowledge  and  philosophy,  the  obligations  of  duty  and  decency 
were  better  understood,  when  a  blind  veneration  for  the  pontifical  charac- 
ter was  every  where  abated,  and  one  half  of  Christendom  in  open  rebel- 
lion against  the  papal  see,  this  action  was  viewed  with  horror.  Rome  was 
immediately  filled  with  libels  and  pasquinades,  which  imputed  the  pope's 
extravagant  regard  for  such  an  unworthy  object  to  the  most  criminal  pas- 
sions. The  protestants  exclaimed  against  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that 
the  infallible  spirit  of  divine  truth  could  dwell  in  a  breast  so  impure,  and 
called  more  loudly  than  ever,  and  with  greater  appearance  of  justice,  for 
the  immediate  and  thorough  reformation  of  a  church,  the  head  of  which 
was  a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  name.j  The  rest  of  the  pope's  conduct 
was  of  a  piece  with  this  first  specimen  of  his  dispositions.  Having  now 
reached  the  summit  of  ecclesiastical  ambition,  he  seemed  eager  to  indem- 
nify himself,  by  an  unrestrained  indulgence  of  his  desires,  for  the  self- 
denial  or  dissimulation  which  he  had  thought  it  prudent  to  practise  while 
in  a  subordinate  station.  He  became  careless,  to  so  great  a  degree,  of  all 
serious  business,  that  he  could  seldom  be  brought  to  attend  to  it,  but  in 
cases  of  extreme  necessity ;  and  giving  up  himself  to  amusements  and 
dissipation  of  every  kind,  he  imitated  the  luxurious  elegance  of  Leo  rather 
than  the  severe  virtue  of  Adrian,  the  latter  of  which  it  was  necessary  to 
display,  in  contending  with  a  sect  which  derived  great  credit  from  the 
rigid  and  austere  manners  of  its  teachers.J 

*  Mem.  de  Hibicr.  t  Sleid.  492.    F.  Paul,  281.    Pallav.  ii.  76.    Thuan.  lib.  vi.  215. 

-1  V.  Paul,  281. 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.  385 

The  pope,  however,  ready  to  fulfil  his  engagements  to  the  family  of 
Farnese,  discovered  no  inclination  to  observe  the  oath,  which  each  cardinal 
had  taken  when  he  entered  the  conclave,  that  if  the  choice  should  fall  on 
him,  he  would  immediately  call  the  council  to  reassume  its  deliberations. 
Julius  knew,  by  experience,  how  difficult  it  was  to  confine  such  a  body  of 
men  within  the  narrow  limits  which  it  was  the  interest  of  the  see  of  Rome 
to  prescribe  ;  and  how  easily  the  zeal  of  some  members,  the  rashness  of 
others,  or  the  suggestions  of  the  pvinces  on  whom  they  depended,  might 
precipitate  a  popular  and  ungovernable  assembly  into  forbidden  inquiries, 
as  well  as  dangerous  decisions.  He  wished,  for  these  reasons,  to  have 
eluded  the  obligation  of  his  oath,  and  gave  an  ambiguous  answer  to  the 
first  proposals  which  were  made  to  him  by  the  emperor,  with  regard  to 
that  matter.  But  Charles,  either  from  his  natural  obstinacy  in  adhering  to 
the  measures  which  he  had  once  adopted,  or  from  the  mere  pride  of  accom- 
plishing what  was  held  to  be  almost  impossible,  persisted  in  his  resolution 
of  forcing  the  protestants  to  return  into  the  bosom  of  the  church.  Having 
persuaded  himself,  that  the  authoritative  decisions  of  the  council  might  be 
employed  with  efficacy  in  combating  their  prejudices,  he,  m  consequence 
of  that  persuasion,  continued  to  solicit  earnestly  that  a  new  bull  of  convo- 
cation might  be  issued;  and  the  pope  could  not,  with  decency,  reject  that 
request.  When  Julius  found  that  he  could  not  prevent  the  calling  of  a 
council,  he  endeavoured  to  take  to  himself  all  the  merit  of  having  procured 
the  meeting  of  an  assembly,  which  Was  the  object  of  such  general  desire 
and  expectation.  A  congregation  of  cardinals,  to  whom  he  referred  the 
consideration  of  what  was  necessary  for  restoring  peace  to  the  church, 
recommended,  by  his  direction,  the  speedy  convocation  of  a  council,  as  the 
most  effectual  expedient  for  that  purpose  ;  and  as  the  new  heresies  raged 
with  the  greatest  violence  in  Germany,  they  proposed  Trent  as  the  place 
of  its  meeting,  that,  by  a  near  inspection  of  the  evil,  the  remedy  might  be 
applied  with  greater  discernment  and  certainty  of  success.  The  pope 
warmly  approved  of  this  advice,  which  he  himself  had  dictated,  and  sent 
nuncios  to  the  Imperial  and  French  courts,  in  order  to  make  known  his 
intentions.* 

About  this  time,  the  emperor  had  summoned  a  new  diet  to  meet  at 
Augsburg,  in  order  to  enforce  the  observation  of  the  Interim,  and  to  pro- 
cure a  more  authentic  act  of  the  supreme  court  in  the  empire,  acknow- 
ledging the  jurisdiction  of  the  council,  as  well  as  an  explicit  promise  of 
conforming  to  its  decrees.  He  appeared  there  in  person,  together  with  his 
son  the  prince  of  Spain  [June  25].  Few  electors  were  present,  but  all 
sent  deputies  in  their  name.  Charles,  notwithstanding  the  despotic  autho- 
rity with  which  he  had  given  law  in  the  empire  during  two  years,  knew 
{hat  the  spirit  of  independence  among  the  Germans  was  not  entirely  sub- 
dued, and  for  that  reason  took  care  to  overawe  the  diet  by  a  considerable 
body  of  Spanish  troops  which  escorted  him  thither.  The  first  point  sub- 
mitted to  the  consideration  of  the  diet,  was  the  necessity  of  holding  a 
council.  All  the  popish  members  agreed,  without  difficulty,  that  the  meet- 
ing of  that  assembly  should  be  renewed  at  Trent,  and  promised  an  implicit 
acquiescence  in  its  decrees.  The  protestants,  intimidated  and  disunited, 
must  have  followed  their  example,  and  the  resolution  of  the  diet  would 
have  proved  unanimous,  if  Maurice  of  Saxony  had  not  begun  at  this  time 
to  disclose  new  intentions,  and  to  act  a  part  very  different  from  that  w  hi  ch- 
ile had  so  long  assumed. 

By  an  artful  dissimulation  of  his  own  sentiments;  by  address  in  paying 
court  to  the  emperor;  and  by  the  seeming  zeal  with  which  he  forwarded 
all  his  ambitious  schemes,  Maurice  had  raised  himself  to  the  electoral  dig- 
nity ;  and  having  added  the  dominions  of  the  elder  branch  of  the  Saxon 

:: 
Vol.  II.  49 


J86  T  II E   KEKi  N    ()  I-1   T H £  [Book X. 

family  to  bis  own,  he  was  become  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Germany. 
But  his  long  and  intimate  union  with  the  emperor  had  afforded  him  many 
opportunities  of  observing  narrowly  the  dangerous  tendency  of  that  mon- 
arch's schemes.  He  saw  the  yoke  that  was  preparing  lor  his  country ;  and 
from  the  rapid  as  well  as  formidable  progress  of  the  Imperial  power,  was 
convinced  that  but  a  few  steps  more  remained  to  be  taken,  in  order  to 
render  Charles  as  absolute  a  monarch  in  Germany  as  he  had  become  in 
.Spain.  The  more  eminent  the  condition  was  to  which  he  himself  bad 
been  exalted,  the  more  solicitous  did  Maurice  naturally  become  to  main- 
tain all  its  rights  and  privileges,  and  the  more  did  he  dread  the  thoughts  of 
descending  from  the  rank  of  a  prince  almost  independent,  to  that  of  a 
vassal  subject  to  the  commands  of  a  master.  At  the  same  time  he  per- 
ceived that  Charles  was  bent  on  exacting  a  rigid  conformity  to  the  doc- 
trines and  rites  of  the  Romish  church,  instead  of  allowing  liberty  ot  con- 
science, the  promise  of  which  had  allured  several  protestant  princes  to 
assist  him  in  the  war  against  the  confederates  of  Smalkalde.  As  he  him- 
self, notwithstandh)g  all  the  compliances  which  he  had  made  from  motives 
of  interest,  or  an  excess  of  confidence  in  the  emperor,  was  sincerely 
attached  to  the  Lutheran  tenets,  he  determined  not  to  be  a  tame  spectator 
of  the  overthrow  of  a  system  which  he  believed  to  be  founded  in  truth. 

This  resolution,  flowing  from  a  love  of  liberty,  or  zeal  for  religion,  was 
strengthened  by  political  and  interested  considerations.  In  that  elevated 
station  in  which  Maurice  was  now  placed,  new  and  more  extensive  pros- 
pects opened  to  his  view.  His  rank  and  power  entitled  him  to  be  the  head 
of  the  protestants  in  the  empire.  His  predecessor,  the  degraded  elector, 
with  inferior  abilities,  and  territories  less  considerable,  had  acquired  such 
an  ascendant  over  the  councils  of  the  party;  and  Maurice  neither  wanted 
discernment  to  see  the  advantage  of  this  pre-eminence,  nor  ambition  to 
aim  at  attaining  it.  But  he  found  himself  in  a  situation  which  rendered 
the  attempt  no  less  difficult,  than  the  object  of  it  was  important.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  connection  which  he  had  formed  with  the  emperor  was  so 
intimate,  that  he  could  scarcely  hope  to  take  any  step  which  tended  to 
dissolve  it,  without  alarming-  his  jealousy,  and  drawing  on  himself  the 
whole  weight  of  that  power,  which  had  crushed  the  greatest  confederacy 
ever  formed  in  Germany.  On  the  other  hand,  the  calamities  which  he  had 
brought  on  the  protestant  party  were  so  recent,  as  well  as  great,  that  it 
seemed  almost  impossible  to  regain  their  confidence,  or  to  rally  and  reani- 
mate a  body  after  he  himself  had  been  the  chief  instrument  in  breaking 
its  union -and  vigour.  These  considerations  were  sufficient  to  have  dis- 
couraged any  person  of  a  spirit  less  adventurous  than  Maurice's.  But  to 
him  the  grandeur  and  difficulty  of  the  enterprise  were  allurements  ;  and 
he  boldly  resolved  on  measures,  the  idea  of  which  a  genius  of  an  inferior 
order  could  not  have  conceived,  or  would  have  trembled  at  the  thoughts  of 
the  danger  that  attended  the  execution  of  them. 

His  passions  concurred  with  his  interest  in  confirming  this  resolution : 
and  the  resentment  excited  by  an  injury,  which  he  sensibly  felt,  added  new 
force  to  the  motives  for  opposing  the  emperor,  which  sound  policy  sug- 
gested. Maurice,  by  his  authority,  had  prevailed  on  the  landgrave  of 
Hesse  to  put  his  person  in  the  emperor's  power,  and  had  obtained  a  pro- 
mise from  the  Imperial  ministers  that  he  should  not  be  detained  a  prisoner. 
This  had  been  violated  in  the  manner  already  related.  The  unhappy 
landgrave  exclaimed  as  loudly  against  his  son-in-law  as  against  Charle.--. 
The  princes  of  Hesse  incessantly  required  Maurice  to  fulfil  his  engagi 
mcnts  to  their  father,  who  had  lost  his  liberty  by  trusting  to  him  ;  and  all 
Germany  suspected  him  of  having  betrayed,  to  an  implacable  enemy,  the 
friend  whom  he  was  most  bound  to  protect.  Roused  by  these  solicitation  - 
or  reproaches,  as  well  as  prompted  by  duty  and  affection  to  his  father-in- 
law.  Maurice  had  employed  not  only  entreaties  but  remonstrances  in  ord< 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   \.  3U7 

lo  procure  his  release.  All  these  Charles  had  disregarded  ;  and  the  shame 
of  having  heen  first  deceived,  and  then  slighted,  by  a  prince  whom  he  had 
served  with  zeal  as  well  as  success,  which  merited  a  very  different  return, 
made  such  a  deep  impression  on  Maurice,  that  he  waited  with  impatience 
lor  an  opportunity  of  being  revenged. 

The  utmost  caution  as  well  as  the  most  delicate  address  were  requisite 
in  taking  every  step  towards  this  end  ;  as  he  had  to  guard,  on  the  one  hand; 
against  giving  a  premature  alarm  to  the  emperor;  while,  on  the  other, 
something  considerable  and  explicit  was  necessary  to  be  done,  in  order  to 
regain  the  confidence  oi'  the  protestant  party.  Maurice  had  accordingly 
applied  all  his  powers  of  art  and  dissimulation  to  attain  both  these  points. 
As  he  knew  Charles  to  be  inflexible  with  regard  to  the  submission  which 
he  required  to  the  Interim,  he  did  not  hesitate  one  moment  whether  he 
should  establish  that  form  of  doctrine  and  worship  in  his  dominions  :  but 
being  sensible  how  odious  it  was  to  his  subjects,  instead  of  violently 
imposing  it  on  them  by  the  mere  terror  of  authority,  as  had  been  done  in 
other  parts  of  Germany,  he  endeavoured  to  render  their  obedience  a 
voluntary  deed  of  their  own.  For  this  purpose,  he  had  assembled  the 
clergy  of  his  country  at  Leipsic,  and  had  laid  the  Interim  before  them, 
together  with  the  reasons  which  made  it  necessary  to  conform  to  it.  He 
had  gained  some  of  them  by  promises,  others  he  had  wrought  upon  by 
threats,  and  all  were  intimidated  by  the  rigour  with  which  obedience  to 
the  Interim  was  extorted  in  the  neighbouring  provinces.  Even  Melanc- 
thon,  whose  merit  of  every  kind  entitled  him  to  the  first  place  among  the 
protestant  divines,  being  now  deprived  of  the  manly  counsels  of  Luther, 
which  were  wont  to  inspire  him  with  fortitude,  and  to  preserve  him  steady 
amidst  the  storms  and  dangers  that  threatened  the  church,  was  seduced 
into  unwarrantable  concessions,  by  the  timidity  of  his  temper,  his  fond 
desire  of  peace,  and  his  excessive  complaisance  towards  persons  of  high 
rank.  By  his  arguments  and  authority,  no  less  than  by  Maurice's  address, 
tlie  assembly  was  prevailed  on  to  declare,  "  that,  in  points  which  were 
purely  indifferent,  obedience  was  due  to  the  commands  of  a  lawful  supe- 
rior.' Founding  upon  this  maxim,  no  less  incontrovertible  in  theory,  than 
dangerous  when  carried  into  practice,  especially  in  religious  matters,  many 
ot  the  protestant  ecclesiastics  whom  Maurice  consulted,  proceeded  to 
class,  among  the  number  of  things  indifferent,  several  doctrines,  which 
Luther  had  pointed  out  as  gross  and  pernicious  errors  in  the  Romish  creed ; 
and  placing  in  the  same  rank  many  of  those  rights  which  distinguished  the 
reformed  from  the  popish  worship,  they  exhorted  their  people  to  comply 
with  the  emperor's  injunctions  concerning  these  particulars.* 

By  this  dexterous  conduct,  the  introduction  of  the  Interim  excited  none 
of  those  violent  convulsions  in  Saxony  which  it  occasioned  in  other  pro- 
vinces. But  though  the  Saxons  submitted,  the  more  zealous  Lutherans 
exclaimed  against  Melancthon  and  his  associates,  as  false  brethren,  who 
were  either  so  wicked  as  to  apostatize  from  the  truth  altogether ;  or  so 
crafty  as  to  betray  it  by  subtle  distinctions ;  or  so  feeble-spirited  as  to 
give  it  up  from  pusillanimity  and  criminal  complaisance  to  a  prince,  capable 
of  sacrificing  to  his  political  interest  that  which  he  himself  regarded  as 
most  sacred.  Maurice,  being  conscious  what  a  colour  of  probability  his 
past  conduct  gave  to  those  accusations,  as  well  as  afraid  of  losing  entirely 
the  confidence  of  the  protestants,  issued  a  declaration  containing  professions 
of  his  zealous  attachment  to  the  reformed  religion,  and  of  his  resolution  to 
guard  against  all  the  errors  or  encroachments  of  the  papal  see.t 

Having  gone  so  far  in  order  to  remove  the  fears  and  jealousies  of  the 
protestants,  he  found  it  necessary  to  efface  the  impression  which  such  a 

*  Sleid.  4fll.  48j.  .In.  Laur.  Mosncmii  [nstitutionem  Hiet  Ecclesiastics,  lib.  iv.  HelmsL  1705, 
4to.  p.  748.    Jo  And  Schffl       H  htterimistica  r.*o  Arc    Helmet.  1730.  '  Sleid.  465. 


3b&  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  X. 

declaration  might  make  upon  the  emperor.  For  that  purpose,  he  not  only 
renewed  his  professions  of  an  inviolable  adherence  to  his  alliance  with 
him,  but  as  the  city  of  Magdeburg  still  persisted  in  rejecting  the  Interim, 
he  undertook  to  reduce  it  to  obedience,  and  instantly  set  about  levying 
troops  to  be  employed  in  that  service.  This  damped  all  the  hopes  which 
the  protestants  began  to  conceive  of  Maurice,  in  consequence  of  his  decla- 
ration, and  left  them  more  than  ever  at  a  loss  to  guess  at  his  real  intentions. 
Their  former  suspicion  and  distrust  of  him  revived,  and  the  divines  of 
Magdeburg  filled  Germany  with  writings  in  which  they  represented  him 
as  the  most  formidable  enemy  of  the  protestant  religion,  who  treacherously 
assumed  an  appearance  of  zeal  for  its  interest,  that  he  might  more  effectu- 
ally execute  his  schemes  for  its  destruction. 

This  charge,  supported  by  the  evidence  of  recent  facts,  as  well  as  by 
his  present  dubious  conduct,  gained  such  universal  credit,  that  Maurice 
was  obliged  to  take  a  vigorous  step  in  his  own  vindication.  As  soon  as  the 
reassembling  of  the  council  at  Trent  was  proposed  in  the  diet,  his  am- 
bassadors protested  that  their  master  would  not  acknowledge  its  authority,, 
unless  all  the  points  which  had  been  already  decided  there,  were  reviewed, 
and  considered  as  still  undetermined  ;  unless  the  protestant  divines  had  a 
full  hearing  granted  them,  and  were  allowed  a  decisive  voice  in  the  council ; 
and  unless  the  pope  renounced  his  pretensions  to  preside  in  the  council, 
engaged  to  submit  to  its  decrees,  and  .to  absolve  the  bishops  from  their 
oath  of  obedience,  that  they  might  deliver  their  sentiments  with  greater 
freedom.  These  demands,  which  were  higher  than  any  that  the  retormers 
had  ventured  to  make,  even  when  the  zeal  of  their  party  was  warmest,  or 
their  affairs  most  prosperous,  counterbalanced  in  some  degree,  the  impres- 
sion which  Maurice's  preparations  against  Magdeburg  had  made  upon  the 
minds  of  the  protestants,  and  kept  them  in  suspense  with  regard  to  his 
designs.  At  the  same  time,  he  had  dexterity  enough  to  represent  this  part 
of  his  conduct  in  such  a  light  to  the  emperor,  that  it  gave  him  no  offence, 
and  occasioned  no  interruption  of  the  strict  confidence  which  subsisted 
between  them.  What  the  pretexts  were  which  he  employed,  in  order  to 
give  such  a  bold  declaration  an  innocent  appearance,  the  contemporary  his- 
torians have  not  explained  ;  that  they  imposed  upon  Charles  is  certain,  for 
he  still  continued  not  only  to  prosecute  his  plan,  as  well  concerning  the 
Interim  as  the  council,  with  the  same  ardour,  but  to  place  the  same  confi- 
dence in  Maurice,  with  regard  to  the  execution  of  both. 

The  pope's  resolution  concerning  the  council  not  being  yet  known  at 
Augsburg,  the  chief  business  of  the  diet  was  to  enforce  the  observation  of 
the  Interim.  As  the  senate  of  Magdeburg,  notwithstanding  various 
endeavours  to  frighten  or  to  soothe  them  into  compliance,  not  only  perse- 
vered obstinately  in  their  opposition  to  the  Interim,  but  began  to  strengthen 
the  fortifications  of  their  city,  and  to  levy  troops  in  their  own  defence, 
Charles  required  the  diet  to  assist  him  in  quelling  this  audacious  rebellion 
against  a  decree  of  the  empire.  Had  the  members  of  the  diet  been  left 
to  act  agreeably  to  their  own  inclination,  this  demand  would  have  been 
rejected  without  hesitation.  All  the  Germans  who  favoured,  in  any  degree, 
the  new  opinions  in  religion,  and  many  who  were  influenced  by  no  other 
consideration  than  jealousy  of  the  emperor.'s  growing  power,  regarded  this 
effort  of  the  citizens  of  Magdeburg,  as  a  noble  stand  for  the  liberties  of 
their  country.  Even  such  as  had  not  resolution  to  exert  the  same  spirit, 
admired  the  gallantry  of  their  enterprise,  and  wished  it  success.  But  the 
presence  of  Spanish  troops,  together  with  the  dread  of  the  emperor's 
displeasure,  overawed  the  members  of  the  diet  to  such  a  degree,  that, 
without  venturing  to  utter  their  own  sentiments,  they  tamely  ratified,  by 
their  votes,  whatever  the  emperor  was  pleased  to  prescribe.  The  rigo- 
rous decrees,  which  Charles  had  issued  by  his  own  authority  against  the 
Magdeburgers.  were  confirmed:  a  resolution  was  taken  to  rai*e  troops  in 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V  38» 

order  to  besiege  the  city  in  form  ;  and  persons  were  named  to  fix  the  con- 
tingent in  men  or  money  to  be  furnished  by  each  state.  At  the  same  time 
the  diet  petitioned  that  Maurice  might  be  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
that  army ;  to  which  Charles  gave  his  consent  with  great  alacrity,  and 
with  high  encomiums  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  choice  which  they  had 
made.*  As  Maurice  conducted  all  his  schemes  with  profound  and  impe- 
netrable secrecy,  it  is  probable  that  he  took  no  step  avowedly  in  order  to 
obtain  this  charge.  rI  he  recommendation  of  his  countrymen  was  either 
purely  accidental,  or  flowed  from  the  opinion  generally  entertained  of  his 
great  abilities  ;  and  neither  the  diet  had  any  foresight,  nor  the  emperor  any 
dread,  of  the  consequences  which  followed  upon  this  nomination.  Maurice 
accepted,  without  hesitation,  the  command  to  which  he  was  recommended, 
instantly  discerning  the  important  advantages  which  he  might  derive  from 
having  it  committed  to  him. 

Meanwhile,  Julius,  in  preparing  the  bull  for  the  convocation  of  the 
council,  observed  all  those  tedious  forms  which  the  court  of  Rome  can 
artfully  employ  to  retard  any  disagreeable  measure.  At  last,  however, 
it  was  published,  and  the  council  was  summoned  to  meet  at  Trent  on  the 
first  day  of  the  ensuing  month  of  May.  As  he  knew  that  many  of  the 
Germans  rejected  or  disputed  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  which  the 
papal  see  claims  with  respect  to  general  councils,  he  took  care,  in  the 
preamble  of  the  bull,  to  assert,  in  the  strongest  terms,  his  own  right,  not 
only  to  call  and  preside  in  that  assembly,  but  to  direct  its  proceedings ; 
nor  would  he  soften  these  expressions  in  any  degree,  in  compliance  with 
the  repeated  solicitations  of  the  emperor,  who  foresaw  what  offence  they 
would  give,  and  what  construction  might  be  put  on  them.  They  were 
censured  accordingly  with  great  severity  by  several  members  of  the  diet ; 
but  whatever  disgust  or  suspicion  they  excited,  such  complete  influence 
over  all  their  deliberations  had  the  emperor  acquired,  that  he  procured  a 
recess  [Feb.  13,  1551],  in  which  the  authority  of  the  council  was  recog- 
nised, and  declared  to  be  the  proper  remedy  for  the  evils  which  at  that 
time  afflicted  the  church ;  all  the  princes  and  states  of  the  empire,  such 
as  had  made  innovations  in  religion,  as  well  as  those  who  adhered  to  the 
system  of  their  forefathers,  were  required  to  send  their  representatives  to 
the  council ;  the  emperor  engaged  to  grant  a  safe-conduct  to  such  as 
demanded  it,  and  to  secure  them  an  impartial  hearing  in  the  council  ;  he 
promised  to  fix  his  residence  in  some  city  of  the  empire,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Trent,  that  he  might  protect  the  members  of  the  council  by  his 
presence,  and  take  care  that  by  conducting  their  deliberations  agreeably  to 
scripture  and  the  doctrine  of  the  fathers,  they  might  bring  them  to  a  desi- 
rable issue.  In  this  recess,  the  observation  of  the  Interim  was  more 
strictly  enjoined  than  ever ;  and  the  emperor  threatened  all  who  had 
hitherto  neglected  or  refused  to  conform  to  it,  with  the  severest  effects  of  his 
vengeance,  if  they  persisted  in  their  disobedience.! 

During  the  meeting  of  this  diet,  a  new  attempt  was  made,  in  order  to 
procure  liberty  to  the  landgrave.  That  prince,  no  ways  reconciled  to  his 
situation  by  time,  grew  every  day  more  impatient  of  restraint.  Having 
often  applied  to  Maurice  and  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  took  every 
occasion  of  soliciting  the  emperor  in  his  behalf,  though  without  any  effect, 
he  now  commanded  his  sons  to  summon  them,  with  legal  formality,  to  per- 
form what  was  contained  in  the  bond  which  they  had  granted  him,  by 
surrendering  themselves  into  their  hands  to  be  treated  with  the  same  rigour 
as  the  emperor  had  used  him.  This  furnished  them  with  a  fresh  pretext 
for  renewing  their  application  to  the  emperor,  together  with  an  additional 
argument  to  enforce  it.  Charles  firmly  resolved  not  to  grant  their  request ; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  being  extremely  desirous  to  be  delivered  from 

•  Pleid.  503.  512.        t  Sft>id.  512.    Tlmnn  lilt  vi.  1TJ.    Rokiasll  Onstif.Imperiales.  vol.  ii  340 


B90  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  X, 

their  incessant  importunity,  he  endeavoured  to  prevail  on  the  landgrave  t<< 
give  up  the  bond  which  he  had  received  from  the  two  electors,  But  that 
prince  refusing  to  part  with  a  security  which  he  deemed  essential  to  his 
safety,  the  emperor  boldly  cut  the  knot  which  he  could  not  untie  ;  and  by 
a  public  deed  annulled  the  bond  which  Maurice  and  the  elector  of  Bran- 
denburg had  granted,  absolving  them  from  all  their  engagements  to  the 
landgrave.  No  pretension  to  a  power  so  pernicious  to  society  as  that  of 
abrogating  at  pleasure  the  most  sacred  laws  of  honour,  and  most  formal 
obligations  of  public  faith,  had  hitherto  been  formed  by  any  but  the  Roman 
pontiffs,  who,  in  consequence  of  their  claim  of  supreme  power  on  earth, 
arrogate  the  right  of  dispensing  with  precepts  and  duties  of  every  kind. 
All  Germany  was  tilled  with  astonishment,  when  Charles  assumed  the  same 
prerogative.  The  state  of  subjection,  to  which  the  empire  was  reduced, 
appeared  to  be  more  rigorous,  as  well  as  intolerable,  than  that  of  the  most 
wretched  and  enslaved  nations,  if  the.  emperor,  by  an  arbitrary  decree, 
might  cancel  those  solemn  contracts  which  are  the  foundation  of  that  mutual 
confidence  whereby  men  are  held  together  in  social  union.  The  landgrave 
himself  now  gave  up  all  hopes  of  recovering  his  liberty  by  the  emperor's 
consent,  and  endeavoured  to  procure  it  by  his  own  address.  But  the  plan 
which  he  had  formed  to  deceive  his  guards  being  discovered,  such  of  his 
attendants  as  he  had  gained  to  favour  his  escape,  were  put  to  death,  and 
he  was  confined  in  the  citadel  of  Mechlin  more  closely  than  ever.* 

Another  transaction  was  carried  on  during  this  diet,  with  respect  to  an 
affair  more  nearly  interesting  to  the  emperor,  and  which  occasioned  like- 
wise a  general  alarm  among  the  princes  of  the  empire.  Charles,  though 
formed  with  talents  which  fitted  him  for  conceiving  and  conducting  great 
designs,  was  not  capable,  as  has  been  often  observed,  of  bearing  extraor- 
dinary success.  Its  operation  on  his  mind  was  so  violent  and  intoxicating, 
that  it  elevated  him  beyond  what  was  moderate  or  attainable,  and  turned 
his  whole  attention  to  the  pursuit  of  vast  but  chimerical  objects.  Such 
had  been  the  effect  of  his  victory  over  the  confederates  ot  Smalkalde. 
He  did  not  long  rest  satisfied  with  the  substantial  and  certain  advantages 
which  were  the  result  of  that  event,  but,  despising  these,  as  poor  or  incon- 
siderable fruits  of  such  great  success,  he  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  at 
bringing  all  Germany  to  a  uniformity  in  religion,  and  at  rendering  the  Im- 
perial power  despotic.  These  were  objects  extremely  splendid  indeed, 
and  alluring  to  an  ambitious  mind;  the  pursuit  of  them,  however,  was 
attended  with  manifest  danger,  and  the  hope  of  attaining  them  very  uncer- 
tain. But  the  steps  which  he  had  already  taken  towards  them,  having 
been  accompanied  with  such  success,  his  imagination,  warmed  with  con- 
templating this  alluring  object,  overlooked  or  despised  all  remaining  diffi- 
culties. As  he  conceived  the  execution  of  his  plan  to  be  certain,  he  began 
to  be  solicitous  bow  he  might  render  the  possession  of  such  an  important 
acquisition  perpetual  in  his  family,  by  transmitting  the  German  empire, 
together  with  the  kingdoms  of  Spain,  and  his  dominions  in  Italy  and  the 
Low-Countries,  to  his  son.  Having  long  revolved  this  flattering  idea  in 
his  mind,  without  communicating  it,  even  to  those  ministers  whom  he  most 
trusted,  he  bad  called  Philip  out  of  Spain,  in  hopes  that  his  presence 
would  facilitate  the  carrying  forward  the  scheme. 

Great  obstacles,  however,  and  such  as  would  have  deterred  any  ambi- 
tion less  accustomed  to  overcome  difficulties)  were  to  be  surmounted.  He 
had,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty,  imprudently  assisted 
in  procuring  his  brother  Ferdinand  the  dignity  of  king  of  the  Romans,  and 
there  was  no  probability  that  this  prince,  who  was  still  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  had  a  son  grown  up  to  the  years  of  manhood,  would  relinquish, 
.in  favour  of  his  nephew,  the  near  prospect  of  the  Imperial  throne,  which 

*  SU-iil.  501     Thu.m  I  vi.  334,835 


EM  PEROR   CHARLES    \  .  391 

Charles's  infirmities  and  declining  state  of  health  opened  to  himself.  This 
did  not  deter  the  emperor  from  venturing  to  make  the  proposition ;  and 
when  Ferdinand,  notwithstanding  his  profound  reverence  for  his  brother, 
and  obsequious  submission  to  his  will  in  other  instances,  rejected  it  in  ;t 
peremptory  tone,  he  was  not  discouraged  by  one  repulse.  He  renewed 
his  applications  to  him  by  his  sister,  Mary  queen  of  Hungary,  to  whom 
Ferdinand  stood  indebted  for  the  crowns  both  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia, 
and  who,  by  her  great  abilities,  tempered  with  extreme  gentleness  of  dis- 
position, had  acquired  an  extraordinary  influence  over  both  the  brothers. 
She  entered  warmly  into  a  measure,  which  tended  so  manifestly  to  aggran- 
dize the  house  of  Austria,  and  flattering  herself  that  she  could  tempt  Fer- 
dinand to  renounce  the  reversionary  possession  of  the  Imperial  dignity  for 
an  immediate  establishment,  she  assured  him  that  the  emperor,  by  Avay  oi 
compensation  for  his  giving  up  his  chance  of  succession,  would  instantly 
bestow  upon  him  territories  of  very  considerable  value,  and  pointed  out  in 
particular  those  of  the  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  which  might  be  confiscated 
upon  different  pretexts.  But  neither  by  her  address  nor  entreaties  could 
she  induce  Ferdinand  to  approve  of  a  plan,  which  would  not  only  have 
degraded  him  from  the  highest  rank  among  the  monarchs  of  Europe  to 
that  of  a  subordinate  and  dependent  prince,  but  would  have  involved  both 
him  and  his  posterity  in  perpetual  contests.  He  was,  at  the  same  time, 
more  attached  to  his  children,  than  by  a  rash  concession  to  frustrate  all  the 
high  hopes,  in  prospect  of  which  they  had  been  educated. 

Notwithstanding  the  immoveable  firmness  which  Ferdinand  discovered, 
the  emperor  did  not  abandon  his  scheme.  He  flattered  himself  that  he 
might  attain  the  object  in  view  by  another  channel,  and  that  it  was  not 
impossible  to  prevail  on  the  electors  to  cancel  their  former  choice  of  Fer- 
dinand, or  at  least  to  elect  Philip  a  second  king  of  the  Romans,  substituting 
him  as  next  in  succession  to  his  uncle.  With  this  view,  he  took  Philip 
along  with  him  to  the  diet,  that  the  Germans  might  have  an  opportunity 
to  observe  and  become  acquainted  with  the  prince,  in  behalf  of  whom  he 
courted  their  interest ;  and  he  himself  employed  all  the.  arts  of  address  or 
insinuation  to  gain  the  electors,  and  to  prepare  them  for  listening  with  a 
favourable  ear  to  the  proposal.  But  no  sooner  did  he  venture  upon  men- 
tioning it  to  them,  than  they,  at  once,  saw  and  trembled  at  the  conse- 
quences with  which  it  would  be  attended.  They  had  long  felt  all  the 
inconveniences  of  having  placed  at  the  head  of  the  empire  a  prince  whose 
power  and  dominions  were  so  extensive ;  if  they  should  now  repeat  the 
folly,  and  continue  the  Imperial  crown,  like  an  hereditary  dignity  in  the 
same  family,  they  foresaw  that  they  would  give  the  son  an  opportunity  ot 
carrying  on  that  system  of  oppression  which  the  father  had  begun ;  and 
would  put  it  in  his  power  to  overturn  whatever  was  yet  left  entire  in  the 
ancient  and  venerable  fabric  of  the  German  constitution. 

The  character  of  the  prince,  in  whose  favour  this  extraordinary  propo- 
sition was  made,  rendered  it  still  less  agreeable.  Philip,  though  possessed 
with  an  insatiable  desire  of  power,  was  a  stranger  to  all  the  arts  of  concilia- 
ting good  will.  Haughty,  reserved,  and  severe,  he,  instead  of  gaining 
new  friends,  disgusted  the  ancient  and  most  devoted  partisans  of  the  Aus- 
trian interest.  He  scorned  to  take  the  trouble  of  acquiring  the  language 
of  the  country  to  the  government  of  which  he  aspired  ;  nor  would  he  con- 
descend to  pay  the  Germans  the  compliment  of  accommodating  himself, 
during  his  residence  among  them,  to  their  manners  and  customs.*  He 
allowed  the  electors  and  most  illustrious  princes  in  Germany  to  remain  in 
his  presence  uncovered,  affecting  a  stately  and  distant  demeanour,  which 
the  greatest  of  the  German  emperors,  and  even  Charles  himself,  amid-' 

*  Fiediman  Andrea  ZuKcfa  DiwrM^o  politico  histories  de  N^vis  fioijriris  nawii  v.  i.ipp  1706 
•Jto.  r>.  St. 


392  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  X. 

the  pride  of  power  and  victory,  had  never  assumed.  On  the  other  hand, 
Ferdinand,  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Germany,  had  studied  to  render 
himself  acceptable  to  the  people,  by  a  conformity  to  their  manners,  which 
seemed  to  flow  from  choice  ;  and  his  son  Maximilian,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  such  amiable  qualities  as  ren- 
dered him  the  darling  of  his  countrymen,  and  induced  them  to  look  for- 
ward to  his  election  as  a  most  desirable  event.  Their  esteem  and  affec- 
tion for  him  fortified  the  resolution  which  sound  policy  had  suggested  ; 
and  determined  the  Germans  to  prefer  the  popular  virtues  of  Ferdinand 
and  his  son,  to  the  stubborn  austerity  of  Philip,  which  interest  could  not 
soften,  nor  ambition  teach  him  to  disguise.  All  the  electors,  the  ecclesias- 
tical as  well  as  secular,  concurred  in  expressing  such  strong  disapprobation 
of  the  measure,  that  Charles,  notwithstanding  the  reluctance  with  which 
he  gave  up  any  point,  was  obliged  to  drop  the  scheme  as  impracticable. 
By  nis  unseasonable  perseverance  in  pushing  it,  he  had  not  only  filled  the 
Germans  with  new  jealousy  of  his  ambitious  designs,  but  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  rivalship  and  discord  in  the  Austrian  family,  and  forced  his  brother 
Ferdinand,  in  self-defence,  to  court  the  electors,  particularly  Maurice  of 
Saxony,  and  to  form  such  connections  with  them,  as  cut  off  all  prospect 
of  renewing  the  proposal  with  success.  Philip,  soured  by  his  disappoint- 
ment, was  sent  back  to  Spain,  to  be  called  thence  when  any  new  scheme 
of  ambition  should  render  his  presence  necessary.* 

Having  relinquished  this  plan  of  domestic  ambition  which  had  long  oc- 
cupied and  engrossed  him,  Charles  imagined  that  he  would  now  have 
leisure  to  turn  all  his  attention  towards  his  grand  scheme  of  establishing 
uniformity  of  religion  in  the  empire,  by  forcing  all  the  contending  parties 
to  acquiesce  in  the  decisions  of  the  council  of  Trent.  But  such  was  the 
extent  of  his  dominions,  the  variety  of  connections  in  which  this  entangled 
him,  and  the  multiplicity  of  events  to  which  these  gave  rise,  as  seldom 
allowed  him  to  apply  his  whole  force  to  any  one  object.  The  machine 
which  he  had  to  conduct  was  so  great  and  complicated,  that  an  unforeseen 
irregularity  or  obstruction  in  one  of  the  inferior  wheels,  often  disconcerted 
the  motion  of  the  whole,  and  prevented  his  deriving  from  them  all  the 
beneficial  effects  which  he  expected.  Such  an  unlooked-for  occurrence 
happened  at  this  juncture,  and  created  new  obstacles  to  the  execution  of 
his  schemes  with  regard  to  religion.  Julius  III.,  though  he  had  confirmed 
Octavio  Farnese  in  the  possession  of  the  dutchy  of  Parma,  during  the  first 
effusions  of  his  joy  and  gratitude  on  his  promotion  to  the  papal  throne, 
soon  began  -to  repent  of  his  own  generosity,  and  to  be  apprehensive  of 
consequences  which  either  he  did  not  foresee,  or  had  disregarded,  while 
the  sense  of  his  obligations  to  the  family  of  Farnese  was  recent.  The 
emperor  still  retained  Placentia  in  his  hands,  and  had  not  relinquished  his 
pretensions  to  Parma  as  a  fief  of  the  empire.  Gongaza  the  governor  of 
Milan,  having,  by  the  part  which  he  took  in  the  murder  of  the  late  duke 
Peter  Ludovico,  offered  an  insult  to  the  family  of  Farnese,  which  he  knew 
could  never  be  forgiven,  had,  for  that  reason,  vowed  its  destruction  ;  and 
employed  all  the  influence  which  his  great  abilities,  as  well  as  long  services, 
gave  him  with  the  emperor,  in  persuading  him  to  seize  Parma  by  force  of 
arms.  Charles,  in  compliance  with  his  solicitations,  and  that  he  might 
gratify  his  own  desire  of  annexing  Parma  to  the  Milanese,  listened  to  the 
proposal ;  and  Gonzaga,  ready  to  take  encouragement  from  the  slightest 
appearance  of  approbation,  began  to  assemble  troops,  and  to  make  other 
preparations  for  the  execution  of  his  scheme. 

Octavio,  who  saw  the  impending  danger,  found  it  necessaiy,  for  his  own 
safety,  to  increase  the  garrison  of  his  capital,  and  to  levy  soldiers  for 

*Sleid.505.  TUuan.  180.  338.  Memoir,  dc  Kibier  ii.  219. 281.  3J4.  Adriani  Istor.  Ml*,  viii 
507.  520. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  393 

defending  the  rest  of  the  country.  But  as  the  expense  of  such  an  effort  far 
exceeded  his  scanty  revenues,  he  represented  his  situation  to  the  pope,  and 
implored  that  protection  and  assistance  which  was  due  to  him  as  a  vassal 
of  the  church.  The  Imperial  minister,  however,  had  already  pre-occupied 
the  pope's  ear ;  and  by  discoursing  continually  concerning  the  danger  of 
giving  offence  to  the  emperor,  as  well  as  the  imprudence  of  supporting 
Octavio  in  an  usurpation  so  detrimental  to  the  holy  see,  had  totally  alienated 
him  from  the  family  of  Farnese.  Octavio's  remonstrance  and  petition  met, 
of  consequence,  with  a  cold  reception  ;  and  he,  despairing  of  any  assistance 
from  Julius,  began  to  look  round  for  protection  from  some  other  quarter. 
Henry  II.  of  France  was  the  only  prince  powerful  enough  to  afford  him 
this  protection,  and  fortunately  he  was  now  in  a  situation  which  allowed 
him  to  grant  it.  He  had  brought  his  transactions  with  the  two  British 
kingdoms,  which  hud  hitherto  diverted  his  attention  from  the  affairs  of  the 
continent,  to  such  an  issue  as  he  desired.  This  he  had  effected  partly  by 
the  vigour  of  his  arms,  partly  by  his  dexterity  in  taking  advantage  of  the 
political  factions  which  raged  in  both  kingdoms  to  such  a  degree,  as  ren- 
dered the  councils  of  the  Scots  violent  and  precipitate,  and  the  operations 
of  the  English  feeble  and  unsteady.  He  had  procured  from  the  English 
favourable  conditions  of  peace  for  his  allies  the  Scots  ;  he  had  prevailed 
on  the  nobles  of  Scotland  not  only  to  affiance  their  young  queen  to  his  son 
the  dauphin,  but  even  to  send  her  into  France,  that  she  might  be  educated 
under  his  eye  ;  and  had  recovered  Boulogne,  together  with  its  depend- 
encies, which  had  been  conquered  by  Henry  VIII. 

The  French  king  having  gained  points  of  so  much  consequence  to  his 
crown,  and  disengaged  himself  with  such  honour  from  the  burden  of  sup- 
porting the  Scots,  and  maintaining  a  war  against  England,  was  now  at  full 
leisure  to  pursue  the  measures  which  his  hereditary  jealousy  of  the  em- 
peror's power  naturally  suggested.  He  listened  accordingly,  to  the  first 
overtures  which  Octavio  Farnese  made  him  ;  and  embracing  eagerly  an 
opportunity  of  recovering  footing  in  Italy,  he  instantly  concluded  a  treaty, 
in  which  he  bound  himself  to  espouse  his  cause,  and  to  furnish  him  all  the 
assistance  which  he  desired.  This  transaction  could  not  be  long  kept 
secret  from  the  pope,  who,  foreseeing  the  calamities  which  must  follow  if 
war  were  rekindled  so  near  the  ecclesiastical  state,  immediately  issued 
monitory  letters  requiring  Octavio  to  relinquish  his  new  alliance.  Upon 
his  refusal  to  comply  with  the  requisition,  he  soon  after  pronounced  his  fief 
to  be  forfeited,  and  declared  war  against  him  as  a  disobedient  and  rebellious 
vassal.  But  as,  with  his  own  forces  alone,  he  could  not  hope  to  subdue 
Octavio  while  supported  by  such  a  powerful  ally  as  the  king  of  France,  he 
had  recourse  to  the  emperor,  who  being  extremely  solicitous  to  prevent  the 
establishment  of  the  French  in  Parma,  ordered  Gonzaga  to  second  Julius 
with  all  his  troops.  Thus  the  French  took  the  field  as  the  allies  of  Octavio, 
the  Imperialists  as  the  protectors  of  the  holy  see  ;  and  hostilities  com- 
menced between  them,  while  Charles  and  Henry  themselves  still  affected 
to  give  out  that  they  would  adhere  inviolably  to  the  peace  of  Crespy. 
The  war  of  Parma  was  not  distinguished  by  any  memorable  event.  Many 
small  rencounters  happened  with  alternate  success ;  the  French  ravaged 
part  of  the  ecclesiastical  territories ;  the  Imperialists  laid  waste  the  Par- 
mesan ;  and  the  latter,  after  having  begun  to  besiege  Parma  in  form,  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  enterprise  with  disgrace.* 

But  the  motions  and  alarm  which  this  war,  or  the  preparations  for  it, 
occasioned  in  Italy,  prevented  most  of  the  Italian  prelates  from  repairing 
to  Trent  on  the  first  of  May,  the  day  appointed  for  reassembling  the 
council ;  and  though  the  papal  legate  and  nuncios  resorted  thither,  they 

*  Adrlani  Istor.  lib.  viii.  505.  514.  524.    Sleid.  513.    Partita,  p.  220.    Ijottpre  del  Caro  scritte  al 
iioine  del  Card.  Farnese,  torn.  ii.  p.  Jl.  &r. 
Vol.  U.— SO 


394  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  X. 

were  obliged  to  adjourn  the  council  to  the  first  of  September,  hoping  such 
a  number  of  prelates  might  then  assemble,  that  they  might  with  decency 
begin  their  deliberations.  At  that  time  about  sixty  prelates,  mostly  from 
the  cclesiastical  state,  or  from  Spain,  together  with  a  few  Germans,  con- 
vened.* The  session  was  opened  with  the  accustomed  formalities,  and 
the  fathers  were  about  to  proceed  to  business,  when  the  abbot  of  Bellozane 
appeared,  and  presenting  letters  ot  credence  as  ambassador  from  the  king 
of  France,  demanded  audience.  Having  obtained  it,  he  protested,  in 
Henry's  name,  against  an  assembly  called  at  such  an  improper  juncture, 
when  a  war,  wantonly  kindled  by  the  pope,  made  it  impossible  lor  the 
deputies  from  the  Gallican  church  to  resort  to  Trent  in  safety,  or  to  de- 
liberate concerning  articles  of  faith  and  discipline  with  the  requisite  tran- 
quillity ;  he  declared,  that  his  master  did  not  acknowledge  this  to  be  a 
general  or  oecumenic  council,  but  must  consider,  and  would  treat  it,  as  a 
particular  and  partial  convention.!  The  legate  affected  to  despise  this 
protest;  and  the  prelates  proceeded,  notwithstanding,  to  examine  and 
decide  the  great  points  in  controversy  concerning  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  penance,  and  extreme  unction.  This  measure  of  the  French 
monarch,  however,  gave  a  deep  wound  to  the  credit  of  the  council,  at  the 
very  commencement  of  its  deliberations.  The  Germans  would  not  pay 
much  regard  to  an  assembly,  the  authority  of  which  the  second  prince  in 
Christendom  had  formally  disclaimed,  or  feel  any  great  reverence  for  the 
decisions  of  a  few  men,  who  arrogated  to  themselves  all  the  rights  belonging 
to  the  representatives  of  the  church  universal,  a  title  to  which  they  had 
such  poor  pretensions. 

The  emperor,  nevertheless,  was  straining  his  authority  to  the  utmost,  in 
order  to  establish  the  reputation  and  jurisdiction  of  the  council.  He  had 
prevailed  on  the  three  ecclesiastical  electors,  the  prelates  of  greatest  power 
and  dignity  in  the  church  next  to  the  pope,  to  repair  thither  in  person. 
He  had  obliged  several  German  bishops  of  inferior  rank,  to  go  to  Trent 
themselves,  or  to  send  their  proxies.  He  granted  an  Imperial  safe-conduct 
to  the  ambassadors  nominated  by  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  the  duke  of 
Wurtemberg,  and  other  protesrants,  to  attend  the  council ;  and  exhorted 
them  to  send  their  divines  thither,  in  order  to  propound,  explain,  and 
defend  their  doctrine.  At  the  same  time,  his  zeal  anticipated  the  decrees 
of  the  council ;  and  as  if  the  opinions  of  the  prOtestants  had  already  been 
condemned,  he  took  large  steps  towards  exterminating  them.  With  this 
intention,  he  called  together  the  ministers  of  Augsburg  ;  and  after  inter- 
rogating them  concerning  several  controverted  points,  enjoined  them  to 
teach  nothing  with  respect  to  these  contrary  to  the  tenets  of  the  Romish 
church.  Upon  their  declining  to  comply  with  a  requisition  so  contrary  to 
the  dictates  of  their  consciences,  he  commanded  them  to  leave  the  town 
in  three  days,  without  revealing  to  any  person  the  cause  of  their  banish- 
ment ;  he  prohibited  them  to  preach  for  the  future  in  any  province  of  the 
empire  ;  and  obliged  them  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would  punctually  obey 
these  injunctions.  They  were  not  the  only  victims  to  his  zeal.  The  pro- 
testant  clergy,  in  most  of  the  cities  in  the  circle  of  Suabia,  were  ejected 
with  the  same  violence  ;  and  in  many  places,  such  magistrates  as  had  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  attachment  to  the  new  opinions,  were  dis- 
missed with  the  most  abrupt  irregularity,  and  their  offices  filled,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  emperor's  arbitrary  appointment,  with  the  most  bigotted  ot 
their  adversaries.  The  reformed  worship  was  almost  entirely  suppressed 
throughout  that  extensive  province.  The  ancient  and  fundamental  privileges 
of  the  free  cities  were  violated.  The  people  were  compelled  to  attend 
the  ministration  of  priests,  whom  they  regarded  with  horror  as  idolaters  ; 

*F.  Pan).268.  tBIeM.  518.    TbuRD.282.    F.Paul.  301. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  «5 

,iiid  to  submit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  magistrates,  whom  they  detested  as 
usurpers.* 

The  emperor,  after  this  discovery,  which  was  more  explicit  than  any 
that  he  had  hitherto  made,  of  his  intention  to  subvert  the  German  constitu- 
tion, as  well  as  to  extirpate  the  protestant  religion,  set  out  for  Inspruck  in 
the  Tyrol.  He  fixed  his  residence  in  that  city  [Novem.],  as,  by  its  situa- 
tion in  the  neighbourhood  of  Trent,  and  on  the  confines  of  Italy,  it  appeared 
a  commodious  station,  whence  he  might  inspect  the  operations  of  the  coun- 
cil, and  observe  the  progress  of  the  war  in  the  Parmesan  without  losing  sight 
of  such  occurrences  as  might  happen  in  Germany.! 

During  these  transactions,  the  siege  of  Magdeburg  was  carried  on  with 
various  success.  At  the  time  when  Charles  proscribed  the  citizens  of  Mag- 
deburg, and  put  them  under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  he  had  exhorted  and 
even  enjoined  all  the  neighbouring  states  to  take  arms  against  them,  as 
rebels  and  common  enemies.  Encouraged  by  his  exhortations  as  well  as 
promises,  George  of  Mecklenburg,  a  younger  brother  of  the  reigning  duke, 
an  active  and  ambitious  prince,  collected  a  considerable  number  of  those 
soldiers  of  fortune  who  had  accompanied  Henry  of  Brunswick  in  all  his 
wild  enterprises  ;  and  though  a  zealous  Lutheran  himself,  invaded  the  ter- 
ritories of  the  Magdeburgers,  hoping  that,  by  the  merit  of  this  service,  he 
might  procure  some  part  of  their  domains  to  be  allotted  to  him  as  an  estab- 
lishment. The  citizens,  unaccustomed  as  yet  to  endure  patiently  the 
calamities  of  war,  could  not  be  restrained  from  sallying  out  in  order  to 
save  their  lands  from  being  laid  waste.  They  attacked  the  duke  of  Meck- 
lenburg with  more  resolution  than  conduct,  and  were  repulsed  with  great 
slaughter.  But  as  they  were  animated  with  that  unconquerable  spirit, 
which  flows  from  zeal  for  religion  co-operating  with  the  love  of  civil  liberty, 
far  from  being  disheartened  by  their  misfortune,  they  prepared  to  defend 
themselves  with  vigour.  Many  of  the  veteran  soldiers  who  had  served  in 
the  long  wars  between  the  emperor  and  king  of  France,  crowding  to  their 
standards  under  able  and  experienced  officers,  the  citizens  acquired  mili- 
tary skill  by  degrees,  and  added  all  the  advantages  of  that  to  the  efforts  of 
undaunted  courage.  The  duke  of  Mecklenburg,  notwithstanding  the  severe 
blow  which  he  had  given  the  Magdeburgers,  not  daring  to  invest  a  town 
strongly  fortified,  and  defended  by  such  a  garrison,  continued  to  ravage  the 
open  country. 

As  the  hopes  of  booty  drew  many  adventurers  to  the  camp  of  this  young 
prince,  Maurice  of  Saxony  began  to  be  jealous  of  the  power  which  he  pos- 
sessed by  being  at  the  head  of  such  a  numerous  body,  and  marching  towards 
Magdeburg  with  his  own  troops,  assumed  the  supreme  command  of  the 
whole  army,  an  honour  to  which  his  high  rank  and  great  abilities  as  well  as 
the  nomination  of  the  diet,  gave  him  an  indisputable  title.  With  this  united 
force,  he  invested  the  town,  and  began  the  siege  in  form  ;  claiming  great 
merit  with  the  emperor  on  that  account,  as  from  his  zeal  to  execute  the 
Imperial  decree,  he  was  exposing  himself  once  more  to  the  censures  and 
maledictions  of  the  party  with  which  he  agreed  in  religious  sentiments. 
But  the  approaches  to  the  town  went  on  slowly ;  the  garrison  interrupted 
the  besiegers  by  frequent  sallies,  in  one  of  which  George  of  Mecklenburg 
was  taken  prisoner,  levelled  part  of  their  works,  and  cut  off  the  soldiers  in 
their  advanced  posts.  While  the  citizens  of  Magdeburg,  animated  by  the 
discourses  of  their  pastors,  and  the  soldiers,  encouraged  by  the  example  of 
their  officers,  endured  all  the  hardships  of  a  siege  without  murmuring,  and 
defended  themselves  with  the  same  ardour  which  they  had  at  first  dis- 
covered ;  the  troops  of  the  besiegers  acted  with  extreme  remissness,  repining 
at  every  thing  that  they  suffered  in  a  service  which  they  disliked.  They 
broke  out  more  than  once  into  an  open  mutiny,  demanding  the  arrears  of 

*  Sleid.  516. 538.    Thuan.316.  fSteid.339 


39«  THE   REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  X. 

their  pay,  which,  as  the  members  of  the  Germanic  body  sent  in  their  con- 
tributions towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war  sparingly,  and  with 
great  reluctance,  amounted  to  a  considerable  sum.*  Maurice,  too,  had 
particular  motives,  though  such  as  he  durst  not  avow  at  that  juncture,  which 
induced  him  not  to  push  the  siege  with  vigour,  and  made  him  choose  rather 
to  continue  at  the  head  of  an  army  exposed  to  all  the  imputations  which 
his  dilatory  proceedings  drew  upon  him,  than  to  precipitate  a  conquest  that 
might  have  brought  him  some  accession  of  reputation,  but  would  have 
rendered  it  necessary  to  disband  his  forces. 

At  last,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  beginning  to  suffer  distress  from  want 
of  provisions,  and  Maurice,  finding  it  impossible  to  protract  matters  any 
longer  without  filling  the  emperor  with  such  suspicions  as  might  have  dis- 
concerted all  his  measures,  he  concluded  a  treaty  of  capitulation  with  the 
city  [Novem.  3],  upon  the  following  conditions  ;  that  the  Magdeburgers 
should  humbly  implore  pardon  of  the  emperor  ;  that  they  should  not  for  the 
future  take  arms,  or  enter  into  any  alliance  against  the  house  of  Austria  ; 
that  they  should  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  Imperial  chamber;  that 
they  should  conform  to  the  decree  of  the  diet  at  Augsburg  with  respect  to 
religion ;  that  the  new  fortifications  added  to  the  town  should  be  demolished ; 
that  they  should  pay  a  fine  of  fifty  thousand  crowns,  deliver  up  twelve 
pieces  of  ordnance  to  the  emperor,  and  set  the  duke  of  Mecklenburg, 
together  with  their  other  prisoners,  at  liberty,  without  ransom.  Next  day 
their  garrison  marched  out,  and  Maurice  took  possession  of  the  town  with 
great  military  pomp. 

Before  the  terms  of  capitulation  were  settled,  Maurice  had  held  many 
conferences  with  Albert  count  Mansfeldt,  who  had  the  chief  command  in 
Magdeburg.  He  consulted  likewise  with  count  Heideck,  an  officer  who 
had  served  with  great  reputation  in  the  army  of  the  league  of  Smalkalde, 
whom  the  emperor  had  proscribed  on  account  of  his  zeal  for  that  cause, 
but  whom  Maurice  had,  notwithstanding,  secretly  engaged  in  his  service, 
and  admitted  into  the  most  intimate  confidence.  To  them  he  communi- 
cated a  scheme,  which  he  had  long  revolved  in  his  mind,  for  procuring 
liberty  to  his  father-in-law  the  landgrave,  for  vindicating  the  privileges  of 
the  Germanic  body,  and  setting  bounds  to  the  dangerous  encroachments  of 
the  Imperial  power.  Having  deliberated  with  them  concerning  the  mea- 
sures which  might  be  necessary  for  securing  the  success  of  such  an  arduous 
enterprise,  he  gave  Mansfeidt  secret  assurances  that  the  fortifications  of 
Magdeburg  should  not  be  destroyed,  and  that  the  inhabitants  should  neither 
be  disturbed  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  nor  be  deprived  of  any  of 
their  ancient  immunities.  In  order  to  engage  Maurice  more  thoroughly 
from  considerations  of  interest  to  fulfil  these  engagements,  the  senate  of 
Magdeburg  elected  him  their  burgrave,  a  dignity  which  had  formerly 
belonged  to  the  electoral  house  of  Saxony,  and  which  entitled  him  to  a 
very  ample  jurisdiction  not  only  in  the  city  but  in  its  dependencies.! 

Thus  the  citizens  of  Magdeburg,  after  enduring  a  siege  of  twelve  months, 
and  struggling  for  their  liberties,  religious  and  civil,  with  an  invincible  for- 
titude, worthy  of  the  cause  in  which  it  was  exerted,  had  at  last  the  good 
fortune  to  conclude  a  treaty  which  left  them  in  a  better  condition  than  the 
rest  of  their  countrymen,  whom  their  timidity  or  want  of  public  spirit  had 
betrayed  into  such  mean  submissions  to  the  emperor.  But  while  a  great 
part  of  Germany  applauded  the  gallant  conduct  of  the  Magdeburgers,  and 
rejoiced  in  their  having  escaped  the  destruction  with  which  they  had  been 
threatened,  all  admired  Maurice's  address  in  the  conduct  of  his  negotiation 
with  them,  as  well  as  the  dexterity  with  which  he  converted  every  event 
to  his  own  advantage.     They  saw    with  amazement,  that  after  having 

*  Thuan.  277.  Sleid.514.  t  Sleid.  508.  Thnan.ii.27B.  OMdionisMaedebnrffifi  npsrripfi" 
perHehast.  Be~elmcienim.ap.  Srard.ii.  fit?. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  397 

afflicted  the  Magdeburgers  during  many  months  with  all  the  calamities  of 
war,  he  was  at  last,  by  their  voluntary  election,  advanced  to  the  station  of 
highest  authority  in  that  city  which  he  had  so  lately  besieged  ;  that  after 
having  been  so  long  the  object  of  their  satirical  invectives  as  an  apostate 
and  an  enemy  to  the  religion  which  he  professed,  they  seemed  now  to  place 
unbounded  confidence  in  his  zeal  and  good  will.*  At  the  same  time,  the 
public  articles  in  the  treaty  of  capitulation  were  so  perfectly  conformable 
to  those  which  the  emperor  had  granted  to  the  other  protestant  cities,  and 
Maurice  took  such  care  to  magnify  his  merit  in  having  reduced  a  place 
which  had  defended  itself  with  so  much  obstinacy,  that  Charles,  far  from 
suspecting  any  thing  fraudulent  or  collusive  in  the  terms  of  accommodation, 
ratified  them  without  hesitation,  and  absolved  the  Magdeburgers  from  the 
sentence  of  ban  which  had  been  denounced  against  them 

The  only  point  that  now  remained  to  embarrass  Maurice  was  how  to 
keep  together  the  veteran  troops  which  had  served  under  him,  as  well  as 
those  which  had  been  employed  in  the  defence  of  the  town.  For  this, 
too,  he  found  an  expedient  with  singular  art  and  felicity.  His  schemes 
against  the  emperor  were  not  yet  so  fully  ripened,  that  he  durst  venture  to 
disclose  them,  and  proceed  openly  to  carry  them  into  execution.  The 
winter  was  approaching,  which  made  it  impossible  to  take  the  field  imme- 
diately. He  was  afraid  that  it  would  give  a  premature  alarm  to  the 
emperor,  if  he  should  retain  such  a  considerable  body  in  his  pay  until  the 
season  of  action  returned  in  the  spring.  As  soon  then  as  Magdeburg  opened 
its  gates,  he  sent  home  his  Saxon  subjects,  whom  he  could  command  to  take 
arms  and  reassemble  on  the  shortest  warning;  and  at  the  same  time,  paying- 
part  of  the  arrears  due  to  the  mercenary  troops,  who  had  followed  his 
standard,  as  well  as  to  the  soldiers  who  had  served  in  the  garrison,  he 
absolved  them  from  their  respective  oaths  of  fidelity,  and  disbanded  them. 
But  the  moment  he  gave  them  their  discharge,  George  of  Mecklenburg, 
who  was  now  set  at  liberty,  offered  to  take  them  into  his  service,  and  to 
become  surety  for  the  payment  of  what  was  still  owing  to  them.  As  such 
adventurers  were  accustomed  often  to  change  masters,  they  instantly 
accepted  the  offer.  Thus  these  troops  were  kept  united,  and  ready  to 
march  wherever  Maurice  should  call  them,  while  the  emperor,  deceived 
by  this  artifice,  and  imagining  that  George  of  Mecklenburg  had  hired  them 
with  an  intention  to  assert  his  claim  to  a  part  of  his  brother's  territories  by 
force  of  arms,  suffered  this  transaction  to  pass  without  observation,  as  if  it 
had  been  a  matter  of  no  consequence. * 

Having  ventured  to  take  these  steps,  which  were  of  so  much  consequence 
towards  the  execution  of  his  schemes,  Maurice,  that  he  might  divert  the 
emperor  from  observing  their  tendency  too  narrowly,  and  prevent  the  sus- 
picions which  that  must  have  excited,  saw  the  necessity  of  employing  some 
new  artifice  in  order  to  engage  his  attention,  and  to  confirm  him  in  his  pre- 
sent security.  As  he  knew  that  the  chief  object  of  the  emperor's  solicitude 
at  this  juncture,  was  how  he  might  prevail  with  the  protestant  states  of 
Germany  to  recognise  the  authority  of  the  council  of  Trent,  and  to  send 
thither  ambassadors  in  their  own  name,  as  well  as  deputies  from  their 
respective  churches,  he  took  hold  of  this  predominating  passion  in  order  to 
amuse  and  to  deceive  him.  He  affected  a  wonderful  zeal  to  gratify  Charles 
in  what  he  desired  with  regard  to  this  matter;  he  nominated  ambassadors 
whom  he  empowered  to  attend  the  council ;  he  made  choice  of  Melancthon 
and  some  of  the  most  eminent  among  his  brethren  to  prepare  a  confession 
of  faith,  and  to  lay  it  before  that  assembly.  After  his  example,  and  pro- 
bably in  consequence  of  his  solicitations,  the  duke  of  Wurteraberg,  the. 
city  of  Strasburg,  and  other  protestant  states,  appointed  ambassadors  and 

•  Arnoldi  vita  Maui  it.  apud  Menken:  ii.  1227.  t  Thunn.  27f».  Struv.  Corp.  Hist.  Germ.  JOW, 
Vnnkli  vita  Mauritii,  opiiri  M<-nkcn.  ii.  1227 


398  THE   REltiN    OF   THE  [Book  X. 

divines  to  attend  the  council.  They  all  applied  to  the  emperor  for  hia 
safe-conduct,  which  they  obtained  in  the  most  ample  form.  This  was 
deemed  sufficient  for  the  security  of  the  ambassadors,  and  they  proceeded 
accordingly  on  their  journey ;  but  a  separate  safe-conduct  from  the  council 
itself  was  demanded  for  the  protestant  divines.  The  fate  of  John  J  Inl- 
and Jerome  of  Prague,  whom  the  council  of  Constance,  in  the  preceding 
century,  had  condemned  to  the  flames  without  regarding  the  Imperial 
safe-conduct  which  had  been  granted  them,  rendered  this  precaution  pru- 
dent and  necessaiy.  But  as  the  pope  was  no  less  unwilling  that  the  pro- 
testants should  be  admitted  to  a  hearing  in  the  council,  than  the  emperor 
had  been  eager  in  bringing  them  to  demand  it,  the  legate  by  promises  and 
threats  prevailed  on  the  lathers  of  the  council  to  decline  issuing  a  safe- 
conduct  in  the  same  form  with  that  which  the  council  of  Basil  had  granted 
to  the  followers  of  Huss.  The  protestants,  on  their  part,  insisted  upon  the 
council's  copying  the  precise  words  of  that  instrument.  The  Imperial 
ambassadors  interposed  in  order  to  obtain  what  would  satisfy  them. 
Alterations  in  the  lorm  of  the  writ  were  proposed ;  expedient?  were  sug- 
gested ;  protests  and  counter-protests  were  taken  :  the  legate,  together  with 
his  associates,  laboured  to  gain  their  point  by  artifice  and  chicane  ;  the 
protestants  adhered  to  theirs  with  firmness  and  obstinacy.  An  account  ot 
every  thing  that  passed  in  Trent  was  transmitted  to  the  emperor  at  Inspruck, 
who,  attempting,  from  an  excess  of  zeal,  or  of  confidence  in  his  own 
address,  to  reconcile  the  contending  parties,  was  involved  in  a  labyrinth  of 
inextricable  negotiations.  By  means  of  this,  however,  Maurice  gained  all 
that  he  had  in  view ;  the  emperor's  time  was  wholly  engrossed,  and  his 
attention  diverted ;  while  he  himself  had  leisure  to  mature  his  schemes,  to 
cany  on  his  intrigues,  and  to  finish  his  preparations,  before  he  threw  off  the 
mask,  and  struck  the  blow  which  he  had  so  long  meditated.* 

But  previous  to  entering  into  any  further  detail  concerning  Maurice's 
operations,  some  account  must  be  given  of  a  new  revolution  in  Hungary, 
which  contributed  not  a  little  towards  their  producing  such  extraordinary 
effects.  When  Solyman,  in  the  year  1541,  by  a  stratagem,  which  suited 
the  base  and  insidious  policy  of-  a  petty  usurper,  rather  than  the  magna- 
nimity of  a  mighty  conqueror,  deprived  the  young  king  of  Hungary  of  the 
dominions  which  his  father  had  left  him,  he  had  granted  that  unfortunate 
prince  the  country  of  Transylvania,  a  province  ot  his  paternal  kingdom. 
The  government  of  this,  together  with  the  care  of  educating  the  young 
king,  for  he  still  allowed  him  to  retain  that  title,  though  he  had  rendered 
it  only  an  empty  name,  he  committed  to  the  queen  and  Martinuzzi  bishop 
of  Waradin,  whom  the  late  king  had  appointed  joint  guardians  of  his  son, 
and  regents  of  his  dominions,  at  a  time  when  those  offices  were  of  greater 
importance.  This  co-ordinate  jurisdiction  occasioned  the  same  dissensions 
in  a  small  principality  as  it  would  have  excited  in  a  great  kingdom :  an 
ambitious  young  queen,  possessed  with  a  high  opinion  of  her  own  capacity 
for  governing  ;  and  a  high-spirited  prelate,  fond  of  power,  contending  who 
should  engross  the  greatest  share  in  the  administration.  Each  had  their 
partizans  among  the  nobles  ;  but  as  Martinuzzi,  by  his  great  talents,  began 
to  acquire  the  ascendant,  Isabella  turned  his  own  arts  against  him,  and 
courted  the  protection  of  the  Turks. 

The  neighbouring  bashas,  jealous  of  the  bishop's  power  as  well  as 
abilities,  readily  promised  her  the  aid  which  she  demanded,  and  would 
soon  have  obliged  Martinuzzi  to  have  given  up  to  her  the  sole  direction  of 
affairs,  if  his  ambition,  fertile  in  expedients,  had  not  suggested  to  him  a 
new  measure,  and  one  that  tended  not  only  to  preserve  but  to  enlarge  his 
authority.  Having  concluded  an  agreement  with  the  queen,  by  the 
mediation  of  some  of  the  nobles,  who  were  solicitous  to  save  their  country 

ci. .  :.i   526J29.    p.  Paul,  383.  338     Thtiar  286. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  3?9 

from  the  calamities  of  a  civil  war,  he  secretly  despatched  one  of  his  confi- 
dants to  Vienna,  and  entered  into  a  negotiation  with  Ferdinand.  As  il  was 
no  difficult  matter  to  persuade  Ferdinand,  that  the  same  man  whose  enmity 
and  intrigues  had  driven  him  out  of  a  great  part  of  his  Hungarian  domi- 
nions, might,  upon  a  reconciliation,  become  equally  instrumental  in 
recovering  them,  he  listened  eagerly  to  the  first  overtures  of  a  union  with 
that  prelate.  Martinuzzi  allured  him  by  such  prospects  of  advantage,  and 
engaged,  with  so  much  confidence,  that  he  would  prevail  on  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Hungarian  nobles  to  take  arms  in  his  favour,  that  Ferdi- 
nand, notwithstanding  his  truce  with  Solyman,  agreed  to  invade  Transyl- 
vania. The  command  of  the  troops  destined  for  that  service,  consisting  of 
veteran  Spanish  and  German  soldiers,  was  given  to  Castaldo  marquis  de 
Piadena,  an  officer  formed  by  the  famous  marquis  de  Pescara,  whom  he 
strongly  resembled  both  in  his  enterprising  genius  for  civil  business,  and  in 
his  great  knowledge  in  the  art  of  war.  This  army,  more  formidable  by 
the  discipline  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  abilities  of  the  general,  than  by  its 
numbers,  was  powerfully  seconded  by  Martinuzzi  and  his  faction  among 
the  Hungarians.  As  the  Turkish  bashas,  the  sultan  himself  being  at  the 
head  of  his  army  on  the  frontiers  of  Persia,  could  not  afford  the  queen  such 
immediate  or  effectual  assistance  as  the  exigency  of  her  affairs  required, 
she  quickly  lost  all  hopes  of  being  able  to  retain  any  longer  the  authority 
which  she  possessed  as  regent,  and  even  began  to  despair  of  her  son  s 
safety. 

Martinuzzi  did  not  suffer  this  favourable  opportunity  of  accomplishing 
his  own  designs  to  pass  unimproved,  and  ventured,  while  she  was  in  this 
state  of  dejection,  to  lay  before  her  a  proposal,  which  at  any  other  time- 
she  would  have  rejected  with  disdain.  He  represented  how  impossible  it 
was  for  her  to  resist  Ferdinand's  victorious  arms ;  that  even  if  the  Turks 
should  enable  her  to  make  head  against  them,  she  would  be  far  from 
changing  her  condition  to  the  better,  and  could  not  consider  them  as 
deliverers,  but  as  masters,  to  whose  commands  she  must  submit;  he  con- 
jured her,  therefore,  as  she  regarded  her  own  dignity,  the  safety  of  her  son, 
or  the  security  of  Christendom,  rather  to  give  up  Transylvania  to  Ferdi- 
nand, and  to  make  over  to  him  her  son's  title  to  the  crown  of  Hungary,  than 
to  allow  both  to  be  usurped  by  the  inveterate  enemy  of  the  Christian  faith. 
At  the  same  time  he  promised  her,  in  Ferdinand's  name,  a  compensation 
for  herself,  as  well  as  for  her  son,  suitable  to  their  rank,  and  proportional 
to  the  value  of  what  they  were  to  sacrifice.  Isabella,  deserted  by  some 
of  her  adherents,  distrusting  others,  destitute  of  friends,  and  surrounded  by 
Castaldo's  and  Martinuzzi 's  troops,  subscribed  these  hard  conditions,  though 
with  a  reluctant  hand.  Upon  this,  she  surrendered  such  places  of  strength 
as  were  still  in  her  possession,  she  gave  up  all  the  ensigns  of  royalty,  par- 
ticularly a  crown  of  gold  which,  as  the  Hungarians  believed,  had  descended 
from  heaven,  and  conferred  on  him  who  wore  it  an  undoubted  right  to  the 
throne.  As  she  could  not  bear  to  remain  a  private  person,  in  a  country 
where  she  had  once  enjoyed  sovereign  power,  she  instantly  set  out  with 
her  son  for  Silesia,  in  order  to  take  possession  of  the  principalities  of  Oppelen 
and  Ratibor,  the  investiture  of  which  Ferdinand  had  engaged  to  grant  her 
son,  and  likewise  to  bestow  one  of  his  daughters  upon  him  in  marriage. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  the  young  king,  Martinuzzi,  and  after  his  example 
the  rest  of  the  Transylvanian  grandees,  swore  allegiance  to  Ferdinand : 
who,  in  order  to  testify  his  grateful  sense  of  the  zeal  as  well  as  success 
with  which  that  prelate  had  served  him,  affected  to  distinguish  him  by 
every  possible  mark  of  favour  and  confidence.  He  appointed  him  governor 
of  Transylvania,  with  almost  unlimited  authority;  he  publicly  ordered 
Castaldo  to  pay  the  greatest  deference  to  his  opinion  and  commands ;  he 
increased  his  revenues,  which  were  already  very  great,  by  new  appoint 
ments:  he  nominated  him  archbishop  of  Grans  anaprevailed  6a  the  popi 


400  THE  KEIGN   OF   THE  [Book  A- 

to  raise  him  to  the  dignity  of  a  cardinal.  All  this  ostentation  of  good-will, 
however,  was  void  of  sincerity,  and  calculated  to  conceal  sentiments  the  most 
perfectly  its  reverse.  Ferdinand  dreaded  Martinuzzi's  abilities  :  distrusted 
his  fidelity ;  and  foresaw,  that  as  his  extensive  authority  enabled  him  to 
check  any  attempt  towards  circumscribing  or  abolishing  the  extensive  privi- 
leges which  the  Hungarian  nobility  possessed,  he  would  stand  forth  on  every 
occasion,  the  guardian  of  the  liberties  of  his  country,  rather  than  act  the 
part  of  a  viceroy  devoted  to  the  will  of  his  sovereign. 

For  this  reason,  he  secretly  gave  it  in  charge  to  Castaldo  to  watch  his 
motions,  to  guard  against  his  designs,  and  to  thwart  his  measures.  But 
Martinuzzi,  either  because  he  did  not  perceive  that  Castaldo  was  placed 
as  a  spy  on  his  actions,  or  because  he  despised  Ferdinand's  insidious  arts, 
assumed  the  direction  of  the  war  against  the  Turks  with  his  usual  tone  of 
authority,  and  conducted  it  with  great  magnanimity,  and  no  less  success. 
He  recovered  some  places  of  which  the  infidels  had  taken  possession  ;  he 
rendered  their  attempts  to  reduce  others  abortive ;  and  established  Ferdi- 
nand's authority  not  only  in  Transylvania,  but  in  the  Bannat  of  Temeswar, 
and  several  of  the  countries  adjacent.  In  carrying  on  these  operations,  he 
oiten  differed  in  sentiment  from  Castaldo  and  his  officers,  and  treated  the 
Turkish  prisoners  with  a  degree  not  only  of  humanity,  but  even  of  gene- 
rosity, which  Castaldo  loudly  condemned.  This  was  represented  at 
Vienna  as  an  artful  method  of  courting  the  friendship  of  the  infidels,  that, 
by  securing  their  protection,  he  might  shake  off  all  dependence  upon  the 
sovereign  whom  he  now  acknowledged.  Though  Martinuzzi,  in  justifi- 
cation of  his  own  conduct,  contended  that  it  was  impolitic  by  unnecessary 
severities  to  exasperate  an  enemy  prone  to  revenge,  Castaldo's  accusations 
gained  credit  with  Ferdinand,  prepossessed  already  against  Martinuzzi, 
and  jealous  of  every  thing  that  could  endanger  his  own  authority  in  Hun- 
gary, in  proportion  as  he  knew  it  to  be  precarious  and  ill-established. 
These  suspicions  Castaldo  confirmed  and  strengthened,  by  the  intelligence 
which  he  transmitted  continually  to  his  confidants  at  Vienna.  By  mis- 
representing what  was  innocent,  and  putting  the  worst  construction  on  what 
seemed  dubious  in  Martinuzzi's  conduct;  by  imputing  to  him  designs  which 
he  never  formed,  and  charging  him  with  actions  of  which  he  was  not 
guilty;  he  at  last  convinced  Ferdinand,  that,  in  order  to  preserve  his  Hun- 
garian crown,  he  must  cut  off  that  ambitious  prelate.  But  Ferdinand, 
foreseeing  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  proceed  in  the  regular  course  of 
law  against  a  subject  of  such  exorbitant  power  as  might  enable  him  to  set 
his  sovereign  at  defiance,  determined  to  employ  vjolence  in  order  to  obtain 
that  satisfaction  which  the  laws  were  too  feeble  to  afford  him. 

He  issued  his  orders  accordingly  to  Castaldo,  who  willingly  undertook 
that  infamous  service.  Having  communicated  the  design  to  some  Italian 
and  Spanish  officers  whom  he  could  trust,  and  concerted  with  them  the 
plan  of  executing  it,  they  entered  Martinuzzi's  apartment,  early  one 
morning  [Dec.  18]  under  pretence  of  presenting  to  him  some  despatches 
which  were  to  be  sent  off  immediately  to  Vienna  ;  and  while  he  perused 
a  paper  with  attention,  one  of  their  number  struck  him  with  a  poniard  in 
the  throat.  The  blow  was  not  mortal.  Martinuzzi  started  up  with  the 
intrepidity  natural  to  him,  and  grappling  the  assassin,  threw  him  to  the 
ground.  But  the  other  conspirators  rushing  in,  an  old  man,  unarmed,  and 
alone,  was  unable  long  to  sustain  such  an  unequal  conflict,  and  sunk  under 
the  wounds  which  he  received  from  so  many  hands.  The  Transylvanians 
were  restrained  by  dread  of  the  foreign  troops  stationed  in  their  country, 
from  rising  in  arms  in  order  to  take  vengeance  on  the  murderers  of  a 
prelate  who  had  long  been  the  object  of  their  love  as  well  as  veneration. 
They  spoke  of  the  deed,  however,  with  horror  and  execration;  and 
exclaimed  against  Ferdinand,  whom  neither  gratitude  for  recent  and  impoi- 
tant  services, nor.  reverence  for  a  character  considered  as  sacred  and  invio- 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  401 

lable  among  Christians,  could  restrain  from  shedding  the  blood  of  a  man, 
whose  only  crime  was  attachment  to  his  native  country.  The  noble* 
detesting  the  jealous  as  well  as  cruel  policy  of  a  court,  which,  upon  uncer- 
tain and  improbable  surmises,  had  given  up  a  person,  no  less  conspicuous 
for  his  merit  than  his  rank,  to  be  butchered  by  assassins,  either  retired  to 
their  own  estates,  or  if  they  continued  with  the  Austrian  army,  grew  cold 
to  the  service.  The  Turks,  encouraged  by  the  death  of  an  enemy 
whose  abilities  they  knew  and  dreaded,  prepared  to  renew  hostilities 
early  in  the  spring ;  and  instead  of  the  security  which  Ferdinand  had 
expected  from  the  removal  of  Martinuzzi,  it  was  evident  that  his  territories 
in  Hungary  were  about  to  be  attacked  with  greater  vigour,  and  defended. 
Avith  less  zeal  than  ever.* 

By  this  time,  Maurice  having  almost  finished  his  intrigues  and  prepara- 
tions, was  on  the  point  of  declaring  his  intentions  openly,  and  of  taking 
the  field  against  the  emperor.  His  first  care,  after  he  came  to  this,  resolu- 
tion, was  to  disclaim  that  narrow  and  bigoted  maxim  of  the  confederates 
of  Smalkalde,  which  had  led  them  to  shun  all  connection  with  foreigners. 
He  had  observed  how  fatal  this  had  been  to  their  cause  ;  and,  instructed 
by  their  error,  he  was  as  eager  to  court  the  protection  of  Henry  II.  as  they 
had  been  solicitous  to  prevent  the  interposition  of  Francis  I.  Happily  for 
him,  he  found  Henry  in  a  disposition  to  listen  to  the  first  overture  on  his 
part,  and  in  a  situation  which  enabled  him  to  bring  the  whole  force  of  the 
French  monarchy  into  action.  Henry  had  long  observed  the  progress  of 
the  emperor's  arms  with  jealousy,  and  wished  to  distinguish  himself  by 
entering  the  lists  against  the  same  enemy,  whom  it  had  been  the  glory  of  his 
father's  reign  to  oppose.  He  had  laid  hold  on  the  first  opportunity  in  his 
power  of  thwarting  the  emperor's  designs,  by  taking  the  duke  of  Parma 
under  his  protection  ;  and  hostilities  were  already  begun,  not  only  in  that 
dutchy,  but  in  Piedmont.  Having  terminated  the  war  with  England  by  a 
peace,  no  less  advantageous  to  himself  than  honourable  for  his  allies  the 
Scots,  the  restless  and  enterprising  courage  of  his  nobles  was  impatient  to 
display  itself  on  some  theatre  ot  action  more  conspicuous  than  the  petty 
operations  in  Parma  or  Piedmont  afforded  them. 

John  de  Fienne,  bishop  of  Bayonne,  whom  Henry  had  sent  into  Germany, 
under  pretence  of  hiring  troops  to  be  employed  in  Italy,  was  empowered 
to  conclude  a  treaty  in  form  with  Maurice  and  his  associates.  As  it  would 
have  been  very  indecent  in  a  king  of  France  to  have  undertaken  the 
defence  of  the  protestant  church,  the  interests  of  religion,  how  much  soever 
they  might  be  affected  by  the  treaty,  were  not  once  mentioned  in  any  of 
the  articles.  Religious  concerns,  they  pretended  to  commit  entirely  to  the 
disposition  of  Divine  Providence  ;  the  only  motives  assigned  for  their 
present  confederacy  against  Charles,  were  to  procure  the  landgrave 
liberty,  and  to  prevent  the  subversion  of  the  ancient  constitution  and  laws 
of  the  German  empire.  In  order  to  accomplish  these  ends,  it  was  agreed, 
that  all  the  contracting  parties  should,  at  the  same  time,  declare  war  against 
the  emperor  ;  that  neither  peace  nor  truce  should  be  made  but  by  common 
consent,  nor  without  including  each  of  the  confederates  ;  that,  in  order  to 
guard  against  the  inconveniences  of  anarchy,  or  of  pretensions  to  joint  com- 
mand, Maurice  should  be  acknowledged  as  head  of  the  German  confede- 
rates, with  absolute  authority  in  all  military  affairs  ;  that  Maurice  and  his 
associates  should  bring  into  the  field  seven  thousand  horse,  with  a  proportional 
number  of  infantry  :  that,  towards  the  subsistence  of  this  army,  during  the 
three  first  months  of  the  war,  Homy  should  contribute  two  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  crowns,  and  afterwards  sixty  thousand  crowns  a-month,  as  long  as 
they  continued  in  arms  ;  that  Henry  should  attack  the  emperor  on  the  side  of 

*  Sloid.  .r>:t5.  Tlman.  lib.  ix.  300,  &c.  btoanhaffil  Hist.  Regs.  Rongarle],  lilt,  xvi.189,  Ac 
Mem. de Ribier, ii. 871.    NttalicfComitia  EfkloriA  iil>  >v  M,  fcc 

Vol.  II.— SI 


|02  THE    KEIGN   OF    THE  (Book  A. 

Lorrain  with  a  powerful  army ;  that  if  it  were  found  requisite  to  elect  a  new 
emperor,  such  a  person  should  be  nominated  as  shall  be  agreeable  to  the  king 
of  France.*  This  treaty  was  concluded  on  the  fifth  of  October,  some  time 
before  Magdeburg  surrendered,  and  the  preparatory  negotiations  were  con- 
ducted with  such  profound  secrecy,  that,  of  all  the  princes  who  afterwards 
acceded  to  it,  Maurice  communicated  what  he  was  carrying  on  to  two 
only,  John  Albert,  the  reigning  duke  of  Mecklenburg,  and  William  of 
Hesse,  the  landgrave's  eldest  son.  The  league  itself  was  no  less  anxiously 
concealed,  and  with  such  fortunate  care,  that  no  rumour  concerning  it 
reached  the  ears  of  the  emperor  or  his  ministers ;  nor  do  they  seem  to 
have  conceived  the  most  distant  suspicion  of  such  a  transaction. 

At  the  same  time,  with  a  solicitude  which  was  careful  to  draw  some 
accession  of  strength  from  every  quarter,  Maurice  applied  to  Edward  VI. 
of  England,  and  requested  a  subsidy  of  four  hundred  thousand  crowns  for 
the  support  of  a  confederacy  formed  in  defence  of  the  protestant  religion. 
But  the  factions  which  prevailed  in  the  English  court  during  the  minority 
of  that  prince,  and  which  deprived  both  the  councils  and  arms  of  the 
nation  of  their  wonted  vigour,  left  the  English  ministers  neither  time  nor 
inclination  to  attend  to  foreign  affairs,  and  prevented  Maurice's  obtaining 
that  aid,  which  their  zeal  for  the  reformation  would  have  prompted  theru 
to  grant  him.t 

Maurice,  however,  having  secured  the  protection  of  such  a  powerful 
monarch  as  Henry  II.,  proceeded  with  great  confidence,  but  with  equal 
caution,  to  execute  his  plan.  As  he  judged  it  necessary  to  make  one  effort 
more,  in  order  to  obtain  the  emperor's  consent  that  the  landgrave  should 
be  set  at  liberty,  he  sent  a  solemn  embassy,  in  his  own  name  and  in  that 
of  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  to  Inspruck  [Decern.].  After  resuming,  at 
great  length,  all  the  facts  and  arguments  upon  which  they  lounded  their 
claim,  and  representing,  in  the  strongest  terms,  the  peculiar  engagements 
which  bound  them  to  be  so  assiduous  in  their  solicitations,  they  renewed 
their  request  in  behalf  of  the  unfortunate  prisoner,  which  they  had  so 
often  preferred  in  vain.  The  elector  palatine,  the  duke  of  Wurtemberg, 
the  dukes  of  Mecklenburg,  the  dukes  of  Deux-Ponts,  the  marquis  of  Bran- 
denburg Bareith,  and  the  marquis  of  Baden,  by  their  ambassadors,  concurred 
with  them  in  their  suit.  Letters  were  likewise  delivered  to  the  same  effect  from 
the  king-of  Denmark,  the  duke  of  Bavaria,  and  the  dukes  of  Lunenburg. 
Even  the  king  of  the  Romans  joined  in  this  application,  being  moved  with 
compassion  towards  the  landgrave  in  his  wretched  situation,  or  influenced, 
perhaps,  by  a  secret  jealousy  of  his  brother's  power  and  designs,  which, 
since  his  attempt  to  alter  the  order  of  succession  in  the  empire,  he  had 
come  to  view  with  other  eyes  than  formerly,  and  dreaded  to  a  great 
degree. 

But  Charles,  constant  to  his  own  system  with  regard  to  the  landgrave, 
eluded  a  demand  urged  by  such  powerful  intercessors ;  and  having  declared 
that  he  would  communicate  his  resolution  concerning  the  matter  to  Maurice 
as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Inspruck,  where  he  was  every  day  expected,  he 
did  not  deign  to  descend  into  any  more  particular  explication  ol  his  inten- 
tions.J  This  application,  though  of  no  benefit  to  the  landgrave,  was  ©f 
great  advantage  to  Maurice.  It  served  to  justify  his  subsequent  proceedings, 
and  to  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  employing  arms  in  order  to  extort  that 
equitable  concession,  which  his  mediation  or  entreaty  could  not  obtain. 
It  was  of  use,  too,  to  confirm  the  emperor  in  his  security,  as  both  the 
solemnity  of  the  application,  and  the  solicitude  with  which  so  many  prince^ 
were  drawn  in  to  enforce  it,  led  him  to  conclude  that  they  placed  all 

*  Becueil  des  Traitez,  torn.  ii.  258.    Thuan.  lib.  vui.  279.  t  Burnet's  Hist  of  the  Reform, 

vol.  ii.  Append.  37.  1  .^leid.  531.     Thnan.  lib.  viii.  QHO. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  403 

their  hopes  of  restoring  the  landgrave  to  liberty,  in  gaining  his  consent  to 
dismiss  him. 

1552.}  Maurice  employed  artifices  still  more  refined  to  conceal  his 
machinations,  to  amuse  the  emperor,  and  to  gain"  time.  He  affected  to  be 
more  solicitous  than  ever  to  find  out  some  expedient  for  removing  the 
difficulties  with  regard  to  the  safe-conduct  for  the  protestant  divines 
appointed  to  attend  the  council,  so  that  they  might  repair  thither  without 
any  apprehension  of  danger.  His  ambassadors  at  Trent  had  frequent  con- 
ferences concerning  this  ma.tter  with  the  Imperial  ambassadors  in  that 
city,  and  laid  open  their  sentiments  to  them  with  the  appearance  of  the 
most,  unreserved  confidence.  He  was  willing,  at  last,  to  have  it  believed, 
that  he  thought  all  differences  with  respect  to  this  preliminary  article  were 
on  the  point  of  being  adjusted  ;  and  in  order  to  a;ive  credit  to  this  opinion, 
he  commanded  Melancthon,  together  with  bis  brethren,  to  set  out  on  their 
journey  to  Trent.  At  the  same  time  he  held  a  close  correspondence  with 
the  Imperial  court  at  Inspruck,  and  renewed  on  every  occasion  his  pro- 
fessions not  only  of  fidelity  but  of  attachment  to  the  emperor.  He  talked 
continually  of  his  intention  of  going  to  Inspruck  in  person  ;  he  gave  orders 
to  hire  a  house  for  him  in  that  city,  and  to  fit  it  up  with  the  greatest 
despatch  for  his  reception* 

But  profoundly  skilled  as  Maurice  was  in  the  arts  of  deceit,  and  impe- 
netrable as  he  thought  the  veil  to  be,  under  which  he  concealed  his  designs, 
there  were  several  things  in  his  conduct  which  alarmed  the  emperor 
amidst  his  security,  and  tempted  him  frequently  to  suspect  that  he  was 
meditating  something  extraordinary.  As  these  suspicions  took  their  rise 
from  circumstances  inconsiderable  in  themselves,  or  of  an  ambiguous  as 
well  as  uncertain  nature,  they  were  more  than  counterbalanced  by  Mau- 
rice's address  ;  and  the  emperor  would  not,  lightly,  give  up  his  confidence 
in  a  man,  whom  he  had  once  trusted  and  loaded  with  favours.  One  par- 
ticular alone  seemed  to  be  of  such  consequence,  that  he  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  demand  an  explanation  with  regard  to  it.  The  troops,  which 
George  of  Mecklenburg  had  taken  into  pay  after  the  capitulation  of  Mag- 
deburg, having  fixed  their  quarters  in  Thuringia,  lived  at  discretion  on  the 
lands  of  the  rich  ecclesiastics  m  their  neighbourhood.  Their  license  and 
rapaciousness  were  intolerable.  Such  as  felt  or  dreaded  their  exactions, 
complained  loudly  to  the  emperor,  and  represented  them  as  a  body  of  men 
kept  in  readiness  for  some  desperate  enterprise.  But  Maurice,  partly  by 
extenuating  the  enormities  of  which  they  had  been  guilty,  partly  by  repre- 
senting the  impossibility  of  disbanding  these  troops,  or  of  keeping  them  to 
regular  discipline,  unless  the  arrears  still  due  to  them  by  the  emperor  were 
paid,  either  removed  the  apprehensions  which  this  bad  occasioned,  or,  as 
Charles  was  not  in  a  condition  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  these  soldiers. 
obliged  him  to  be  silent  with  regard  to  the  matter. t 

The  time  of  action  was  now  approaching.  Maurice  had  privately 
despatched  Albert  of  Brandenburg  to  Paris,  in  order  to  confirm  his  league 
with  Henry,  and  to  hasten  the  march  of  the  French  army.  He  had  taken 
measures  to  bring  his  own  subjects  together  on  the  first  summons ;  he  had 
provided  for  the  security  of  Saxony,  while  he  should  be  absent  with  the 
army ;  and  be  held  the  troops  in  Thuringia,  on  which  he  chiefly  depended, 
ready  to  advance  on  a  moment's  warning.  All  these  complicated  opera- 
tions were  carried  on  without  being  discovered  by  the  court  at  Inspruck, 
and  the  emperor  remained  there  in  perfeel  tranquillity,  busied  entirely  in 
counteracting  the  intrigues  of  the  pope's  legate  at  Tient,  and  in  settling 
the  conditions  on  which  the  protestant  divines  should  be  admitted  into  the 
council,  as  if  there  had  not  been  any  transaction  of  greater  moment  in 
agitation. 

*  ArnotriivHaMairrit.  ap.  Jlenken.  li.  1IC9  •  PloW.  olfl.    Thtiaa.  339 


404  THE   UEIGN    OP  THE  [Book  X. 

This  credulous  security  in  a  prince,  who,  by  his  sagacity  in  observing 
the  conduct  of  all  around  him,  was  commonly  led  to  an  excess  of  distrust, 
may  seem  unaccountable,  and  has  been  imputed  to  infatuation.  But 
besides  the  exquisite  address  with  which  Maurice  concealed  his  intentions, 
two  circumstances  contributed  to  the  delusion.  The  gout  had  returned 
upon  Charles  soon  after  his  arrival  at  Inspruck,  with  an  increase  of  violence ; 
and  his  constitution  being  broken  by  such  frequent  attacks,  he  was  seldom 
able  to  exert  bis  natural  vigour  of  mind,  or  to  consider  affairs  with  his  usual 
vigilance  and  penetration ;  and  Granvelle,  bishop  of  Arras,  his  prime 
minister,  though  one  of  the  most  subtle  statesmen  oil  that  or  perhaps  of  any 
age,  was  on  this  occasion  the  dupe  of  his  craft.  He  entertained  such  a 
high  opinion  of  his  own  abilities,  and  held  the  political  talents  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  such  contempt,  that  he  despised  all  the  intimations  given  him  con- 
cerning Maurice's  secret  machinations,  or  the  dangerous  designs  which  he 
was  carrying  on.  When  the  duke  ol  Alva,  whose  dark  suspicious  mind 
harboured  many  doubts  concerning  the  elector's  sincerity,  proposed  calling 
him  immediately  to  court  to  answer  for  his  conduct,  Granvelle  replied 
with  great  scorn,  That  these  apprehensions  were  groundless,  and  that  a 
drunken  German  head  was  too  gross  to  form  any  scheme  which  he  could 
not  easily  penetrate  and  baffle.  Nor  did  he  assume  this  peremptory  tone 
merely  from  confidence  in  his  own  discernment;  he  had  bribed  two  of 
Maurice's  ministers,  and  received  from  them  frequent  and  minute  informa- 
tion concerning  all  their  master's  motions.  But  through  this  very  channel, 
by  which  he  expected  to  gain  access  to  all  Maurice's  counsels,  and  even 
to  his  thoughts,  such  intelligence  was  conveyed  to  him  as  completed  his 
deception.  Maurice  fortunately  discovered  the  correspondence  of  the  two 
traitors  with  Granvelle,  but  instead  of  punishing  them  for  their  crime,  he 
dexterously  availed  himself  of  their  fraud,  and  turned  his  own  arts  against 
the  bishop.  He  affected  to  treat  these  ministers  with  greater  confidence 
than  ever ;  he  admitted  them  to  his  consultations  ;  he  seemed  to  lay  open 
his  heart  to  them  ;  and  taking  care  all  the  while  to  let  them  be  acquainted 
with  nothing  but  what  was  his  interest  should  be  known,  they  transmitted 
to  Inspruck  such  accounts  as  "possessed  Granvelle  with  a  firm  belief  of  his 
sincerity  as  well  as  good  intentions.*  The  emperor  himself,  in  the  fulness 
of  security,  was  so  little  moved  by  a  memorial,  in  the  name  of  the  eccle- 
siastical electors,  admonishing  him  to  be  on  his  guard  against  Maurice,  that 
he  made  light  of  this  intelligence;  and  his  answer  to  them  abounds  with 
declarations  of  his  entire  and  confident  reliance  on  the  fidelity  as  well  as 
attachment  of  that  prince. t 

At  last  Maurice's  preparations  were  completed,  and  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion to  find  that  his  intrigues  and  designs  were  still  unknown.  But,  though 
now  ready  to  take  the  held,  he  did  not  lay  aside  the  arts  which  he  had 
hitherto  employed ;  and  by  one  piece  of  craft  more,  he  deceived  his  ene- 
mies a  few  days  longer.  He  gave  out,  that  he  was  about  to  begin  that 
journey  to  Inspruck  of  which  he  had  so  often  talked,  and  he  took  one  of  the 
ministers  whom  Granvelle  had'  bribed,  to  attend  him  thither.  After  tra- 
velling post  a  few  stages,  he  pretended  to  be  indisposed  by  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey,  and  despatching  the  suspected  minister  to  make  his  apology 
to  the  emperor  for  this  delay,  and  to  assure  him  that  he  would  be  at 
Inspruck  within  a  few  days ;  he  mounted  on  horseback,  as  soon  as  this 
spy  on  his  actions  was  gone,  rode  full  speed  towards  Thuringia,  joined  his 
army,  which  amounted  to  twenty  thousand  foot  and  five  thousand  horse, 
and  put  it  immediately  in  motion  [March  18J.J 

*  Melvil's  Memoirs,  fol.  edit.  p.  12.  t  Sleid.  535 

X  Melv.  Mem.  p.  13.  These  circumstances  concerning  the  Saxon  ministers  whom  Granvelle  had 
Mbed,  are  not  mentioned  by  the  German  historians  ;  but  as  Sir  James  Melvil  received  his  informa- 
(ion  from  the  elector  Palatine,  and  as  Uiey  are  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  rest  of  Maurice's  conduct 
they  may  be  considered  as  authentic, 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  405 

At  the  same  time  he  puhlished  a  manifesto  containing  his  reasons  for 
taking  arms.  These  were  three  in  number :  that  he  might  secure  the 
protestant  religion,  which  was  threatened  with  immediate  destruction; 
that  he  might  maintain  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  empire,  and  save 
Germany  from  being  subjected  to  the  dominion  of  an  absolute  monarch ; 
that  he  might  deliver  the  landgrave  of  Hesse  from  the  miseries  of  a  long 
and  unjust  imprisonment.  By  the  first,  he  roused  all  the  favourers  of  the 
reformation,  a  party  formidable  by  their  zeal  as  well  as  numbers,  and  ren- 
dered desperate  by  oppression.  By  the  second,  he  interested  all  the 
friends  of  liberty,  catholics  no  less  than  protestants,  and  made  it  their 
interest  to  unite  with  him  in  asserting  the  rights  and  privileges  common  to 
both.  The  third,  besides  the  glory  which  he  acquired  by  his  zeal  to  fulfil 
his  engagements  to  the  unhappy  prisoner,  was  become  a  cause  of  general 
concern,  not  only  from  the  compassion  which  the  landgrave's  sufferings 
excited,  but  from  indignation  at  the  injustice  and  rigour  of  the  emperor's 
proceedings  against  him.  Together  with  Maurice's  manifesto,  another 
appeared  in  the  name  of  Albert  marquis  of  Brandenburg  Culmbach,  who 
had  joined  him  with  a  body  of  adventurers  whom  he  had  drawn  together. 
The  same  grievances  which  Maurice  had  pointed  out  are  mentioned  in  it. 
but  with  an  excess  of  virulence  and  animosity  suitable  to  the  character  of 
the  prince  in  whose  name  it  was  published. 

The  king  of  France  added  to  these  a  manifesto  in  his  own  name  ;  in 
which,  after  taking  notice  of  the  ancient  alliance  between  the  French  and 
German  nations,  both  descended  from  the  same  ancestors ;  and  after  men- 
tioning the  applications  which,  in  consequence  of  this,  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  among  the  German  princes  had  made  to  him  for  his  protection  ; 
he  declared,  that  he  now  took  arms  to  re-establish  the  ancient  constitution 
of  the  empire,  to  deliver  some  of  its  princes  from  captivity,  and  to  secure 
the  privileges  and  independence  of  all  the  members  of  the  Germanic  body. 
In  this  manifesto,  Henry  assumed  the  extraordinary  title  of  Protector  of  the 
Liberties  of  Germany  and  of  its  captive  Princes;  and  there  was  engraved 
on  it  a  cap,  the  ancient  symbol  of  freedom,  placed  between  two  daggers, 
in  order  to  intimate  to  the  Germans,  that  this  blessing  was  to  be  acquired 
and  secured  by  force  of  arms.* 

Maurice  had  now  to-act  a  part  entirely  new  ;  but  his  flexible  genius  was 
capable  of  accommodating  itself  to  every  situation.  The  moment  he 
took  arms,  he  was  as  bold  and  enterprising  in  the  field,  as  he  had  been 
cautious  and  crafty  in  the  cabinet.  He  advanced  by  rapid  marches  towards 
the  Upper  Germany.  All  the  towns  in  his  way  opened  their  gates  to  him. 
He  reinstated  the  magistrates  whom  the  emperor  had  deposed,  and  gave 
possession  of  the  churches  to  the  protestant  ministers  whom  he  had  ejected. 
He  directed  his  march  to  Augsburg,  and  as  the  Imperial  garrison,  which 
was  too  inconsiderable  to  think  of  defending  it,  retired  immediately,  he 
took  possession  of  that  great  city  [April  l],  and  made  the  same  changes 
there  as  in  the  towns  through  which  he  had  passed.! 

No  words  can  express  the  emperor's  astonishment  and  consternation  at 
events  so  unexpected.  He  saw  a  great  number  of  the  German  princes  in 
arms  against  him,  and  the  rest  either  ready  to  join  them,  or  wishing  success 
to  their  enterprise.  He  beheld  a  powerful  monarch  united  with  them  in 
close  league,  seconding  their  operations  in  person  at  the  head  ot  a  formi- 
dable army,  while  he,  through  negligence  and  credulity,  which  exposed 
him  no  less  to  scorn  than  to  danger,  had  neither  made,  nor  was  in  a  condi- 
tion to  make,  any  effectual  provision,  either  for  crushing  his  rebellious 
subjects,  or  resisting  the  invasion  of  the  foreign  enemy.  Part  of  his 
Spanish  troops  had  been  ordered  into  Hungary  against  the  Turks  ;  the  rest 
had  marched  back  to  Italy  upon  occasion  of  the  war  in  the  dutchy  of 

•  9leid.  540.    Thuan.  lib.  ».  339.     Mom.  do  Ribicr.  ii.  371.  t  Fleid.  ttr,     Tbufin.  342. 


406  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  X. 

Farina.  The  bands  of  veteran  Germans  had  been  dismissed,  because  he 
was  not  able  to  pay  them  ;  or  had  entered  into  Maurice's  service  after  the 
siege  of  Magdeburg  ;  and  he  remained  at  Inspruck  with  a  body  of  soldiers 
hardly  strong  enough  to  guard  his  own  person.  His  treasury  was  as  much 
exhausted,  as  his  army  was  reduced.  He  had  received  no  remittances  for 
some  time  from  the  new  world.  He  had  forfeited  all  credit  with  the 
merchants  of  Genoa  and  Venice,  who  refused  to  lend  him  money,  though 
tempted  by  the  offer  of  exorbitant  interest.  Thus  Charles,  though  un- 
doubtedly the  most  considerable  potentate  in  Christendom,  and  capable 
of  exerting  the  greatest  strength,  his  power,  notwithstanding  the  violin' 
attack  made  upon  it,  being  still  unimpaired,  found  himself  in  a  situation 
which  rendered  him  unable  to  make  such  a  sudden  and  vigorous  effort  as 
the  juncture  required,  and  was  necessary  to  have  saved  him  from  the  pre- 
sent danger. 

In  this  situation,  the  emperor  placed  all  his  hopes  upon  negotiating  ;  the 
only  resource  of  such  as  are  conscious  of  their  own  weakness.  But 
thinking  it  inconsistent  with  his  dignity  to  make  the  first  advances  to  sub- 
jects who  were  in  arms  against  him,  he  avoided  that  indecorum  by 
employing  the  mediation  of  his  brother  Ferdinand.  Maurice  confiding  in 
his  own  talents  to  conduct  any  negotiation  in  such  a  manner  as  to  derive 
advantage  from  it,  and  hoping  that,  by  the  appearance  of  facility  in 
hearkening  to  the  first  overture  of  accommodation,  he  might  amuse  the 
emperor,  and  tempt  him  to  slacken  the  activity  with  which  he  was  now- 
preparing  to  defend  himself,  readily  agreed  to  an  interview  with  Ferdi- 
nand in  the  town  of  Lintz  in  Austria  ;  and  having  left  his  army  to  proceed 
on  its  march  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of  Mecklenburg,  he  repaired 
thither. 

Meanwhile  the  king  of  France  punctually  fulfilled  his  engagements  to 
the  allies.  He  took  the  field  early,  with  a  numerous  and  well-appointed 
army,  and  marching  directly  into  Lorrain,  Toul  and  Verdun  opened  their 
gates  at  his  approach.  His  forces  appeared  next  before  Metz,  and  that 
city,  by  a  fraudulent  stratagem  of  the  constable  Montmorency,  who  having 
obtained  permission  to  pass  through  it  with  a  small  guard,  introduced  as 
many  troops  as  were  sufficient  to  overpower  the  garrison,  was  likewise 
seized  without  bloodshed.  Henry  made  his  entry  into  all  these  towns 
with  great  pomp  ;  he  obliged  the  inhabitants  to  swear  allegiance  to  him, 
and  annexed  those  important  conquests  to  the  French  monarchy.  He  left 
a  strong  garrison  in  Metz.  From  thence  he  advanced  towards  Alsace,  in 
order  to"  attempt  new  conquests,  to  which  the  success  that  had  hitherto 
attended  his  arms  invited  him.* 

The  conference  at  Lintz  did  not  produce  an  accommodation.  Maurice, 
when  he  consented  to  it,  seems  to  have  had  nothing  in  view  but  to  amuse 
the  emperor  ;  for  he  made  such  demands,  both  in  behalf  of  his  confederates 
and  their  ally  the  French  king  as  he  knew  would  not  be  accepted  by  a 

Srince,  too  haughty  to  submit,  at  once,  to  conditions  dictated  by  an  enemy, 
ut,  however  firmly  Maurice  adhered  during  the  negotiation  to  the  interest 
of  his  associates,  or  how  steadily  soever  he  kept  in  view  the  objects  which 
had  induced  him  to  take  arms,  he  often  professed  a  strong  inclination  to 
terminate  the  differences  with  the  emperor  in  an  amicable  manner. 
Encouraged  by  this  appearance  of  a  pacific  disposition,  Ferdinand  pro- 
posed a  second  interview  at  Passau  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  May,  and  that 
a  truce  should  commence  on  that  day,  and  continue  to  the  tenth  of  June,  in 
order  to  give  them  leisure  for  adjusting  all  the  points  in  dispute. 

Upon  this,  Maurice  rejoined  his  army  on  the  ninth  of  May,  which  had 
now  advanced  to  Gundelfingen.  1  te  put  his  troops  in  motion  next  morning  ; 
aud  as  sixteen  days  yet  remained  for  action  before  the  commencement  of 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  467 

the  truce,  he  resolved  during  that  period,  to  venture  upon  an  enterprise, 
the  success  of  which  would  be  so  decisive,  as  to  render  the  negotiations  at 
Fassau  extremely  short,  and  entitle  him  to  treat  upon  his  own  terms.  He 
foresaw  that  the  prospect  of  a  cessation  of  arms,  which  was  to  take  place 
so  soon,  together  with  the  opinion  of  his  earnestness  to  re-establish  peace, 
with  which  he  had  artfully  amused  Ferdinand,  could  hardly  fail  of  in- 
spiring the  emperor  with  such  false  hopes,  that  he  would  naturally  become 
remiss,  and  relapse  into  some  degree  of  that  security  which  had  already 
been  so  fatal  to  him.  Relying  on  this  conjecture,  he  marched  directly  at 
the  head  of  his  army  towards  Inspruck,  and  advanced  with  the  most  rapid 
motion  that  could  be  given  to  so  great  a  body  of  troops.  On  the  eigh- 
teenth, he  arrived  at  Fiessen,  a  posf  of  great  consequence,  at  the  entrance 
into  the  Tyrolese.  There  he  found  a  body  of  eight  hundred  men,  whom 
the  emperor  had  assembled,  strongly  intrenched,  in  order  to  oppose  his 
progress.  He  attacked  them  instantly  with  such  violence  and  impetuosity, 
that  they  abandoned  their  lines  precipitately,  and  falling  back  on  a  second 
body  posted  near  Ruten,  communicated  the  panic  terror  with  which  they 
themselves  had  been  seized,  to  those  troops  ;  so  that  they  likewise  took 
to  flight,  after  a  feeble  resistance. 

Elated  with  this  success,  which  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  hopes, 
Maurice  pressed  forward  to  Ehrenbergh,  a  castle  situated  on  a  high  and 
steep  precipice,  which  commanded  the  only  pass  through  the  mountains. 
As  this  fort  had  been  surrendered  to  the  protestants  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Smalkaldic  war,  because  the  garrison  was  then  too  weak  to  defend  it, 
the  emperor,  sensible  of  its  importance,  had  taken  care,  at  this  juncture, 
to  throw  into  it  a  body  of  troops  sufficient  to  maintain  it  against  the  greatest 
army.  But  a  shepherd,  in  pursuing  a  goat  which  had  strayed  from  his  flock, 
having. discovered  an  unknown  path  by  which  it  was  possible  to  ascend  to 
the  top  of  the  rock,  came  with  this  seasonable  piece  of  intelligence  to 
Maurice.  A  small  band  of  chosen  soldiers,  under  the  command  of  George 
of  Alecklenburg,  was  instantly  ordered  to  follow  this  guide.  They  set  out 
in  the  evening,  and  clambering  up  the  rugged  track  with  infinite  fatigue 
as  well  as  danger,  they  reached  the  summit  unperceived ;  and  at  an  hour 
which  had  been  agreed  on,  when  Maurice  began  the  assault  on  the  one 
side  of  the  castle,  they  appeared  on  the  other,  ready  to  scale  the  walls, 
which  were  feeble  in  that  place,  because  it  had  been  hitherto  deemed 
inaccessible.  The  garrison,  struck  with  terror  at  the  sight  of  an  enemy 
on  a  quarter  where  they  had  thought  themselves  perfectly  secure,  imme- 
diately threw  down  their  arms.  Maurice,  almost  without  bloodshed,  and, 
which  was  of  greater  consequence  to  him,  without  loss  of  time,  took  pos- 
session of  a  place,  the  reduction  of  which  might  have  retarded  him  long, 
and  have  required  the  utmost  efforts  of  his  valour  and  skill.* 

M  urice  was  now  only  two  days  march  from  Inspruck,  and  without 
losing  a  moment  he  ordered  his  infantry  to  advance  thither,  having  left 
his  cavalry,  which  was  unserviceable  in  that  mountainous  country,  at 
Fiessen,  to  guard  the  mouth  of  the  pass.  He  proposed  to  advance  with 
such  rapidity  as  to  anticipate  any  accounts  of  the  loss  of  Ehrenbergh,  and 
to  surprise  the  emperor,  together  with  his  attendants,  in  an  open  town 
incapable  of  defence.  But  just  as  his  troops  began  to  move,  a  battalion  ol 
.  mercenaries  mutinied,  declaring  that  they  would  not  stir  until  they  had 
received  the  gratuity,  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  that  age,  they 
claimed  as  the  recompense  due  to  them  for  having  taken  a  place  by  assault. 
It  was  with  great  difficulty,  as  well  as  danger,  and  not  without  some  consi- 
derable loss  of  time,  that  Maurice  quieted  this  insurrection,  and  prevailed 
on  the  soldiers  to  follow  him  to  a  place  where  he  promised  them  such  rich 
booty  as  would  be  an  ample  reward  for  all  their  services. 

*  ArnnlHi  Vita  Mauri!.  TC3 


408  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  [Hook  X. 

To  the  delay,  occasioned  by  this  unforeseen  accident,  the  emperor  owed 
his  safety.  He  was  informed  of  the  approaching  danger  late  in  the 
evening,  and  knowing  that  nothing  could  save  him  but  a  speedy  flight,  he 
instantly  left  Inspruck,  without  regarding  the  darkness  of  the  night,  or  the 
violence  of  the  rain  which  happened  to  fall  at  that  time  ;  and  notwith- 
standing the  debility  occasioned  by  the  gout,  which  rendered  him  unable 
to  bear  any  motion  but  that  of  a  litter,  he  travelled  by  the  light  of  torches, 
taking  his  way  over  the  Alps,  by  roads  almost  impassable.  His  courtiers 
and  attendants  followed  him  with  equal  precipitation,  some  of  them  on 
such  horses  as  they  could  hastily  procure,  many  of  them  on  foot,  and  all  in 
the  utmost  confusion.  In  this  miserable  plight,  very  unlike  the  pomp  with 
which  Charles  had  appeared  during  the  five  preceding  years  as  the  con- 
queror of  Germany,  he  arrived  at  length  with  his  dejected  train  at  Villach 
in  Carinthia,  and  scarcely  thought  himself  secure  even  at  that  remote  inac- 
cessible corner. 

Maurice  entered  Inspruck  a  few  hours  after  the  emperor  and  his  attend- 
ants had  left  it ;  and  enraged  that  the  prey  should  escape  out  of  his  hands 
when  he  was  just  ready  to  seize  it,  he  pursued  them  some  miles;  but 
finding  it  impossible  to  overtake  persons,  to  whom  their  fear  gave  speed, 
he  returned  to  the  town,  and  abandoned  all  the  emperor's  baggage,  together 
with  that  of  the  ministers,  to  be  plundered  by  the  soldiers  ;  while  he 
preserved  untouched  every  thing  belonging  to  the  king  of  the  Romans, 
either  because  he  had  formed  some  friendly  connexion  with  that  prince, 
or  because  he  wished  to  have  it  believed  that  such  a  connexion  subsisted 
between  them.  As  there  now  remained  only  three  days  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  truce,  (with  such  nicety  had  Maurice  calculated  his  opera- 
tions,) he  set  out  for  Passau,  that  he  might  meet  Ferdinand  on  the  day 
appointed. 

Before  Charles  left  Inspruck,  he  withdrew  the  guards  placed  on  the 
degraded  elector  of  Saxony,  whom,  during  five  years,  he  had  carried  about 
with  him  as  a  prisoner,  and  set  him  entirely  at  liberty,  either  with  an  inten- 
tion to  embarrass  Maurice  by  letting  loose  a  rival,  who  might  dispute  his 
title  to  his  dominions  and  dignity,  or  from  a  sense  of  the  indecency  of 
detaining  him  a  prisoner,  while  he  himself  run  the  risk  of  being  deprived 
of  his  own  liberty.  But  that  prince,  seeing  no  other  way  of  escaping  than 
that  which  the  emperor  took,  and  abhorring  the  thoughts  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  a  kinsman,  whom  he  justly  considered  as  the  author  of  all  his 
misfortunes,  chose  rather  to  accompany  Charles  in  his  flight,  and  to  expect 
die  final  decision  of  his  fate  from  the  treaty  which  was  now  approaching. 

These  were  not  the  only  effects  which  Maurice's  operations  produced. 
It  was  no  sooner  known  at  Trent  that  he  had  taken  arms,  than  a  general 
consternation  seized  the  fathers  of  the  council.  The  German  prelates  im- 
mediately returned  home,  that  they  might  provide  for  the  safety  of  their 
respective  territories.  The  rest  were  extremely  impatient  to  be  gone : 
and  the  legate,  who  had  hitherto  disappointed  all  the  endeavours  of  the 
Imperial  ambassadors  to  procure  an  audience  in  the  council  for  the  protes- 
tant  divines,  laid  hold  with  joy  on  such  a  plausible  pretext  for  dismissing 
an  assembly,  which  he  had  found  it  so  difficult  to  govern.  In  a  congrega- 
tion held  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  April,  a  decree  was  issued  proroguing 
the  council  during  two  years,  and  appointing  it  to  meet  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time,  if  peace  were  then  re-established  in  Europe.*  This  proroga- 
tion, however,  continued  no  less  than  ten  years  ;  and  the  proceedings  of  the 
council,  when  reassembled  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
sixty-two,  fall  not  within  the  period  prescribed  to  this  history. 

1  he  convocation  of  this  assembly  had  been  passionately  desired  by  all 
the  states  and  princes  in  Christendom  who,  from  the  wisdom  as  well  as 

*  P.  Paul,  3.W. 


EMPEROR    CHARLES   V.  409 

piety  of  prelates  representing  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful,  expected 
some  charitable  and  efficacious  endeavours  towards  composing  the  dissen- 
sions which  unhappily  had  arisen  in  the  church.  But  the  several  popes  by 
whose  authority  it  was  called,  had  other  objects  in  view.  They  exerted 
all  their  power  or  policy  to  attain  these  ;  and  by  the  abilities  as  well  as 
address  of  their  legates,  by  the  ignorance  of  many  of  the  prelates,  and  by 
the  servility  of  the  indigent  Italian  bishops,  acquired  such  influence  in  the 
council,  that  they  dictated  all  its  decrees,  and  framed  them  not  with  an 
intention  to  restore  unity  and  concord  to  the  church,  but  to  establish  their 
own  dominion,  or  to  confirm  those  tenets,  upon  which  they  imagined  that 
dominion  to  be  founded.  Doctrines  which  had  hitherto  been  admitted 
upon  the  credit  of  tradition  alone,  and  received  with  some  latitude  of  inter- 
pretation, were  defined  with  a  scrupulous  nicety,  and  confirmed  by  the 
sanction  of  authority.  Rites,  which  had  formerly  been  observed  only  in 
deference  to  custom  supposed  to  be  ancient,  were  established  by  the 
decrees  of  the  church,  and  declared  to  be  essential  parts  of  its  worship. 
The  breach,  instead  of  being  closed,  was  widened,  and  made  irreparable. 
In  place  of  any  attempt  to  reconcile  the  contending  parties,  a  line  was  drawn 
with  such  studied  accuracy,  as  ascertained  and  marked  out  the  distinction 
between  them.  This  still  serves  to  keep  them  at  a  distance  ;  and  without 
some  signal  interposition  of  Divine  Providence,  must  render  the  separation 
perpetual. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  of  this  assembly,  is  derived  from  three 
different  authors.  Father  Paul  of  "Venice  wrote  his  history  of  the  council 
of  Trent,  while  the  memory  of  what  had  passed  there  was  recent,  and  some 
who  had  been  members  of  it  were  still  alive.  He  has  exposed  the  intrigues 
and  artifices  by  which  it  was  conducted,  with  a  freedom  and  severity 
which  have  given  a  deep  wound  to  the  credit  of  the  council.  He  has 
described  its  deliberations,  and  explained  its  decrees,  with  such  perspi- 
cuity, and  depth  of  thought,  with  such  various  erudition  and  such  force  of 
reason,  as  have  justly  entitled  his  work  to  be  placed  among  the  most 
admired  historical  compositions.  About  half  a  century  thereafter,  the  Jesuit 
Pallavicini  published  his  history  of  the  council,  in  opposition  to  that  of 
Father  Paul,  and  by  employing  all  the  force  of  an  acute  and  refining  genius 
to  invalidate  the  credit,  or  to  confute  the  reasonings  of  his  antagonist,  he 
labours  to  prove,  by  artful  apologies  for  the  proceedings  of  the  council,  and 
subtle  interpretations  of  its  decrees,  that  it  deliberated  with  impartiality, 
and  decided  with  judgment  as  well  as  candour.  Vargas,  a  Spanish  doctor 
of  laws,  who  was  appointed  to  attend  the  Imperial  ambassadors  at  Trent, 
sent  the  bishop  of  Arras  a  regular  account  of  the  transactions  there,  explain- 
ing all  the  arts  which  the  legate  employed  to  influence  or  overawe  the 
council.  His  letters  have  been  published,  in  which  he  inveighs  against  the 
papal  court  with  that  asperity  of  censure,  which  was  natural  to  a  man  whose 
situation  enabled  him  to  observe  its  intrigues  thoroughly,  and  who  was 
obliged  to  exert  all  his  attention  and  talents  in  order  to  disappoint  them. 
But  whichsoever  of  these  authors  an  intelligent  person  takes  for  his  guide, 
in  forming  a  judgment  concerning  the  spirit  of  the  council,  he  must  discover 
so  much  ambition  as  well  as  artifice  among  some  of  the  members  ;  so  much 
ignorance  and  corruption  among  others ;  he  must  observe  such  a  large  infu- 
sion of  human  policy  and  passions,  mingled  with  such  a  scanty  portion  of 
that  simplicity  of  heart,  sanctity  of  manners,  and  love  of  truth,  which  alone 
qualify  men  to  determine  what  doctrines  are  worthy  of  God,  and  what 
worship  is  acceptable  to  him  ;  that  he  will  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  believe, 
that  any  extraordinaiy  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  hovered  over  this 
assembly,  and  dictated  its  decrees. 

While  Maurice  was  employed  in  negotiating  with  the  king  of  the  Romans 
at  Lintz,  or  in  making  war  on  the  emperor  in  the  Tyrol,  the  French  king 
had  advanced  into  Alsace  as  far  as  Strasburs: ;  and  having  demanded  leave; 

Vol.  If.— 52 


410  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Booh  X. 

of  the  senate  to  march  through  the  city,  he  hoped  that,  by  repeating  the 
same  fraud  which  he  had  practised  at  Metz,  he  might  render  himself 
master  of  the  place,  and  by  that  means  secure  a  passage  over  the  Rhine 
into  the  heart  of  Germany.  But  the  Strasburgers,  instructed  and  put  on 
their  guard  by  the  credulity  and  misfortune  of  their  neighbours,  shut  their 
gates  ;  and  having  assembled  a  garrison  of  five  thousand  soldiers,  repaired 
their  fortifications,  rased  the  houses  in  their  suburbs,  and  determined  to 
defend  themselves  to  the  utmost.  At  the  same  time  they  sent  a  deputation 
of  their  most  respectable  citizens  to  the  king,  in  order  to  dhert  him  from 
making  any  hostile  attempt  upon  them.  The  electors  of  Treves  and 
Cologne,  the  duke  of  Cleves,  and  other  princes  in  the  neighbourhood,  inter- 
posed in  their  behalf;  beseeching  Henry  that  he  would  not  forget  so  soon 
the  title  which  he  had  generously  assumed  ;  and  instead  of  being  the  de- 
liverer of  German}',  become  its  oppressor.  The  Swiss  Cantons  seconded 
them  with  zeal,  soliciting  Henry  to  spare  a  city  which  had  long  been  con- 
nected with  their  community  in  friendship  and  alliance. 

Powerful  as  this  united  intercession  was,  it  would  not  have  prevailed  on 
Henry  to  forego  a  prize  of  so  much  value,  if  he  had  been  in  a  condition  to 
have  seized  it.  Hut.  in  that  a£e>  the  method  of  subsisting  numerous  armies 
at  a  distance  from  the  frontiers  of  their  own  country,  was  imperfectly  under- 
stood, and  neither  the  revenues  of  princes,  nor  their  experience  in  the  art 
of  war,  were  equal  to  the  great  and  complicated  efforts  which  such  an 
undertaking  required.  The  French,  though  not  far  removed  from  their 
own  frontier,  began  already  to  suffer  from  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  had 
no  sufficient  magazines  collected  to  support  them  during  a  siege  which 
must  necessarily  have  been  of  great  length.*  At  the  same  time,  the  queen 
of  Hungary,  governess  of  the  Low-Countries,  had  assembled  a  considerable 
body  of  troops,  which,  under  the  command  of  Martin  de  Rossem,  laid 
waste  Champagne,  and  threatened  the  adjacent  provinces  of  France. 
These  concurring  circumstances  obliged  the  king,  though  with  reluctance, 
to  abandon  the  enterprise.  But  being  willing  to  acquire  some  merit  with 
his  allies,  by  this  retreat  which  he  could  not  avoid,  he  pretended  to  the 
Swiss  that  he  had  taken  the  ^resolution  merely  in  compliance  with  their 
request  ;|  and  then,  after  giving  orders  that  all  the  horses  in  his  army  should 
be  led  to  drink  in  the  Rhine,  as  a  proof  of  his  having  pushed  his  conquest 
so  far,  he  marched  back  towards  Champagne. 

While  the  French  king  and  the  main  army  of  the  confederates  were  thus 
employed,  Albert  of  Brandenburg  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  a 
separate  body  of  eight  thousand  men,  consisting  chiefly  of  mercenaries  who 
had  resorted  to  his  standard,  rather  from  the  hope  of  plunder,  than  the 
expectation  of  regular  pay.  That  prince,  seeing  himself  at  the  head  of 
such  a  number  of  desperate  adventurers,  ready  to  follow  wherever  he  should 
lead  them,  soon  began  to  disdain  a  state  of  subordination,  and  to  form  such 
extravagant  schemes  of  aggrandizing  himself,  as  seldom  occur,  even  to 
ambitious  minds,  unless  when  civil  war  or  violent  factions  rouse  them  to 
bold  exertions,  by  alluring  them  with  immediate  hopes  of  success.  Full  of 
these  aspiring  thoughts,  Albert  made  war  in  a  manner  very  different  from 
the  other  confederales.  He  endeavoured  to  spread  the  terror  of  his  arms 
by  the  rapidity  of  his  motions,  as  well  asthe  extent  and  rigour  of  his  devas- 
tations; he  exacted  contributions  wherever  he  came,  in  order  to  amass  such 
a  sum  of  money,  as  would  put  it  in  his  power  to  keep  his  army  together ; 
he  laboured  to  get  possession  of  Nuremberg,  Ulm,  or  some  other  of  the  free 
cities  in  Upper  Germany,  in  which,  as  a  capital,  he  might  fix  the  seal  ot 
his  power.  But,  finding  these  cities  on  their  guard,  and  in  a  condition  to 
resist  his  attacks,  he  turned  all  his  rage  against  the  popish  ecclesiastics, 
whose  territories  he  plundered  with  such  wanton  and  merciless  barbarity 

*  Thimn.  351,  352.        »>Sleitf.  557.    Brantwne.  Com.  vH.  3ft 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  411 

as  gave  them  a  very  unfavourable  impression  of  the  spirit  of  that  reforma- 
tion in  religion,  with  zeal  for  which  he  pretended  to  be  animated.  The 
bishops  of  Basnbergh  and  Wurzburgh,  by  their  situation,  lay  particularly 
exposed  to  his  ravages  ;  he  obliged  the  former  to  transfer  to  him,  in  pro- 
perty, almost  one  half  of  his  extensive  diocess  ;  and  compelled  the  latter 
to  advance  a  great  sum  of  money  in  order  to  save  his  territories  from  ruin 
and  desolation.  During  all  those  wild  sallies,  Albert  paid  no  regard  either 
to  Maurice's  orders,  whose  commands  as  generalissimo  of  the  league  he 
had  engaged  to  obey,  or  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  other  confederates ; 
and  manifestly  discovered,  that  he  attended  only  to  his  own  private  emolu- 
ment, without  any  solicitude  about  the  common  cause,  or  the  general  objects 
which  bad  induced  them  to  take  arms.* 

Maurice  having  ordered  his  army  to  march  back  into  Bavaria,  and 
having  published  a  proclamation  enjoining  the  Lutheran  clergy  and 
instructers  of  youth,  to  resume  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  in  all  the 
cities,  schools,  and  universities  from  which  they  had  been  ejected,  met 
Ferdinaad  at  Passau  on  'he  twenty-sixth  day  of  May.  As  matters  of  the 
gi"  itest  consequence  to  the  future  peace  and  independence  of  the  empire 
were  to  be  settled  in  this  congress,  the  eyes  of  all  Germany  were  fixed 
upon  it.  Besides  Ferdinand  and  the  Imperial  ambassadors,  the  duke  of 
Bavaria,  the  bishops  of  Saltzburg  and  Aichstadt,  the  ministers  of  all  the 
electors,  together  with  deputies  from  most  of  the  considerable  princes 
and  free  cities,  resorted  to  Passau.  Maurice,  in  the  name  of  his  associates, 
and  the  king  of  the  Romans  as  the  emperor's  representative,  opened  the 
negotiation.  The  princes  who  were  present,  together  with  the  deputies 
of  such  as  were  absent,  acted  as  intercessors  or  mediators  between  them . 

Maurice,  in  a  long  discourse,  explained  the  motives  of  his  own  conduct. 
After  having  enumerated  all  the  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  acts  of 
the  emperor's  administration,  he,  agreeably  to  the  manifesto  which  he 
had  published  when  he  took  arms  against  him,  limited  his  demands  to 
three  articles  :  That  the  landgrave  of  Hesse  should  be  immediately  set  at 
liberty;  that  the  grievances  in  the  civil  government  of  the  empire  should 
be  redressed  ;  and  that  the  protestants  should  be  allowed  the  public  exer- 
cise of  their  religion  without  molestation.  Ferdinand  and  the  Imperial 
ambassadors  discovering  their  unwillingness  to  gratify  him  with  regard  to 
all  these  points,  the  mediators  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  the  emperor,  beseech- 
ing him  to  deliver  Germany  from  the  calamities  of  a  civil  war,  by  giving 
such  satisfaction  to  Maurice  and  his  party  as  might  induce  them  to  lay 
down  their  arms  ;  and  at  the  same  time  they  prevailed  upon  Maurice  to 
grant  a  prolongation  of  the  truce  for  a  short  time,  during  which  they 
undertook  to  procure  the  emperor's  final  answer  to  his  demands. 

This  request  was  presented  to  the  emperor  in  the  name  of  all  the  prince? 
of  the  empire,  popish  as  well  as  protestant,  in  the  name  of  such  as  had 
lent  a  helping  hand  to  forward  his  ambitious  schemes,  as  well  as  of  those 
who  had  viewed  the  progress  of  his  power  with  jealousy  and  dread.  The 
uncommon  and  cordial  unanimity  with  which  they  concurred  at  this  junc- 
ture in  enforcing  Maurice's  demands,  and  in  recommending  peace,  flowed 
from  different  causes.  Such  as  were  most  attached  to  the  Roman  catholic 
church  could  not  help  observing,  that  the  protestant  confederates  were  at 
the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  while  the  emperor  was  but  just  beginning  to 
provide  for  his  own  defence.  They  foresaw  that  great  efforts  would  be 
required  of  them,  and  would  be  necessary  on  their  part,  in  order  to  cope 
with  enemies,  who  had  been  allowed  to  get  the  start  so  far,  and  to  attain 
such  formidable  power.  Experience  had  taught  them,  that  the  fruit  of 
all  these  efforts  would  be  reaped  by  the  empeior  alone,  and  the  more  com- 
plete any  victory  proved  which  they  should  gain,  the  faster  would  the1*' 

*  Steid.  SBl    Thuan 


412  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  X. 

bind  their  own  fetters,  and  render  them  the  more  intolerable.  These 
reflections  made  them  caulious  how  they  contributed  a  second  time,  by 
their  indiscreet  zeal,  to  put  the  emperor  in  possession  of  power  which 
would  be  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  their  country.  Notwithstanding  the 
intolerant  spirit  of  bigotry  in  that  age,  they  chose  rather  that  the  protestants 
should  acquire  that  security  for  their  religion  which  they  demanded,  than 
by  assisting  Charles  to  oppress  them,  to  give  such  additional  force  to  the 
Imperial  prerogative,  as  would  overturn  the  constitution  of  the  empire.  To 
all  these  considerations,  the  dread  of  seeing  Germany  laid  waste  by  a  civil 
war  added  new  force.  Many  states  of  the  empire  already  felt  the  destruc- 
tive rage  of  Albert's  arms,  others  dreaded  it,  and  all  wished  for  an  accom- 
modation between  the  emperor  and  Maurice,  which  they  hoped  would  save 
them  from  that  cruel  scourge. 

Such  were  the  reasons  that  induced  so  many  princes,  notwithstanding 
the  variety  of  their  political  interests,  and  the  opposition  in  their  religious 
sentiments,  to  unite  in  recommending  to  the  emperor  an  accommodation 
with  Maurice,  not  only  as  a  salutary  but  as  a  necessary  measure.  The 
motives  which  prompted  Charles  to  desire  it,  were  not  fewer  or  of  less 
weight.  He  was  perfectly  sensible  of  the  superiority  which  the  confede- 
rates had  acquired  through  his  own  negligence ;  and  he  now  felt  the 
insufficiency  of  his  own  resources  to  oppose  them.  His  Spanish  subjects, 
disgusted  at  his  long  absence,  and  weary  of  endless  wars,  which  were  of 
little  benefit  to  their  country,  refused  to  furnish  him  any  considerable  sup- 
ply either  of  men  or  money ;  and  although  by  his  address  or  importunity 
he  might  have  hoped  to  draw  from  them  at  last  more  effectual  aid ;  that, 
he  knew,  was  too  distant  to  be  of  any  serv  ice  in  the  present  exigency  of  his 
affairs.  His  treasury  was  drained  ;  his  veteran  forces  were  dispersed  or 
disbanded,  and  he  could  not  depend  much  either  on  the  fidelity  or  courage 
ot  the  new  levied  soldiers  whom  he  was  collecting.  There  was  no  hope 
of  repeating  with  success  the  same  artifices  which  had  weakened  and 
ruined  the  Smalkaldic  league.  As  the  end  at  which  he  aimed  was  now 
known,  he  could  no  longer  employ  the  specious  pretexts  which  had 
formerly  concealed  his  ambitious  designs.  Every  prince  in  Germany  was 
alarmed  and  on  his  guard  ;  and  it  was  vain  to  think  of  blinding  them  a 
second  time  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  make  one  part  of  them  instruments  to 
enslave  the  other.  The  spirit  of  a  confederacy  whereof  Maurice  was  the 
head,  experience  had  taught  him  to  be  very  different  from  that  of  the 
league  of  Smalkalde  ;  and  from  what  he  had  already  felt,  he  had  no  reason 
to  flatter  himself  that  its  councils  would  be  as  irresolute,  or  its  efforts  as 
timid  and  feeble.  If  he  should  resolve  on  continuing  the  war,  he  might  be 
assured,  that  the  most  considerable  states  in  Germany  would  take  part  in 
it  against  him  ;  and  a  dubious  neutrality  was  the  utmost  he  could  expect 
from  the  rest.  While  the  confederates  found  full  employment  for  his  arms 
in  one  quarter,  the  king  of  France  would  seize  the  favourable  opportunity, 
and  push  on  his  operations  in  another,  with  almost  certain  success.  That 
monarch  had  already  made  conquests  in  the  empire,  which  Charles  was 
no  less  eager  to  recover,  than  impatient  to  be  revenged  on  him  for  aiding 
his  malecontent  subjects.  Though  Henry  had  now  retired  from  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine,  he  had  only  varied  the  scene  of  hostilities,  having  invaded 
the  Low-Countries  with  all  his  forces.  The  Turks,  roused  by  the  solicita- 
tions of  the  French  king,  as  well  as  stimulated  by  resentment  against 
Ferdinand  for  having  violated  the  truce  in  Hungary,  had  prepared  a 
powerful  fleet  to  ravage  the  coasts  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  which  he  had 
left  almost  defenceless,  by  calling  thence  the  greatest  part  of  the  regular 
troops  to  join  the  army  which  he  was  now  assembling. 

Ferdinand,  who  went  in  person  to  Villach,  in  order  to  lay  before  the 
emperor  the  result  of  the  conferences  at  Passau,  had  likewise  reasons 
peculiar  to  himself  for  desiring  an  accommodation.     These    promised 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  413 

him  to  second,  with  the  greatest  earnestness,  the  arguments  which  the 
princes  assembled  there  had  employed  in  recommending  it.  He  had 
observed,  not  without  secret  satisfaction,  the  fatal  blow  that  had  been 
given  to  the  despotic  power  which  his  brother  had  usurped  in  the  empire. 
He  was  extremely  solicitous  to  prevent  Charles  from  recovering  his  former 
superiority,  as  he  foresaw  that  amibitious  prince  would  immediately 
resume,  with  increased  eagerness,  and  with  a  better  chance  of  success, 
his  favourite  scheme  of  transmitting  that  power  to  his  son,  by  excluding 
his  brother  from  the  right  of  succession  to  the  Imperial  throne.  On  this 
account  he  was  willing  to  contribute  towards  circumscribing  the  Imperial 
authority,  in  order  to  render  his  own  possession  of  it  certain.  Besides, 
Solyman,  exasperated  at  the  loss  of  Transylvania,  and  still  more  at  the 
fraudulent  arts  by  which  it  had  been  seized,  had  ordered  into  the  field  an 
army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  which  having  defeated  a  great  body  of 
Ferdinand's  troops,  and  taken  several  places  of  importance,  threatened  not 
only  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  province,  but  to  drive  them  out  of 
that  part  of  Hungary  which  was  still  subject  to  his  jurisdiction.  He  was 
unable  to  resist  such  a  mighty  enemy ;  the  emperor,  while  engaged  in  a 
domestic  war,  could  afford  him  no  aid ;  and  he  could  not  even  hope  to 
draw  from  Germany  the  contingent,  either  of  troops  or  money,  usually 
furnished  to  repel  the  invasions  of  the  Infidels.  Maurice,  having  observed 
Ferdinand's  perplexity  with  regard  to  this  last  point,  had  offered,  if  peace 
were  re-established  on  a  secure  foundation,  that  he  would  march  in  person 
with  his  troops  into  Hungary  against  the  Turks.  Such  was  the  effect  of 
this  well-timed  proposal,  that  Ferdinand,  destitute  of  every  other  prospect 
of  relief,  became  the  most  zealous  advocate  whom  the  contederates  could 
have  employed  to  urge  their  claims,  and  there  was  hardly  any  thing  that 
they  could  have  demanded  which  he  would  not  have  chosen  to  grant, 
rather  than  have  retarded  a  pacification,  to  which  he  trusted  as  the  only 
means  of  saving  his  Hungarian  crown. 

When  so  many  causes  conspired  in  rendering  an  accommodation  eligible, 
it  might  have  been  expected  that  it  would  have  taken  place  immediately. 
But  the  inflexibility  ot  the  emperor's  temper,  together  with  his  unwilling 
ness  at  once  to  relinquish  objects  which  he  had  long  pursued  with  such 
earnestness  and  assiduity,  counterbalanced,  for  some  time,  the  force  of  all 
the  motives  which  disposed  him  to  peace,  and  not  only  put  that  event  at 
a  distance,  but  seemed  to  render  it  uncertain.  When  Maurice's  demands, 
together  with  the  letter  of  the  mediators  at  Passau,  were  presented  to 
him,  he  peremptorily  refused  to  redress  the  grievances  which  were 
pointed  out,  nor  would  he  agree  to  any  stipulation  for  the  immediate 
security  of  the  protestant  religion,  but  proposed  referring  both  these  to  the 
determination  of  a  future  diet.  On  his  part,  he  required  that  instant  repa- 
ration should  be  made  to  all  who,  during  the  present  war,  had  suffered 
either  by  the  licentiousness  of  the  confederate  troops,  or  the  exactions  ot 
their  leaders. 

Maurice,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  emperor's  arts,  immediately 
concluded  that  he  had  nothing  in  view  by  these  overtures  but  to  amuse 
and  deceive  ;  and,  therefore,  without  listening  to  Ferdinand's  entreaties, 
he  left  Passau  abruptly,  and  joining  his  troops,  which  were  encamped  at 
Mergentheim,  a  city  in  Franconia,  belonging  to  the  knights  of  the  Teu- 
tonic order,  he  put  them  in  motion,  and  renewed  hostilities.  As  three 
thousand  men  in  the  emperor's  pay  had  thrown  themselves  into  Frankfort 
on  the  Maine,  and  might  from  thence  infest  the  neighbouring  country  of 
Hesse,  he  marched  towards  that  city,  and  laid  siege  to  it  in  form  [July  17]. 
The  briskness  of  this  enterprise,  and  the  vigour  with  which  Maurice  car- 
ried on  his  approaches  against  the  town,  gave  such  an  alarm  to  the 
emperor,  as  disposed  him  to  lend  a  more  tavourable  ear  to  Ferdinand's 
arguments  in  behalf  of  an  accommodation.     Firm  and  haughty  as  his 


414  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  X. 

nature  was,  he  found  it  necessary  to  bend,  and  signified  his  willingness  to 
make  concessions  on  his  part,  if  Maurice,  in  return,  would  abate  some- 
what of  the  rigour  of  his  demands.  Ferdinand,  as  soon  as  he  perceived 
that  his  brother  began  to  }Tield,  did  not  desist  from  his  importunities,  until 
he  prevailed  on  him  to  declare  what  was  the  utmost  that  he  would  grant 
for  the  security  of  the  confederates.  Having  gained  this  difficult  point, 
he  instantly  despatched  a  messenger  to  Maurice's  camp,  and,  imparting 
to  him  the  emperor's  final  resolution,  conjured  him  not  to  frustrate  his 
endeavours  for  the  re-establishment  of  peace  ;  or,  by  an  unseasonable 
obstinacy  on  his  side,  to  disappoint  the  wishes  of  all  Germany  for  that 
salutary  event. 

Maurice,  notwithstanding  the  prosperous  situation  of  his  affairs,  was 
strongly  inclined  to  listen  to  this  advice.  The  emperor,  though  over- 
reached and  surprised,  had  now  begun  to  assemble  troops,  and  however 
slow  his  motions  might  be,  while  the  first  effects  of  his  consternation 
remained,  he  was  sensible  tbat  Charles  must  at  last  act  with  vigour  pro- 
portional to  the  extent  of  his  power  and  territories,  and  lead  into  Germany 
an  army  formidable  by  its  numbers,  and  still  more  by  the  terror  of  his 
name,  as  well  as  the  remembrance  of  his  past  victories.  He  could  scarcely 
hope  that  a  confederacy  composed  of  so  many  members  would  continue 
to  operate  with  union  and  perseverance  sufficient  to  resist  the  consistent 
and  well-directed  efforts  of  an  army,  at  the  absolute  disposal  of  a  leader 
accustomed  to  command  and  to  conquer.  He  felt,  already,  although  he 
had  not  hitherto  experienced  the  shock  of  any  adverse  event,  that  he  him- 
self was  at  the  head  of  a  disjointed  body.  He  saw,  from  the  example  of 
Albert  of  Brandenburg,  how  difficult  it  would  be,  with  all  his  address  and 
credit,  to  prevent  any  particular  member  from  detaching  himself  from  the 
whole,  and  how  impossible  to  recall  him  to  his  proper  rank  and  subordi- 
nation. This  filled  him  with  apprehensions  for  the  common  cause. 
Another  consideration  gave  him  no  less  disquiet  with  regard  to  his  own 
particular  interests.  By  setting  at  liberty  the  degraded  elector,  and  by 
repealing  the  act  by  which  that  prince  was  deprived  of  his  hereditary 
honours  and  dominions,  the  emperor  had  it  in  his  power  to  wound  him  in 
the  most  tender  part.  The  efforts  of  a  prince  beloved  by  his  ancient  sub- 
jects, and  revered  by  all  the  protestant  party,  in  order  to  recover  what 
had  been  unjustly  taken  from  him,  could  hardly  have  failed  of  exciting 
commotions  in  Saxony,  which  would  endanger  all  that  he  had  acquired 
at  the  expense  of  so  much  dissimulation  and  artifice.  It  was  no  less  in 
the  emperors  power  to  render  vain  all  the  solicitations  of  the  confederates 
in  behalf  of  the  landgrave.  He  had  only  to  add  one  act  of  violence  more 
to  the  injustice  and  rigour  with  which  he  had  already  treated  him  ;  and 
he  had  accordingly  threatened  the  sons  of  that  unfortunate  prince,  that  if 
they  persisted  in  their  present  enterprise,  instead  of  seeing  their  father 
restored  to  liberty,  they  should  hear  of  his  having  suffered  the  punishment 
which  his  rebellion  had  merited.* 

Having  deliberated  upon  all  these  points  with  nis  associates,  Maurice 
thought  it  more  prudent  to  accept  of  the  conditions  offered,  though  less 
advantageous  than  those  which  he  had  proposed,  than  again  to  commit  all  to 
the  doubtful  issue  of  war.t  He  repaired  forthwith  to  Passau,  and  signed 
the  treaty  of  peace  ;  of  which  the  chief  articles  were,  That  before  the 
twelfth  day  of  August,  the  confederates  shall  lay  down  their  arms,  and 
disband  their  forces  ;  That  on  or  before  that  day  the  landgrave  shall  be 
set  at  liberty,  and  conveyed  in  safety  to  his  castle  of  Rhemfels  ;  That  a 
diet  shall  be  held  within  six  months  [August  2],  in  order  to  deliberate 
concerning  the  most  proper  and  effectual  method  of  preventing  for  the 
future  all  disputes  and  dissensions  about  religion  ;  That  in  the  mean  time. 

•*  SMciil.  5T1.  +  Bleld,  Flist.  5«i3.  &r.    Tim  an.  lib.  x.  359,  &e. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  415 

neither  the  emperor,  nor  any  other  prince,  shall  upon  any  pretext  what- 
ever, offer  any  injury  or  violence  to  such  as  adhered  to  the  confession  oi 
Augsburg,  but  allow  them  to  enjoy  the  free  and  undisturbed  exercise  oi 
their  religion  ;  That,  in  return,  the  protestants  shall  not  molest  the  catholics 
either  in  the  exercise  of  their  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  or  in  performing 
their  religious  ceremonies  ;  That  the  Imperial  chamber  shall  administer 
justice  impartially  to  persons  of  both  parties,  and  protestants  be  admitted 
indiscriminately  with  the  catholics  to  sit  as  judges  in  that  court ;  That  it 
the  next  diet  should  not  be  able  to  terminate  the  disputes  with  regard  to 
religion,  the  stipulations  in  the  present  treaty  in  behalf  of  the  protestants 
shall  continue  for  ever  in  full  force  and  vigour  ;  That  none  of  the  confe- 
derates shall  be  liable  to  any  action  on  account  of  what  had  happened 
during  the  course  of  the  war ;  That  the  consideration  of  those  encroach- 
ments which  had  been  made,  as  Maurice  pretended,  upon  the  constitution 
and  liberties  of  the  empire,*  shall  be  remitted  to  the  approaching  diet ; 
That  Albert  of  Brandenburg  shall  be  comprehended  in  the  treaty,  provided 
he  shall  accede  to  it,  and  disband  his  forces  before  the  twelfth  of  August. 

Such  was  the  memorable  treaty  of  Passau,  that  overturned  the  vast 
fabric,  in  erecting  which  Charles  had  employed  so  many  years,  and  had 
exerted  the  utmost  efforts  of  his  power  and  policy  ;  that  annulled  all  his 
regulations  with  regard  to  religion  ;  defeated  all  his  hopes  of  rendering 
the  Imperial  authority  absolute  and  hereditary  in  his  family  ;  and  estab- 
lished the  protestant  church,  which  had  hitherto  subsisted  precariously 
in  Germany,  through  connivance,  or  by  expedients,  upon  a  firm  and  secure 
basis.  Maurice  reaped  all  the  giory  of  having  concerted  and  completed 
this  unexpected  revolution.  It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  the  reform- 
ation should  be  indebted  for  its  security  and  full  establishment  in  Ger- 
many, to  the  same  hand  which  had  brought  it  to  the  brink  of  destruction, 
and  that  both  events  should  have  been  accomplished  by  the  same  arts  ot 
dissimulation.  The  ends,  however,  which  Maurice  had  in  view,  at  those 
different  junctures,  seem  to  have  been  more  attended  to  than  the  means 
by  which  he  attained  them  ;  and  he  was  now  as  universally  extolled  for 
his  zeal  and  public  spirit  as  he  had  lately  been  condemned  for  his  indiffer- 
ence and  interested  policy.  It  is  no  less  worthy  of  observation,  that  the 
French  king,  a  monarch  zealous  for  the  catholic  faith,  should  employ  his 
power  in  order  to  protect  and  maintain  the  reformation  in  the  empire,  at 
the  very  time  when  he  was  persecuting  his.own  protestant  subjects  with 
all  the  fierceness  of  bigotry,  and  that  the  league  (or  this  purpose,  which 
proved  so  fatal  to  the  Romish  church,  should  be  negotiated  and  signed  by 
a  Roman  catholic  bishop  So  wonderfully  doth  the  wisdom  of  God 
superintend  and  regulate  the  caprice  ot'  human  passions,  and  render  them 
subservient  towards  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  purposes. 

Little  attention  was  paid  to  the  interests  of  the  French  king  during  the 
negotiations  at  Passau.  Maurice  and  his  associates,  having  gained  what 
they  had  in  view,  discovered  no  great  solicitude  about  an  ally,  whom, 
perhaps,  they  reckoned  to  be  overpaid  for  the  assistance  which  he  had 
given  them,  by  his  acquisitions  in  Lorrain.  A  short  clause  which  thejr 
procured  to  be  inserted  in  the  treaty,  importing  that  the  king  of  France 
might  communicate  to  the  confederates  his  particular  pretensions  or  causes 
of  hostility,  which  they  would  lay  before  the  emperor,  was  the  only  sign 
thai  they  gave  of  their  remembering  how  much  they  had  been  indebted 
to  him  for  their  success.  Henry  experienced  the  same  treatment  which 
every  prince  who  lends  his  aid  to  the  authors  of  a  civil  war  may  expect. 
As  soon  as  the  rage  of  faction  began  to  subside,  and  any  prospect  of 
accommodation  to  open,  his  services  were  forgotten,  and  his  associates 
made  a  merit  with  their  sovereign  of  the  ingratitude  with  which  they 

*  Rt-cueii  <Vs  TraiSez,  B,  961 


41b  THE   KEION   OF   THE  [Book  XI. 

abandoned  their  protector.  But  how  much  soever  Henry  might  be  enraged 
at  the  perfidy  of  his  allies,  or  at  the  impatience  with  which  they  hastened 
to  make  their  peace  with  the  emperor,  at  his  expense,  he  was  perfectly 
sensible  that  it  was  more  his  interest  to  keep  well  with  the  Germanic 
body,  than  to  resent  the  indignities  offered  him  by  any  particular  members 
of  it.  For  that  reason,  he  dismissed  the  hostages  which  he  had  received 
from  Maurice  and  his  associates,  and  affected  to  talk  in  the  same  strain  as 
formerly,  concerning  his  zeal  for  maintaining  the  ancient  constitution  and 
liberties  of  the  empire. 


BOOK   XI. 


As  soon  as  the  treaty  of  Passau  was  signed,  Maurice,  in  consequence  of 
his  engagements  with  Ferdinand,  marched  into  Hungary  with  twenty 
thousand  men  [Aug.  3].  But  the  great  superiority  of  the  Turkish  armies, 
the' frequent  mutinies  both  of  the  Spanish  and  German  soldiers,  occasioned 
by  their  want  of  pay,  together  with  the  dissensions  between  Maurice  and 
Castaldo,  who  was  piqued  at  being  obliged  of  resign  the  chief  command 
to  him,  prevented  his  performing  any  thing  in  that  country  suitable  to  his 
former  fame,  or  of  great  benefit  to  the  king  of  the  Romans.* 

When  Maurice  set  out  for  Hungary,  the  prince  of  Hesse  parted  from 
him  with  the  forces  under  his  command,  and  marched  back  into  his  own 
country,  that  he  might  be  ready  to  receive  his  father  upon  his  return,  and 
give  up  to  him  the  reins  of  government  which  he  had  held  during  his 
absence.  But  fortune  was  not  yet  weaiy  of  persecuting  the  landgrave. 
A  battalion  of  mercenary  troops,  which  had  been  in  the  pay  of  Hesse, 
being  seduced  by  Reifenberg,  their  colonel,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  ready  to 
engage  in  any  enterprise,  secretly  withdrew  from  the  young  prince,  as 
he  was  marching  homewards,  and  joined  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  who 
still  continued  in  arms  against  the  emperor,  refusing  to  be  included  in  the 
treaty  of  Passau.  Unhappily  for  the  landgrave,  an  account  of  this  reached 
the  Netherlands,  just  as  he  was  dismissed  from  the  citadel  of  Mechlin, 
where  he  had  been  confined,  but  before  he  had  got  beyond  the  frontiers 
of  that  country.  The  queen  of  Hungary,  who  governed  there  in  her 
brother's  name,  incensed  ai  such  an  open  violation  of  the  treaty  to  which 
he  owed  his  liberty,  issued  orders  to  arrest  him,  and  committed  him  again 
to  the  custody  of  the  same  Spanish  captain  who  had  guarded  him  for  five 
years  with  the  most  severe  vigilance.  Philip  beheld  all  the  horrors  of 
his  imprisonment  renewed,  and  his  spirits  subsiding  in  the  same  proportion 
as  they  had  risen  during  the  short  interval  in  which  he  had  enjoyed 
liberty  ;  he  sunk  into  despair,  and  believed  himself  to  be  doomed  to  per- 
petual captivity. t  But  the  matter  being  so  explained  to  the  emperor,  as 
fully  satisfied  him  that  the  revolt  of  Reifenberg's  mercenaries  could  be 
imputed  neither  to  the  landgrave  nor  to  his  son,  he  gave  orders  for  his 
release  ;  and  Philip  at  last  obtained  the  liberty  for  which  he  had  so  long 
languished.  But  though  he  recovered  his  freedom,  and  was  reinstated  in 
his  dominions,  his  sufferings  seem  to  have  broken  the  vigour,  and  to  have 
extinguished  the  activity  of  his  mind  :  from  being  the  boldest  as  well  as 
most  enterprising  prince  in  the  empire,  he  became  the  most  timid  and 
cautious,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  a  pacific  indolence. 
The  degraded  elector  of  Saxony,  likewise,  procured  his  liberty  in  con- 

*  Tstnanliaffii  Hist.  Hangar.  CS8.     Tiuinn.  lib.  x.  37!.      t  Sleid  573.    Belrarii  Comment.  834 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  417 

sequence  of  the  treaty  of  Passau.  The  emperor  having  heen  obliged  to 
relinquish  all  his  schemes  for  extirpating  the  protestant  religion,  had  no 
longer  any  motive  for  detaining  him  a  prisoner  ;  and  being  extremely  soli- 
citous, at  that  juncture,  to  recover  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  the 
Germans,  whose  assistance  was  essential  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
which  he  meditated  against  the  king  of  France,  he,  among  other  expe- 
dients for  that  purpose,  thought  of  releasing  from  imprisonment  a  prince 
whose  merit  entitled  him  no  less  to  esteem,  than  his  sufferings  rendered 
him  the  object  of  compassion.  .John  Frederick  took  possession  accordingly 
of  that  part  of  his  territories  which  had  been  reserved  for  him,  when  Mau- 
rice was  invested  with  the  electoral  dignity.  As  in  this  situation  he  con- 
tinued to  display  the  same  virtuous  magnanimity  for  which  he  had  been 
conspicuous  in  a  more  prosperous  and  splendid  state,  and  which  he  had 
retained  amidst  all  his  sufferings,  he  maintained  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life  that  high  reputation  to  which  he  had  so  just  a  title. 

The  loss  of  Metz,  Toul,  and  Verdun,  had  made  a  deep  impression  on 
the  emperor.  Accustomed  to  terminate  all  his  operations  against  France 
with  advantage  to  himself,  he  thought  that  it  nearly  concerned  his  honour 
not  to  allow  Henry  the  superiority  in  this  war,  or  to  suffer  his  own  adminis- 
tration to  be  stained  with  the  infamy  of  having  permitted  territories  of 
such  consequence  to  be  dismembered  from  the  empire.  This  was  no  less 
a  point  of  interest  than  of  honour.  As  the  frontier  of  Champagne  was 
more  naked,  and  lay  more  exposed  than  that  of  any  province  in  France, 
Charles  had  frequently,  during  his  wars  with  that  kingdom,  made  inroads 
upon  that  quarter  with  great  success  and  effect ;  but  if  Henry  were  allowed 
to  retain  his  late  conquests,  France  would  gain  such  a  formidable  barrier 
on  that  side,  as  to  be  altogether  secure,  where  formerly  she  had  been  weak- 
est. On  the  other  hand,  the  empire  had  now  lost  as  much,  in  point  of 
security,  as  France  had  acquired  ;  and  being  stripped  of  the  defence  which 
those  cities  afforded  it,  lay  open  to  be  invaded  on  a  quarter,  where  all  the 
towns  having  been  hitherto  considered  as  interior,  and  remote  from  any 
enemy,  were  but  slightly  fortified.  These  considerations  determined 
Charles  to  attempt  recovering  the  three  towns  of  which  Henry  had  made 
himself  master  ;  and  the  preparations  which  he  had  made  against  Maurice 
and  his  associates  enabled  him  to  carry  his  resolution  into  immediate  exe- 
cution. 

As  soon,  then,  as  the  peace  was  concluded  at  Passau,  he  left  his  inglo- 
rious retreat  at  Villach,  and  advanced  to  Augsburg,  at  the  head  of  a  consi- 
derable body  of  Germans  which  he  had  levied,  together  with  all  the  troops 
which  he  had  drawn  out  of  Italy  and  Spain.  To  these  he  added  several 
battalions,  which  having  been  in  the  pay  of  the  confederates  entered  into 
his  service  when  dismissed  by  them ;  and  he  prevailed  likewise  on  some 
princes  of  the  empire  to  join  him  with  their  vassals.  In  order  to  conceal 
the  destination  of  this  formidable  army,  and  to  guard  against  alarming  the 
French  king,  so  as  to  put  him  on  preparing  for  the  defence  of  his  late  con- 
quests, he  gave  out  that  he  was  to  march  torthwith  into  Hungary,  in  order 
to  second  Maurice  in  his  operations  against  the  Infidels.  When  he  began 
to  advance  towards  the  Rhine,  and  could  no  longer  employ  that  pretext, 
he  tried  a  new  artifice,  and  spread  a  report,  that  he  took  this  route  in  order 
to  chastise  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  whose  cruel  exactions  in  that  part  of 
the  empire  called  loudly  for  his  interposition  to  check  them. 

But  the  French  having  grown  acquainted,  at  last,  with  arts  by  which 
they  had  been  so  often  deceived,  viewed  all  Charles's  motions  with  dis- 
trust. Henry  immediately  discerned  the  true  object  of  his  vast  prepara- 
tions, and  resolved  to  defend  the  important  conquests  which  lie  had  gained 
with  vigour  equal  to  that  with  which  lliey  were  about  to  be  attacked. 
As  he  foresaw  that  the  whole  weight  of  the  war  would  be  turned  against 
Metz,  by  whose  fate  that  of  Toul  and  Verdun  would  be  determined,  be 

Vor .  II. — s63 


418  THE  REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  XI, 

nominated  Francis  of  Lorrain,  duke  of  Guise,  to  take  the  command  in  that 
city  during  the  siege,  the  issue  of  which  would  equally  affect  the  honour 
and  interest  of  his  country.  His  choice  could  not  have  fallen  upon  any 
person  more  worthy  of  that  trust.  The  duke  of  Guise  possessed,  in  a 
high  degree,  all  the  talents  of  courage,  sagacity,  and  presence  of  mind, 
which  render  men  eminent  in.  military  command.  He  was  largely  en- 
dowed with  that  magnanimity  of  soul  which  delights  in  bold  enterprises, 
and  aspires  to  fame  by  splendid  and  extraordinary  actions.  He  repaired 
with  joy  to  the  dangerous  station  assigned  him,  as  to  a  theatre  on  which 
he  might  display  his  great  qualities  under  the  immediate  eye  of  his  coun- 
trymen, all  ready  to  applaud  him.  The  martial  genius  of  the  French 
nobility  in  that  age,  which  considered  it  as  the  greatest  reproach  to  remain 
inactive,  when  there  was  any  opportunity  of  signalizing  their  courage, 
prompted  great  numbers  to  follow  a  leader  who  was  the  darling  as  well 
as  the  pattern  of  every  one  that  courted  military  fame.  Several  princes 
of  the  blood,  many  noblemen  of  the  highest  rank,  and  all  the  young  offi- 
cers who  could  obtain  the  king's  permission,  entered  Metz  as  volunteers. 
By  their  presence  they  added  spirit  to  the  garrison,  and  enabled  the  duke 
ot  Guise  to  employ,  on  every  emergency,  persons  eager  to  distinguish 
themselves,  and  fit  to  conduct  any  service. 

But  with  whatever  alacrity  the  duke  of  Guise  undertook  the  defence  of 
Metz,  he  found  every  thing  upon  his  arrival  there,  in  such  a  situation,  as 
might  have  induced  any  person  of  less  intrepid  courage  to  despair  of 
defending  it  with  success.  The  city  was  of  great  extent,  with  large  sub- 
urbs ;  the  walls  were  in  many  places  feeble  and  without  ramparts ;  the 
ditch  narrow  ;  and  the  old  towers,  which  projected  instead  of  bastions, 
were  at  too  great  distance  from  each  other  to  defend  the  space  between 
them.  For  all  these  defects  he  endeavoured  to  provide  the  best  remedy 
which  the  time  would  permit.  He  ordered  the  suburbs,  without  sparing 
the  monasteries  or  churches,  not  even  that  of  St.  Arnulph,  in  which  several 
kings  of  France  had  been  buried,  to  be  levelled  with  the  ground  ;  but  in 
order  to  guard  against  the  imputation  of  impiety,  to  which  such  a  viola- 
tion of  so  many  sacred  edifices,  as  well  as  of  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  might 
expose  him,  he  executed  this  with  much  religious  ceremony.  Having 
ordered  all  the  holy  vestments  and  utensils,  together  with  the  bones  of 
the  kings,  and  other  persons  deposited  in  these  churches  to  be  removed, 
they  were  carried  in  solemn  procession  to  a  church  within  the  walls,  he 
himself  walking  before  them  bare-headed,  with  a  torch  in  his  hand.  He 
then  pulled  down  such  houses  as  stood  near  the  walls,  cleared  and  enlarged 
the  ditch,  repaired  the  ruinous  fortifications,  and  erected  new  ones.  As  it 
was  necessary  that  all  these  works  should  be  finished  with  the  utmost 
expedition,  he  laboured  at  them  with  his  own  hands :  the  officers  and 
volunteers  imitated  his  example,  and  the  soldiers  submitted  with  cheerful- 
ness to  the  most  severe  and  fatiguing  service,  when  they  saw  that  their 
superiors  did  not  decline  to  bear  a  part  in  it.  At  the  same  time  he  com- 
pelled all  useless  persons  to  leave  the  place  ;  he  filled  the  magazines  with 
provisions  and  military  stores  ;  he  burnt  the  mills,  and  destroyed  the  corn 
and  forage  for  several  miles  round  the  town.  Such  were  his  popular  talents, 
as  well  as  his  arts  of  acquiring  an  ascendant  over  the  minds  of  men,  that 
the  citizens  seconded  him  with  no  less  ardour  than  the  soldiers  ;  and  every 
other  passion  being  swallowed  up  in  the  zeal  to  repulse  the  enemy,  with 
which  he  inspired  them,  they  beheld  the  ruin  of  their  estates,  together  with 
the  havoc  which  he  made  among  their  public  and  private  buildings,  with- 
out any  emotion  of  resentment.* 

Meantime  the  emperor  having  collected  all  his  forces,  continued  his 
march  towards  Metz.     As  he  passed  through  the  cities  on  the  Rhine,  he 

*  ThtlSS.  si.  337. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  419 

saw  the  dismal  effects  of  that  licentious  and  wasteful  war  which  Albert 
had  carried  on  in  these  parts.  Upon  his  approach,  that  prince,  though  at 
the  head  of  twenty  thousand  men,  withdrew  into  Lorrairr,  as  if  he  had 
intended  to  join  the  French  king,  whose  arms  he  had  quartered  with  his 
own  in  all  his  standards  and  ensigns.  Albert  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
cope  with  the  Imperial  troops,*  which  amounted  at  least  to  sixty  thousand 
men,  forming  one  of  the  most  numerous  and  best  appointed  armies  which 
had  been  brought  into  the  field  during  that  age,  in  any  of  the  wars  among 
Christian  princes. 

The  chief  command,  under  the  emperor,  was  committed  to  the  duke  of 
Alva,  assisted  by  the  marquis  de  Marignano,  together  with  the  most  expe- 
rienced of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  generals.  As  it  was  now  towards  the 
end  of  October,  these  intelligent  officers  represented  the  great  danger  of 
beginning,  at  such  an  advanced  season,  a  siege  which  could  not  fail  to 
prove  very  tedious.  But  Charles  adhered  to  his  own  opinion  with  his 
usual  obstinacy,  and  being  confident  that  he  had  made  such  preparations, 
and  taken  such  precautions,  as  would  ensure  success,  he  ordered  the  city 
to  be  invested.  As  soon  as  the  duke  of  Alva  appeared  [Oct.  19],  a  large 
body  of  the  French  sallied  out  and  attacked  his  van-guard  with  great 
vigour,  put  it  in  confusion,  and  killed  or  took  prisoners  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  men.  Ry  this  early  specimen  which  they  gave  of  the  conduct  of 
their  officers,  as  well  as  the  valour  of  their  troops,  they  showed  the  Impe- 
rialists what  an  enemy  they  had  to  encounter,  and  how  dear  every  advan- 
tage must  cost  them.  The  place,  however,  was  completely  invested,  the 
trenches  were  opened,  and  the  other  works  begun. 

The  attention  both  of  the  besiegers  and  besieged  was  turned  for  some 
time  towards  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  and  they  strove  with  emulation  which 
should  gain  that  prince,  who  still  hovered  in  the  neighbourhood,  fluctuating 
in  all  the  uncertainty  of  irresolution,  natural  to  a  man,  who,  being  swayed 
by  no  principle,  was  allured  different  ways  by  contrary  views  of  interest. 
The  French  tempted  him  with  offers  extremely  beneficial ;  the  Impe- 
rialists scrupled  at  no  promise  which  they  thought  could  allure  him.  Alter 
much  hesitation  he  was  gained  by  the  emperor,  from  whom  he  expected 
to  receive  advantages  which  were  both  more  immediate  and  more  per- 
manent. As  the  French  king,  who  began  to  suspect  his  intentions,  had 
appointed  a  body  of  troops  under  the  duke  of  Aumale,  brother  to  the 
duke  of  Guise,  to  watch  his  motions,  Albert  fell  upon  them  unexpectedly 
with  such  vigour  that  he  routed  them  entirely  [Nov.  4],  killed  many  of  the 
officers,  wounded  Aumale  himself,  and  took  him  prisoner.  Immediately 
after  this  victory,  he  marched  in  triumph  to  Metz,  and  joined  his  army  to 
that  of  the  emperor.  Charles,  in  reward  for  this  service,  and  the  great 
accession  of  strength  which  he  brought  him,  granted  Albert  a  formal 
pardon  of  all  past  offences,  and  confirmed  him  in  the  possession  of  the 
territories  which  he  had  violently  usurped  during  the  war.t 

The  duke  of  Guise,  though  deeply  affected  with  his  brother's  misfortune, 
did  not  remit,  in  any  degree,  the  vigour  with  which  he  defended  the  town. 
He  harassed  the  besiegers  by  frequent  sallies,  in  which  his  officers  were 
so  eager  to  distinguish  themselves,  that  his  authority  being  hardly  sufficient 
to  restrain  the  impetuosity  of  their  courage,  he  was  obliged  at  different 
times  to  shut  the  gates,  and  to  conceal  the  keys,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
princes  of  the  blood,  and  noblemen  of  the  first  rank,  from  exposing  thetn- 
-clves  to  danger  in  every  sally.  He  repaired  in  the  night  what  the  enemy's 
artillery  had  beat  down  during  the  day,  or  erected  behind  the  ruined  works 
new  fortifications  of  almost  equal  strength.  The  Imperialists,  on  their 
part,  pushed  on  the  attack  with  great  spirit,  and  carried  forward,  at  once, 
approaches  against  different  parts  of  the  town.     But  the  art  of  attacking 

•  Natal.  Comitu),  Uist.  127.  t  Sleid  57.").    Ttman.  hb.  ».  380.393  ■ 


420  THE    KE1GN    OF    THE  [Hook  XI. 

fortified  places  was  not  then  arrived  at  that  degree  of  perfection  to  which 
it  was  carried  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  during  the  long 
war  in  the  Netherlands.  The  besiegers,  after  the  unwearied  labour  of 
many  weeks,  found  that  they  had  made  but  little  progress ;  and  although 
their  batteries  had  made  breaches  in  different  places,  they  saw,  to  their 
astonishment,  works  suddenly  appear,  in  demolishing  which  their  fatigues 
and  dangers  would  be  renewed.  The  emperor,  enraged  at  the  obstinate 
resistance  which  his  army  met  with,  left  1  hionville,  where  he  had  been 
confined  by  a  violent  fit  of  the  gout,  and  though  still  so  infirm  that  be  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  in  a  litter,  he  repaired  to  the  camp  [Nov.  26]  ;  that, 
by  his  presence,  he  might  animate  the  soldiers,  and  urge  on  the  attack 
with  greater  spirit.  Upon  his  arrival,  new  batteries  were  erected,  and  new 
efforts  were  made  with  redoubled  ardour. 

But,  by  this  time,  winter  had  set  in  with  great  rigour ;  the  camp  was 
alternately  deluged  with  rain  or  covered  with  snow  ;  at  the  same  time 
provisions  were  become  extremely  scarce,  as  a  body  of  French  cavalry 
which  hovered  in  the  neighbourhood,  often  interrupted  the  convoys,  or 
rendered  their  arrival  difficult  and  uncertain.  Diseases  began  to  spread 
among  the  soldiers,  especially  among  the  Italians  and  Spaniards,  unaccus- 
tomed to  such  inclement  weather ;  great  numbers  were  disabled  from 
serving,  and  many  died.  At  length  such  breaches  were  made  as  seemed 
practicable,  and  Charles  resolved  to  hazard  a  general  assault,  in  spite  of  all 
the  remonstrances  of  his  generals  against  the  imprudence  of  attacking  a 
numerous  garrison,  conducted  and  animated  by  the  most  gallant  of  the 
French  nobility,  with  an  army  weakened  by  diseases,  and  disheartened 
with  ill  success.  The  duke  of  Guise,  suspecting  the  emperor's  intentions 
from  the  extraordinary  movements  which  he  observed  in  the  enemy's  camp, 
ordered  all  his  troops  to  their  respective  posts.  They  appeared  imme- 
diately on  the  walls,  and  behind  the  breaches,  with  such  a  determined 
countenance,  so  eager  for  the  combat,  and  so  well  prepared  to  give  the 
assailants  a  warm  reception,  that  the  Imperialists,  instead  of  advancing 
to  the  charge  when  the  word  of  command  was  given,  stood  motionless  in  a 
timid,  dejected  silence.  The  emperor,  perceiving  that  he  could  not  trust 
troops  whose  spirits  were  so  much  broken,  retired  abruptly  to  his  quarters, 
complaining  that  he  was  now  deserted  by  his  soldiers,  who  deserved  no 
longer  the  name  of  men.* 

Deeply  as  this  behaviour  of  his  troops  mortified  and  affected  Charles, 
he  would  not  hear  of  abandoning  the  siege,  though  he  saw  the 
necessity  of  changing  the  method  of  attack.  He  suspended  the  fury  of 
His  batteries,  and  proposed  to  proceed  by  the  more  secure  but  tedious 
method  of  sapping.  But  as  it  still  continued  to  rain  or  to  snow  almost 
incessantly,  such  as  were  employed  in  this  service  endured  incredible 
hardships :  and  the  duke  of  Guise,  whose  industry  was  not  inferior  to  his 
valour,  discovering  all  their  mines,  counter-worked  them,  and  prevented 
their  effect.  At  last,  Charles  finding  it  impossible  to  contend  any  longer 
with  the  severity  of  the  season,  and  with  enemies  whom  he  could  neither 
overpower  by  force,  nor  subdue  by  art,  while  at  the  same  time  a  con- 
tagious distemper  raged  among  his  troops,  and  cut  off  daily  great  numbers 
of  the  officers  as  well  as  soldiers,  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  his  generals, 
who  conjured  him  to  save  the  remains  of  his  army  by  a  timely  retreat ; 
"  Fortune,"  says  he,  "  I  now  perceive,  resembles  other  females,  and 
chooses  to  conler  her  favours  on  young  men,  while  she  turns  her  back  on 
those  who  are  advanced  in  years." 

Upon  this,  he  gave  orders  immediately  to  raise  the  siege  [Dec.  26],  and 
submitted  to  the  disgrace  of  abandoning  the  enterprise,  after  having  con- 
tinued fifty-six  days  before  the  town,  during  which  time  he  had  lost  upward- 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  421 

of  thirty  thousand  men,  who  died  of  diseases,  or  were  killed  by  the 
enemy.  The  duke  of  Guise,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  the  intention  of  the 
Imperialists,  sent  out  several  bodies  both  of  cavalry  and  infantry  to  infest 
their  rear,  to  pick  up  stragglers,  and  to  seize  every  opportunity  of  attacking 
them  with  advantage.  Such  was  the  confusion  with  which  they  made 
their  retreat,  that  the  French  might  have  harassed  them  in  the  most  cruel 
manner.  But  when  they  sallied  out,  a  spectacle  presented  itself  to  their 
view,  which  extinguished  at  once  all  hostile  rage,  and  melted  them  into 
tenderness  and  compassion.  The  Imperial  camp  was  filled  with  the  sick 
and  wounded,  with  the  dead  and  the  dying.  In  all  the  different  roads  by 
which  the  army  retired,  numbers  were  found,  who,  having  made  an  effort 
to  escape,  beyond  their  strength,  were  left,  when  they  could  go  no  farther, 
to  perish  without-  assistance.  This  they  received  from  their  enemies,  and 
were  indebted  to  them  for  all  the  kind  offices  which  their  friends  had  not 
the  power  to  perform.  The  duke  of  Guise  immediately  ordered  proper 
refreshments  for  such  as  were  dying  of  hunger ;  he  appointed  surgeons  to 
attend  the  sick  and  wounded ;  he  removed  such  as  could  bear  it  to  the 
adjacent  villages  ;  and  those  who  would  have  suffered  by  being  carried  so 
far,  he  admitted  into  the  hospitals  which  he  had  fitted  up  in  the  city  for 
his  own  soldiers.  As  soon  as  they  recovered,  he  sent  them  home  under  an 
escort  of  soldiers,  and  with  money  to  bear  their  charges.  By  these  acts  of 
humanity,  which  were  uncommon  in  that  age,  when  war  was  carried  on 
with  greater  rancour  and  ferocity  than  at  present,  the  duke  of  Guise  com- 
pleted the  fame  which  he  had  acquired  by  his  gallant  and  successful  defence 
of  Metz,  and  engaged  those  whom  he  had  vanquished  to  vie  with  his  own 
countrymen  in  extolling  his  name.* 

To  these  calamities  in  Germany,  were  added  such  unfortunate  events 
in  Italy  as  rendered  this  the  most  disastrous  year  in  the  emperor's  life. 
During  his  residence  at  Villach,  Charles  had  applied  to  Cosmo  di  Medici 
for  the  loan  of  two  hundred  thousand  crowns.  But  his  credit  at  that  time 
was  so  low,  that  in  order  to  obtain  this  inconsiderable  sum,  he  was  obliged 
to  put  him  in  possession  of  the  principality  of  Piombino  ;  and  by  giving  up 
that,  he  lost  the  footing  which  he  had  hitherto  maintained  in  Tuscany,  and 
enabled  Cosmo  to  assume,  for  the  future,  the  tone  and  deportment  of  a 
prince  altogether  independent.  Much  about  the  time  that  his  indigence 
constrained  him  to  part  with  this  valuable  territory,  he  lost  Sienna,  which 
was  of  still  greater  consequence,  through  the  ill  conduct  of  Don  Diego  de 
Mendoza.j 

Sienna,  like  most  of  the  great  cities  in  Italy,  had  long  enjoyed  a  repub- 
lican government,  under  the  protection  of  the  empire ;  but  being  torn  in 
pieces  by  the  dissensions  between  the  nobility  and  the  people,  which 
divided  all  the  Italian  commonwealths,  the  faction  of  the  people,  which 
gained  the  ascendant,  besought  the  emperor  to  becbme  the  guardian  of 
the  administration  which  they  had  established,  and  admitted  into  their 
city  a  small  body  of  Spanish  soldiers,  whom  he  had  sent  to  countenance 
the  execution  of  the  laws,  and  to  preserve  tranquillity  among  them.  The 
command  of  these  troops  was  given  to  Mendoza,  at  that  time  ambassador 
for  the  emperor  at  Rome,  who  persuaded  the  credulous  multitude,  that  it 
was  necessary  for  their  security  against  any  future  attempt  of  the  nobles, 
to  allow  him  to  build  a  citadel  in  Sienna ;  and  as  he  flattered  himself  that 
by  means  of  this  fortress  he  might  render  the  emperor  master  of  the  city, 
he  pushed  on  the  works  with  all  possible  despatch.  But  he  threw  off  the 
mask  too  soon.  Before  the  fortifications  were  completed,  he  began  to 
indulge  his  natural   haughtiness  and  severity  of  temper,  and  to  treat  the 

*  Sleid.  573.  Thuan.  lib,  xi.  3«9,  &c.  Pere  Daniel,  Hist,  de  France,  tom.iii.  392.  Pere  Daniel's 
account  of  this  niege  is  taken  from  the  journal  of  the  Sieur  de  Siilienac.  who  was  present.  .Natal 
Oomit.  Hist.  109.  *  Thnnn  lib.  -»i.  37fi. 


423  T  H  E   R  E I  (t  N   0  F   T  H  E  [Hook  XI. 

citizens  with  great  insolence.  At  the  same  time  the  soldiers  in  garrison 
being  paid  as  irregularly  as  the  emperor's  troops  usually  were,  lived 
almost  at  discretion  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  were  guilty  of  many  acts  of 
license  and  oppression. 

These  injuries  awakened  the  Siennese  to  a  sense  of  their  danger.  As 
they  saw  the  necessity  of  exerting  themselves,  while  the  unfinished  fortifi- 
cations of  the  citadel  left  them  any  hopes  of  success,  they  applied  to  the 
French  ambassador  at  Rome,  who  readily  promised  them  his  master's  pro- 
tection and  assistance.  At  the  same  time,  forgetting  their  domestic 
animosities  when  such  a  mortal  blow  was  aimed  at  the  liberty  and  existence 
of  the  republic,  they  sent  agents  to  the  exiled  nobles,  and  invited  ihem  to 
concur  with  them  in  saving  their  country  from  the  servitude  with  which  it 
was  threatened.  As  there  was  not  a  moment  to  lose,  measures  were  con- 
certed speedily,  but  with  great  prudence;  and  were  executed  with  equal 
vigour.  The  citizens  rose  suddenly  in  arms :  the  exiles  flocked  into  the 
town  from  different  parts  with  all  their  partizans,  and  what  troops  they 
could  draw  together ;  and  several  bodies  of  mercenaries  in  the  pay  of 
France  appeared  to  support  them.  The  Spaniards,  though  surprised,  and 
much  inferior  in  number,  defended  themselves  with  great  courage;  but 
seeing  no  prospect  of  relief,  and  having  no  hopes  of  maintaining  their  station 
long  in  a  half-finished  fortress,  they  soon  gave  it  up.  The  Siennese,  with 
the  utmost  alacrity,  levelled  it  with  the  ground,  that  no  monument  might 
remain  of  that  odious  structure,  which  had  been  raised  in  order  to  enslave 
them.  At  the  same  time  renouncing  all  connection  with  the  emperor,  they 
sent  ambassadors  to  thank  the  king  of  France  as  the  restorer  of  their  liberty, 
and  to  entreat  that  he  would  secure  to  them  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of 
that  blessing,  by  continuing  his  protection  to  their  republic* 

To  these  misfortunes,  one  still  more  fatal  had  almost  succeeded.  The 
severe  administration  of  Don  Pedro  de  Toledo,  viceroy  of  Naples,  having 
filled  that  kingdom  with  murmuring  and  disaffection,  the  prince  of  Salerno, 
the  head  of  the  malecontents,  had  fled  to  the  court  of  France,  where  all 
who  bore  ill-will  to  the  emperor  or  his  ministers  were  sure  of  finding  pro- 
tection and  assistance.  That  nobleman,  in  the  usual  style  of  exiles,  boasting 
much  of  the  number  and  power  of  his  partizans,  and  of  his  great  influence 
with  them,  prevailed  on  Henry  to  think  of  invading  Naples,  from  an  expec- 
tation of  being  joined  by  all  those  with  whom  the  prince  of  Salerno  held 
correspondence)  or  who  were  dissatisfied  with  Toledo's  government.  But 
though  the  first  hint  of  this  enterprise  was  suggested  by  the  prince  of 
Salerno,  Henry  did  not  choose  that  its  success  should  entirely  depend  upon 
his  being  able  to  fulfil  the  promises  which  he  had  made.  He  applied  for 
aid  to  Solyman,  whom  he  courted,  after  his  father's  example,  as  his  most 
vigorous  auxiliary  against  the  emperor,  and  solicited  him  to  second  his 
operations,  by  sending  a  powerful  fleet  into  the  Mediterranean.  It  was 
not  difficult  to  obtain  what  he  requested  of  the  sultan,  who,  at  this  time, 
was  highly  incensed  against  the  house  of  Austria,  on  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  Hungary.  He  ordered  a  hundred  and  fifty  ships  to  be 
equipped,  that  they  might  sail  towards  the  coast  of  Naples,  at  whatever 
time  Henry  should  name,  and  might  co-operate  with  the  French  troops  in 
their  attempts  upon  that  kingdom.  The  command  of  this  fleet  was  given 
to  the  corsair  Uragut,  an  officer  trained  up  under  Barbarossa,  and  scarcely 
inferior  to  his  master  in  courage,  in  talents,  or  in  good  fortune.  He- 
appeared  on  the  coast  of  Calabria  at  the  time  which  had  been  agreed  on, 
landed  at  several  places,  plundered  and  burnt  several  villages;  and  at  last, 
casting  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Naples,  filled  that  city  with  consternation. 
But  as  the  French  fleet,  detained  by  some  accident,  which  the  contera- 

*  Peeci  Memorip  de  Sienna,  vol.  iii.  p.  250.  201.    Tliuan.  375.  377,  &c.    Taruta.  Hist.  Vcnet.  267- 
Mero  de  Ribier,  424,  &c. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  423 

porary  historians  have  not  explained,  did  not  join  the  Turks  according  to 
concert,  they,  after  waiting  twenty  days,  without  hearing  any  tidings  of  it, 
set  sail  for  Constantinople,  and  thus  delivered  the  viceroy  of  Naples  from 
the  terror  of  an  invasion,  which  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  have  resisted.* 

1553.1  As  the  French  had  never  given  so  severe  a  check  to  the  emperor 
in  any  former  campaign,  they  expressed  immoderate  joy  at  the  success  of 
their  arms.  Charles  himself,  accustomed  to  a  long  series  of  prosperity, 
felt  the  calamity  most  sensibly,  and  retired  from  Metz  into  the  Low- 
Countries,  much  dejected  with  the  cruel  reverse  of  fortune  which  affected 
him  in  his  declining  age,  when  the  violence  of  the  gout  had  increased  to 
such  a  pitch,  as  entirely  broke  the  vigour  of  his  constitution,  and  rendered 
him  peevish,  difficult  ot  access,  and  often  incapable  of  applying  to  business. 
But  whenever  he  enjoyed  any  interval  of  ease,  all  his  thoughts  were  bent 
on  revenge;  and  he  deliberated,  with  the  greatest  solicitude,  concerning 
the  most  proper  means  of  annoying  France,  and  of  effacing  the  stain  which 
had  obscured  the  reputation  and  glory  of  his  arms.  All  the  schemes  con- 
cerning Germany  which  had  engrossed  him  so  long,  being  disconcerted  by 
the  peace  of  Passau,  the  affairs  of  the  empire  became  only  secondary 
objects  of  attention,  and  enmity  to  France  was  the  predominant  passion 
which  chiefly  occupied  his  mind. 

The  turbulent  ambition  of  Albert  of  Brandenburg  excited  violent  com- 
motions, which  disturbed  the  empire  during  this  year.  That  prince's 
troops  having  shared  in  the  calamities  of  the  siege  of  Metz,  were  greatly 
reduced  in  number.  But  the  emperor,  prompted  by  gratitude  for  his  dis- 
tinguished services  on  that  occasion,  or  perhaps  with  a  secret  view  of 
fomenting  divisions  among  the  princes  of  the  empire,  having  paid  up  all 
the  money  due  to  him,  he  was  enabled  with  that  sum  to  hire  so  many  of 
the  soldiers  dismissed  from  the  Imperial  army,  that  he  was  soon  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  men  as  numerous  as  ever.  The  bishops  of  Bamberg 
and  Wurtzburg  having  solicited  the  Imperial  chamber  to  annul,  by  its 
authority,  the  iniquitous  conditions  which  Albert  had  compelled  them  to 
sign,  that  court  unanimously  found  all  their  engagements  with  him  to  be 
void  in  their  own  nature,  because  they  had  been  extorted  by  force ; 
enjoined  Albert  to  renounce  all  claim  to  the  performance  of  them;  and,  if 
he  should  persist  in  such  an  unjust  demand,  exhorted  all  the  princes  of  the 
empire  to  teke  arms  against  him  as  a  disturber  of  the  public  tranquillity. 
To  this  decision,  Albert  opposed  the  confirmation  of  his  transactions  with 
the  two  prelates,  which  the  emperor  had  granted  him  as  the  reward  of  his 
having  joined  the  Imperial  army  at  Metz  ;  and  in  order  to  intimidate  his 
antagonists,  as  well  as  to  convince  them  of  his  resolution  not  to  relinquish 
his  pretensions,  he  put  his  troops  in  motion,  that  he  might  secure  the  terri- 
tory in  question.  Various  endeavours  were  employed,  and  many  expe- 
dients proposed,  in  order  to  prevent  the  kindling  a  new  war  in  Germany. 
But  the  same  warmth  of  temper  which  rendered  Albert  turbulent  and 
enterprising,  inspiring  him  with  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  success,  even 
in  his  wildest  undertakings,  he  disdainfully  rejected  all  reasonable  overtures 
of  accommodation. 

Upon  this,  the  Imperial  chamber  issued  its  decree  against  him,  and 
required  the  elector  of  Saxony,  together  with  several  other  princes  men- 
tioned by  name,  to  take  arms  in  order  to  carry  it  into  execution.  Maurice, 
and  those  associated  with  him,  were  not  unwilling  to  undertake  this  service. 
They  were  extremely  solicitous  to  maintain  public  order  by  supporting  the 
authority  of  the  Imperial  chamber,  and  saw  the  necessity  of  giving  a  timely 
check  to  the  usurpations  of  an  ambitious  prince,  who  had  no  principle  of 
action  but  regard  to  his  own  interest,  and  no  motive  to  direct  him  but  the 
impulse  of  ungovernable  passions.     They  had  good  reason  to  suspect,  that 

*  Tforan.  375  **».     Mem.  Ho  Kibie*.  ii.  403.    fHannofle. 


424  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XI. 

the  emperor  encouraged  Albert  in  his  extravagant  and  irregular  pro- 
ceedings, and  secretly  afforded  him  assistance  that,  by  raising  him  up  to 
rival  Maurice  in  power,  he  might,  in  any  future  broil,  make  use  of  his 
assistance  to  counterbalance  and  control  the  authority  which  the  other  had 
acquired  in  the  empire.* 

These  considerations  united  the  most  powerful  princes  in  Germany  in  a 
league  against  Albeit,  of  which  Maurice  was  declared  generalissimo 
[April  2j.  This  formidable  confederacy,  however,  wrought  no  change  in 
Albert's  sentiments;  but  as  he  knew  that  he  could  not  resist  so  many 
princes,  if  he  should  allow  them  time  to  assemble  their  forces,  he  endea- 
voured, by  his  activity,  to  deprive  them  of  all  the  advantages  which  they 
might  derive  from  their  united  power  and  numbers;  and  for  that  reason 
marched  directly  against  Maurice,  the  enemy  whom  he  dreaded  most.  It 
was  happy  for  the  allies  that  the  conduct  of  their  affairs  was  committed  to 
a  prince  of  such  abilities.  He,  by  his  authority  and  example,  had  inspired 
them  with  vigour;  and  having  carried  on  their  preparations  with  a  degree 
of  rapidity  of  which  confederate  bodies  are  seldom  capable,  he  was  in 
condition  to  face  Albert  before  he  could  make  any  considerable  progress. 

Their  armies,  which  were  nearly  equal  in  number,  each  consisting  of 
twenty-four  thousand  men,  met  at  Seiverhausen,  in  the  dutchy  of  Lunen- 
burgh ;  and  the  violent  animosity  against  each  other,  which  possessed  the 
two  leaders,  did  not  suffer  them  to  continue  long  inactive.  The  troops 
inflamed  with  the  same  hostile  rage,  marched  fiercely  to  the  combat  [June 
9];  they  fought  with  the  greatest  obstinacy;  and  as  both  generals  were 
capable  of  availing  themselves  of  every  favourable  occurrence,  the  battle 
remained  long  doubtful,  each  gaining  ground  upon  the  other  alternately. 
At  last  victory  declared  for  Maurice,  who  was  superior  in  cavalry,  and 
Albert's  army  fled  in  confusion,  leaving  four  thousand  dead  in  the  field,  and 
their  camp,  baggage,  and  artillery  in  the  hands  of  the  conquerors.  The 
allies  bought  their  victory  dear,  their  best  troops  suffered  greatly,  two  sons 
of  the  duke  of  Brunswick,  a  duke  of  Lunenburgh,  and  many  other  persons 
of  distinction,  were  among  the  number  of  the  slain. t  But  all  these  were 
soon  forgotten;  for  Maurice  himself,  as  he  led  up  to  a  second  charge  a 
body  of  horse  which  had  been  broken,  received  a  wound  with  a  pistol 
bullet  in  the  belly,  of  which  he  died  two  days  after  the  battle,  in  the  thirty- 
second  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  sixth  after  his  attaining  the  electoral 
dignity. 

Of  all  the  personages  who  have  appeared  in  the  history  of  this  active 
age,  when  great  occurrences  and  sudden  revolutions  called  forth  extraordi- 
nary talents  to  view,  and  afforded  them  full  opportunity  to  display  them- 
selves, Maurice  may  justly  be  considered  as  the  most  remarkable.  If  his 
exorbitant  ambition,  his  profound  dissimulation,  and  his  unwarrantable 
usurpation  of  his  kinsman's  honours  and  dominions  exclude  him  from  being 
praised  as  a  virtuous  man ;  his  prudence  in  concerting  his  measures,  his 
vigour  in  executing  them,  and  the  uniform  success  with  which  they  were 
attended,  entitle  him  to  the  appellation  of  a  great  prince.  At  an  age  when 
impetuosity  of  spirit  commonly  predominates  over  political  wisdom,  when 
the  highest  effort  even  of  a  genius  of  the  first  order  is  to  fix  on  a  bold 
scheme,  and  to  execute  it  with  promptitude  and  courage,  he  formed  and 
conducted  an  intricate  plan  of  policy,  which  deceived  the  most  artful 
monarch  in  Europe.  At  the  very  juncture  when  the  emperor  had  attained 
to  almost  unlimited  despotism,  Maurice,  with  power  seemingly  inadequate 
to  such  an  undertaking,  compelled  him  to  relinquish  all  his  usurpations,  and 
established  not  only  the  religious  but  civil  liberties  of  Germany  on  such 

*  Sleid.  585.     Mem.  tie  Ribier,  ii.  442.     Arnold)  vita  Maurit.  ap.  Menken,  ii.  1242. 
t  Historia  pugnc  mJciiiis  inter  Maurit.  et  Albert.    Thorn.  Wlntzero  auctore  apml  Scard.  if.  559. 
Sleid.  5d3.    Kuscelli  opistres  avu  Princes,  J54.     Arnoldi  vita  Maurit.  1245. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    V.  425 

foundations  as  have  hitherto  remained  unshaken.  Although,  at  one  period 
of  his  life,  his  conduct  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  protestants,  and  at  another 
drew  on  him  the  resentment  of  the  Roman  catholics,  such  was  his  masterly 
address,  that  he  was  the  only  prince  of  the  age  who  in  any  degree  pos- 
sessed the  confidence  of  both,  and  whom  both  lamented  as  the  most  able 
as  well  as  faithful  guardian  of  the  constitution  and  laws  of  his  country. 

The  consternation  which  Maurice's  death  occasioned  among  his  troops, 
prevented  them  from  making  the  proper  improvement  of  the  victory  which 
they  had  gained.  Albert,  whose  active  courage,  and  profuse  liberality, 
rendered  him  the  darling  of  such  military  adventurers  as  were  little  solicit- 
ous about  the  justice  of  his  cause,  soon  reassembled  his  broken  forces, 
and  made  fresh  levies  with  such  success  that  he  was  quickly  at  the  head 
of  fifteen  thousand  men,  and  renewed  his  depredations  with  additional 
fury.  But  Henry  of  Brunswick  having  taken  the  command  of  the  allied 
troops,  defeated  him  in  a  second  battle  [Sept.  12]  scarcely  less  bloody 
than  the  former.  Even  then  his  courage  did  not  sink,  nor  were  his 
resources  exhausted.  He  made  several  efforts,  and  some  of  them  very 
vigorous,  to  retrieve  his  affairs  :  but  being  laid  under  the  ban  of  the 
empire  by  the  Imperial  chamber ;  being  driven  by  degrees  out  of  all  his 
hereditary  territories,  as  well  as  those  which  he  had  usurped ;  being  for- 
saken by  many  of  his  officers,  and  overpowered  by  the  number  of  his 
enemies,  he  fled  for  refuge  into  France.  After  having  been,  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  the  terror  and  scourge  of  Germany,  he  lingered  out  some 
years  in  an  indigent  and  dependent  state  of  exile,  the  miseries  of  which 
his  restless  and  arrogant  spirit  endured  with  the  most  indignant  impa- 
tience. Upon  his  death  without  issue  [Jan.  12,  1577],  his  territories, 
which  had  been  seized  by  the  princes  who  took  arms  against  him,  were 
restored,  by  a  decree  of  the  emperor,  to  his  collateral  heirs  of  the  house 
of  Brandenburg.* 

Maurice  having  left  only  one  "daughter,  who  was  afterwards  married  to 
William  prince  of  Orange,  by  whom  she  had  a  son  who  bore  his  grand- 
father's name,  and  inherited  the  great  talents  for  which  he  was  conspicu- 
ous, a  violent  dispute  arose  concerning  the  succession  to  his  honours  and 
territories.  John  Frederick,  the  degraded  elector,  claimed  the  electoral 
dignity,  and  that  part  of  his  patrimonial  estate  of  which  he  had  been  vio- 
lently stripped  after  the  Smalkaldic  war.  Augustus,  Maurice's  only 
brother,  pleaded  his  right  not  only  to  the  hereditary  possessions  of  their 
family,  but  to  the  electoral  dignity,  and  to  the  territories  which  Maurice 
had  acquired.  As  Augustus  was  a  prince  of  considerable  abilities,  as  well 
as  of  great  candour  and  gentleness  of  manners,  the  states  of  Saxony,  forget- 
ting the  merits  and  sufferings  of  their  former  master,  declared  warmly  in 
his  favour.  His  pretensions  were  powerfully  supported  by  the  king  of 
Denmark,  whose  daughter  he  had  married,  and  zealously  espoused  by  the 
king  of  the  Romans,  out  of  regard  to  Maurice's  memory.  The  degraded 
elector,  though  secretly  favoured  by  his  ancient  enemy  the  emperor,  was 
at  last  obliged  to  relinquish  his  claim,  upon  obtaining  a  small  addition  to 
the  territories  which  had  been  allotted  to  him,  together  with  a  stipulation, 
securing  to  his  family  the  eventual  succession,  upon  a  failure  of  male  heirs 
in  the  Albertine  line.  That  unfortunate,  but  magnanimous  prince,  died 
next  year,  soon  after  ratifying  this  treaty  of  agreement;  and  the  electoral 
dignity  is  still  possessed  by  the  descendants  of  Augustus.! 

During  these  transactions  in  Germany,  war  was  carried  on  in  the  Low- 
Countries  with  considerable  vigour.  The  emperor,  impatient  to  efface  the 
stain  which  his  ignominious  repulse  at  Metz  left  upon  his  military  reputa- 
tion, had  an  army  early  in  the  field,  and  laid  siege  to  Terouane.     Though 

*  Slei.l.  592.  594.  599.    Struv.  Corp.  Hist.  f>rm,  107.",.  t  Steid.  6S7.    Thuan.409.    STprv 

Corp.  Hist.  Germ. 

Vol.  II. — 54 


426  THE    KE1GN    OF    THE  [Book  XL 

the  town  was  of  such  importance,  that  Francis  used  to  call  it  one  of  the  two 
pillows  on  yvhich  a  king  of  France  might  sleep  with  security,  the  fortifica- 
tions were  in  bad  repair  :  Henry,  trusting  to  what  had  happened  at  Metz, 
thought  nothing  more  was  necessary  to  render  all  the  efforts  of  the  enemy 
abortive,  than  to  reinforce  the  garrison  with  a  considerable  number  of  the 
young  nobility.  But  d'Esse,  a  veteran  officer  who  commanded  them, 
being  killed,  and  the  Imperialists  pushing  the  siege  with  great  vigour  and 
perseverance,  the  place  was  taken  by  assault  [June  21].  That  it  might 
not  fall  again  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  Charles  ordered  not  only  the 
fortifications  but  the  town  itself  to  be  rased,  and  the  inhabitants  to  be  dis- 
persed in  the  adjacent. cities.  Elated  with  this  success,  the  Imperialists 
immediately  invested  Hesden,  which,  though  defended  with  great  bravery, 
was  likewise  taken  by  assault,  and  such  of  the  garrison  as  escaped  the 
sword  were  made  prisoners.  The  emperor  intrusted  the  conduct  of  this 
siege  to  Emanuel  Philibert  of  Savoy,  prince  of  Piedmont,  who,  on  that 
occasion,  gave  the  first  display  of  those  great  talents  for  military  command, 
which  soon  entitled  him  to  be  ranked  among  the  first  generals  of  the  age, 
and  facilitated  his  re-establishment  in  his  hereditary  dominions,  the  greater 
part  of  which  having  been  overrun  by  Francis  in  his  expeditions  into  Italy, 
were  still  retained  by  Henry.* 

The  loss  of  these  towns,  together  with  so  many  persons  of  distinction, 
either  killed  or  taken  by  the  enemy,  was  no  inconsiderable  calamity  to 
France,  and  Henry  felt  it  very  sensibly;  but  he  was  still  more  mortified 
at  the  emperor's  having  recovered  his  wonted  superiority  in  the  field  so 
soon  after  the  blow  at  Metz,  which  the  French  had  represented  as  fatal  to 
his  power.  He  was  ashamed  too,  of  his  own  remissness  and  excessive 
security  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign  ;  and  in  order  to  repair  that  error, 
he  assembled  a  numerous  army,  and  led  it  into  the  Low-Countries. 

Roused  at  the  approach  of  such  a  formidable  enemy,  Charles  left  Brus- 
sels, where  he  had  been  shut  up  so  closely  during  seven  months,  that  it 
came  to  be  believed  in  many  parts  of  Europe  that  he  was  dead;  and 
though  he  was  so  much  debilitated  by  the  gout  that  he  could  hardly  bear 
the  motion  of  a  litter,  he  hastened  to  join  his  army.  The  eyes  of  all 
Europe  were  turned  with  expectation  towards  those  mighty  and  exaspe- 
rated rivals,  between  whom  a  decisive  battle  was  now  thought  unavoid- 
able. But  Charles  having  prudently  declined  to  hazard  a  general  engage- 
ment, and  the  violence  of  the  autumnal  rains  rendering  it  impossible  for 
the  French  to  undertake  any  siege,  they  retired,  without  having  performed 
any  thing  suitable  to  the  great  preparations  which  they  had  made.j 

The  Imperial  arms  were  not  attended  with  the  same  success  in  Italy. 
The  narrowness  of  the  emperor's  finances  seldom  allowed  him  to  act  with 
vigour  in  two  different  places  at  the  same  time  ;  and  having  exerted  him- 
self to  the  utmost  in  order  to  make  a  great  effort  in  the  Low-Countries,  his 
operations  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps  were  proportionally  feeble.  The 
vicenoy  of  Naples,  in  conjunction  with  Cosmo  di  Medici,  who  was  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  introduction  of  French  troops  into  Sienna,  endeavoured  to 
become  master  of  that  city.  But,  instead  of  reducing  the  Siennese,  the 
Imperialists  were  obliged  to  retire  abruptly,  in  order  to  defend  their  owm 
country,  upon  the  appearance  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  which  threatened  the 
coast  of  Naples ;  and  the  French  not  only  established  themselves  more 
firmly  in  Tuscany,  but,  by  the  assistance  of  the  Turks,  conquered  a  great 
part  of  the  island  of  Corsica,  subject  at  that  time  to  the  Genoese.  J 

The  affairs  of  the  house  of  Austria  declined  no  less  in  Hungary  during 
the  course  of  this  year.  As  the  troops  which  Ferdinand  kept  in  Transyl- 
vania received  their  pay  very  irregularly,  they  lived  almost  at  discretion 
upon  the  inhabitants ;  and  their  insolence  and.  rapaciousness  greatly  dis- 

'•  Throw.  41.1.    Baripl  Annates  Brabant.  6R9.        t  Harn»i»,  fi72.    Thuan.  414.        1  Thuan.  417, 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  42.7 

gusled  all  ranks  of  men,  and  alienated  them  from  their  new  sovereign,  who, 
instead  of  protecting,  plundered  his  subjects.  Their  indignation  at  this, 
added  to  their  desire  of  revenging  Martinuzzi's  death,  wrought  so  much 
upon  a  turbulent  nobility  impatient  of  injury,  and  upon  a  fierce  people 
prone  to  change,  that  they  were  ripe  for  a  revolt.  At  that  very  juncture, 
their  late  queen  Isabella,  together  with  her  son,  appeared  in  Transylvania. 
Her  ambitious  mind  could  not  bear  the  solitude  and  inactivity  of  a  private 
life  ;  and  repenting  quickly  of  the  cession  which  she  had  made  of  the 
crown  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-one,  she  left  the 
place  of  her  retreat,  hoping  that  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Hungarians  with 
the  Austrian  government  would  prompt  them  once  more  to  recognise  her 
son's  right  to  the  crown.  Some  noblemen  of  great  eminence  declared 
immediately  in  his  favour.  The  basha  of  Belgrade,  by  Solyman's  order, 
espoused  his  cause,  in  opposition  to  Ferdinand ;  the  Spanish  and  German 
soldiers,  instead  of  advancing  against  the  enemy,  mutinied  for  want  of  pay, 
declaring  that  they  would  march  back  to  Vienna ;  so  that  Castaldo,  their 
general,  was  obliged  to  abandon  Transylvania  to  Isabella  and  the  Turks, 
and  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  mutineers,  that  by  his  authority  he 
might  restrain  them  from  plundering  the  Austrian  territories  through  which 
they  passed. 

Ferdinand's  attention  was  turned  so  entirely  towards  the  affairs  of  Ger- 
many, and  his  treasures  so  much  exhausted  by  his  late  efforts  in  Hungary, 
that  he  made  no  attempt  to  recover  that  valuable  province,  although  a 
favourable  opportunity  for  that  purpose  presented  itself,  as  Solyman  was 
then  engaged  in  a  war  with  Persia,  and  involved  besides  in  domestic 
calamities  which  engrossed  and  disturbed  his  mind.  Solyman,  though 
distinguished  by  many  accomplishments,  from  the  other  Ottoman  princes, 
had  all  the  passions  peculiar  to  that  violent  and  haughty  race.  He 
was  jealous  of  his  authority,  sudden  as  well  as  furious  in  his  anger,  and 
susceptible  of  all  that  rage  of  love,  which  reigns  in  the  East,  and  often 
produces  the  wildest  and  most  tragical  effects.  His  favourite  mistress  was 
a  Circassian  slave  of  exquisite  beauty,  who  bore  him  a  son  called  Musta- 
pha,  whom,  both  on  account  of  his  birthright  and  merit,  he  destined  to  be 
the  heir  of  his  crown.  Roxalana,  a  Russian  captive,  soon  supplanted  the 
Circassian,  and  gained  the  sultan's  heart.  Having  the  address  to  retain 
the  conquest  which  she  had  made,  she  kept  possession  of  his  love  without 
any  rival  for  many  years,  during  which  she  brought  him  several  sons  and 
one  daughter.  All  the  happiness,  however,  which  she  derived  from  the 
unbounded  sway  that  she  had  acquired  over  the  mind  of  a  monarch  whom 
one  half  of  the  world  revered  or  dreaded,  was  embittered  by  perpetual 
reflections  on  Mustapha's  accession  to  the  throne,  and  the  certain  death  of 
her  sons,  who,  she  foresaw,  would  be  immediately  sacrificed,  according  to 
the  barbarous  jealousy  of  Turkish  policy,  to  the  safety  of  the  new  emperor. 
By  dwelling  continually  on  this  melancholy  idea,  she  came  gradually  to 
view  Mustapha  as  the  enemy  of  her  children,  and  to  hate  him  with  more 
than  a  stepmother's  ill-will.  This  prompted  her  to  wish  his  destruction, 
in  order  to  secure  for  one  of  her  own  sons  the  throne  which  was  destined 
for  him.  Nor  did  she  want  either  ambition  to  attempt  such  a  high  enter- 
prise, or  the  arts  requisite  for  carrying  it  into  execution.  Having  prevailed 
on  the  sultan  to  give  her  only  daughter  in  marriage  to  Rustan  the  grand 
vizier,  she  disclosed  her  scheme  to  that  crafty  minister,  who,  perceiving 
that  it  was  his  own  interest  to  co-operate  with  her,  readily  promised  his 
assistance  towards  aggrandizing  that  branch  of  the  royal  line  to  which  he 
was  so  nearly  allied. 

As  soon  as  Roxalana  had  concerted  her  measures  with  this  able  confi- 
dant, she  began  to  affect  a  wonderful  zeal  for  the  Mahometan  religion,  to 

•  Thuan.  «o 


428  THE  REIGN  OP  THE  [Book  XL 

which  Solyman  was  superstitiously  attached,  and  proposed  to  found  and 
endow  a  royal  mosque,  a  work  of  great  expense,  but  deemed  by  the  Turks 
meritorious  in  the  highest  degree.  The  mufti  whom  she  consulted, 
approved  much  of  her  pious  intention ;  but  having  been  gained  and 
instructed  by  Rustan,  told  her,  that  she  being  a  slave  could  derive  no 
benefit  herself  from  that  holy  deed,  tor  all  the  merit  of  it  would  accrue  to 
Solyman,  the  master  whose  property  she  was.  Upon  this  she  seemed  to 
be  overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  and  to  sink  into  the  deepest  melancholy,  as 
if  she  had  been  disgusted  with  life  and  all  its  enjoyments.  Solyman,  who 
was  absent  with  the  army,  being  informed  of  this  dejection  ot  mind,  and 
of  the  cause  from  which  it  proceeded,  discovered  all  the  solicitude  of  a 
lover  to  remove  it,  and  by  a  writing  under  his  hand  declared  her  a  free 
woman.  Roxalana  having  gained  this  point,  proceeded  to  build  the 
mosque,  and  reassumed  her  usual  gayety  of  spirit.  But  when  Solyman,  on 
his  return  to  Constantinople,  sent  a  eunuch,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
seraglio,  to  bring  her  to  partake  of  his  bed,  she  seemingly  with  deep 
regret,  but  in  the  most  peremptory  manner,  declined  to  follow  the  eunuch, 
declaring  that  what  had  been  an  honour  to  her  while  a  slave,  became  a 
crime  as  she  was  now  a  free  woman,  and  that  she  would  not  involve  either  the 
sultan  or  herself  in  the  guilt  that  must  be  contracted  by  such  an  open  viola- 
tion of  the  law  of  their  prophet.  Solyman,  whose  passion  this  difficulty, 
as  well  as  the  affected  delicacy  which  gave  rise  to  it,  heightened  and 
inflamed,  had  recourse  immediately  to  the  mufti  for  his  direction.  He 
replied,  agreeably  to  the  koian,  the  Roxalana's  scruples  were  well  founded  ; 
but  added,  artfully,  in  words  which  Rustan  had  taught  him  to  use,  that  it 
was  in  the  sultan's  power  to  remove  these  difficulties,  by  espousing  her  as 
his  lawful  wife.  The  amorous  monarch  closed  eagerly  with  the  proposal, 
and  solemnly  married  her,  according  to  the  form  of  the  Mahometan  ritual ; 
though,  by  doing  so,  he  disregarded  a  maxim  of  policy  which  the  pride 
of  the  Ottoman  blood  had  taught  all  the  sultans  since  Bajazet  I.  to  con- 
sider as  inviolable.  From  his  time,  none  of  the  Turkish  monarchs  had 
married,  because,  when  he  was  vanquished  and  taken  prisoner  by  Tam- 
erlane, his  wife  had  been  abused  with  barbarous  insolence  by  the  Tartars. 
That  no  similar  calamity  might  again  subject  the  Ottoman  family  to  the 
same  disgrace,  the  sultans  admitted  none  to  their  beds  but  slaves,  whose 
dishonour  could  not  bring  an}r  such  stain  upon  their  house. 

But  the  more  uncommon  the  step  was,  the  more  it  convinced  Roxalana 
of  the  unbounded  influence  which  she  had  acquired  over  the  sultan's 
heart ;  and  emboldened  her  to  prosecute,  with  greater  hope  of  success, 
the  scheme  that  she  had  formed  in  order  to  destroy  Mustapha.  This 
young  prince  having  been  intrusted  by  his  father,  according  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  sultans  in  that  age,  with  the  government  of  several  different 
provinces,  was  at  that  time  invested  with  the  administration  in  Diarbequir, 
the  ancient  Mesopotamia,  which  Solyman  had  wrested  from  the  Persians, 
and  added  to  his  empire.  In  all  these  different  commands,  Mustapha  had 
conducted  himself  with  such  cautious  prudence  as  could  give  no  offence 
to  his  father,  though,  at  the  same  time,  he  governed  with  so  much  mode- 
ration as  well  as  justice,  and  displayed  such  valour  and  generosity,  as  ren- 
dered him  equally  the  favourite  of  the  people  and  the  darling  of  the 
soldiery. 

There  was  no  room  to  lay  any  folly  or  vice  to  his  charge,  that  could 
impair  the  high  opinion  which  his  lather  entertained  of  him.  Roxala- 
na's malevolence  was  more  refined  ;  she  turned  his  virtues  against  him, 
and  made  use  of  these  as  engines  for  his  destruction.  She  often  mentioned, 
in  Solyman's  presence,  the  splendid  qualities  of  his  son  ;  she  celebrated 
his  courage,  his  liberality,  his  popular  arts,  with  malicious  and  exaggerated 
praise.  As  soon  as  she  perceived  that  the  sultan  heard  these  encomiums, 
which  were  often  repeated,  with  uneasiness ;  that  suspicion  of  his  son 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  429 

beecm  to  mingle  itself  with  his  former  esteem;  and  that  by  degrees  he 
came  to  view  him  with  jealousy  and  fear;  she  introduced,  as  by  accident, 
some  discourse  concerning  the  rebellion  of  his  father  Sehm  against  Baja- 
zet  his  grandfather  :  she  took  notice  of  the  bravery  of  the  veteran  troops 
under  Mustapha's  commandi  and  of  the  neighbourhood  ot  Diarbequir  to 
the  territories  of  the  Persian  sophi,  Solyman's  mortal  enemy,  by  these 
arts,  whatever  remained  of  paternal  tenderness  was  gradually  extinguished, 
and  such  passions  were  kindled  in  the  breast  of  the  sultan,  as  gave  all 
Roxalana's  malignant  suggestions  the  colour  not  only  ot  probability  but 
of  truth.  His  suspicions  and  fear  of  Mustapha  settled  into  deep-rooted 
hatred.  He  appointed  spies  to  observe  and  report  all  his  words  and 
actions  ;  he  watched  and  stood  on  his  guard  against  him  as  his  most  dan- 
gerous enemy.  ■  '  ,      D       . 

Having  thus  alienated  the  sultan's  heart  from  Mustapha,  Roxalana  ven- 
tured upon  another  step.  She  entreated  Solyman  to  allow  her  own  sons 
the  liberty  of  appearing  at  court,  hoping  that  by  gaining  access  to  then- 
father,  they  might,  by  their  good  qualities  and  dutiful  deportment,  insinu- 
ate themselves  into  that  place  in  his  affections  which  Mustapha  had 
formerly  held  ;  and  though  what  she  demanded  was  contrary  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Ottoman  family  in  that  age,  the  uxorious  monarch  granted  her 
request.  To  all  these  female  intrigues  Rustan  added  an  artifice  still  more 
subtle,  which  completed  the  sultan's  delusion,  and  heightened  his  jealousy 
and  fear.  He  wrote  to  the  bashaws  of  the  provinces  adjacent  to  Diarbe- 
quir, instructing  them  to  send  him  regular  intelligence  of  Mustapha's 
proceedings  in  his  government,  and  to  each  of  them  he  gave  a  private 
hint,  flowing  in  appearance  from  his  zeal  for  their  interest,  that  nothing 
would  be  more  acceptable  to  the  sultan  than  to  receive  tavourable  accounts 
of  a  son  whom  he  destined  to  sustain  the  glory  of  the  Ottoman  name.  The 
bashaws,  ignorant  of  his  fraudulent  intention,  and  eager  to  pay  court  to 
their  sovereign  at  such  an  easy  price,  filled  their  letters  with  studied  but 
fatal  panegyrics  of  Mustapha,  representing  him  as  a  prince  worthy  to 
succeed  such  an  illustrious  father,  and-  as  endowed  with  talents  which 
might  enable  him  to  emulate,  perhaps  to  equal,  his  fame.  These  letters 
were  industriously  shown  to  Solyman,  at  the  seasons  when  it  was  known 
that  they  would  make  the  deepest  impression.  Every  expression  in  recom- 
mendation of  his  son  wounded  him  to  the  heart ;  he  suspected  his  principal 
officers  of  being  ready  to  favour  the  most  desperate  attempts  of  a  prince 
whom  they  were  so  fond  of  praising ;  and  fancying  that  he  saw  them 
already  assaulting  his  throne  with  rebellious  arms,  he  determined,  while  it 
was  yet  in  his  power,  to  anticipate  the  blow,  and  to  secure  his  own  safety 
by  his  son's  death. 

For  this  purpose,  though  under  pretence  of  renewing  the  war  against 
Persia,  he  ordered  Rustan  to  march  towards  Diarbequir  at  the  head  of  a 
numerous  army,  and  to  rid  him  of  a  son  whose  life  he  deemed  inconsist- 
ent with  his  own  safety.  But  that  crafty  minister  did  not  choose  to  be 
loaded  with  the  odium  of  having  executed  this  cruel  order.  As  soon  as 
he  arrived  in  Syria  he  wrote  to  Solyman,  that  the  danger  was  so  imminent 
as  called  for  his  immediate  presence  ;  that  the  camp  was  full  of  Musta- 
pha's emissaries  ;  that  many  of  the  soldiers  were  corrupted  ;  that  the 
affections  of  all  leaned  towards  him  ;  that  he  had  discovered  a  negotia- 
tion which  had  been  carried  on  with  the  sophi  of  Persia  in  order  to  many 
Mustapha  with  one  of  his  daughters;  that  he  already  felt  his  own  talents 
as  well  as  authority  to  be  inadequate  to  the  exigencies  of  such  an  arduous 
conjuncture ;  that  the  sultan  alone  had  sagacity  to  discern  what  resolution 
should  he  taken  in  those  circumstances,  and  power  to  cany  that  resolution 
into  execution. 

This  charge  of  courting  the  friendship  of  the  sophi,  Roxalana  and 
Rnstan  had  reserved  as  the  last  and  most  envenomed  of  all  their  calum- 


4^o  T  H £  R  E I G  N   0  F   T  H  E  [Book  X  f - 

rues.  It  operated  with  the  violence  which  they  expected  from  Solyman's 
inveterate  abhorrence  of  the  Persians,  and  threw  him  into  the  wildest 
transports  of  rage.  He  set  out  instantly  for  Syria,  and  hastened  thither 
with  all  the  precipitation  and  impatience  of  fear  and  revenge.  As  soon 
as  he  joined  his  army  near  Aleppo,  and  had  concerted  measures  with 
Rustan,  he  sent  a  chiaus,  or  messenger  of  the  court,  to  his.  son,  requiring 
him  to  repair  immediately  to  his  presence.  Mustapha,  though  no  stranger 
to  his  stepmother's  machinations,  or  to  Rustan's  malice,  or  to  his  father's 
violent  temper,  yet  relying  on  his  own  innocence,  and  hoping  to  discredit 
the  accusations  of  his  enemies  by  the  promptitude  of  his  obedience,  follow- 
ed the  messenger  without  delay  to  Aleppo.  The  moment  he  arrived  in 
the  camp,  he  was  introduced  into  the  sultan's  tent.  As  he  entered  it,  he 
observed  nothing  that  could  give  him  any  alarm  ;  no  additional  crowd  of 
attendants,  no  body  of  armed  guards,  but  the  same  order  and  silence 
which  always  reign  in  the  sultan's  apartments.  In  a  few  minutes,  how- 
ever, several  mutes  appeared,  at  the  sight  of  whom  Mustapha,  knowing 
what  was  his  doom,  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "Lo,  my  death!"  and 
attempted  to  fly.  The  mutes  rushed  forward  to  seize  him  ;  he  resisted 
and  struggled,  demanding  with  the  utmost  earnestness  to  see  the  sultan  ; 
and  despair,  together  with  the  hope  of  rinding  protection  from  the  soldiers, 
if  he  could  escape  out  of  the  tent,  animated  him  with  such  extraordinary 
strength,  that  for  some  time,  he  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  the  executioners. 
Solyman  was  within  hearing  of  his  son's  cries,  as  well  as  of  the  noise 
which  the  struggle  occasioned.  Impatient  of  this  delay  of  his  revenge,  and 
struck  with  terror  at  the  thoughts  of  Mustapha's  escaping,  he  drew  aside 
the  curtain  which  divided  the  tent,  and  thrusting  in  his  head,  darted  a 
fierce  look  towards  the  mutes,  and  with  wild  and  threatening  gestures, 
seemed  to  condemn  their  sloth  and  timidity.  At  sight  of  his  father's 
furious  and  unrelenting  countenance,  Mustapha's  strength  failed,  and  his 
courage  forsook  him  ;  the  mules  fastened  the  bow-string  about  his  neck, 
and  in  a  moment  put  an  end  to  his  life. 

The  dead  body  was  exposed  before  the  sultan's  tent.  The  soldiers 
gathered  round  it,  and  contemplating  that  mournful  object  with  astonish- 
ment, and  sorrow,  and  indignation,  were  ready,  if  a  leader  had  not  been 
wanting,  to  have  broke  out  into  the  wildest  excesses  of  rage.  After 
giving  vent  to  the  first  expressions  of  their  grief,  they  retired  each  man  to 
his  tent,  and  shutting  themselves  up,  bewailed  in  secret  the  cruel  fate  of 
their  favourite  ;  nor  was  there  one  of  them  who  tasted  food  or  even  water, 
during  the  remainder  of  that  day.  Next  morning  the  same  solitude  and 
silence  reigned  in  the  camp  ;  and  Solyman,  being  afraid  that  some  dreadful 
storm  would  follow  this  sullen  calm,  in  order  to  appease  the  enraged 
soldiers,  deprived  Rustan  of  the  seals,  ordered  him  to  leave  the  camp,  and 
raised  Achmet,  a  gallant  officer  much  beloved  in  the  army,  to  the  dignity 
of  vizier.  This  change,  however,  was  made  in  concert  with  Rustan  him- 
self ;  that  crafty  minister  suggesting  it  as  the  only  expedient  which  could 
save  himself  or  his  master.  But  within  a  few  months,  when  the  re-'-nt- 
ment  of  the  soldiers  began  to  subside,  and  the  name  of  Mustapha  to  be 
forgotten,  Achmet  was  strangled  by  the  sultan's  command,  and  Rustan  re- 
instated in  the  office  of  vizier.  Together  with  his  former  power,  he  re- 
assumed  the  plan  for  exterminating  the  race  of  Mustapha  which  he  had 
concerted  with  Roxalana  ;  and  as  they  were  afraid  that  an  only  son  whom 
Mustapha  had  left,  might  grow  up  to  avenge  his  death,  they  redoubled 
their  activity,  and  by  employing  the  same  arts  against  him  which  they  had 
practised  against  his  father,  they  inspired  Solyman  with  the  same  fears, 
and  prevailed  on  him  to  issue  orders  for  putting  to  death  that  young  inno- 
cent prince.  These  orders  were  executed  with  barbarous  zeal,  by  an 
eurjuch,  who  was  despatcjued  to  Bursa,  the  place  where  the  prince  resided  : 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  431 

and  no  rival  was  left  to  dispute  the  Ottoman  throne  with  the  sons  of 

Such  tragical  scenes,  productive  of  so  deep  distress,  seldom  occur  but  in 
the  history  of  the  great  monarchies  of  the  Last,  where  the  warmth  of  the 
climate  seems  to  give  every  emotion  of  the  heart  its  greatest  force,  and  the 
absolute  power  of  sovereigns  accustoms  and  enables  them  to  gratify  all 
their  passions  without  control.  While  this  interesting  transaction  in  the 
court  of  Solyman  engaged  his  whole  attention,  Charles  was  pursuing, 
with  the  utmost  ardour,  a  new  scheme  for  aggrandizing  his  family.  About 
this  time,  Edward  the  sixth  of  England,  after  a  short  reign,  in  which  he 
displayed  such  virtues  as  filled  his  subjects  with  sanguine  hopes  of  being- 
happy  under  his  government,  and  made  them  bear  with  patience  all  that 
they  suffered  from  the  weakness,  the  dissensions,  and  the  ambition  of  the 
ministers  who  assumed  the  administration  during  his  minority,  was  seized 
with  a  lingering  distemper  which  threatened  his  life.  The  emperor  no 
sooner  received  an  account  of  this,  than  his  ambition,  always  attentive  to 
seize  every  opportunity  of  acquiring  an  increase  of  power,  or  of  territo- 
ries, to  his  son,  suggested  the  thought  of  adding  England  to  his  other 
kingdoms  by  the  marriage  of  Philip  with  the  princess  Mary,  the  heir  of 
Edward's  crown.  Being  apprehensive,  however,  that  his  son,  who  was 
then  in  Spain,  might  decline  a  match  with  a  princess  in  her  thirty -eighth 
year,  and  eleven  years  older  than  himself  ;|  Charles  determined,  notwith- 
standing his  own  age  and  infirmities,  to  make  offer  of  himself  as  a  husband 
to  his  cousin. 

But  though  Mary  was  so  far  advanced  in  years,  and  destitute  of  every 
charm  either  of  person  or  of  manners  that  could  win  affection  or  command 
esteem,  Philip,  without  hesitation,  gave  his  consent  to  the  match  proposed 
by  his  father,  and  was  willing,  according  to  the  usual  maxim  of  princes, 
to  sacrifice  his  inclination  to  his  ambition.  In  order  to  ensure  the  success 
of  his  scheme,  the  emperor,  even  before  Edward's  death,  began  to  take 
such  steps  as  might  facilitate  it.  Upon  Edward's  demise,  Mary  mounted 
the  throne  of  England  ;  the  pretensions  of  the  lady  Jane  Grey  proving  as 
unfortunate  as  they  were  ill-founded. J  Charles  sent  immediately  a  pom- 
pous embassy  to  London  to  congratulate  Mary  on  her  accession  to  the 
throne,  and  to  propose  the  alliance  with  his  son.  The  queen,  dazzled 
with  the  prospect  of  marrying  the  heir  of  the  greatest  monarch  in  Europe  ; 
fond  of  uniting  more  closely  with  her  mother's  family,  to  which  she  had 
been  always  warmly  attached  ;  and  eager  to  secure  the  powerful  aid 
which  she  knew  would  be  necessary  towards  carrying  on  her  favourite 
scheme  of  re-establishing  the  Romish  religion  in  England,  listened  in  the 
most  favourable  manner  to  the  proposal.  Among  her  subjects,  it  met  with 
a  very  different  reception.  Philip,  it  was  well  known,  contended  for  all 
the  tenets  of  the  church  of  Koine  with  a  sanguinary  zeal  which  exceeded 
the  measure  even  of  Spanish  bigotry :  this  alarmed  all  the  numerous  par- 
tisans of  the  Reformation.  The  Castilian  haughtiness  and  reserve  were 
far  from  being  acceptable  to  the  English,  who,  having  several  times  seen 
their  throne  occupied  by  persons  who  were  born  subjects,  had  become 
accustomed  to  an  unceremonious  and  familiar  intercourse  with  their 
sovereigns.  They  could  not  think,  without  the  utmost  uneasiness,  of  ad- 
mitting a  foreign  prince  to  that  influence  of  their  councils,  which  the 
husband  of  their  queen  would  naturally  possess.  They  dreaded,  both 
from  Philip's  overbearing  temper,  and  from  the  maxims  of  the  Spanish 
monarchy  which  he  had  imbibed,  that  he  would  infuse  ideas  into  the 
queen's  mind,  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  nation,  and  would  introduce 

*  Augeril  Gislenii  Buabeqaii  Logationis  Turcicec  Epistol.v  iv.  Franc.  1615.  p'.  37.  Thuan.  lib. 
.rii.  p.  432.    Mem.  <ie  Ribier,  ii.  457.    Mauroceni  Hisior.  Veneta,  lib.  vii.  p.  60.  t  Palav.  Hisf. 

•>rreil.  TrM.  v.  ii.  c.  13.  p.  130.       t  Carte's  Hist*,  of  England,  ill.  B87, 


434  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XL 

foreign  troops  and  money  into  the  kingdom,  to  assist  her  in  any  attempt 
against  them. 

Full  of  these  apprehensions,  the  house  of  commons,  though  in  that  age 
extremely  obsequious  to  the  will  of  their  monarchs,  presented  a  warm 
address  against  the  Spanish  match  ;  many  pamphlets  were  published, 
representing  the  dangerous  consequences  of  the  alliance  with  Spain,  and 
describing  Philip's  bigotry  and  arrogance  in  the  most  odious  colours.  But 
Mary,  inflexible  in  all  her  resolutions,  paid  no  regard  to  the  remonstrances 
of  her  commons,  or  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  The  emperor,  having 
secured,  by  various  arts,  the  ministers  whom  she  trusted  most,  they 
approved  warmly  of  the  match,  and  large  sums  were  remitted  by  him  in 
order  to  gain  the  rest  of  the  council.  Cardinal  Pole,  whom  the  pope, 
immediately  upon  Mary's  accession,  had  despatched  as  his  legate  into 
England,  in  order  to  reconcile  his  native  country  to  the  see  of  Rome,  was 
detained  by  the  emperor's  command  at  Dillinghen  in  Germany,  lest  by  his 
presence  he  should  thwart  Philip's  pretensions,  and  employ  his  interest  in 
favour  of  his  kinsman  Courtnay  earl  of  Devonshire,  whom  the  English 
ardently  wished  their  sovereign  to  choose  for  a  husband.* 

As  the  negotiation  did  not  admit  of  delay,  it  was  carried  forward  with 
the  greatest  rapidity,  the  emperor  agreeing,  without  hesitation,  to  every 
article  in  favour  of  England,  which  Mary's  ministers  either  represented  as 
necessary  to  soothe  the  people  and  reconcile  them  to  the  match,  or  that  was 
suggested  by  their  own  fears  and  jealousy  of  a  foreign  master.  The  chief 
articles  were  [Jan.  12,  1554],  that  Philip,  during  his  marriage  with  the 
queen,  should  bear  the  title  of  king  of  England,  but  the  entire  administra- 
tion of  affairs,  as  well  as  the  sole  disposal  of  all  revenues,  offices,  and 
benefices,  should  remain  with  the  queen ;  that  the  heirs  of  the  marriage 
should,  together  with  the  crown  of  England,  inherit  the  dutchy  of  Burgundy 
and  the  Low-Countries ;  that  if  prince  Charles,  Philip's  only  son  by  a 
former  marriage,  should  die  without  issue,  his  children  by  the  queen, 
whether  male  or  female,  should  succeed  to  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  all  the 
emperor's  hereditary  dominions ;  that  before  the  consummation  of  the 
marriage,  Philip  should  swear  solemnly,  that  he  would  retain  no  domestic 
who  was  not  a  subject  of  the  queen,  and  would  bring  no  foreigners  into  the 
kingdom  that  might  give  umbrage  to  the  English  ;  that  he  would  make  no 
alteration  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  England  ;  that  he  would  not  carry 
the  queen,  or  any  of  the  children  born  of  this  marriage,  out  of  the  kingdom ; 
that  if  the  queen  should  die  before  him  without  issue,  he  would  immedi- 
ately leave  the  crown  to  the  lawful  heir,  without  claiming  any  right  of 
administration  whatever ;  that  in  consequence  of  this  marriage,  England 
should  not  be  engaged  in  any  war  subsisting  between  France  and  Spain ; 
and  that  the  alliance  between  France  and  England  should  remain  in  full 
force,  t 

But  this  treaty,  though  both  the  emperor  and  Mary's  ministers  employed 
(heir  utmost  address  in  framing  it  so  as  to  please  the  English,  was  far  from 
quieting  their  fears  and  jealousies.  They  saw  that  words  and  promises 
were  a  feeble  security  against  the  encroachments  of  an  ambitious  prince, 
who,  as  soon  as  he  got  possession  of  the  power  and  advantages  which  the 
queen's  husband  must  necessarily  enjoy,  could  easily  evade  any  of  the 
articles  which  either  limited  his  authority  or  obstructed  his  schemes. 
They  were  convinced  that  the  more  favourable  the  conditions  of  the  present 
treaty  were  to  England,  the  more  Philip  would  be  tempted  hereafter  to 
violate  them.  They  dreaded  that  England,  like  Naples,  Milan,  and  the 
other  countries  annexed  to  Spain,  would  soon  feel  the  dominion  of  that 
crown  to  be  intolerably  oppressive,  and  be  constrained,  as  these  had  been, 
f°  waste  its  wealth  and  vigour  in  wars  wherein  it  had  no  interest,  and  from 

*  Qarte,  iii.  288.  t  Eymer's  Feed,  vol  sv.  377  393.    Mem.  de  Ribier,  ii,  493 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  «3S 

■which  it  couid  derive  no  advantage.  These  sentiments  prevailed  so  gene- 
rally that  every  part  of  the  kingdom  was  filled  with  discontent  at  the 
match,  and  with  indignation  against  the  advisers  of  it.  Sir  Thomas  Wyat, 
a  gentleman  of  some  note,  and  of  good  intentions  towards  the  public,  took 
advantage  of  this,  and  roused  the  inhabitants  of  Kent  to  arms,  in  order  to 
save  their  country  from  a  foreign  yoke.  Great  numbers  resorted  in  a  short. 
time  to  his  standard  ;  he  marched  to  London  with  such  rapidity,  and  the 
queen  was  so  utterly  unprovided  for  defence,  that  the  aspect  ot  affairs  was 
extremely  threatening;  and  if  any  nobleman  ot  distinction  had  joined  the 
malecontents,  or  had  Wyat  possessed  talents  equal,  in  any  degree,  to  the 
boldness  of  his  enterprise,  the  insurrection  must  have  proved  fatal  to  Mary  s 
power.  But  all  Wyat's  measures  were  concerted  with  so  little  prudence, 
and  executed  with  such  irresolution,  that  many  of  his  followers  torsook 
him ;  the  rest  were  dispersed  by  a  handful  ct  soldiers ;  and  he  himseli 
was  taken  prisoner,  without  having  made  any  effort  worthy  of  the  cause 
that  he  had  undertaken,  or  suitable  to  the  ardour  with  which  he  engaged 
in  it.  He  suffered  the  punishment  due  to  his  rashness  and  rebellion.  1  he 
queen's  authority  was  confirmed  and  increased  by  her  success  in  defeating 
this  inconsiderate  attempt  to  abridge  it.  The  lady  Jane  Grey,  whose 
title  the  ambition  of  her  relations  had  set  up  in  opposition  to  that  ot  the 
queen,  was.  notwithstanding  her  youth  and  innocence,  brought  to  the  scaffold. 
The  lady  Elizabeth,  the  queen's  sister,  was  observed  with  the  most  jealous 
attention.     The  treaty  of  marriage  was  ratified  by  the  parliament. 

Philip  landed  in  England  with  a  magnificent  retinue,  celebrated  his  nup 
tials  with  great  solemnity  ;  and  though  he  could  not  lay  aside  his  natural 
severity  and  pride,  or  assume  gracious  and  popular  manners,  he  endea- 
voured to  conciliate  the  favour  of  the  English  nobility  by  his  extraordinary 
liberality.  Lest  that  should  fail  of  acquiring  him  such  influence  in  the 
government  of  the  kingdom  as  he  aimed  at  obtaining,  the  emperor  kept  a 
body  of  twelve  thousand  men  on  the  coast  of  Flanders  in  readiness  to  em- 
bark for  England,  and  to  support  his  son* in  all  his  enterprises. 

Emboldened  by  all  these  favourable  circumstances,  Mary  pursued  the 
scheme  of  extirpating  the  protestant  religion  out  of  her  dominions,  with 
the  most  precipitate  zeal.  The  laws  of  Edward  the  Sixth,  in  iavour  of  the 
Reformation,  were  repealed  ;  the  protestant  clergy  ejected  ;  all  the  forms 
and  rights  of  the  popish  worship  were  re-established ;  the  nation  was 
solemnly  absolved  from  the  guilt  which  it  had  contracted  during  the  period 
of  its  apostacy,  and  was  publicly  reconciled  to  the  church  of  Rome  by 
cardinal  Pole,  who  immediately  after  the  queen's  marriage,  was  permitted 
to  continue  his  journey  to  England,  and  to  exercise  his  legatine  functions 
with  the  most  ample  power.  "Not  satisfied  with  having  overturned  the  pro- 
testant church,  and  re-establishing  the  ancient  system  on  its  ruins,  Mary 
insisted  that  all  her  subjects  should  conform  to  the  same  mode  of  worship 
which  she  preferred ;  should  profess  their  faith  in  the  same  creed  which 
she  had  approved  ;  and  abjure  every  practice  or  opinion  that  was  deemed 
repugnant  to  either  of  them.  Powers,  altogether  unknown  in  the  English 
constitution,  were  vested  in  certain  persons  appointed  to  take  cognizance 
of  heresy,  and  they  proceeded  to  exercise  them  with  more  than  inquisito- 
rial severity.  The  prospect  of  danger,  however,  did  not  intimidate  the 
principal  teachers  of  the  protestant  doctrines,  who  believed  that  they  were 
contending  for  truths  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  happiness  ot  man- 
kind. They  boldly  avowed  their  sentiments,  and  were  condemned  to  that 
cruel  death  which  the  church  of  Rome  reserves  for  its  enemies.  This 
shocking  punishment  was  inflicted  with  that  barbarity  which  the  rancour 
of  false  zeal  alone  can  inspire.  The  English,  who  are  inferior  in  humanity 
to  no  people  in  Europe,  and  remarkable  for  the  mildness  ot  their  public 
executions,  beheld  with  astonishment  and  horror,  persons  who  had  filled 
Hie  most  respectable  stations  in  tb<ir  chttrcb,  and  who  were  venerable  on 
Vol.  II.— 55 


434  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  XI. 

account  of  their  age,  their  piety,  and  their  literature,  condemned  to  endure 
torments  to  which  their  laws  did  not  subject  even  the  most  atrocious 
criminals. 

This  extreme  rigour  did  not  accomplish  the  end  at  which  Mary  aimed. 
The  patience  and  fortitude  with  which  these  martyrs  for  the  Reformation 
submitted  to  their  sufferings,  the  heroic  contempt  of  death  expressed  by 
persons  of  every  rank,  and  age,  and  sex,  confirmed  many  more  in  the  pro- 
testant  faith,  than  the  threats  of  their  enraged  persecutors  could  (lighten 
into  apostacy.  The  business  of  such  as  were  intrusted  with  trying  of 
heretics  multiplied  continually,  and  appeared  to  be  as  endless  as  it  was 
odious.  The  queen's  ablest  ministers  became  sensible  how  impolitic,  as 
well  as  dangerous,  it  was  to  irritate  the  people  by  the  frequent  spectacle  of 
public  executions,  which  they  detested  as  no  less  unjust  than  cruel.  Even 
Philip  was  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  her  having  run  to  an  excess  of 
rigour,  that  on  this  occasion  ho  assumed  a  part  to  which  he  was  little 
accustomed,  becoming  an  advocate  for  moderation  and  lenity.* 

But  notwithstanding  this  attempt  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  English, 
they  discovered  a  constant  jealousy  and  distrust  of  all  his  intentions;  and 
when  some  members,  who  had  been  gained  by  the  courts  ventured  to  move 
in  the  house  of  commons  that  the  nation  ought  to  assist  the  emperor,  the 
queen's  father-in-law,  in  his  war  against  France,  the  proposal  was  rejected 
with  general  dissatisfaction.  A  motion  which  was  made,  that  the  parlia- 
ment should  give  its  consent  that  Philip  might  be  publicly  crowned  as  the 
queen's  husband,  met  with  such  a  cold  reception  that  it  was  instantly  with- 
drawn.! 

The  king  of  France  had  observed  the  progress  of  the  emperor's  nego- 
tiation in  England  with  much  uneasiness.  The  great  accession  of  territo- 
ries as  well  as  reputation  which  his  enemy  would  acquire  by  the  marriage 
of  his  son  with  the  queen  of  such  a  powerful  kingdom,  was  obvious  and 
formidable.  He  easily  foresaw  that  the  English,  notwithstanding  all  their 
fears  and  precautions,  would  be  soon  drawn  in  to  take  part  in  the  quarrels 
on  the  continent,  and  be  compelled  to  act  in  subserviency  to  the  emperor's 
ambitious  schemes.  For  this  reason,  Henry  had  given  it  in  charge  to  his 
ambassador  at  the  court  of  London,  to  employ  all  his  address  in  order  to 
defeat  or  retard  the  treaty  of  marriage  ;  and  as  there  was  not,  at  that  time, 
any  prince  of  the  blood  in  France  whom  he  could  propose  to  the  queen  as 
a  husband,  he  instructed  him  to  co-operate  with  such  of  the  English  as 
wished  their  sovereign  to  marry  one  of  her  own  subjects.  But  the  queen's 
ardour. and  precipitation  in  closing  with  the  first  overtures  in  favour  of 
Philip,  having  rendered  all  his  endeavours  ineffectual,  Henry  was  so  far 
from  thinking  it  prudent  to  give  any  aid  to  the  English  malecontents,  though 
earnestly  solicited  by  Wyat  and  their  other  leaders,  who  tempted  him  to 
take  them  under  his  protection,  by  offers  of  great  advantage  to  France,  that 
he  commanded  his  ambassador  to  congratulate  the  queen  in  the  warmest 
terms  upon  the  suppression  of  the  insurrection. 

Notwithstanding  these  external  professions,  Henry  dreaded  so  much  the 
consequence  of  this  alliance,  which  more  than  compensated  for  all  the 
emperor  had  lost  in  Germany,  that  be  determined  to  carry  on  his  military 
operations,  both  in  the  Low -Countries  and  in  Italy,  with  extraordinary 
vigour,  in  order  that  he  might  compel  Charles  to  accept  of  an  equitable 
peace,  before  his  daughter-in-law  could  surmount  the  aversion  of  her  sub- 
jects to  a  war  on  the  continent,  and  prevail  on  them  to  assist  the  emperor 
either  with  money  or  troops.  For  this  purpose  he  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  in  order  to  have  a  numerous  army  early  assembled  on  the  frontiers 
of  the  Netherlands,  and  while  one  part  of  it  laid  waste  the  open  country 

*  Godwin's  Annals  of  Q.  Mary  ap.  Kennet.  v.  ii.  p.  329.  Burnet's  Hist,  of  Reform,  ii.  298.  SO.x 
:  Carte's  Hist,  of  England,  iii.  :<U. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  435 

ol"  Artois,  the  main  body,  under  the  constable  Montmorency,  advanced 
towards  the  provinces  of  Liege  and  llainault  by  the  forest  of  Ardennes. 

The  campaign  was  opened  with  the  siege  of  Maricmburg,  a  town  which 
the  queen  of  Hungary,  the  governess  of  the  Low-Countries,  had  fortified 
at  great  expense  :  but,  being  destitute  of  a  sufficient  garrison,  it  surren- 
dered in  six  days  [June  28].  Henry,  elated  with  this  success,  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  investing  Bouvines,  took  it  by  assault,  after  a 
short  resistance.  With  equal  facility  he  became  master  of  Dinant ;  and 
then,  turning  to  the  left,  bent  his  march  towards  the  province  of  Artois. 
The  large  sums  which  the  emperor  had  remitted  into  England  had  so 
exhausted  his  treasury,  as  to  render  his  preparations  at  this  juncture  slower 
and  more  dilatory  than  usual.  He  had  no  body  of  troops  to  make  head 
against  the  French  at  their  first  entrance  into  his  territories  ;  and  though  he 
drew  together  all  the  forces  in  the  country  in  the  utmost  hurry,  and  gave 
the  command  of  them  to  Emanuel  Philibert  of  Savoy,  they  were  in  no 
condition  to  face  an  enemy  so  far  superior  in  number.  The  prince  of 
Savoy,  however,  by  his  activity  and  good  conduct,  made  up  for  his  want 
of  troops.  By  watching  all  the  motions  of  the  French  at  a  distance,  and 
by  choosing  his  own  posts  with  skill,  he  put  it  out  of  their  power  either 
to  form  any  siege  of  consequence,  or  to  attack  him.  Want  of  subsistence 
soon  obliged  them  to  fall  back  towards  their  own  frontiers,  after  having 
burnt  all  the  open  towns,  and  having  plundered  the  country  through  which 
they  marched  with  a  cruelty  and  license  more  becoming  a  body  of  light 
troops  than  a  royal  army  led  by  a  great  monarch. 

But  Henry,  that  he  might  not  dismiss  his  army  without  attempting  some 
conquest  adequate  to  the  great  preparations,  as  well  as  sanguine  hopes, 
with  which  he  had  opened  the  campaign,  invested  Renti,  a  place  deemed 
in  that  a°;e  of  great  importance,  as,  by  its  situation  on  the  confines  of  Artois 
and  the  Boulonnois,  it  covered  the  former  province,  and  protected  the  par- 
ties which  made  incursions  into  the  latter.  The  town,  which  was  strongly 
fortified,  and  provided  with  a  numerous  garrison,  made  a  gallant  defence  ; 
but  being  warmly  pressed  by  a  powerful  army,  it  must  soon  have  yielded. 
The  emperor,  who  at  that  time  enjoyed  a  short  interval  of  ease  from  the 
gout,  was  so  solicitous  to  save  it,  that,  although  he  could  bear  no  other 
motion  but  that  of  a  litter,  he  instantly  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
which,  having  received  several  reinforcements,  was  now  strong  enough  to 
approach  the  enemy.  The  French  were  eager  to  decide  the  fate  of  Renti 
by  a  battle,  and  expected  it  from  the  emperor's  arrival  in  his  camp  ;  but 
Charles  avoided  a  general  action  with  great  industry,  and  as  he  had  nothing 
in  view  but  to  save  the  town,  he  hoped  to  accomplish  that,  without  expo- 
sing himself  to  the  consequences  of  such  a  dangerous  and  doubtful 
event. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  precautions,  a  dispute,  about  a  post  which 
both  armies  endeavoured  to  seize,  brought  on  an  engagement  [Aug.  13], 
which  proved  almost  general.  The  duke  of  Guise,  who  commanded  the 
wing  of  the  French  which  stood  the  brunt  of  the  combat,  displayed 
valour  and  conduct  worthy  of  the  defender  of  Metz  ;  the  Imperialists, 
after  an  obstinate  struggle,  were  repulsed  ;  the  French  remained  masters 
of  the  post  in  dispute,  and  if  the  constable,  either  from  his  natural  caution 
and  slowness,  or  from  unwillingness  to  support  a  rival  whom  he  hated, 
had  not  delayed  bringing  up  the  main  body  to  second  the  impression 
which  Guise  had  made,  the  rout  of  the  enemy  must  have  been  complete. 
The  emperor,  notwithstanding  the  loss  which  he  had  sustained,  continued 
in  the  same  camp  ;  and  the  French,  being  straitened  for  provisions,  and 
finding  it  impossible  to  cany  on  the  siege  in  the  face  of  a  hostile  army, 
quitted  their  entrenchments.  They  retired  openly,  courting  the  enemy 
to  approach,  rather  than  shunning  an  engagement. 

Bat  Charles,  having  gained  his  end,  suffered  them  to  march  off  unm<> 


ijG  THE   REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  XJ. 

Jested.  As  soon  as  his  troops  entered  their  own  country,  Henry  threw 
garrisons  into  the  frontier  towns,  and  dismissed  the  rest  of  the  army.  Tin's 
encouraged  the  Imperialists  to  push  forward  with  a  considerahle  body  of 
troops  into  Picardy,  and  by  laying  waste  the  country  with  fire  and  sword, 
they  endeavoured  to  revenge  themselves  for  the  ravages  which  the  French 
had  committed  in  Hainault  and  Artois.*  But,  as  they  were  not  able  to 
reduce  any  place  of  importance,  they  gained  nothing  more  than  the  enemy 
had  done  by  this  cruel  and  inglorious  method  of  carrying  on  the  war. 

The  arms  of  France  were  still  more  unsuccessful  in  Italy.  The  footing 
which  the  French  had  acquired  in  Sienna  occasioned  much  uneasiness  to 
Cosmo  di  Medici,  the  most  sagacious  and  enterprising  of  all  the  Italian 
princes.  He  dreaded  the  neighbourhood  of  a  powerful  people,  to  whom 
all  who  favoured  the  ancient  republican  government  in  Florence  would 
have  recourse,  as  to  their  natural  protectors,  against  that  absolute  authority 
which  the  emperor  had  enabled  him  to  usurp  ;  he  knew  how  odious  he 
was  to  the  French,  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  the  Imperial  party, 
and  he  foresaw  that,  if  they  were  permitted  to  gather  strength  in  Sienna, 
Tuscany  would  soon  feel  the  effects  of  their  resentment.  For  tliese 
reasons,  he  wished  with  the  utmost  solicitude  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
French  out  of  the  Siennese,  before  they  had  time  to  establish  themselves 
thoroughly  in  the  country,  or  to  receive  such  reinforcements  from  France 
as  would  render  it  dangerous  to  attack  them.  As  this,  however,  was 
properly  the  emperor's  business,  who  was  called  by  his  interest  as  well 
as  honour  to  dislodge  those  formidable  intruders  into  the  heart  of  his 
dominions,  Cosmo  laboured  to  throw  the  whole  burden  of  the  enterprise 
on  him  ;  and  on  that  account  had  given  no  assistance  during  the  former 
campaign  but  by  advancing  some  small  sums  of  money  towards  the  pay- 
ment oi  the  Imperial  troops. 

But  as  the  defence  of  the  Netherlands  engrossed  all  the  emperor's 
attention,  and  his  remittances  into  England  had  drained  his  treasury,  it 
was  obvious  that  his  operations  in  Italy  would  be  extremely  feeble  ;  and 
Cosmo  plainly  perceived,  that  if  he  himself  did  not  take  part  openly  in 
the  war,  and  act  with  vigour2  the  French  would  scarcely  meet  with  any 
annoyance.  As  his  situation  rendered  this  resolution  necessary  and  una- 
voidable, his  next  care  was  to  execute  it  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  might 
derive  from  it  some  other  advantage,  beside  that  of  driving  the  French 
out  of  his  neighbourhood.  With  this  view,  he  despatched  an  envoy  to 
Charles,  offering  to  declare  war  against  France,  and  to  reduce  Sienna  at 
his  own  charges,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  repaid  whatever  he  should 
expend  in  the  enterprise,  and  be  permitted  to  retain  all  his  conquests  until 
his  demands  were  fully  satisfied.  Charles,  to  whom,  at  this  juncture,  the 
war  against  Sienna  was  an  intolerable  burden,  and  who  had  neither  expe- 
dient nor  resource  that  could  enable  him  to  carry  it  on  with  proper  vigour, 
closed  gladly  with  this  overture  ;  and  Cosmo,  well  acquainted  with  the 
low  state  of  the  Imperial  finances,  flattered  himself  that  the  emperor,  find- 
ing it  impossible  to  reimburse  him,  would  suffer  him  to  keep  quiet  pos- 
session ot  whatever  places  he  should  conquer. t 

Full  of  these  hopes,  he  made  great  preparations  for  war,  and  as  the 
French  king  had  turned  the  strength  of  his  arms  against  the  Netherlands, 
he  did  not  despair  of  assembling  such  a  body  of  men  as  would  prove  more 
than  a  sufficient  match  for  any  force  which  Henry  could  bring  into 
the  field  in  Italy.  He  endeavoured,  by  giving  one  of  his  daughter^ 
to  the  pope's  nephew,  to  obtain  assistance  from  the  holy  see,  or  at  least 
to  secure  his  remaining  neutral.  He  attempted  to  detach  the  duke  o 
Orsini,  whose  family  had  been  long  attached  to  the  French  party,  from 
his  ancient  confederates,  by  bestowing  on  him  another  of  his  daughters  ; 

'  Thuan.  460.  tec.    Harsi  Ann.  BraK  <  ~'  !    Idriani  fctoria  dc  rooi  Tempi, vol.  1.  662. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  437 

and  what  was  of  greater  consequence  than  either  of  these,  he  engaged 
John  James  Medecino,  marquis  of  Marignano,  to  take  the  jcommand  of 
his  army.*  This  officer,  from  a  very  low  condition  in  life,  had  raised 
himself,  through  all  the  ranks  of  service,  to  high  command,  and  had  dis- 
played talents,  and  acquired  reputation  in  war,  which  entitled  him  to  be 
placed  on  a  level  with  the  greatest  generals  in  that  martial  age.  Having 
attained  a  station  of  eminence  so  disproportionate  to  his  birth,  he  laboured 
with  a  fond  solicitude  to  conceal  his  original  obscurity,  by  giving  out  that 
he  was  descended  of  the  family  of  Medici,  to  which  honour  the  casual 
resemblance  of  his  name  was  his  only  pretension.  Cosmo,  happy  that  ho 
could  gratify  him  at  such  an  easy  rate,  flattered  his  vanity  in  this  point, 
acknowledged  him  as  a  relation,  and  permitted  him  to  assume  the  arms 
of  his  family  :  Medecino,  eager  to  serve  the  head  of  that  family  of  which 
he  now  considered  himself  as  a  branch,  applied  with  wonderful  zeal  and 
assiduity  to  raise  troops  ;  and  as,  during  his  long  service,  he  had  acquired 
great  credit  with  the  leaders  of  those  mercenary  bands  which  formed  the 
strength  of  Italian  armies,  he  engaged  the  most  eminent  of  them  to  follow 
Cosmo's  standard. 

To  oppose  this  able  general,  and  the  formidable  army  which  he  had 
assembled,  the  king  of  France  made  choice  of  Peter  Strozzi,  a  Florentine 
nobleman,  who  had  resided  long  in  France  as  an  exile,  and  who  had  risen 
by  his  merit  to  high  reputation  as  well  as  command  in  the  army.  He  was 
the  son  of  Philip  Strozzi,  who,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
thirty-seven,  had  concurred  with  such  ardour  in  the  attempt  to  expel  the 
family  of  Medici  out  of  Florence,  in  order  to  re-establish  the  ancient 
republican  form  of  government ;  and  who  had  perished  in  the  undertaking. 
The  son  inherited  the  implacable  aversion  to  the  Me  lici,  as  well  as  the 
same  enthusiastic  zeal  for  the  liberty  of  Florence,  which  had  animated  his 
father,  whose  death  he  was  impatient  to  revenge.  Henry  flattered  himself 
that  his  army  would  make  rapid  progress  under  a  general  whose  zeal  to 
promote  his  interest  was  roused  and  seconded  by  such  powerful  passions ; 
especially  as  he  had  allotted  him,  for  the  scene  of  action,  his  native  coun- 
try, in  which  he  had  many  powerful  partisans,  ready  to  facilitate  all  his 
operations. 

But  how  specious  soever  the  motives  might  appear  which  induced 
Henry  to  make  this  choice,  it  proved  fatal  to  the  interests  of  France  in 
Italy.  Cosmo,  as  soon  as  he  heard  that  the  mortal  enemy  of  his  family 
was  appointed  to  take  the  command  in  Tuscany,  concluded  that  the  king 
of  France  aimed  at  something  more  than  the  protection  of  the  Siennese, 
and  saw  the  necessity  of  making  extraordinary  efforts,  not  merely  to 
reduce  Sienna,  but  to  save  himself  from  destruction. t  At  the  same  time, 
the  cardinal  of  Ferrara,  who  had  the  entire  direction  of  the  French  affairs 
in  Italy,  considered  Strozzi  as  a  formidable  rival  in  power,  and  in  order 
to  prevent  his  acquiring  any  increase  of  authority  from  success,  he  was 
extremely  remiss  in  supplying  him  either  with  money  to  pay  his  troops,  or 
with  provisions  to  support  them.  Strozzi  himself,  blinded  by  his  resent- 
ment against  the  Medici,  pushed  on  his  operations  with  the  impetuosity  of 
revenge,  rather  than  with  the  caution  and  prudence  becoming  a  great 
general. 

At  first,  however,  he  attacked  several  towns  in  the  territory  of  Florence 
with  such  vigour  as  obliged  Medecino,  in  order  to  check  his  progress,  to 
withdraw  the  greater  part  of  his  army  from  Sienna,  which  he  had  invested 
before  Strozzi's  arrival  in  Italy.  As  Cosmo  sustained  the  whole  burden 
of  military  operations,  the  expense  of  which  must  soon  have  exhausted  his 
revenues;  as  neither  the  viceroy  of  Naples  nor  governor  of  Milan  were  in 
condition  to  afford  him  any  effectual  aid;  as  the  troops  which  Medecino 

*  Adrinni  Istoria.  vol.  i.  p.  663.  t  Pecci  Mcmoirc  di  Sienna,  vol.  iv.  p.  10J.  &e. 


yjit  THE  TxEIG  N  0  F    T  1 1  E  [Book  \1 . 

had  left  in  the  camp  before  Sienna  could  attempt  nothing  against  it  during 
his  absence ;  it  was  Strozzi's  business  to  have  protracted  the  war,  and  to 
have  transferred  the  seat  of  it  into  the  territories  of  Florence.  But  the 
hope  of  ruining  his  enemy  by  one  decisive  blow,  precipitated  him  into  a 
general  engagement  [Aug.  3]  not  far  from  Marciano.  The  armies  were 
nearly  equal  in  number ;  but  a  body  of  Italian  cavalry,  in  which  Strozzi 
placed  great  confidence,  having  fled  without  making  any  resistance,  either 
through  the  treachery  or  cowardice  of  the  officers  who  commanded  it,  his 
infantry  remained  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  all  Medecino's  troops.  Encou- 
raged, however,  by  Strozzi's  presence  and  example,  who,  after  receiving  a 
dangerous  wound  in  endeavouring  to  rally  the  cavalry,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  infantry,  and  manifested  an  admirable  presence  of  mind, 
as  well  as  extraordinary  valour,  they  stood  their  ground  with  great  firm- 
ness, and  repulsed  such  of  the  enemy  as  ventured  to  approach  them.  But 
those  gallant  troops  being  surrounded  at  last  on  every  side,  and  torn  in 
pieces  by  a  battery  of  cannon  which  Medecino  brought  to  bear  upon  them, 
the  Florentine  cavalry  broke  in  on  their  flanks,  and  a  general  route  ensued. 
Strozzi,  faint  with  the  loss  of  blood,  and  deeply  affected  with  the  fatal 
consequences  of  his  own  rashness,  found  the  utmost  difficulty  in  making  his 
escape  with  a  handful  of  men.* 

Medecino  returned  immediately  to  the  siege  of  Sienna  with  his  victorious 
forces,  and  as  Strozzi  could  not,  after  the  greatest  efforts  of  activity,  collect 
as  many  men  as  to  form  the  appearance  ot  a  regular  army,  he  had  leisure 
to  carry  on  his  approaches  against  the  town  without  molestation.  But  the 
Siennese,  instead  of  sinking  into  despair  upon  this  cruel  disappointment  of 
•heir  only  hope  of  obtaining  relief,  prepared  to  defend  themselves  to  the 
utmost  extremity,  with  that  undaunted  fortitude  which  the  love  of  liberty 
alone  can  inspire.  This  generous  resolution  was  warmly  seconded  by 
Monluc,  who  commanded  the  French  garrison  in  the  town.  The  active 
and  enterprising  courage  which  he  had  displayed  on  many  occasions,  had 
procured  him  this  command  ;  and  as  he  had  ambition  which  aspired  at  the 
highest  military  dignities,  without  any  pretensions  to  attain  them  but  what 
he  could  derive  from  merit,"he  determined  to  distinguish  his  defence  of 
Sienna  by  extraordinary  efforts  of  valour  and  perseverance.  For  this  pur- 
pose, he  repaired  and  strengthened  the  fortifications  with  unwearied  indus- 
try ;  he  trained  the  citizens  to  the  use  of  arms,  and  accustomed  them  to  go 
through  the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  service  in  common  with  the  soldiers ; 
and  as  the  enemy  were  extremely  strict  in  guarding  all  the  avenues  to  the 
city,  he  husbanded  the  provisions  in  the  magazines  with  the  most  parsimo- 
nious economy,  and  prevailed  on  the  soldiers,  as  well  as  the  citizens,  to 
restrict  themselves  to  a  very  moderate  daily  allowance  for  their  subsistence. 
Medecino,  though  his  army  was  not  numerous  enough  to  storm  the  town  by 
open  force,  ventured  twice  to  assault  it  by  surprise  ;  but  he  was  received 
each  time  with  so  much  spirit,  and  repulsed  with  such  loss,  as  discouraged 
him  from  repeating  the  attempt,  and  left  him  no  hopes  of  reducing  the  town 
but  by  famine. 

With  this  view  he  fortified  his  own  camp  with  great  care,  occupied  all 
the  posts  of  strength  round  the  place,  and  having  entirely  cut  off  the  besieged 
from  any  communication  with  the  adjacent  country,  he  waited  patiently 
until  necessity  should  compel  them  to  open  their  gates.  But  their  enthu- 
siastic zeal  for  liberty  made  the  citizens  despise  the  distresses  occasioned 
by  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  supported  them  long  under  all  the  miseries 
of  famine  ;  Monluc,  by  his  example  and  exhortations,  taught  his  soldiers  to 
vie  with  him  in  patience  and  abstinence  ;  and  it  was  not  until  they  had 
withstood  a  siege  of  ten  months,  until  they  had  eaten  up  all  the  horses, 
dogs,  and  other  animals  in  the  place,  and  were  reduced  almost  to  their  last 

*  Pccci  Memoire  della  Sienna,  vol.  iv.  p.  137 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  439 

morsel  of  bread,  that  they  proposed  a  capitulation  [1555].  Even  then  they 
demanded  honourable  terms ;  and  as  Cosmo,  though  no  stranger  to  the 
extremity  of  their  condition,  was  afraid  that  despair  might  prompt  them  to 
venture  upon  some  wild  enterprise,  he  immediately  granted  them  condi- 
tions more  favourable  than  they  could  have  expected. 

April  22.]  The  capitulation  was  made  in  the  emperor's  name,  who 
engaged  to  take  the  republic  of  Sienna  under  the  protection  of  the  empire ; 
he  promised  to  maintain  the  ancient  liberties  of  the  city,  to  allow  the 
magistrates  the  full  exercise  of  their  former  authority,  to  secure  the  citizens 
in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  their  privileges  and  property;  he  granted 
an  ample  and  unlimited  pardon  to  all  who  had  borne  arms  against  him  ;  he 
reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  placing  a  garrison  in  the  town,  but  engaged 
not  to  rebuild  the  citadel  without  the  consent  of  the  citizens.  Monluc  and 
his  French  garrison  were  allowed  to  march  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war. 

Medecino  observed  the  articles  of  capitulation,  as  far  as  depended  on 
him,  with  great  exactness.  No  violence  or  insult  whatever  was  offered  to 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  French  garrison  was  treated  with  all  the  respect 
due  to  their  spirit  and  bravery.  But  many  of  the  citizens  suspecting,  from 
the  extraordinary  facility  with  which  they  had  obtained  such  favourable 
conditions,  that  the  emperor,  as  well  as  Cosmo,  would  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  violating  them,  and  disdaining  to  possess  a  precarious  liberty, 
which  depended  on  the  will  of  another,  abandoned  the  place  of  their 
nativity,  and  accompanied  the  French  to  Monte-Alcino,  Porto  Ercole,  and 
other  small  towns  in  the  territory  of  the  republic.  They  established  in 
Monte-Alcino,  the  same  model  of  government  to  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  at  Sienna,  and  appointing  magistrates  with  the  same  titles  and 
jurisdiction,  solaced  themselves  with  this  image  of  their  ancient  liberty. 

The  fears  of  the  Siennese  concerning  the  late  of  their  country  were  not 
imaginary,  or  their  suspicion  of  the  emperor  and  Cosmo  ill  founded  ;  for  no 
sooner  ha'd  the  Imperial  troops  taken  possession  of  the  town,  than  Cosmo, 
without  regarding  the  articles  of  capitulation,  not  only  displaced  the 
magistrates  who  were  in  office,  and  nominated  new  ones  devoted  to  his  own 
interest,  but  commanded  all  the  citizens  to  deliver  up  their  arms  to  persons 
whom  he  appointed  to  receive  them.  They  submitted  to  the  former  from 
necessity,  though  with  all  the  reluctance  and  regret  which  men  accustomed 
to  liberty  feel  in  obeying  the  first  commands  of  a  master.  They  did  not 
yield  the  same  tame  obedience  to  the  latter ;  and  many  persons  of  distinc- 
tion, rather  than  degrade  themselves  from  the  rank  of  freemen  to  the  condi- 
tion of  slaves  by  surrendering  their  arms,  fled  to  their  countrymen  at  Monte- 
Alcino,  and  chose  to  endure  all  the  hardships,  and  encounter  all  the  dangers 
which  they  had  reason  to  expect  in  that  new  station,  where  they  had  fixed 
the  seat  of  their  republic. 

Cosmo,  not  reckoning  himself  secure  while  such  numbers  of  implacable 
and  desperate  enemies  were  settled  in  his  neighbourhood,  and  retained  any 
degree  of  power,  solicited  Medecino  to  attack  them  in  their  different  places 
of  retreat,  before  they  had  time  to  recruit  their  strength  and  spirits,  after 
the  many  calamities  which  they  had  suffered.  He  prevailed  on  him,  though 
his  army  was  much  weakened  by  hard  duty  during  the  siege  of  Sienna,  to 
invest  Porto  Ercole  ;  and  the  fortifications  being  both  slight  and  incom- 
plete, the  besieged  were  soon  compelled  to  open  their  gates  [June  13].  An 
unexpected  order,  which  Medecino  received  from  the  emperor  to  detach 
the  greater  part  of  his  troops  into  Piedmont,  prevented  farther  operations, 
and  permitted  the  Siennese  exiles  to  reside  for  some  time  undisturbed  in 
Monte-Alcino.  But  their  unhappy  countrymen  who  remained  at  Sienna 
were  not  yet  at  the  end  of  their  sufferings;  for  the  emperor,  instead  of 
adhering  to  the  articles  of  capitulation,  granted  his  son  Philip  the  investi- 
ture of  that  city  and  all  its  dependencies ;  and  Francis  de  I  oledo,  in  the 
name  of  their  new  master,  proceeded  to  set  tie  the  civil  and  military  govern- 


I4i  I'lir.    R  EIGN    OF    THE  [Book XI. 

raent,  treated  them  like  a  conquered  people,  and  subjected  them  to  the 
Spanish  yoke,  without  paying  any  regard  whatever  to  their  privileges  or 
ancient  lorm  of  government.* 

The  Imperial  army  in  Piedmont  had  been  so  feeble  for  some  time,  and 
its  commander  so  inactive,  that  the  emperor,  in  order  to  give  vigour  to  his 
operations  in  that  quarter,  found  it  necessary  not  only  to  recall  Medecino's 
troops  from  Tuscany,  while  in  the  career  of  conquest,  but  to  employ  in 
Piedmont  a  general  of  such  reputation  and  abilities,  as  might  counterbalance 
<he  great  military  talents  of  the  marechal  Brissac,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
the  French  forces  in  that  country. 

He  pitched  on  the  duke  of  Alva  for  that  purpose  ;  but  that  choice  was 
as  much  the  effect  of  a  court  intrigue,  as  of  his  opinion  with  respect  to  the 
duke's  merit.  Alva  had  long  made  court  to  Philip  with  the  utmost  assi- 
duity, and  had  endeavoured  to  work  himself  into  his  confidence  by  all  the 
insinuating  arts  of  which  his  haughty  and  inflexible  nature  was  capable.  As 
he  nearly  resembled  that  prince  in  many  features  of  his  character,  he  began 
to  gain  much  of  his  good-will.  Kuy  Gomez  de  Silva,  Philip's  favourite, 
who  dreaded  the  progress  which  this  formidable  rival  made  in  his  master's 
affections,  had  the  address  to  prevail  with  the  emperor  to  name  Alva  to 
this  command.  The  duke,  though  sensible  that  he  owed  this  distinction  to 
the  malicious  arts  of  an  enemy,  who  had  no  other  aim  than  to  remove  him 
at  a  distance  from  court,  was  of  such  punctilious  honour,  that  he  would  not 
decline  a  command  that  appeared  dangerous  and  difficult,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  was  so  haughty,  that  he  would  not  accept  of  it  but  on  his  own  terms, 
insisted  on  being  appointed  the  emperor's  vicar-general  in  Italy,  with  the 
supreme  military  command  in  all  the  Imperial  and  Spanish  territories  in 
that  country.  Charles  granted  all  his  demands  ;  and  he  took  possession  of 
his  new  dignity  with  almost  unlimited  authority. 

His  first  operations,  however,  were  neither  proportioned  to  his  former 
reputation  and  the  extensive  powers  with  which  he  was  invested,  nor  did 
they  come  up  to  the  emperor's  expectations.  Brissac  had  under  his  com- 
mand an  army  which,  though  inferior  in  number  to  the  Imperialists,  was 
composed  of  chosen  troops,  which  having  grown  old  in  service  in  that 
country,  where  every  town  was  fortified,  and  every  castle  capable  of  being 
defended,  were  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  manner  of  carrying  on  war 
there.  By  their  valour,  and  his  own  good  conduct,  Brissac  not  only  defeated 
all  the  attempts  of  the  Imperialists,  but  added  new  conquests  to  the  terri- 
tories of  which  he  was  formerly  master.  Alva,  after  having  boasted,  with 
his.usual  arrogance,  that  he  would  drive  the  French  out  of  Piedmont,  in  a 
few  weeks,  was  oBliged  to  retire  into  winter-quarters,  with  the  mortifica- 
tion of  being  unable  to  preserve  entire  that  part  of  the  country  of  which 
the  emperor  had  hitherto  kept  possession.! 

As  the  operations  of  this  campaign  in  Piedmont  were  indecisive,  those  in 
the  Netherlands  were  inconsiderable,  neither  the  emperor  nor  king  of 
France  being  able  to  bring  into  the  field  an  army  strong  enough  to  under- 
take any  enterprise  of  moment.  But  what  Charles  wanted  in  force,  he 
endeavoured  to  supply  by  a  bold  stratagem,  the  success  of  which  would 
have  been  equal  to  that  of  the  most  vigorous  campaign.  During  the  siege 
of  Metz,  Leonard,  father  guardian  of  a  convent  of  Franciscans  in  that  city, 
had  insinuated  himself  far  into  the  esteem  and  favour  of  the  duke  of  Guise, 
by  his  attachment  to  the  French.  Being  a  man  of  an  active  and  intriguing 
spirit,  he  had  been  extremely  useful  both  in  animating  the  inhabitants  to 
sustain  with  patience  all  the  hardships  of  the  siege,  and  in  procuring  intel- 
ligence of  the  enemy's  designs  and  motions.  The  merit  of  those  important 
services,  together  with  the  warm  recommendations  of  the  duke  of  Guise, 

•  Sleid.617.  Tiuian.  lib  xv. 526.  537.  .loan.  Camerarii  adnot.  rer.  prxcipnarum  nl>  anno  1550  ad 
1551  ap.  Preherum,  vol.  Hi.  p.  564.  Perri  Memoire  delta  Sienna,  iv.  64.  &c.  f  Thuan.  lib,  xv. 
SriD.    tiiiiciic ■■in m  Hist.  deSavoye,  torn.  i.  670 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  441 

secured  him  such  high  confidence  with  Vielleville,  who  was  appointed 
governor  of  Metz  when  Guise  left  the  town,  that  he  was  permitted  to  con- 
verse or  correspond  with  whatever  persons  he  thought  fit,  and  nothing  that 
he  did  created  any  suspicion.  This  monk,  from  the  levity  natural  to  bold 
and  projecting  adventurers ;  or  from  resentment  against  the  French,  who 
had  not  bestowed  on  him  such  rewards  as  he  thought  due  to  his  own  merit; 
or  tempted  by  the  unlimited  confidence  which  was  placed  in  him,  to  ima- 
gine that  he  might  carry  on  and  accomplish  any  scheme  with  perfect 
security,  formed  a  design  of  betraying  Metz  to  the  Imperialists. 

He  communicated  his  intention  to  the  queen-dowager  of  Hungary,  who 
governed  the  Low-Countries  in  the  name  of  her  brother.  She  approving 
without  any  scruple,  an  act  of  treachery,  from  which  the  emperor  might 
derive  such  signal  advantage,,  assisted  the  father  guardian  in  concerting 
the  most  proper  plan  for  ensuring  its  success.  They  agreed,  that  the 
father  guardian  should  endeavour  to  gain  his  monks  to  concur  in  promoting 
the  design,  that  he  should  introduce  into  the  convent  a  certain  number  of 
chosen  soldiers,  disguised  in  the  habit  of  friars  ;  that  when  every  thing 
was  ripe  for  execution,  the  governor  of  Thionville  should  march  towards 
Meiz  in  the  night  with  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  and  attempt  to  scale 
the  ramparts  ;  that  while  the  garrison  was  employed  in  resisting  the 
assailants,  the  monks'  should  set  fire  to  the  town  in  different  places ;  that 
the  soldiers  who  lay  concealed  should  sally  out  of  the  convent,  and  attack 
those  who  defended  the  ramparts  in  the  rear.  Amidst  the  universal  terror 
and  confusion  which  events  so  unexpected  would  occasion,  it  was  not 
doubted  but  that  the  Imperialists  might  become  masters  of  the  town.  As 
a  recompense  for  this  service,  the  father  guardian  stipulated  that  he  should 
be  appointed  bishop  of  Metz,  and  ample  rewards  were  promised  to  such 
of  his  monks  as  should  be  most  active  in  co-operating  with  him. 

The  father  guardian  accomplished  what  he  had  undertaken  to  perform 
with  great  secrecy  and  despatch.  By  his  authority  and  arguments,  as  well 
as  by  the  prospect  of  wealth  or  honours  which  he  set  before  his  monks, 
he  prevailed  on  all  of  them  to  enter  into  the  conspiracy.  He  introduced 
into  the  convent,  without  being  suspected,  as  many  soldiers  as  were  thought 
sufficient.  The  governor  of  Thionville,  apprized  in  due  time  of  the  design, 
had  assembled  a  proper  number  of  troops  for  executing  it ;  and  the  moment 
approached,  which  probably  would  have  wrested  from  Henry  the  most 
important  of  all  his  conquests. 

But,  happily  for  France,  on  the  very  day  that  was  fixed  for  striking  the 
blow,  Vielleville,  an  able  and  vigilant  officer,  received  information  from  a 
spy  whom  he  entertained  at  Thionville,  that  certain  Franciscan  friars  re- 
sorted frequently  thither  and  were  admitted  to  many  private  conferences 
with  the  governor,  who  was  carrying  on  preparations  for  some  military 
enterprise  with  great  despatch,  but  with  a  most  mysterious  secrecy.  This 
was  sufficient  to  awaken  Vielleville's  suspicions.  Without  communicating 
these  to  any  person,  he  instantly  visited  the  convent  of  Franciscans  ;  de- 
tected the  soldiers  who  were  concealed  there  ;  and  forced  them  to  discover 
as  much  as  they  knew  concerning  the  nature  of  the  enterprise.  The  father 
guardian,  who  had  gone  to  Thionville  that  he  might  put  the  last  hand  to 
his  machinations,  was  seized  at  the  gate  as  he  returned ;  and  he,  in  order 
to  save  himself  from  the  rack,  revealed  all  the  circumstances  of  the  con- 
spiracy. 

Vielleville,  not  satisfied  with  having  seized  the  traitors,  and  having 
frustrated  their  schemes,  was  solicitous  to  take  advantage  of  the  discoveries 
which  he  had  made,  so  as  to  be  revenged  on  the  Imperialists.  For  this 
purpose  he  marched  out  with  the  best  troops  in  his  garrison,  and  placing 
these  in  ambush  near  the  road,  by  which  the  father  guardian  had  informed 
him  that  the  governor  of  Thionville  would  approach  Metz,  he  fell  upon 
the  Imperialists  with  great  furv.  as  they  advanced   in  perfect  security, 

Vor.  TI._Sfi 


442  THE    REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  XL 

without  suspecting  any  danger  to  be  near.  Confounded  at  this  sudden 
attack,  by  an  enemy  whom  they  expected  to  surprise,  they  made  little 
resistance  ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  troops  employed  in  this  service,  among 
whom  were  many  persons  of  distinction,  was  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 
Before  next  morning,  Vielleville  returned  to  Metz  in  triumph. 

No  resolution  was  taken  for  some  time  concerning  the  fate  of  the  father 
guardian  and  his  monks,  the  framers  and  conductors  of  this  dangerous 
conspiracy.  Regard  for  the  honour  of  a  body  so  numerous  and  respectable 
as  the  Franciscans,  and  unwillingness  to  afford  a  subject  of  triumph  to  the 
enemies  of  the  Romish  church  by  their  disgrace,  seem  to  have  occasioned 
this  delay.  But  at  length,  the  necessity  of  inflicting  exemplary  punish- 
ment upon  them,  in  order  to  deter  others  from  venturing  to  commit  the 
same  crime,  became  so  evident,  that  orders  were  issued  to  proceed  to  their 
trial.  The  guilt  was  made  apparent  by  the  clearest  evidence ;  and  sentence 
of  death  was  passed  upon  the  father  guardian,  together  with  twenty 
monks.  On  the  evening  previous  to  the  day  fixed  for  their  execution,  the 
jailer  took  them  out  ot  the  dungeons  in  which  they  had  hitherto  been 
confined  separately,  and  shut  them  all  up  in  one  great  room,  that  they 
might  confess  their  sins  to  one  another,  and  join  together  in  preparing  for 
a  future  state.  But  as  soon  as  they  were  left  alone,  instead  of  employing 
themselves  in  the  religious  exercises  suitable  to  their  condition,  they  began 
to  reproach  the  father  guardian,  and  four  of  the  senior  monks  who  had 
been  most  active  in  seducing  them,  for  their  inordinate  ambition,  which 
had  brought  such  misery  on  them,  and  such  disgrace  upon  their  order. 
From  reproaches  they  proceeded  to  curses  and  execrations,  and  at  last,  in 
a  frenzy  of  rage  and  despair,  they  fell  upon  them  with  such  violence,  that 
they  murdered  the  father  guardian  on  the  spot,  and  so  disabled  the  other 
four,  that  it  became  necessary  to  carry  them  next  morning  in  a  cart,  to- 
gether with  the  dead  body  of  the  father  guardian,  to  the  place  of  execution. 
Six  of  the  youngest  were  pardoned,  the  rest  suffered  the  punishment  which 
their  crime  merited.* 

Though  both  parties,  exhausted  by  the  length  of  the  war,  carried  it  on 
in  this  languishing  manner,  neither  of  them  showed  any  disposition  to 
listen  to  overtures  of  peace.  Cardinal  Pole  indeed  laboured  with  all  the 
zeal  becoming  his  piety  and  humanity,  to  re-establish  concord  among  the 
princes  of  Christendom.  He  had  not  only  persuaded  his  mistress,  the 
queen  of  England,  to  enter  warmly  into  his  sentiments,  and  to  offer  her 
mediation  to  the  contending  powers,  but  had  prevailed  both  on  the  em- 
peror and  the  king  of  France  to  send  their  plenipotentiaries  to  a  village 
between  Gravelines  and  Ardres.  He  himself,  together  with  Gardiner 
bishop  of  Winchester,  repaired  thither  in  order  to  preside  as  mediators  in 
the  conferences  which  were  to  be  held  for  adjusting  all  the  points  in  dif- 
ference. But  though  each  of  the  monarchs  committed  this  negotiation  to 
some  of  their  ministers,  in  whom  they  placed  the  greatest  confidence,  it 
was  soon  evident  that  they  came  together  with  no  sincere  desire  of  accom- 
modation. [May  21 .]  Each  proposed  articles  so  extravagant  that  they  could 
have  no  hopes  of  their  being  accepted.  Pole,  after  exerting  in  vain  all  his 
zeal  and  address,  in  order  to  persuade  them  to  relinquish  such  extravagant 
demands,  and  to  consent  to  the  substitution  of  more  equal  conditions, 
became  sensible  of  the  folly  of  wasting  time,  in  attempting  to  re-establish 
concord  between  those  whom  their  obstinacy  rendered  irreconcilable,  broke 
off  the  conference,  and  returned  into  England.! 

During  these  transactions  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  Germany  enjoyed 
such  profound  tranquillity,  as  afforded  the  diet  full  leisure  to  deliberate, 

*Thuan.  lib.  xv.p.  522  Belcar.  Com.  Rer.  Gal.866.  Memoirs  du  Marech.  Vielleville,  par  M. 
Charloix,  torn.  iii.  p.  249,  &c.  p.  347.    Par.  1757.  *Thuan.  lit*,  xv.  p.  523.     Mem  d»  RiMei 

rora.  ii.  p.  613. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  443 

and  to  establish  proper  regulations  concerning  a  point  of  the  greatest  con- 
sequence to  the  internal  peace  of  the  empire.  By  the  treaty  of  Passau  in 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-two,  it  had  been  referred  to  the  next 
diet  of  the  empire  to  confirm  and  perfect  the  plan  of  religious  pacification, 
which  was  there  agreed  upon.  The  terror  and  confusion  with  which  the 
violent  commotions  excited  by  Albert  of  Brandenburg  had  filled  Germany, 
as  well  as  the  constant  attention  which  Ferdinand  was  obliged  to  give  to 
the  affairs  of  Hungary,  had  hitherto  prevented  the  holding  a  diet,  though 
it  had  been  summoned,  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  to  meet  at 
Augsburg. 

But  as  a  diet  was  now  necessary  on  many  accounts,  Ferdinand,  about 
the  beginning  of  this  year,  had  repaired  to  Augsburg.  Though  few  of  the 
princes  were  present,  either  in  person  or  by  their  deputies,  he  opened  the 
assembly  by  a  speech,  in  which  he  proposed  a  termination  of  the  dissen- 
sions to  which  the  new  tenets  and  controversies  with  regard  to  religion 
had  given  rise,  not  only  as  the  first  and  great  business  of  the  diet,  but  as 
the  point  which  both  the  emperor  and  he  had  most  at  heart.  He  repre- 
sented the  innumerable  obstacles  which  the  emperor  had  to  surmount 
before  he  could  procure  the  convocation  of  a  general  council,  as  well  as 
the  fatal  accidents  which  had  for  some  time  retarded,  and  had  at  last  sus- 
pended the  consultations  of  that  assembly.  He  observed,  that  experience 
had  already  taught  them  how  vain  it  was  to  expect  any  remedy  for  evils 
which  demanded  immediate  redress  from  a  general  council,  the  assembly 
of  which  would  either  be  prevented,  or  its  deliberations  be  interrupted  by 
the  dissensions  and  hostilities  of  the  princes  of  Christendom :  that  a 
national  council  in  Germany,  which,  as  some  imagined,  might  be  called 
with  greater  ease,  and  deliberate  with  more  perfect  security,  was  an 
assembly  of  an  unprecedented  nature,  the  jurisdiction  of  which  was  un- 
certain in  its  extent,  and  the  form  of  its  proceedings  undefined :  that  in 
his  opinion  there  remained  but  one  method  for  composing  their  unhappy 
differences,  which  though  it  had  been  often  tried  without  success,  might 
yet  prove  effectual  if  it  were  attempted  with  a  better  and  more  pacific 
spirit  than  had  appeared  on  former  occasions,  and  that  was  to  choose  a 
few  men  of  learning,  abilities,  and  moderation,  who,  by  discussing  the 
disputed  articles,  in  an  amicable  conference,  might  explain  them  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  bring  the  contending  parties  either  to  unite  in  sentiment,  or 
to  differ  with  charity. 

This  speech  being  printed  in  common  form,  and  dispersed  over  the 
empire,  revived  the  fears  and  jealousies  of  the  protestants ;  Ferdinand, 
they  observed  with  much  surprise,  had  not  once  mentioned,  in  his  address 
to  the  diet,  the  treaty  of  Passau,  the  stipulations  of  which  they  considered 
as  the  great  security  of  their  religious  liberty.  The  suspicions  to  which 
this  gave  rise  were  confirmed  by  the  accounts  which  they  daily  received 
of  the  extreme  severity  with  which  Ferdinand  treated  their  protestant 
brethren  in  his  hereditary  dominions,  and,  as  it  was  natural  to  consider  his 
actions  as  the  surest  indication  of  his  intentions,  this  diminished  their  con- 
fidence in  those  pompous  professions  of  moderation  or  of  zeal  for  the 
re-establishment  of  concord,  to  which  his  practice  seemed  to  be  so  re- 
pugnant. 

The  arrival  of  the  cardinal  Morone,  whom  the  pope  had  appointed  to 
attend  the  diet  as  his  nuncio,  completed  their  conviction,  and  left  them  no 
room  to  doubt  that  some  dangerous  machination  was  forming  against  the 
peace  or  safety  of  the  protestant  church.  Julius,  elated  with  the  unex- 
pected return  of  the  English  nation  from  apostacy,  began  to  flatter  himself, 
that  the  spirit  of  mutiny  and  revolt  having  now  spent  its  force,  the  happy 
period  was  come  when  the  church  might  resume  its  ancient  authority,  and 
be  obeyed  by  the  people  with  the  same  tame  submission  as  formerly. 
Full  of  these  hopes,  he  had  senl  Morone  to  Augsburg,  with  instruction5:  to 


444  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  XI. 

employ  his  eloquence  to  excite  the  Germans  to  imitate  the  laudable  example 
of  the  English,  and  his  political  address  in  order  to  prevent  any  decree 
of  the  diet  to  the  detriment  of  the  catholic  taith.  As  Morone  inherited 
from  his  father,  the  chancellor  of  Milan,  uncommon  talents  for  negotiation 
and  intrigue,  he  could  hardly  have  tailed  from  embarrassing  the  measures 
of  the  protestants  in  the  diet,  or  of  defeating  whatever  they  aimed  at 
obtaining  in  it  for  their  farther  security. 

But  an  unforeseen  event  delivered  them  from  all  the  danger  which  they 
had  reason  to  apprehend  from  Morone's  presence.  Julius,  by  abandoning 
himsel!  to  pleasures  and  amusements,  no  less  unbecoming  his  age  than  his 
character,  having  contracted  such  habits  of  dissipation,  that  any  serious 
occupation,  especially  if  attended  with  difficulty,  became  an  intolerable 
burden  to  him,  had  long  resisted  the  solicitations  of  his  nephew  to  hold  a 
consistory,  because  he  expected  there  a  violent  opposition  to  his  shemes 
in  favour  of  that  young  man.  But  when  all  the  pretexts  which  he  could 
invent  for  eluding  this  request  were  exhausted,  and  at  the  same  time  his 
indolent  aversion  to  business  continued  to  grow  upon  him,  he  feigned 
indisposition  rather  than  yield  to  his  nephew  s  importunity ;  and  that  he 
might  give  the  deceit  a  greater  colour  of  probability,  he  not  only  confined 
himselt  to  his  apartment,  but  changed  his  usual  diet  and  manner  of  life. 
By  persisting  too  long  in  acting  this  ridiculous  part,  he  contracted  a  real 
disease,  of  which  he  died  in  a  iew  days  [March  23],  leaving  his  infamous 
minion  the  cardinal  de  Monte  to  bear  his  name,  and  to  disgrace  the  dignity 
which  he  had  conferred  upon  him.*  As  soon  as  Morone  heard  of  his 
death,  he  set  out  abruptly  from  Augsburg,  where  he  had  resided  only  a 
few  days,  that  he  might  be  present  at  the  election  of  a  new  pontiff. 

One  cause  of  their  suspicions  and  fears  being  thus  removed,  the  protes- 
tants soon  became  sensible  that  their  conjectures  concerning  Ferdinand's 
intentions,  however  specious,  were  ill-founded,  and  that  he  had  no  thoughts 
of  violating  the  articles  favourable  to  them  in  the  treaty  of  Passau. 
Charles,  from  the  time  that  Maurice  had  defeated  all  his  schemes  in  the 
empire,  and  overturned  the  great  system  of  religious  and  civil  despotism, 
which  he  had  almost  established  there,  gave  little  attention  to  the  internal 
government  of  Germany,  and  permitted  his  brolher  to  pursue  whatever 
measures  he  judged  most  salutary  and  expedient.  Ferdinand,  less  ambi- 
tious and  enterprising  than  the  emperor,  instead  of  resuming  a  plan  which 
he  with  power  and  resources  so  far  superior  had  failed  of  accomplishing, 
endeavoured  to  attach  the  princes  of  the  empire  to  his  family  by  an 
administration  uniformly  moderate  and  equitable.  To  this  he  gave,  at 
present,  particular  attention,  because  his  situation  at  this  juncture  rendered 
it  necessary  to  court  their  favour  and  support  with  more  than  usual 
assiduity: 

Charles  had  again  resumed  his  favourite  project  of  acquiring  the  Impe- 
rial crown  for  his  son  Philip,  the  prosecution  of  which,  the  reception  it 
had  met  with  when  first  proposed  had  obliged  him  to  suspend,  but  had 
not  induced  him  to  relinquish.  This  led  him  warmly  to  renew  his  request 
^o  his  brother  that  he  would  accept  of  some  compensation  for  his  prior 
light  of  succession,  and  sacrifice  that  to  the  grandeur  of  the  house  of 
Austria.  Ferdinand,  who  was  as  little  disposed  as  formerly  to  give  such 
an  extraordinary  proof  of  self-denial,  being  sensible  that,  in  order  to  defeat 
this  scheme,  not  only  the  most  inflexible  firmness  on  his  part,  but  a  vigorous 
declaration  from  the  princes  of  the  empire  in  behalf  of  his  title,  were 
requisite,  was  willing  to  purchase  their  favour  by  gratifying  them  in  every 
point  that  they  deemed  interesting  or  essential. 

At  the  same  time  he  stood  in  need  of  immediate  and  extraordinary  aid 
from  the  Germanic  body,  as  the  Turks,  after  having  wrested  from  him 

*  Onuplir.  Panvjnius  de  Viiis  Pnjitificum,  p.  320.    Thuan.  lih.  xv.  517 


EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.  446 

great  part  of  his  Hungarian  territories,  were  ready  to  attack  the  provinces 
still  subject  to  his  authority  with  a  formidable  army,  against  which  he 
could  bring  no  equal  force  into  the  field.  For  this  aid  from  Germany  he 
could  not  hope,  it  the  internal  peace  of  the  empire  were  not  established 
on  a  foundation  solid  in  itself,  and  which  should  appear,  even  to  the  pro- 
testants,  so  secure  and  so  permanent,  as  might  not  only  allow  them  to 
engage  in  a  distant  war  with  safety,  but  might  encourage  them  to  act  in  it 
with  vigour. 

A  step  taken  by  the  protestants  themselves,  a  short  time  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  diet,  rendered  him  still  more  cautious  of  giving  them  any  new 
cause  of  offence.  As  soon  as  the  publication  ot  Ferdinand's  speech 
awakened  the  fears  and  suspicions  which  have  been  mentioned,  the 
electors  of  Saxony  and  Brandenburg,  together  with  the  landgrave  ol  Hesse, 
met  at  Naumburgh,  and  confirming  the  ancient  treaty  of  confraternity 
which  had  long  united  their  families,  (hey  added  to  it  a  new  article,  by 
which  the  contracting  parlies  bound  themselves  to  adhere  to  the  confession 
of  Augsburg,  and  to  maintain  the  doctrine  which  it  contained  in  their 
respective  dominions.* 

Ferdinand,  influenced  by  all  these  considerations,  employed  his  utmost 
address  in  conducting  the  deliberations  of  the  diet,  so  as  not  to  excite  the 
jealousy  of  a  party  on  whose  friendship  he  depended,  and  whose  enmity, 
as  they  had  not  only  taken  the  alarm,  but  had  begun  to  prepare  for  their 
defence,  he  had  so  much  reason  to  dread.  The  members  of  the  diet 
readily  agreed  to  Ferdinand's  proposal  of  taking  the  state  of  religion  into 
consideration,  previous  to  any  other  business.  But  as  soon  as  they  entered 
upon  it,  both  parties  discovered  all  the  zeal  and  animosity  which  a  subject 
so  interesting  naturally  engenders,  and  which  the  rancour  of  controversy, 
together  with  the  violence  of  civil  war,  had  inflamed  to  the  highest  pitch. 

The  protestants  contended,  that  the  security  which  they  claimed  in  con- 
sequence of  the  treaty  of  Passau,  should  extend,  without  limitation,  to  all 
who  had  hitherto  embraced  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  or  who  should  here- 
after embrace  it.  The  Catholics,  having  first  of  all  asserted  the  pope's 
right  as  the  supreme  and  final  judge  with  respect  to  all  articles  ol  faith, 
declared,  that  though,  on  account  of  the  present  situation  of  the  empire, 
for  the  sake  of  peace,  they  were  willing  to  confirm  the  toleration  granted 
by  the  treaty  of  Passau,  to  such  as  had  already  adopted  the  new  opinions  ; 
they  must  insist  that  this  indulgence  should  not  be  extended  either  to  those 
cities  which  had  conformed  to  the  Interim,  or  to  such  ecclesiastics  as 
should  for  the  future  apostatize  from  the  church  of  Rome.  R  was  no 
easy  matter  to  reconcile  such  opposite  pretensions,  which  were  supported, 
on  each  side,  by  the  most  elaborate  arguments,  and  the  greatest  acrimony 
of  expression,  that  the  abilities  or  zeal  of  theologians  long  exercised  in 
disputation  could  suggest.  Ferdinand,  however,  by  his  address  and  per- 
severance ;  by  softening  some  things  on  each  side,  by  putting  a  favourable 
meaning  upon  others;  by  representing  incessantly  the  necessity  as  well  as 
the  advantages  of  concord  ;  and  by  threatening,  on  some  occasions,  when 
all  other  considerations  were  disregarded,  to  dissolve  the  diet,  brought 
them  at  length  to  a  conclusion  in  which  they  all  agreed. 

Conformably  to  this,  a  recess  was  framed,  approved  of  and  published 
with  the  usual  formalities  [Sept.  25].  The  following  are  the  chief  articles 
which  it  contained  :  That  such  princes  and  cities  as  have  declared  theiv 
approbation  of  the  confession  of  Augsburg,  shall  be  permitted  to  profess 
the  doctrine  and  exercise  the  worship  which  it  authorizes,  without  inter- 
ruption or  molestation  from  the  emperor,  the  king  of  the  Romans,  or  any 
power  or  person  whatsoever ;  That  the  protestants,  on  their  part,  shall 
give  no  disquiet  to  the  princes  and  states  who  adhere  to  the  tenets  and  rites 

*  Cbvtnei  Saxonia.  480 


446  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Book  XL 

of  the  church  of  Rome  ;  That,  for  the  future,  no  attempt  shall  he  made 
towards  terminating  religious  differences,  but  by  the  gentle  and  pacific 
methods  of  persuasion  and  conference  ;  That  the  popish  ecclesiastics  shall 
claim  no  spiritual  jurisdiction  in  such  states  as  receive  the  confession  of 
Augsburg ;  That  such  as  had  seized  the  benefices  or  revenues  of  the 
church,  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Passau,  shall  retain  possession  of  them, 
and  be  liable  to  no  prosecution  in  the  Imperial  chamber  on  that  account ; 
That  the  supreme  civil  power  in  every  state  shall  have  right  to  establish 
what  form  of  doctrine  and  worship  it  shall  deem  proper,  and  if  any  of  its 
subjects  refuse  to  conform  to  these,  shall  permit  them  to  remove  with  all 
their  effects,  whithersoever  they  shall  please  ;  that  if  any  prelate  or  eccle- 
siastic shall  hereafter  abandon  the  Romish  religion,  he  shall  instantly  relin- 
quish his  diocess  or  benefice,  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  those  in  whom  the 
light  of  nomination  is  vested,  to  proceed  immediately  to  an  election,  as  if 
the  office  were  vacant  by  death  or  translation,  and  to  appoint  a  successor 
of  undoubted  attachment  to  the  ancient  system.* 

Such  are  the  capital  articles  in  this  famous  recess,  which  is  the  basis  of 
religious  peace  in  Germany,  and  the  bond  of  union  among  its  various 
states,  the  sentiments  of  which  are  so  extremely  different  with  respect  to 
points  the  most  interesting  as  well  as  important.  In  our  age  and  nation,  to 
which  the  idea  of  toleration  is  familiar,  and  its  beneficial  effects  well 
known,  it  may  seem  strange,  that  a  method  of  terminating  their  dissensions, 
so  suitable  to  the  mild  and  charitable  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion,  did 
not  sooner  occur  to  the  contending  parties.  But  this  expedient,  however 
salutary,  was  so  repugnant  to  the  sentiments  and  practice  of  Christians 
during  many  ages,  that  it  did  not  lie  obvious  to  discovery.  Among  the 
ancient  heathens,  all  whose  deities  were  local  and  tutelary,  diversity  of 
sentiment  concerning  the  object  or  rites  of  religious  worship  seems  to  have 
been  no  source  of  animosity,  because  the  acknowledging  veneration  to  be 
due  to  any  one  God,  did  not  imply  denial  of  the  existence  or  the  power 
of  any  other  God  ;  nor  were  the  modes  and  rites  of  worship  established 
in  one  country  incompatible  with  those  which  other  nations  approved  of 
and  observed.  Thus  the  errors  in  their  system  of  theology  were  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  be  productive  of  concord  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  amazing 
number  of  their  deities,  as  well  as  the  infinite  variety  of  their  ceremonies, 
a  sociable  and  tolerating  spirit  subsisted  almost  universally  in  the  pagan 
world. 

But  when  the  Christian  revelation  declared  one  Supreme  Being  to  be 
the  sole  object  of  religious  veneration,  and  prescribed  the  form  of  worship 
most  acceptable  to  him,  whoever  admitted  the  truth  of  it,  held,  of  conse- 
quence, every  other  system  of  religion  as  a  deviation  from  what  was  estab- 
lished by  divine  authority,  to  be  false  and  impious.  Hence  arose  the  zeal 
of  the  first  converts  to  the  Christian  faith  in  propagating  its  doctrines,  and 
the  ardour  with  which  they  laboured  to  overturn  every  other  form  of  wor- 
ship. They  employed,  however,  for  this  purpose,  no  methods  but  such  as 
suited  the  nature  of  religion.  By  the  force  of  powerful  arguments,  they 
convinced  the  understandings  of  men  ;  by  the  charms  of  superior  virtue, 
they  allured  and  captivated  their  hearts.  At  length  the  civil  power 
declared  in  favour  of  Christianity ;  and  though  numbers,  imitating  the 
example  of  their  superiors,  crowded  into  the  church,  many  still  adhered 
to  their  ancient  superstitions.  Enraged  at  their  obstinacy,  the  ministers  of 
religion,  whose  zeal  was  still  unabated,  though  their  sanctity  and  virtue 
were  much  diminished,  forgot  so  far  the  nature  of  their  own  mission,  and 
of  the  arguments  which  they  ought  to  have  employed,  that  they  armed  the 
Imperial  power  against  these  unhappy  men,  and  as  they  could  not  per- 
suade, they  tried  to  compel  them  to  believe. 

•  3Ieid.  630     F.  Pan!.  363.    PaUsv.  p.  11.  I6J. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  447 

At  the  same  time,  controversies  concerning  articles  of  taith  multiplied, 
from  various  causes,  among  Christians  themselves,  and  the  same  unhallowed 
weapons  which  had  at  first  been  used  against  the  enemies  of  their  reli- 
gion, were  turned  against  each  other.  Every  zealous  disputant  endea- 
voured to  interest  the  civil  magistrate  in  his  cause,  and  each  in  his  turn 
employed  the  secular  arm  to  crush  or  to  exterminate  his  opponents.  Not 
long  after,  the  bishops  of  Rome  put  in  their  claim  to  infallibility  in 
explaining  articles  of  faith,  and  deciding  points  in  controversy ;  and,  bold 
as  the  pretension  was,  they,  by  their  artifices  and  perseverance,  imposed 
on  the  credulity  of  mankind,  and  brought  them  to  recognise  it.  To 
doubt  or  to  deny  any  doctrine  to  which  these  unerring  instructers  had 
given  the  sanction  of  their  approbation,  was  held  to  be  not  only  a  resisting 
of  truth,  but  an  act  of  rebellion  against  their  sacred  authority  ;  and  the 
secular  power,  of  which  by  various  arts  they  had  acquired  the  absolute 
direction,  was  instantly  employed  to  avenge  both. 

Thus  Europe  had  been  accustomed,  during  many  centuries,  to  see  spe- 
culative opinions  propagated  or  defended  by  force  ;  the  charity  and  mutual 
forbearance  which  Christianity  recommends  with  so  much  warmth,  were 
forgotten,  the  sacred  rights  of  conscience  and  of  private  judgment  were 
unheard  of,  and  not  only  the  idea  of  toleration,  but  even  the  word  itself, 
in  the  sense  now  affixed  to  it,  was  unknown.  A  right  to  extirpate  error 
by  force  was  universally  allowed  to  be  the  prerogative  of  such  as  pos- 
sessed the  knowledge  of  truth  ;  and  as  each  party  of  Christians  believed 
that  they  had  got  possession  of  this  invaluable  attainment,  they  all  claimed 
and  exercised,  as  far  as  they  were  able,  the  rights  which  it  was  supposed 
to  convey.  The  Roman  catholics,  as  their  system  rested  on  the  decisions 
of  an  infallible  judge,  never  doubted  that  truth  was  on  their  side,  and 
openly  called  on  the  civil  power  to  repel  the  impious  and  heretical  inno- 
vators who  had  risen  up  against  it.  The  protestants,  no  less  confident  that 
their  doctrine  was  well  founded,  required,  with  equal  ardour,  the  princes 
of  their  party  to  check  such  as  presumed  to  impugn  it.  Luther,  Calvin, 
Cranmer,  Knox,  the  founders  of  the  reformed  church  in  their  respective 
countries,  as  far  as  they  had  power  and  opportunity,  inflicted  the  same 
punishments  upon  such  as  called  in  question  any  article  in  their  creeds, 
which  were  denounced  against  their  own  disciples  by  the  church  of  Rome. 
To  their  followers,  and  perhaps  to  their  opponents,  it  would  have  appeared 
a  system  of  diffidence  in  the  goodness  of  their  cause,  or  an  acknowledg- 
ment that  it  was  not  well  founded,  if  they  had  not  employed  in  its  defence 
all  those  means  which  it  was  supposed  truth  had  a  right  to  employ. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  before  toleration, 
under  its  present  form,  was  admitted  first  into  the  republic  of  the  United 
Provinces,  and  from  thence  introduced  into  England.  Long  experience 
of  the  calamities  flowing  from  mutual  persecution,  the  influence  of  free 
government,  the  light  and  humanity  acquired  by  the  progress  of  science, 
together  with  the  prudence  and  authority  of  the  civil  magistrate,  were  all 
requisite  in  order  to  establish  a  regulation,  so  repugnant  to  the  ideas  which 
all  the  different  sects  had  adopted,  from  mistaken  conceptions  concerning 
the  nature  of  religion  and  the  rights  of  truth,  or  which  all  of  them  had 
derived  from  the  erroneous  maxims  established  by  the  church  of  Rome. 

The  recess  of  Augsburg,  it  is  evident,  was  founded  on  no  such  liberal 
and  enlarged  sentiments  concerning  freedom  of  religious  inquiry,  or  the 
nature  of  toleration.  It  was  nothing  more  than  a  scheme  of  pacification, 
which  political  considerations  alone  had  suggested  to  the  contending  par- 
ties, and  regard  for  their  mutual  tranquillity  and  safety  had  rendered  neces- 
sary. Of  this  there  can  be  no  stronger  proof  than  an  article  in  the  recess 
itself,  by  which  the  benefits  of  the  pacification  are  declared  to  extend  only 
to  the  catholics  on  the  one  side,  and  to  such  as  adhered  to  the  confession 
of  Augsburg  on  the  other.    The  followers  of  Zuingliua  and  Calvin  remain- 


448  THdK  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XL 

ed,  in  consequence  of  that  exclusion,  without  any  protection  from  the  rigour 
of  the  laws  denounced  against  heretics.  Nor  did  they  obtain  any  legal 
security,  until  the  treaty  of  Westphalia,  near  a  century  after  this  period, 
provided,  that  they  should  be  admitted  to  enjoy,  in  as  ample  a  manner  as 
the  Lutherans,  all  the  advantages  and  protection  which  the  recess  of  Augs- 
burg affords. 

But  if  the  followers  of  Luther  were  highly  pleased  with  the  security 
which  they  acquired  by  this  recess,  such  as  adhered  to  the  ancient  system 
had  no  less  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  that  article  in  it,  which  preserved 
entire  to  the  Roman  catholic  church  the  benefices  of  such  ecclesiastics  as 
should  hereafter  renounce  its  doctrines.  This  article,  known  in  Germany 
by  the  name  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Reservation,  was  apparently  so  conform- 
able to  the  idea  and  to  the  rights  of  an  established  church,  and  it  seemed 
so  equitable  to  prevent  revenues,  which  had  been  originally  appropriated 
lor  the  maintenance  of  persons  attached  to  a  certain  system,  from  being 
alienated  to  any  other  purpose,  that  the  protestants,  though  they  foresaw 
its  consequences,  were  obliged  to  relinquish  their  opposition  to  it.  As  the 
Roman  catholic  princes  of  the  empire  have  taken  care  to  see  this  article 
exactly  observed  in  every  case  where  there  was  an  opportunity  of  putting 
it  in  execution,  it  has  proved  the  great  barrier  of  the  Romisn  church  in 
Germany  against  the  reformation;  and  as,  from  this  period,  the  same 
temptation  of  interest  did  not  allure  ecclesiastics  to  relinquish  the  estab- 
lished system,  there  have  been  few  of  that  order,  who  have  loved  truth 
with  such  disinterested  and  ardent  affection,  as,  for  its  sake,  to  abandon 
(he  rich  benefices  which  they  had  in  possession. 

During  the  sitting  of  the  diet  [April  9],  Marcellus  Cervino,  cardinal  of 
St.  Croce,  was  elected  pope  in  the  room  of  Julius.  He,  in  imitation  of 
Adrian,  did  not  change  his  name  on  being  exalted  to  the  papal  chair.  As 
he  equalled  that  pontiff  in  purity  of  intention,  while  he  excelled  him  much 
in  the  arts  of  government,  and  still  more  in  knowledge  of  the  state  and 
genius  of  the  papal  court ;  as  he  had  capacity  to  discern  what  reformation 
it  needed,  as  well  as  what  it  could  bear ;  such  regulations  were  expected 
from  his  virtue  and  wisdom,_as  would  have  removed  many  of  its  grossest 
and  most  flagrant  corruptions,  and  have  contributed  towards  reconciling  to 
the  church  such  as,  from  indignation  at  these  enormities,  had  abandoned 
its  communion.  But  this  excellent  pontiff  was  only  shown  to  the  church, 
and  immediately  snatched  away.  The  confinement  in  the  conclave  had 
impaired  his  health,  and  the  fatigue  of  tedious  ceremonies  upon  his  acces- 
sion, together  with  too  intense  and  anxious  application  of  mind  to  the 
schemes  of  improvement  which  he  meditated,  exhausted  so  entirely  the 
vigour  of  his  feeble  constitution,  that  he  sickened  on  the  twelfth,  and  died 
on  the  twentieth  day  after  his  election.* 

All  the  refinements  in  artifice  and  intrigue,  peculiar  to  conclaves,  were 
displayed  in  that  which  was  held  for  electing  a  successor  to  Marcellus  ; 
the  cardinals  of  the  Imperial  and  French  factions  labouring,  with  equal 
ardour,  to  gain  the  necessary  number  of  suffrages  for  one  of  their  own 
party.  But,  after  a  struggle  of  no  long  duration,  though  conducted  with 
all  the  warmth  and  eagerness  natural  to  men  contending  for  so  great  an 
object,  they  united  in  choosing  John  Peter  Caraffa  [May  23],  the  eldest 
member  of  the  sacred  college,  and  the  son  of  count  Montorio,  a  nobleman 
of  an  illustrious  family  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The  address  and  influ- 
ence of  cardinal  Farnese,  who  favoured  his  pretensions,  Caraffa's  own 
merit,  and  perhaps  his  great  age,  which  soothed  all  the  disappointed  can- 
didates with  the  near  prospect  of  a  new  vacancy,  concurred  in  bringing 
•  ibout  this  speedy  union  of  suffrages.  In  order  to  testify  his  respect  for  the 
memory  of  Paul  III.  by  whom  he  had  been  created  cardinal,  ac  wpII  as 

■  Thuan.  ".-30.    F.  Paul.  365.     Onnpli.  Panvin.  991.  tu 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V."  44y 

his  gratitude  to  the  family  of  Farnese,  he  assumed  the  name  of  Paul  the 
Fourth. 

The  choice  of  a  prelate  of  such  a  singular  character,  and  who  had  long' 
held  a  course  extremely  different  from  that  which  usually  led  to  the  dig- 
nity now  conferred  upon  him,  filled  the  Italians,  who  had  nearest  access  to 
observe  his  manners  and  deportment,  with  astonishment,  and  kept  them  in 
suspense  and  solicitude  with  regard  to  his  future  conduct.  Paul,  though 
born  in  a  rank  of  life  which,  without  any  other  merit,  might  have  secured 
to  him  the  highest  ecclesiastical  preferments,  had,  from  his  early  years, 
applied  to  study  with  all  the  assiduity  of  a  man  who  had  nothing  but  his 
personal  attainments  to  render  him  conspicuous.  By  means  of  this,  he  not 
only  acquired  profound  skill  in  schplastic  theology,  but  added  to  that  a 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  learned  languages  and  of  polite  literature, 
the  study  of  which  had  been  lately  revived  in  Italy,  and  was  pursued  at 
this  time  with  great  ardour.  His  mind,  however,  naturally  gloomy  and 
severe,  was  more  formed  to  imbibe  the  sour  spirit  of  the  former,  than  to 
receive  any  tincture  of  elegance  or  liberality  of  sentiment  from  the  latter ; 
so  that  he  acquired  rather  the  qualities  and  passions  of  a  recluse  ecclesi- 
astic, than  the  talents  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  great  affairs.  Accord- 
ingly, when  be  entered  into  orders,  although  several  rich  benefices  were 
bestowed  upon  him,  and  he  was  early  employed  as  nuncio  in  different 
courts,  he  soon  became  disgusted  with  that  course  of  life,  and  languished 
to  be  in  a  situation  more  suited  to  his  taste  and  temper.  With  this  view, 
he  resigned  at  once  all  his  ecclesiastical  preferments  ;  and  having  instituted 
an  order  of  regular  priests,  whom  he  denominated  Theatines,  from  the 
name  of  the  archbishopric  which  he  had  held,  he  associated  himself  as  a 
member  of  their  fraternity,  conformed  to  all  the  rigorous  rules  to  which  he 
had  subjected  them,  and  preferred  the  solitude  of  a  monastic  life,  with  the 
honour  of  being  the  founder  of  a  new  order,  to  all  the  great  objects  which 
the  court  of  Rome  presented  to  his  ambition. 

In  this  retreat  he  remained  for  many  years,  until  Paul  III.,  induced  by 
the  fame  of  his  sanctity  and  knowledge,  called  him  to  Rcma,  in  order  to 
consult  with  him  concerning  the  measures  which  might  be  most  proper  and 
effectual  for  suppressing  heresy,  and  re-establishing  the  ancient  authority 
of  the  church.  Having  thus  allured  him  from  his  solitude,  the  pope,  partly 
by  his  entreaties,  and  partly  by  his  authority,  prevailed  on  him  to  accept 
of  a  cardinal's  hat,  to  reassume  the  benefices  which  he  had  resigned,  and 
to  return  again  into  the  usual  path  of  ecclesiastical  ambition  which  he 
seemed  to  have  relinquished.  But,  during  two  successive  pontificates, 
under  the  first  of  which  the  court  of  Rome  was  the  most  artful  and  inter- 
ested, and  under  the  second  the  most  dissolute  of  any  in  Europe,  Caraffa 
retained  his  monastic  austerity.  He  was  an  avowed  and  bitter  enemy  not 
only  of  all  innovation  in  opinion,  but  of  every  irregularity  in  practice ;  he 
was  the  chief  instrument  in  establishing  the  formidable  and  odious  tribunal 
of  the  inquisition  in  the  papal  territories ;  he  appeared  a  violent  advocate 
on  all  occasions  for  the  jurisdiction  and  discipline  of  the  church,  and  a 
severe  censurer  of  every  measure  which  seemed  to  flow  from  motives  of 
policy  or  interest,  rather  than  from  zeal  for  the  honour  of  the  ecclesiastical 
order,  and  the  dignity  of  the  holy  see.  Under  a  prelate  of  such  a  charac- 
ter, the  Romui  courtiers  expected  a  severe  and  violent  pontificate,  during 
which  the  principles  of  sound  policy  would  be  sacrificed  to  the  narrow 
prejudices  of  priestly  zeal  ;  while  the  people  of  Rome  were  apprehensive 
of  seeing  the  sordid  and  forbidding  rigour  of  monastic  manners  substituted 
in  place  of  the  gayety  or  magnificence  to  which  they  had  long  been  accus- 
tomed in  the  papal  court.  These  apprehensions  Paul  was  extremely  soli- 
citous to  remove.  At  his  first  entrance  upon  the  administration,  he  laid 
aside  that  austerity  which  had  hitherto  distinguished  his  person  and  family, 
nnd  when  the  master  of  bis  household  inquired  in  what  manner  he  would 

Vor.  II.— 57 


450  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  XL 

choose  to  Jive,  he  haughtily  replied, "As  becomes  a  great  prince."  He 
ordered  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation  to  be  conducted  with  more  than 
usual  pomp  ;  and  endeavoured  to  render  himself  popular  by  several  acts 
of  liberality  and  indulgence  towards  the  inhabitants  of  Rome.* 

His  natural  severity  of  temper,  however,  would  have  soon  returned  upon 
him,  and  would  have  justified  the  conjectures  of  the  courtiers,  as  well  as 
the  fears  of  the  people,  if  he  had  not,  immediately  after  his  election,  called 
to  Rome  two  of  his  nephews,  the  sons  of  his  brother  the  count  of  Montorio. 
The  eldest  he  promoted  to  be  governor  of  Rome.  The  youngest,  who 
had  hitherto  served  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  in  the  armies  of  Spain  or  France, 
and  whose  disposition  as  well  as  manners  were  still  more  foreign  from  the 
clerical  character  than  his  profession,  he  created  a  cardinal,  and  appointed, 
him  legate  of  Bologna,  the  second  office  in  power  and  dignity  which  a 
pope  can  bestow.  These  marks  of  favour,  no  less  sudden  than  extrava- 
gant, he  accompanied  with  the  most  unbounded  confidence  and  attach- 
ment, and  forgetting  all  his  former  severe  maxims,  he  seemed  to  have  no 
other  object  than  the  aggrandizement  of  his  nephews.  Their  ambition, 
unfortunately  for  Paul,  was  too  aspiring  to  be  satisfied  with  any  moderate 
acquisition.  They  had  seen  the  family  of  Medici  raised  by  the  interest 
of  the  popes  of  that  house  to  supreme  power  in  Tuscany  ;  Paul  HI.  had, 
by  his  abilities  and  address,  secured  the  dutchies  of  Parma  and  Placentia 
to  the  family  of  Farnese.  They  aimed  at  some  establishment  for  them- 
selves, no  less  considerable  and  independent ;  and  as  they  could  not  expect 
that  the  pope  would  carry  his  indulgence  towards  them  so  far  as  to  secu- 
larize any  part  of  the  patrimony  of  the  church,  they  had  no  prospect  of 
attaining  what  they  wished,  but  by  dismembering  the  Imperial  dominions 
in  Italy,  in  hopes  of  seizing  some  portion  of  them.  This  alone  they  would 
have  deemed  a  sufficient  reason  tor  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord  between 
their  uncle  and  the  emperor. 

But  cardinal  Caratfa  had,  besides,  private  reasons  which  filled  him  with 
hatred  and  enmity  to  the  emperor.  While  he  served  in  the  Spanish  troops 
he  had  not  received  such  marks  of  honour  and  distinction  as  he  thought 
due  to  his  birth  and  merit.  ^Disgusted  with  this  ill  usage,  he  had  abruptly 
quitted  the  Imperial  service  ;  and  entering  into  that  of  France,  he  had  not 
only  met  with  such  a  reception  as  soothed  his  vanity,  and  attached  him  to 
the  French  interest,  but  by  contracting  an  intimate  friendship  with  Strozzi, 
who  commanded  the  French  army  in  Tuscany,  he  had  imbibed  a  mortal 
antipathy  to  the  emperor  as  the  great  enemy  to  the  liberty  and  independence 
of  the  Italian  states.  Nor  was  the  pope  himself  indisposed  to  receive  im- 
pressions unfavourable  to  the  emperor.  The  opposition  given  to  his  election 
by  the  cardinals  of  the  Imperial  faction,  left  in  his  mind  deep  resentment, 
which  was  heightened  by  the  remembrance  of  ancient  injuries  from  Charles 
or  his  ministers. 

Of  this  his  nephews  took  advantage,  and  employed  various  devices,  in 
order  to  exasperate  him  beyond  a  possibility  of  reconciliation.  They  ag- 
gravated every  circumstance  which  could  be  deemed  any  indication  of  the 
emperor's  dissatisfaction  with  his  promotion  ;  they  read  to  him  an  inter- 
cepted letter,  in  which  Charles  taxed  the  cardinals  of  his  party  with  negli- 
gence or  incapacity  in  not  having  defeated  Paul's  election  :  they  pretended, 
at  one  time,  to  have  discovered  a  conspiracy  formed  by  the  Imperial 
minister  and  Cosmo  di  Medici  against  the  pope's  life  ;  they  alarmed  him, 
at  another,  with  accounts  of  a  plot  for  assassinating  themselves.  By  these 
artifices,  they  kept  his  mind,  which  was  naturally  violent,  and  become 
suspicious  from  old  age,  in  such  perpetual  agitation,  as  precipitated  him 
into  measures  which  otherwise  he  would  have  been  the  first  person  to  con- 
demn.j    He  seized  some  of  the  cardinals  who  were  most  attached  to  the 

*  Platina,  p.  327.     Castaldo  Vita  di  Paolo  TV.  Rom.  1615,  p.  70.  t  Ripanimitii  Hist,  Patri;e 

lib.  in.  J146.  ap.  Gncv.  Thes.  vol.  ii.    M»tu.  d<:  RiUier.  ii.  615.    .Adriani  Istor  • 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  451 

emperor,  and  confined  them  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo  ;  he  persecuted  the 
Colonnas  and  other  Roman  barons,  the  ancient  retainers  to  the  Imperial 
faction,  with  the  utmost  severity  ;  and  discovering  on  all  occasions,  his 
distrust,  fear,  or  hatred  of  the  emperor,  he  began  at  last  to  court  the  friend- 
ship of  the  French  king,  and  seemed  willing  to  throw  himself  absolutely 
upon  him  for  support  and  protection. 

This  was  the  very  point  to  which  his  nephews  wished  to  bring  him,  as 
most  favourable  to  their  ambitious  schemes  ;  and  as  the  accomplishment  of 
these  depended  on  their  uncle's  life,  whose  advanced  age  did  not  admit  of 
losing  a  moment  unnecessarily  in  negotiations,  instead  of  treating  at  second- 
hand with  the  French  ambassador  at  Rome,  they  prevailed  on  the  pope  to 
despatch  a  person  of  confidence  directly  to  the  court  of  France,  with  such 
overtures  on  his  part  as  they  hoped  would  not  be  rejected.  He  proposed 
an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  between  Henry  and  the  pope  ;  that  they 
should  attack  the  dutchy  of  Tuscany  and  the  kingdom  of  Naples  with 
their  united  forces;  and  if  their  arms  should  prove  successful,  that  the 
ancient  republican  form  of  government  should  be  re-established  in  the 
former,  and  the  investiture  ol  the  latter  shouid  be  granted  to  one  of  the 
French  king's  sons,  after  reserving  a  certain  territory  which  should  be 
annexed  to  the  patrimony  of  the  church,  together  with  an  independent  and 
princely  establishment  for  each  of  the  pope's  nephews. 

The  king,  allured  by  these  specious  projects,  gave  a  most  favourable 
audience  to  the  envoy.  But  when  the  matter  was  proposed  in  council, 
the  constable  Montmorency,  whose  natural  caution  and  aversion  to  daring 
enterprises  increased  with  age  and  experience,  remonstrated  with  great 
vehemence  against  the  alliance.  He  put  Henry  in  mind  how  fatal  to  France 
every  expedition  into  Italy  had  been  during  three  successive  reigns,  and  it 
such  an  enterprise  had  proved  too  great  for  the  nation  even  when  its 
strength  and  finances  were  entire,  there  was  no  reason  to  hope  for  success, 
if  it  should  be  attempted  now,  when  both  were  exhausted  by  extraordinary 
efforts  during  wars,  which  had  lasted,  with  little  interruption,  almost  halt 
a  century.  He  represented  the  manifest  imprudence  of  entering  into 
engagements  with  a  pope  of  fourscore,  as  any  system  which  rested  on  no 
better  foundation  than  his  life,  must  be  extremely  precarious,  and  upon  the 
event  of  his  death,  which  could  not  be  distant,  the  face  of  things,  together 
with  the  inclination  of  the  Italian  states,  must  instantly  change,  and  the 
whole  weight  of  the  war  be  left  upon  the  king  alone.  To  these  considera- 
tions he  added  the  near  prospect  which  they  now  had  of  a  final  accommo- 
dation with  the  emperor,  who,  having  taken  the  resolution  of  retiring  from 
the  world,  wished  to  transmit  his  kingdoms  in  peace  to  his- son;  and  he 
concluded  with  representing  the  absolute  certainty  of  drawing  the  arms 
of  England  upon  France,  it  it  should  appear  that  the  re-establishment  of 
tranquillity  in  Europe  was  prevented  by  the  ambition  of  its  monarch. 

These  arguments,  weighty  in  themselves,  and  urged  by  a  minister  of 
great  authority,  would  probably  have  determined  the  king  to  decline  any 
connection  with  the  pope.  But  the  duke  of  Guise,  and  his  brother  the 
cardinal  of  Lorrain,  who  delighted  no  less  in  bold  and  dangerous  under- 
takings than  Montmorency  shunned  them,  declared  warmly  for  an  alliance 
with  the  pope.  The  cardinal  expected  to  be  intrusted  with  the  conduct 
of  the  negotiations  in  the  court  of  Rome  to  which  this  alliance  would  give 
rise  ;  the  duke  hoped  to  obtain  the  command  of  the  army  which  would  be 
appointed  to  invade  Naples;  and  considering  themselves  as  already  in 
these  stations,  vast  projects  opened  to  their  aspiring  and  unbounded  ambi- 
tion. Their  credit,  together  with  the  influence  of  the  king's  mistress,  the 
famous  Diana  of  Poitiers,  who  was,  at  that  time,  entirely  devoted  to  the 
interest  of  the  family  of  Guise,  more  than  counterbalanced  all  Montmorency's 
prudent  remonstrances,  and  prevailed  on  an  inconsiderate  prince  to  listen 
to  the  overtures  of  the  pope'*  envoy. 


io2  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  |Book  XI. 

The  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  as  he  had  expected,  was  immediately  sent  to 
Rome  with  full  powers  to  conclude  the  treaty,  and  to  concert  measures  for 
carrying  it  into  execution.  Before  he  could  reach  that  city,  the  pope, 
either  Irom  reflecting  on  the  danger  and  uncertain  issue  of  all  military 
operations,  or  through  the  address  of  the  Imperial  ambassador,  who  had 
been  at  great  pains  to  soothe  him,  had  not  only  begun  to  lose  much  of  the 
ardour  with  which  he  had  commenced  the  negotiation  with  France,  but 
even  discovered  great  unwillingness  to  continue  it.  In  order  to  rouse  him 
from  this  fit  of  despondency,  and  to  rekindle  his  former  rage,  his  nephews 
had  recourse  to  the  arts  which  they  had  already  practised  with  so  much 
success.  They  alarmed  him  with  new  representations  of  the  emperor's 
hostile  intentions,  with  fresh  accounts  which  they  had  received  of  threats 
uttered  against  him  by  the  Imperial  ministers,  and  with  new  discoveries 
which  they  pretended  to  have  made  of  conspiracies  formed,  and  just  ready 
to  take  effect  against  his  life. 

But  these  artifices,  having  been  formerly  tried,  would  not  have  operated 
a  second  time  with  the  same  force,  nor  have  made  the  impression  which 
they  wished,  if  Paul  had  not  been  excited  by  an  offence  of  that  kind 
which  he  was  least  able  to  bear.  He  received  advice  of  the  recess  of  the 
diet  of  Augsburg,  and  of  the  toleration  which  was  thereby  granted  to  the 
protestants;  and  this  threw  him  at  once  into  such  transports  of  passion 
against  the  emperor  and  the  king  of  the  Romans,  as  carried  him  headlong 
into  all  the  violent  measures  ot  his  nephews.  Full  of  high  ideas  with 
respect  to  the  papal  prerogative,  and  animated  with  the  fiercest  zeal 
against  heresy,  he  considered  the  liberty  of  deciding  concerning  religious 
matters,  which  had  been  assumed  by  an  assembly  composed  chiefly 
of  laymen,  as  a  presumptuous  and  unpardonable  encroachment  on 
that  jurisdiction  which  belonged  to  him  alone ;  and  regarded  the 
indulgence  which  had  been  given  to  the  protestants  as  an  impious  act 
of  that  power  which  the  diet  had  usurped.  He  complained  loudly  of 
both  to  the  Imperial  ambassador.  He  insisted  that  the  recess  of  the  diet 
should  immediately  be  declared  illegal  and  void.  He  threatened  the 
emperor  and  king  of  the  -Romans,  in  case  they  should  either  refuse  or 
delay  to  gratify  him  in  this  particular,  with  the  severest  effects  of  his 
vengeance.  He  talked  in  a  tone  of  authority  and  command  which  might 
have  suited  a  pontiff  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  a  papal  decree  was 
sufficient  to  have  shaken,  or  to  have  overturned,  the  throne  of  the  greatest 
monarch  in  Europe  ;  but  which  was  altogether  improper  in  that  age,  espe- 
cially when  addressed  to  the  minister  ot  a  prince  who  had  so  ofteD  made 
pontiffs  more  formidable  than  Paul  feel  the  weight  of  his  power.  The 
ambassador,  however,  heard  all  his  extravagant  propositions  and  menaces 
with  much  patience,  and  endeavoured  to  soothe  him,  by  putting  him  in 
mind  of  the  extreme  distress  to  which  the  emperor  had  been  reduced 
at  Inspruck,  of  the  engagements  which  he  had  come  nnder  to  the  protes- 
tants, in  order  to  extricate  himself,  of  the  necessity  of  fulfilling  these,  and 
of  accommodating  his  conduct  to  the  situation  of  his  affairs.  But  weighty 
as  these  considerations  were,  they  made  no  impression  on  the  mind  ot  the 
haughty  and  bigoted  pontiff,  who  instantly  replied  that  he  would  absolve 
him  by  his  apostolic  authority  from  those  impious  engagements,  and  even 
command  him  not  to  perform  them  ;  that  in  carrying  on  the  cause  of  God 
and  of  the  church,  no  regard  ought  to  be  had  to  the  maxims  of  worldly 
prudence  and  policy ;  and  that  the  ill  success  of  the  emperor's  schemes  in 
Germany  might  justly  be  deemed  a  mark  of  the  divine  displeasure  against 
him,  on  account  of  his  having  paid  little  attention  to  the  former,  while  he 
regulated  his  conduct  entirely  by  the  latter.  Having  said  this,  he  turned 
from  the  ambassador  abruptly  without  waiting  for  a  reply. 

His  nephews  took  care  to  applaud  and  cherish  these  sentiments,  and 
easily  wrought  up  his  arrogant  mind,  fraught  with  all  the  monkish  idea? 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  453 

concerning  the  extent  of  the  papal  supremacy,  to  such  a  pitch  of  resent- 
ment against  the  house  of  Austria,  and  to  such  a  high  opinion  of  his  own 
power,  that  he  talked  continually  of  his  being  the  successor  of  those  who 
had  deposed  kings  and  emperors ;  that  he  was  exalted  as  head  over  them 
all,  ana  would  trample  such  as  opposed  him  under  his  feet.  In  this  dis- 
position the  cardinal  of  Lorrain  found  the  pope,  and  easily  persuaded  him 
to  sign  a  treaty  [Dec.  15]  which  had  for  its  object  the  ruin  of  a  prince, 
against  whom  he  was  so  highly  exasperated.  The  stipulations  in  this 
treaty  were  much  the  same  as  had  been  proposed  by  the  pope's  envoy  at 
Paris  ;  and  it  was  agreed  to  keep  the  whole  transaction  secret  until  their 
united  forces  should  be  ready  to  take  the  field.* 

During  the  negotiation  of  this  treaty  at  Rome  and  Paris,  an  event  hap- 
pened which  seemed  to  render  the  fears  that  had  given  rise  to  it  vain,  and 
the  operations  which  were  to  follow  upon  it  unnecessary.  This  was  the 
emperor's  resignation  of  his  hereditary  dominions  to  his  son  Philip  ; 
together  with  his  resolution  to  withdraw  entirely  from  any  concern  in 
business  or  the  affairs  of  this  world,  in  order  that  he  might  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days  in  retirement  and  solitude.  Though  it  requires 
neither  deep  reflection  nor  extraordinary  discernment  to  discover  that  the 
state  of  royalty  is  not  exempt  from  cares  and  disappointment ;  though 
most  of  those  who  are  exalted  to  a  throne  find  solicitude,  and  satiety,  and 
disgust  to  be  their  perpetual  attendants  in  that  envied  pre-eminence  ;  yet 
to  descend  voluntarily  from  the  supreme  to  a  subordinate  station,  and  to 
relinquish  the  possession  of  power  in  order  to  attain  the  enjoyment  of 
happiness,  seems  to  be  an  effort  too  great  for  the  human  mind.  Several 
instances,  indeed,  occur  in  history,  of  monarchs  who  have  quitted  a  throne, 
and  have  ended  their  days  in  retirement.  But  they  were  either  weak 
princes  who  took  this  resolution  rashly,  and  repented  of  it  as  soon  as  it 
was  taken  ;  or  unfortunate  princes,  from  whose  hands  some  stronger  rival 
had  wrested  their  sceptre,  and  compelled  them  to  descend  with  reluctance 
into  a  private  station.  Dioclesian  is  perhaps  the  only  prince  capable  of 
holding  the  reins  of  government,  who  ever  resigned  them  from  deliberate 
choice,  and  who  continued  during  many  years  to  enjoy  the  tranquillity  of 
retirement  without  fetching  one  penitent  sigh,  or  casting  back  one  look  of 
desire,  towards  the  power  or  dignity  which  he  had  abandoned. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  Charles's  resignation  should  fill  all  Europe  with 
astonishment,  and  give  rise,  both  among  his  contemporaries,  and  among  the 
historians  of  that  period,  to  various  conjectures  concerning  the  motives 
which  determined  a  prince,  whose  ruling  passion  had  been  uniformly  the 
Jove  of  power,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six,  when  objects  of  ambition  continue 
to  operate  with  full  force  on  the  mind,  and  are  pursued  with  the  greatest 
ardour,  to  take  a  resolution  so  singular  and  unexpected.  But  while  many 
authors  have  imputed  it  to  motives  so  frivolous  and  fantastical,  as  can 
hardly  be  supposed  to  influence  any  reasonable  mind ;  while  others  have 
imagined  it  to  be  the  result  of  some  profound  scheme  of  policy  ;  historians 
more  intelligent  and  better  informed,  neither  ascribe  it  to  caprice,  nor  search 
for  mysterious  secrets  of  state,  where  simple  and  obvious  causes  will  fully 
account  for  the  emperor's  conduct.  Charles  had  been  attacked  early  in 
life  with  the  gout,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  of  the  most 
skilful  physicians,  the  violence  of  the  distemper  increased  as  he  advanoed 
in  age,  and  the  fits  became  every  year  more  frequent,  as  well  as  more 
severe.  Not  only  was  the  vigour  of  his  constitution  broken,  but  die  facul- 
ties of  his  mind  were  impaired  by  the  excruciating  torments  which  he 
endured.  During  the  continuance  of  the  fits,  he  was  altogether  incapable 
of  applying  to  business,  and  even  when  they  began  to  abate,  as  it  was  only 

•  Paliav.  lib.  zttL  p.  VS.    F.  Pan), 365.    Tbtiaii.  lib  xv.  595.  Iw.  xvi.  540,    Mem.  deRIMer,  ii. 

MP.  kr. 


454  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XL 

at  intervals  that  he  could  attend  to  what  was  serious,  he  gave  up  a  great 
part  of  his  time  to  trifling  and  even  childish  occupations,  which  served  to 
relieve  or  to  amuse  his  mind,  enfeebled  and  worn  out  with  excess  of  pain. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  conduct  of  such  affairs  as  occurred  of 
course,  in  governing  so  many  kingdoms,  was  a  burden  more  than  sufficient : 
but  to  push  forward  and  complete  the  vast  schemes  which  the  ambition  of 
his  more  active  years  had  formed,  or  to  keep  in  view  and  cany  on  the  same 
great  system  of  policy,  extending  to  every  nation  in  Europe,  and  connected 
with  the  operations  of  every  different  court,  were  functions  which  so  far 
exceeded  his  strength,  that  they  oppressed  and  overwhelmed  his  mind. 
As  he  had  been  long  accustomed  to  view  the  business  of  every  depart- 
ment, whether  civil,  or  military,  or  ecclesiastical,  with  his  own  eyes,  and 
to  decide  concerning  it  according  to  his  own  ideas,  it  gave  him  the  utmost 
pain  when  he  felt  his  infirmities  increase  so  fast  upon  him,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  commit  the  conduct  of  all  affairs  to  his  ministers.  He  imputed 
every  misfortune  which  befell  him,  and  every  miscarriage  that  happened, 
even  when  the  former  was  unavoidable  and  the  latter  accidental,  to  his 
inability  to  take  the  inspection  of  business  himself.  He  complained  of 
his  hard  fortune,  in  being  opposed,  in  his  declining  years,  to  a  rival,  who 
was  in  the  full  vigour  of  life,  and  that  while  Henry  could  take  and  exe- 
cute all  his  resolutions  in  person,  he  should  now  be  reduced,  both  in  coun- 
cil and  in  action,  to  rely  on  the  talents  and  exertions  of  other  men.  Having 
thus  grown  old  before  his  time,  he  wisely  judged  it  more  decent  to  con- 
ceal his  infirmities  in  some  solitude,  than  to  expose  them  any  longer  to  the 
public  eye  ;  and  prudently  determined  not  to  forfeit  the  fame,  or  lose  the 
acquisitions  of  his  better  years,  by  struggling,  with  a  vain  obstinacy,  to 
retain  the  reins  of  government,  when  he  was  no  longer  able  to  hold  them 
with  steadiness,  or  to  guide  them  with  address.* 

But  though  Charles  had  revolved  this  scheme  in  his  mind  for  several 
years,  and  had  communicated  it  to  his  sisters  the  dowager  queens  of  France 
and  Hungary,  who  not  only  approved  of  his  intention,  but  offered  to 
accompany  him  to  whatever  place  of  retreat  he  should  choose ;  several 
things  had  hitherto  prevented  his  carrying  it  into  execution.  He  could  not 
think  of  loading  his  son  with  the  government  of  so  many  kingdoms,  until 
he  should  attain  such  maturity  of  age,  and  of  abilities,  as  would  enable  him 
to  sustain  that  weighty  burden.  But  as  Philip  had  now  reached  his 
twenty-eighth  year,  and  had  been  early  accustomed  to  business,  for  which 
he  discovered  both  inclination  and  capacity,  it  can  hardly  be  imputed  to 
the  partiality  of  paternal  affection,  that  his  scruples,  with  regard  to  this 
point,  were  entirely  removed;  and  that  he  thought  he  might  place  his  son, 
without  further  hesitation  or  delay,  on  the  throne  which  he  himself  was 
about  to  abandon.  His  mother's  situation  had  been  another  obstruction  in 
his  way.  For  although  she  had  continued  almost  fifty  years  in  confine- 
ment, and  under  the  same  disorder  of  mind  which  concern  for  her  hus- 

*  Don  Levesque,  in  his  memoirs  of  cardinal  Granvelle,  gives  a  reason  for  the  emperor's  resigna- 
tion, which,  as  far  as  I  recollect,  is  not  mentioned  by  any  other  historian.  He  says,  that  the  emperor 
having  ceded  the  government  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples  and  the  dutchy  of  Milan  to  his  son,  upon 
his  marriage  with  the  queen  of  England ;  Philip,  notwithstanding  the  advice  and  entreaties  of  his 
father,  removed  most  of  the  ministers  and  offices  whom  he  had  employed  in  those  countries,  and 
appointed  creatures  of  his  own,  to  fill  the  places  \\  lib  h  tin  y  held.  That  be  aspired  openly,  and  with 
little  delicacy,  to  obtain  a  share  in  the  administration  of  affairs  in  the  Low-Countries.  That  he 
endeavoured  to  thwart  th'j  emperor's  measures,  and  to  limit  his  authority,  behaving  towards  him 
sometimes  with  inattention,  and  Bornetjmcs  with  haughtiness.  That  Charles  finding  that  he  must 
either  yield  on  every  occasion  to  his  son,  or  openly  contend  with  him,  in  order  to  avoid  either  of 
these,  which  were  boih  disagreeable  and  mortifying  to  a  lather,  he  took  the  resolution  of  resigning 
Ins  crowns,  and  of  retiring  from  the  world,  vol.  i.  p.  L24,  Sec.  Don  Levesque  derived  his  Information 
concerning  these  curious  tacts,  which  he  relates  very  briefly,  from  the  original  papers  of  cardinal 
Granvelle.  But  as  that  vast  collection  of  papers,  which  has  been  preserved  and  arranged  by  M. 
I'alibe  Boizot  of  Besancon,  though  one  of  the  most  valuable  historical  monuments  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  ami  which  cannot  fail  of  throwing  much  light  on  the  transactions  of  Charles  V.,  is  not 
published,  i  cannot  determine  what  degree  of  credit  should  be  given  to  this  account  of  Charles's 
resignation.     I  have  therefore  taken  no  notice  of  it  in  relating  this  event. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  455 

band's  death  had  brought  upon  her,  yet  the  government  of  Spain  was  still 
invested  in  her  jointly  with  the  emperor;  her  name  was  inserted  together 
with  his  in  all  the  public  instruments  issued  in  that  kingdom ;  and.  such 
was  the  fond  attachment  of  the  Spaniards  to  her,  that  they  would  probably 
have  scrupled  to  recognise  Philip  as  their  sovereign,  unless  she  had  con- 
sented to  assume  him  as  her  partner  on  the  throne  Her  utter  incapacity 
for  business  rendered  it  impossible  to  obtain  her  consent.  But  her  death, 
which  happened  this  year,  removed  this  difficulty ;  and  as  Charles,  upon 
that  event,  became  sole  monarch  of  Spain,  it  left  the  succession  open  to  his 
son.  The  war  with  Prance  had  likewise  been  a  reason  for  retaining  the 
administration  of  affairs  in  his  own  hand,  as  he  was  extremely  solicitous  to 
have  terminated  it,  that  he  might  have  given  up  his  kingdoms  to  his  son  at 
peace  with  all  the  world.  But  as  Hemy  had  discovered  no  disposition  to 
close  with  any  of  his  overtures,  and  had  even  rejected  proposals  of  peace, 
which  were  equal  and  moderate,  in  a  tone  that  seemed  to  indicate  a  fixed 
purpose  of  continuing  hostilities,  he  saw  that  it  was  vain  to  wait  longer 
in  expectation  of  an  event,  which,  however  desirable,  was  altogether 
uncertain. 

As  this,  then,  appeared  to  be  the  proper  juncture  for  executing  the  scheme 
which  he  had  long  meditated,  Charles  resolved  to  resign  his  kingdoms  to 
his  son,  with  a  solemnity  suitable  to  the  importance  of  the  transaction,  and 
to  perform  this  last  act  of  sovereignty  with  such  formal  pomp,  as  might 
leave  a  lasting  impression  on  the  minds  not  only  of  his  subjects  but  of  his 
successor.  With  this  view  he  called  Philip  out  of  England,  where  the 
peevish  temper  of  his  queen,  which  increased  with  her  despair  of  having 
issue,  rendered  him  extremely  unhappy;  and  the  jealousy  of  the  English 
left  him  no  hopes  of  obtaining  the  direction  of  their  affairs.  Having 
assembled  the  States  of  the  Low-Countries  at  Brussels,  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  October,  Charles  seated  himself,  for  the  last  time,  in  the  chair  of  state, 
on  one  side  of  which  was  placed  his  son,  and  on  the  other  his  sister,  the 
queen  of  Hungary,  regent  of  the  Netherlands,  with  a  splendid  retinue  of 
the-  princes  of  the  empire  and  grandees  of  Spain  standing  behind  him. 
The  president  of  the  council  of  Flanders,  by  his  command,  explained,  in 
a  few  words,  his  intention  in  calling  this  extraordinary  meeting  of  the 
States.  He  then  read  the  instrument  of  resignation,  by  which  Charles 
surrendered  to  his  son  Philip  all  his  territories,  jurisdiction,  and  authority  in 
the  Low-Countries,  absolving  his  subjects  there  from  their  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  him,  which  he  required  them  to  transfer  to  Philip  his  lawful  heir, 
and  to  serve  him  with  the  same  loyalty  and  zeal  which  they  had  mani- 
fested, during  so  long  a  course  of  years,  in  support  of  his  government. 

Charles  then  rose  from  his  seat,  and  leaning  on  the  shoulder  of  the  prince 
of  Orange,  because  he  was  unable  to  stand  without  support,  he  addressed 
himself  to  the  audience,  and  from  a  paper  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  in 
order  to  assist  his  memory,  he  recounted,  with  dignity,  but  without  osten- 
tation, all  the  great  things  which  he  had  undertaken  and  performed  since 
the  commencement  of  his  administration.  He  observed,  that  from  the 
seventeeth  year  of  his  age,  he  had  dedicated  all  his  thoughts  and  attention 
to  public  objects,  reserving  no  portion  of  his  time  for  the  indulgence  of 
his  ease,  and  very  little  for  the  enjoyment  of  private  pleasure;  that  either 
in  a  pacific  or  hostile  manner,  he  had  visited  Germany  nine  times,  Spain 
six  times,  France  four  times,  Italy  seven  times,  the  Low -Countries  ten 
times,  England  twice,  Africa  as  often,  and  had  made  eleven  voyages  by 
sea;  that  while  his  health  permitted  him  to  discharge  his  duty,  and  the 
vigour  of  his  constitution  was  equal,  in  any  degree,  to  the  arduous  office  of 
governing  such  extensive  dominions,  he  had  never  shunned  labour,  nor 
repined  under  fatigue;  that  now,  when  his  health  was  broken,  and  his 
vigour  exhausted  by  the  rage  of  an  incurable  distemper,  his  growing  infirmi- 
ties admonished  him  to  retire,  nor  was  he  so  fond  of  reigning,  as  to  retain 


456  T HE   REIGN   OF  THE  [Book  XI. 

the  sceptre  in  an  impotent  hand,  which  was  no  longer  able  to  protect  his 
.subjects,  or  to  secure  to  them  the  happiness  which  he  wished  they  should 
enjoy ;  that  instead  of  a  sovereign  worn  out  with  disease,  and  scarcely  halt* 
alive,  he  gave  them  one  in  the  prime  of  lite,  accustomed  already  to  govern, 
and  who  added  to  the  vigour  of  youth  all  the  attention  and  sagacity  of 
maturer  years;  that  if,  during  the  course  of  a  long  administration,  he  had 
committed  any  material  error  in  government,  or  if,  under  the  pressure  of 
so  many  and  great  affairs,  and  amidst  the  attention  which  he  had  been 
obliged  to  give  to  them,  he  had  either  neglected  or  injured  any  of  his  sub- 
jects, he  now  implored  their  forgiveness ;  that,  for  his  part,  he  should  ever 
retain  a  grateful  sense  of  their  fidelity  end  attachment,  and  would  carry 
the  remembrance  of  it  along  with  him  to  the  place  of  his  retreat,  as  his 
sweetest  consolation,  as  well  as  the  best  reward  for  all  his  services,  and  in 
his  last  prayers  to  Almighty  God  would  pour  forth  his  most  earnest  peti- 
tions for  their  welfare. 

Then  turning  towards  Philip,  who  fell  on  his  knees  and  kissed  his 
father's  hand,  "If,"  says  he,  "I  had  left  you  by  death  this  rich  inheritance, 
to  which  I  have  made  such  large  additions,  some  regard  would  have  been 
justly  due  to  my  memory  on  that  account ;  but  now,  when  I  voluntarily 
resign  to  you,  what  I  might  have  still  retained,  I  may  well  expect  the 
warmest  expressions  of  thanks  on  your  part.  With  these,  however,  I  dis- 
pense, and  shall  consider  your  concern  for  the  welfare  of  your  subjects, 
and  your  love  of  them,  as  the  best  and  most  acceptable  testimony  ot  your 
gratitude  to  me.  It  is  in  your  power,  by  a  wise  and  virtuous  administration, 
tojustify  the  extraordinary  proof  which  I,  this  day,  give  of  my  paternal 
affection,  and  to  demonstrate  that  you  are  worthy  of  the  confidence  which 
1  repose  in  you.  Preserve  an  inviolable  regard  for  religion;  maintain  the 
catholic  faith  in  its  purity;  let  the  laws  of  your  country  be  sacred  in  your 
eyes;  encroach  not  on  the  rights  and  privileges  of  your  people  ;  and  if  the 
time  should  ever  come  when  you  shall  wish  to  enjoy  the  tranquillity  of 
private  life,  may  you  have  a  son  endowed  with  such  qualities,  that  you 
can  resign  your  sceptre  to  him  with  as  much  satisfaction  as  I  give  up  mine 
toyou.'Y 

As  soon  as  Charles  had  finished  this  long  address  to  his  subjects  and  to 
their  new  sovereign,  he  sunk  into  the  chair,  exhausted  and  ready  to  faint 
with  the  fatigue  of  such  an  extraordinary  effort.  During  his  discourse,  the 
whole  audience  melted  into  tears,  some  from  admiration  of  his  magna- 
nimity, others  softened  by  the  expressions  of  tenderness .  towards  his  son, 
and  of  love  to  his  people ;  and  all  were  affected  with  the  deepest  sorrow 
at  losing  a  sovereign,  who,  during  his  administration,  had  distinguished  the 
Netherlands,  his  native  country,  with  particular  marks  of  his  regard  and 
attachment. 

Philip  then  arose  from  his  knees,  and  after  returning  thanks  to  his  father, 
with  a  low  and  submissive  voice,  for  the  royal  gift  which  his  unexampled 
bounty  had  bestowed  upon  him,  he  addressed  the  assembly  of  the  States,  and 
regretting  his  inability  to  speak  the  Flemish  language  with  such  facility  as 
to  express  what  he  felt  on  this  interesting1  occasion,  as  well  as  what  he 
owed  to  his  good  subjects  in  the  Netherlands,  he  begged  that  they  would 
permit  Granvelle  bishop  of  Arras  to  deliver  what  he  had  given  him  in 
charge  to  speak  in  his  name.  Granvelle,  in  a  long  discourse,  expatiated 
on  the  zeal  with  which  Philip  was  animated  for  the  good  of  his  subjects, 
on  his  resolution  to  devote  all  his  time  and  talents  to  the  promoting  of  their 
happiness,  and  on  his  intention  to  imitate  his  father's  example  in  distin- 
guishing the  Netherlands  with  peculiar  marks  of  his  regard.  Maeis,  a 
lawyer  of  great  eloquence,  replied,  in  the  name  of  the  States,  with  large 
professions  of  their  fidelity  and  affection  to  their  new  sovereign. 

1556.]  Then  Mary,  queen-dowager  of  Hungary,  resigned  the  regency 
with  which  she  hail  been  intrusted  by  her  brother  during  the  space  of 


EMPEROR   CHARLES    \.  45T 

twenty-rive  years.  Next  day  [Jan.  6.]  Philip,  in  presence  of  the  States, 
took  the  usual  oaths  to  maintain  the  rights  and  privileges  of  his  subjects; 
and  all  the  members,  in  their  own  name,  and  in  that  ot  their  constituents, 
swore  allegiance  to  him.* 

A  few  weeks  after  this  transaction,  Charles,  in  an  assembly  no  less 
splendid,  and  with  a  ceremonial  equally  pompous,  resigned  to  his  son  the 
crowns  of  Spain,  with  all  the  territories  depending  on  them,  both  in  the 
old  and  in  the  new  world.  Of  all  these  vast  possessions,  he  reserved 
nothing  for  himself  but  an  annual  pension  of  a  hundred  thousand  crowns, 
to  defray  the  charges  of  his  family,  and  to  afford  him  a  small  sum  for  acts 
of  beneficence  ami  charity. t 

As  he  had  fiver!  on  a  place  of  retreat  in  Spain,  hoping  that  the  dryness 
of  the  air  and  the  warmth  of  the  climate  in  that  country  might  mitigate  the 
violence  of  his  disease,  which  had  been  much  increased  by  the  moisture 
of  the  air  and  the  rigour  of  the  winters  in  the  Netherlands,  he  was  extremely 
impatient  to  embark  for  that  kingdom,  and  to  disengage  himself  entirely 
from  business,  which  he  found  to  be  impossible  while  he  remained  in  Brus- 
sels. But  his  physicians  remonstrated  so  strongly  against  his  venturing  to 
sea  at  that  cold  and  boisterous  season  of  the  year,  that  he  consented,  though 
with  reluctance,  to  put  off  his  voyage  for  some  months. 

By  yielding  to  their  entreaties,  he  had  the  satisfaction,  before  he  left  the 
Low-Countries,  of  taking  a  considerable  step  towards  a  peace  with  France, 
which  he  ardently  wished  for,  not  only  on  his  son's  account,  but  that  be 
might  have  the  merit,  when  quitting  the  world,  of  re-establishing  that  tran- 
quillity in  Europe,  which  he  had  banished  out  of  it  almost  from  the  time 
that  he  had  assumed  the  administration  of  affairs.  Previous  to  his  resigna- 
tion, commissioners  had  been  appointed  by  him  and  by  the  French  king, 
in  order  to  treat  of  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  In  their  conference  at  the 
Abbey  of  Vaticelles,  near  Cambray,  an  expedient  was  accidentally  proposed 
for  terminating  hostilities  between  the  contending  monarchs,  by  a  long 
truce,  during  the  subsistence  of  which,  and  without  discussing  their  respec- 
tive claims,  each  should  retain  what  was  now  in  his  possession.  Charles, 
sensible  how  much  his  kingdoms  were  exhausted  by  the  expensive  and 
almost  continual  wars  in  which  his  ambition  had  engaged  him,  and  eager 
to  gain  for  his  son  a  short  interval  of  peace,  that  he  might  establish  himself 
firmly  on  his  dirone,  declared  warmly  for  closing  with  the  overture,  though 

*  Godleveus  Relatio  Abdicationis  Car.  V.  ap.  Goldast.  Polit.  Impcr.  p.  377.  Strada  de  Bello 
Belgico,  lib.  i.  p.  5. 

t  The  emperor's  resignation  is  an  event  not  only  of  such  importance,  but  of  such  a  nature,  that  the 
precise  date  of  it,  one  would  expect,  should  have  been  ascertained  by  historians  with  the  greatest 
accuracy.  There  is,  however,  an  amazing  and  an  unaccountable  diversity  among  them  with 
regard  to  this  point.  All  agree,  that  the  deed  by  which  Charles  transferred  to  his  son  his  dominions 
in  the  Netherlands,  bears  date  at  Brussels  the  25th  of  October.  Sandoval  fixes  on  the  Sffth  of  Octo- 
ber as  the  day  on  which  the  ceremony  of  resignation  happened,  and  he  was  present  at  the  transac- 
tion, vol.  ii.  p.  592.  Godleveus,  who  published  a  treatise  de  Abdicatione  Caroli  V.  fixes  the  public 
ceremony,  as  well  as  the  date  of  the  instrument  of  resignation,  on  the  25th.  Pere  Barre,  I  know  not 
upon  what  authority,  fixes  it  on  the  24th  of  November,  Hist.  d'Alem.  viii.  976.  Herrera  agrees  with 
Godleveus  in  his  account  of  this  matter,  torn  i.  155.  as  likewise  does  Pallavicini,  whose  authority 
with  respect  to  dates,  and  every  thing  where  a  minute  accuracy  is  requisite,  is  of  great  weight,  Hist, 
lib.  xvi.  p.  163.  Historians  differ  no  less  with  regard  to  the  day  on  which  Charles  resigned  the  crown 
of  Spain  to  his  son.  According  to  M.  <lr-  Thou,  it  was  a  month  after  his  having  resigned  his  domi- 
nions in  the  Netherlands,  i.  e.  about  th<-  35th  of  November,  Thuan.  lib.  xvi.  p,  571.  According  to 
Sandoval,  it  was  on  the  16th  of  January,  155t>,  Sand.  ii.  603.  Antonio  de  Vera  agrees  with  him, 
Epitome  del  VHa  del  Car.  v.  p.  110.  According  to  Pallavicini,  it  was  on  the  17th,  Pal.  lib.  v.  i.  p. 
168.  and  with  him  Herrera  agrees,  Vida  del  I)  Feline,  torn.  i.  p.  233.  But  lYrreras  fixes  it  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  Hist  Gener,  torn.  ix.  p  371  MTdeBeaucaire  supposes  the  resignation  of  the  crown 
of  Spain  to  have  been  executed  a  few  days  after  the  resignation  of  the  Netherlands,  Com.  de  Reb. 
Gall.  p.  879.  It  is  remarkable,  thai  in  the  treaty  of  trace  at  VauceUes,  though  ( 'harli  s  had  made 
over  all  his  dominions  to  his  son  some  weeks  previous  to  I  he  conclusion  of  it,  ;:ll  the  stipulations  are 
in  the  emperor's  name,  and  Philip  is  only  styled  king  of  England  and  Naples.    Ii  is  certain  Philip 

was  not  proclaimed  king  of  Castile,  fee.  at  Valludolid  sooner  than  the  24th  of  March,  Sandov.  ii.  p. 
606  ,  and  previous  totliat  ceremony,  he  did  not  (house,  it  should  teem,  to  assume  the  title  of  king  of 
any  of  his  Spanish  kingdoms,  or  to  perform  any  an  of  royal  jurisdiction.  In  a  deed  annexed  to  the 
treaty  of  truce,  dated  April  19,  he  assumes  the  title  of  kins  ot  'Castile,  fee.  in  the  usual  st  vie  of  the 
Spanish  monarchs  in  that  ni'e.  Corps  Dipl.  torn.  iv.  Append  p. 85. 

Vol.  II.— 58 


458  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XI. 

manifestly  dishonourable  as  well  as  disadvantageous ;  and  such  was  the 
respect  due  to  his  wisdom  and  experience,  that  Philip,  notwithstanding  his 
unwillingness  to  purchase  peace  by  such  concessions,  did  not  presume  to 
urge  his  opinion  in  opposition  to  that  of  his  father. 

Henry  could  not  have  hesitated  one  moment  about  giving  his  consent  to 
a  truce  on  such  conditions,  as  would  leave  him  in  qu>et  possession  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  duke  of  Savoy's  dominions,  together  with  the  important 
conquests  which  he  had  made  on  the  German  frontier.  But  it  was  no  easy 
matter  to  reconcile  such  a  step  with  the  engagements  which  he  had  come 
under  to  the  pope  in  his  late  treaty  with  him.  The  constable  Montmo- 
rency, however,  represented  in  such  a  striking  light  the  imprudence  of 
sacrificing  the  true  interests  of  his  kingdom  to  these  rash  obligations,  and 
took  such  advantage  ol  the  absence  of  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  who  had 
seduced  the  king  into  his  alliance  with  the  Caraffas,  that  Henry,  who  was 
naturally  fluctuating  and  unsteady,  and  apt  to  be  influenced  by  the  advice 
last  give  him,  authorized  his  ambassadors  [5th  Feb.]  to  sign  a  treaty  of 
truce  with  the  emperor  for  five  years,  on  the  terms  which  had  been  pro- 
mised. But  that  he  might  not  seem  to  have  altogether  lorgotten  his  ally 
the  pope,  who,  he  foresaw,  would  be  highly  exasperated,  he,  in  order  to 
soothe  him,  took  care  that  he  should  be  expressly  included  in  the  truce.* 

The  count  of  Lalain  repaired  to  Blois,  and  the  admiral  Coligny  to  Brus- 
sels, the  former  to  be  present  when  the  king  of  France,  and  the  latter  when 
the  emperor  and  his  son  ratified  the  treaty  and  bound  themselves  by  oath 
to  observe  it.t 

When  an  account  of  the  conference  at  Vaucelles,  and  of  the  conditions  of 
truce  which  had  been  proposed  there,  were  first  carried  to  Home,  it  gave 
the  pope  no  manner  of  disquiet.  He  trusted  so  much  to  the  honour  of  the 
French  monarch,  that  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  think  that  Henry  could 
forget  so  soon,  or  violate  so  shamefully,  all  the  stipulations  in  his  league 
with  him.  He  had  such  a  high  opinion  of  the  emperor's  wisdom,  that  he 
made  no  doubt  of  his  refusing  his  consent  to  a  truce,  on  such  unequal  terms  : 
and  on  both  these  accounts  he  confidently  pronounced  that  this,  like  many 
preceding  negotiations,  would  terminate  in  nothing.  But  later  and  more 
certain  intelligence  soon  convinced  him  that  no  reasoning  in  political  affairs 
is  more  fallacious,  than,  because  an  event  is  improbable,  to  conclude  that  it 
will  not  happen.  The  sudden  and  unexpected  conclusion  of  the  truce 
filled  Paul  with  astonishment  and  terror.  The  cardinal  of  Lorrain  durst 
not  encounter  that  storm  of  indignation,  to  which  he  knew  that  he  should 
be  exposed  from  the  haughty  pontiff,  who  had  so  good  reason  to  be  incensed  ; 
but  departing  abruptly  irom  Rome,  he  left  to  the  cardinal  Tournon  the  dif- 
ficult task  of  attempting  to  soothe  Paul  and  his  nephews.  They  were 
fully  sensible  of  the  perilous  situation  in  which  they  now  stood.  By  their 
engagements  with  France,  which  were  no  longer  secret,  they  had  highly 
irritated  Philip.  They  dreaded  the  violence  of  his  implacable  temper.  The 
duke  of  Alva,  a  minister  fitted,  as  well  by  his  abilities  as  by  the  severity 
of  his  nature,  for  executing  all  Philip's  rigorous  schemes,  had  advanced  from 
Milan  to  Naples,  and  began  to  assemble  troops  on  the  frontiers  of  the  eccle- 
siastical state  :  while  they,  if  deserted  by  France,  must  not  only  relinqui>h 
all  the  hopes  of  dominion  and  sovereignty  to  which  their  ambition  aspired, 
but  remained  exposed  to  the  resentment  of  the  Spanish  monarch,  without 
one  ally  to  protect  them  against  an  enemy  with  whom  they  were  so  little 
able  to  contend. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Paul  had  recourse  to  the  arts  of  negotiation 

*  Mem.  de  Ribier,  ii.  026.    Corps  Diplom.  torn.  iv.  App.81. 

t  One  of  admiral  de  Coligny's  attendants,  who  wrote  the  court  of  France  an  account  of  what  hap- 
pened while  they  resided  at  Brussels,  takes  notice,  as  an  instance  of  Philip's  unpolitcness,  thai  he. 
received  the  French  ambassador  in  an  apartment  hung  with  tapestry,  which  represented  the  battle 
of  Pavia,  the  manner  in  which  Francis  I.  was  taken  prisoner,  his  voyage  to  Spain,  with  all  the 
mortifying  circumstances  of  his  captivity  and  imprisonment  at  Madrid.    Man.  d<-  Ribier.  ii.  634. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  459 

and  intrigue,  of  which  the  papal  court  knows  well  how  to  avail  itself  in 
order  to  ward  off  any  calamity  threatened  by  an  enemy  superior  in  power. 
He  affected  to  approve  highly  of  the  truce,  as  a  happy  expedient  for  putting 
a  stop  to  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood.  He  expressed  his  warmest  wishes 
that  it  might  prove  the  forerunner  of  a  definitive  peace.  He  exhorted  the 
rival  princes  to  embrace  this  favourable  opportunity  of  setting  on  foot  a 
negotiation  for  that  purpose,  and  offered,  as  their  common  father,  to  be 
mediator  between  them.  Under  this  pretext,  he  appointed  cardinal 
Rebiba  his  nuncio  to  the  court  of  Brussels,  and  his  nephew  cardinal  Carafe 
to  that  of  Paris.  The  public  instructions  given  to  both  were  the  same ; 
that  they  should  use  their  utmost  endeavours  to  prevail  with  the  two 
monarchs  to  accept  of  the  pope's  mediation,  that,  by  means  of  it,  peace 
might  be  re-established,  and  measures  might  be  taken  lor  assembling  a 
general  council.  But  under  this  specious  appearance  of  zeal  for  attaining 
objects  so  desirable  in  themselves,  and  so  becoming  his  sacred  character 
to  pursue,  Paul  concealed  very  different  intentions.  Caraffa,  besides  his 
public  instructions,  received  a  private  commission  to  solicit  the  French 
king  to  renounce  the  treaty  of  truce,  and  to  renew  his  engagements  with 
the  holy  see  ;  and  he  was  empowered  to  spare  neither  entreaties,  nor 
promises,  nor  bribes,  in  order  to  gain  that  point.  This,  both  the  uncle  and 
the  nephew  considered  as  the  real  end  of  the  embassy ;  while  the  other 
served  to  amuse  the  vulgar,  or  to  deceive  the  emperor  and  his  son.  The 
cardinal,  accordingly,  set  out  instantly  for  Paris  [llth  March],  and  travelled 
with  the  greatest  expedition,  while  Rebiba  was  detained  some  weeks  at 
Rome  ;  and  when  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  begin  his  journey,  he 
received  secret  orders  to  protract  it  as  much  as  possible,  that  the  issue  of 
Caraffa's  negotiation  might  be  known  before  he  might  reach  Brussels,  and 
according  to  that,  proper  directions  might  be  given  to  him  with  regard  to 
the  tone  which  he  should  assume,  in  treating  with  the  emperor  and  his  son.* 

Caraffa  made  his  entrance  into  Paris  with  extraordinary  pomp  :  and 
having  presented  a  consecrated  sword  to  Henry,  as  the  protector  on  whose 
aid  the  pope  relied  in  the  present  exigency,  he  besought  him  not  to  disre- 
gard the  entreaties  of  a  parent  in  distress,  but  to  employ  that  weapon  which 
he  gave  him  in  his  defence.  This  he  represented  not  only  as  a  duty  of 
filial  piety,  but  as  an  act  of  justice.  As  the  pope,  from  confidence  in  the 
assistance  and  support  which  his  late  treaty  with  France  entitled  him  to 
expect,  had  taken  such  steps  as  had  irritated  the  king  of  Spain,  he  conjured 
Henry  not  to  suffer  Paul  and  his  family  to  be  crushed  under  the  weight  of 
that  resentment  which  they  had  drawn  on  themselves  merely  by  their 
attachment  to  France.  Together  with  this  argument  addressed  to  his 
generosity,  he  employed  another  which  he  hoped  would  work  on  his  ambi- 
tion. He  affirmed  that  now  was  the  time,  when,  with  the  most  certain 
prospect  of  success,  he  might  attack  Philip's  dominions  in  Italy ;  that  the 
flower  of  the  veteran  Spanish  bands  had  perished  in  the  wars  of  Hungary, 
Germany,  and  the  Low-Countries ;  that  the  emperor  had  left  his  son  an 
exhausted  treasury,  and  kingdoms  drained  of  men ;  that  he  had  no  longer 
to  contend  with  the  abilities,  the  experience,  and  good  fortune  of  Charles, 
but  with  a  monarch  scarcely  seated  on  his  throne,  unpractised  in  com- 
mand, odious  to  many  of  the  Italian  States,  and  dreaded  by  all.  He  pro- 
mised that  the  pope,  who  had  already  levied  soldiers,  would  bring  a  consi- 
derable army  into  the  field,  which,  when  joined  by  a  sufficient  number  ot 
French  troops,  might,  by  one  brisk  and  sudden  effort,  drive  the  Spaniards 
out  of  Naples,  and  add  to  the  crown  of  France  a  kingdom,  the  conquest  of 
which  had  been  the  great  object  of  all  his  predecessors  during  halt  a  cen- 
tury, and  the  chief  motive  ot  all  their  expeditions  into  Italy. 

July  31.]  Every  word  Carafla  spoke  made  a  deep  impression  on  Henry  ■ 

*  Pallav.  lib.  xiii.  p.  169.    Rumo!  Hist,  of  Fofnrm.  ii.  Apr.  309. 


460  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XI. 

conscious  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  pope  had  just  cause  to  reproach  him 
with  having  violated  the  laws  not  only  of  generosity  but  of  decency,  when 
he  renounced  his  league  with  him,  and  had  agreed  to  the  truce  of  Vau- 
celles  ;  and  eager  on  the  other  hand,  not  only  to  distinguish  his  reign  by  a 
conquest  which  three  former  monarchs  had  attempted  without  success,  but 
likewise  to  acquire  an  establishment  of  such  dignity  and  value  for  one  of 
his  sons.  Reverence,  however,  tor  the  oath,  by  which  he  had  so  lately 
confirmed  the  truce  of  Vaucelles  ;  the  extreme  old  age  of  the  pope,  whose 
death  might  occasion  an  entire  revolution  in  the  political  system  of  Italy  ; 
together  with  the  representations  of  Montmorency,  who  repeated  all  the 
arguments  he  had  used  against  the  first  league  with  Paul,  and  pointed  out 
the  great  and  immediate  advantages  which  France  derived  from  the  truce  ; 
kept  Henry  for  some  time  in  suspense,  and  might  possibly  have  outweigh- 
ed all  CaraftVs  arguments.  But  the  cardinal  was  not  such  a  novice  in  the 
arts  of  intrigue  and  negotiation,  as  not  to  have  expedients  ready  for  re- 
moving or  surmounting  all  these  obstacles.  To  obviate  the  king's  scruple 
with  regard  to  his  oath,  he  produced  powers  from  the  pope,  to  absolve 
him  from  the  obligation  of  it.  By  way  of  security  against  any  danger 
which  he  might  apprehend  from  the  pope's  death,  he  engaged  that  his 
uncle  would  make  such  a  nomination  of  cardinals,  as  should  give  Henry 
the  absolute  command  of  the  next  election,  and  enable  him  to  place  in 
the  papal  chair  a  person  entirely  devoted  to  his  interest. 

In  order  to  counterbalance  the  effect  of  the  constable's  opinion  and  influ- 
ence, he  employed  not  only  the  active  talents  of  the  duke  of  Guise,  and 
the  eloquence  of  his  brother  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  but  the  address  of  the 
queen,  aided  by  the  more  powerful  arts  of  Diana  of  Poitiers,  who,  unfortu- 
nately for  France,  co-operated  with  Catherine  in  this  point,  though  she 
took  pleasure,  on  almost  every  other  occasion,  to  thwart  and  mortify  her. 
They,  by  their  united  solicitations,  easily  swayed  the  king,  who  leaned,  of 
his  own  accord,  to  that  side  towards  which  they  wished  him  to  incline. 
All  Montmorency's  prudent  remonstrances  were  disregarded  ;  the  nuncio 
absolved  Hemy  from  his  oath  ;  and  he  signed  a  new  league  with  the 
pope,  which  rekindled  the  'flames  of  war  both  in  Italy  and  in  the 
Low-Countries. 

As  soon  as  Paul  was  informed  by  his  nephew  that  there  was  a  fair 
prospect  of  succeeding  in  this  negotiation,  he  despatched  a  messenger 
after  the  nuncio  Rebiba  [July  31],  with  orders  to  return  to  Rome,  without 
proceeding  to  Brussels.  As  it  was  now  no  longer  necessary  to  preserve 
that  tone"  of  moderation,  which  suited  the  character  of  a  mediator,  and 
which  he  had  affected  to  assume,  or  to  put  any  farther  restraint  upon  his 
resentment  against  Philip,  he  boldly  threw  off  the  mask,  and  took  such 
violent  steps  as  rendered  a  rupture  unavoidable.  He  seized  and  impri- 
soned the  Spanish  envoy  at  his  court.  He  excommunicated  the  Colonnas  ; 
and  having  deprived  Mark  Antonio,  the  head  of  that  family,  of  the  duke- 
dom of  Paliano,  he  granted  that  dignity,  together  with  the  territory  annex- 
ed to  it,  to  his  nephew  the  count  of  Montorio.  He  ordered  a  legal 
information  to  be  presented  in  the  consistory  of  cardinals  against  Philip, 
setting  forth  that  he,  notwithstanding  the  fidelity  and  allegiance  due  by 
him  to  the  holy  see,  of  which  he  held  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  had  not 
only  afforded  a  retreat  in  his  dominions  to  the  Colonnas,  whom  the  pope 
had  excommunicated  and  declared  rebels,  but  had  furnished  them  with 
arms,  and  was  ready  in  conjunction  with  them,  to  invade  the  ecclesiastical 
state  in  a  hostile  manner ;  that  such  conduct  in  a  vassal  was  to  be  deemed 
treason  against  his  liege  lord,  the  punishment  of  which  was  the  forfeiture 
of  his  fief.  Upon  this,  the  consistorial  advocate  requested  the  pope  to 
take  cognizance  of  the  cause,  and  to  appoint  a  day  for  hearing  of  it,  when 
he  would  make  good  every  article  of  the  charge,  and  expect  trom  his  jus- 
tice  that   sentence  which  the  heinousness  of    Philip's   crimps    mpritP'l. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  4bi 

Paul,  whose  pride  was  highly  flattered  with  the  idea  ot  trying  and  passing 
judgment  on  so  great  a  king,  assented  to  his  request  [July  27],  and  as  if  it 
had  been  no  less  easy  to  execute  than  to  pronounce  such  a  sentence, 
declared  that  he  would  consult  with  the  cardinals  concerning  the  formali- 
ties requisite  in  conducting  the  trial.* 

But  while  Paul  allowed  his  pride  and  resentment  to  drive  him  on  with 
such  headlong  impetuosity,  Philip  discovered  an  amazing  moderation  on 
his  part.  He  had  been  taught  by  the  Spanish  ecclesiastics,  who  had  the 
charge  of  his  education,  a  profound  veneration  for  the  holy  see.  This 
sentiment,  which  had  been  early  infused,  grew  up  with  him  as  he  advanced 
in  years,  and  took  full  possession  of  his  mind,  which  was  naturally  thought- 
ful, serious,  and  prone  to  superstition.  When  he  foresaw  a  rupture  with 
the  pope  approaching,  he  had  such  violent  scruples  with  respect  to  the 
lawfulness  of  taking  arms  against  the  vicegerent  of  Christ,  and  the  com- 
mon father  of  all  Christians,  that  he  consulted  some  Spanish  divines  upon 
that  point.  They,  with  the  usual  dexterity  of  casuists  in  accommodating 
their  responses  to  the  circumstances  of  those  who  apply  to  them  for  direc- 
tion, assured  him  that,  after  employing  prayers  and  remonstrances  in  order 
to  bring  the  pope  to  reason,  he  had  full  right,  both  by  the  laws  of  nature 
and  of  Christianity,  not  only  to  defend  himself  when  attacked,  but  to  begin 
hostilities,  if  that  were  judged  the  most  proper  expedient  for  preventing 
the  effects  of  Paul's  violence  and  injustice.  Philip,  nevertheless,  continued 
to  deliberate  and  delay,  considering  it  as  a  most  cruel  misfortune,  that  hi^ 
administration  should  open  with  an  attack  on  a  person,  whose  sacred  func- 
tion and  character  he  so  highly  respected.! 

At  last  the  duke  of  Alva,  who,  in  compliance  with  his  master's  scruples, 
had  continued  to  negotiate  long  after  he  should  have  begun  to  act,  finding 
Paul  inexorable,  and  that  every  overture  of  peace,  and  every  appearance 
of  hesitation  on  his  part,  increased  the  pontiff's  natural  arrogance,  took  the 
field  [Sept.  5]  and  entered  the  ecclesiastical  territories.  His  army  did 
not  exceed  twelve  thousand  men,  but  it  was  composed  of  veteran  soldiers, 
and  commanded  chiefly  by  those  Roman  barons,  whom  Paul's  violence 
had  driven  into  exile.  The  valour  of  the  troops,  together  with  the  ani- 
mosity of  their  leaders,  who  fought  in  their  own  quarrel,  and  to  recover 
their  own  estates,  supplied  the  want  of  numbers.  As  none  of  the  French 
forces  were  yet  arrived,  Alva  soon  became  master  of  the  Campagna  Ro- 
mana ;  some  cities  being  surrendered  through  the  cowardice  of  the  garri- 
sons, which  consisted  of  raw  soldiers,  ill  disciplined,  and  worse  command- 
ed ;  the  gates  of  others  being  opened  by  the  inhabitants,  who  were  eager 
to  receive  back  their  ancient  masters.  Alva,  that  he  might  not  be  taxed 
with  impiety  in  seizing  the  patrimony  of  the  church,  took  possession  of 
the  towns  which  capitulated,  in  the  name  of  the  college  of  cardinals,  to 
which,  or  to  the  pope  that  should  be  chosen  to  succeed  Paul,  he  declared 
that  he  would  immediately  restore  them. 

The  rapid  progress  of  the  Spaniards,  whose  light  troops  made  excursions 
even  to  the  gates  of  Rome,  filled  that  city  with  consternation.  Paul, 
though  inflexible  and  undaunted  himself,  was  obliged  to  give  way  so  far 
to  the  fears  and  solicitations  of  the  cardinals,  as  to  send  deputies  to  Alva  in 
order  to  propose  a  cessation  of  arms.  The  pope  yielded  the  more  readily, 
as  he  was  sensible  of  a  double  advantage  Avhich  might  be  derived  from 
obtaining  that  point.  It  would  deliver  the  inhabitants  of  Rome  from  their 
present  terror,  and  would  afford  time  for  the  arrival  of  the  succours  which  he 
expected  from  France.  Nor  was  Alva  unwilling  to  close  with  the  over- 
ture, both  as  he  knew  how  desirous  his  master  was  to  terminate  a  war. 
which  he  had  undertaken  with  reluctancet  and  as  his  army  was  so  much 
weakened  by  garrisoning  the  great  number  of  towns  which  he  had  reduced. 

*  Pallav.  Iil>.  xiii.  i"i  |  Ferrer  Hist  de  Espognc,  ix.373.    Herrer3,i.  308; 


462  THE   KEJGiN    OF   THE  [Book  XII. 

that  it  was  hardly  in  a  condition  to  keep  the  field  without  fresh  recruits. 
A  truce  was  accordingly  concluded  [Nov.  19],  first  for  ten,  and  afterwards 
for  forty  days,  during  which,  various  schemes  of  peace  were  proposed, 
and  perpetual  negotiations  were  carried  on,  but  with  no  sincerity  on  the 
part  of  the  pope.  The  return  of  his  nephew  the  cardinal  to  Rome,  the 
receipt  of  a  considerable  sum  remitted  by  the  king  of  France,  the  arrival 
of  one  body  of  French  troops,  together  with  the  expectation  of  others 
which  had  begun  their  march,  rendered  him  more  arrogant  than  ever,  and 
banished  all  thoughts  from  his  mind,  but  those  of  war  and  revenge.* 


BOOK  XII. 


While  these  operations  or  intrigues  kept  the  pope  and  Philip  busy 
and  attentive,  the  emperor  disentangled  himself  finally  from  all  the  affairs 
of  this  world,  and  set  out  for  the  place  of  his  retreat.  He  had  hitherto 
retained  the  Imperial  dignity,  not  from  any  unwillingness  to  relinquish  it, 
for,  after  having  resigned  the  real  and  extensive  authority  that  he  enjoyed 
in  his  hereditary  dominions,  to  part  with  the  limited  and  often  ideal  juris- 
diction which  belongs  to  an  elective  crown,  was  no  great  sacrifice.  His 
sole  motive  for  delay  was  to  gain  a  few  months,  for  making  one  trial  more 
in  order  to  accomplish  his  favourite  scheme  in  behalf  of  his  son.  At  the 
very  time  Charles  seemed  to  be  most  sensible  of  the  vanity  of  worldly 
grandeur,  and  when  he  appeared  to  be  quitting  it  not  only  with  indiffer- 
ence, but  with  contempt,  the  vast  schemes  of  ambition,  which  had  so  long 
occupied  and  engrossed  his  mind,  still  kept  possession  of  it.  He  could 
not  think  of  leaving  his  son  in  a  rank  inferior  to  that  which  he  himself  had 
held  among  the  princes  of  Europe.  As  he  had,  some  years  before,  made 
a  fruitless  attempt  to  secure  the  Imperial  crown  to  Philip,  that  by  uniting 
it  to  the  kingdoms  of  Spain,  and  the  dominions  of  the  house  of  Burgundy, 
he  might  put  it  in  his  power  to  prosecute,  with  a  better  prospect  of  suc- 
cess, those  great  plans,  which  his  own  infirmities  had  obliged  him  to  aban- 
don, he  was  still  unwilling  to  relinquish  this  flattering  project  as  chimerical 
or  unattainable. 

Notwithstanding  the  repulse  which  he  had  formerly  met  with  from  his 
brother  Ferdinand,  he  renewed  his  solicitations  with  fresh  importunity ; 
and,  during  the  summer,  had  tried  every  art,  and  employed  every  argu- 
ment, which  be  thought  could  induce  him  to  quit  the  Imperial  throne  to 
Philip,  and  to  accept  of  the  investiture  of  some  province,  either  in  Italy, 
or  in  the  Low-Countries,  as  an  equivalent.!  But  Ferdinand,  who  was  so 
firm  and  inflexible  with  regard  to  this  point,  that  he  had  paid  no  regard  to 
the  solicitations  of  the  emperor,  even  when  they  were  enforced  with  all  the 
weight  of  authority  which  accompanies  supreme  power,  received  the 
overture  that  now  came  from  him  in  the  situation  to  which  he  had 
descended,  with  greater  indifference,  and  would  hardly  deign  to  listen  to 
it.  Charles,  ashamed  of  his  own  credulity  in  having  imagined  that  he  might 
accomplish  that  now,  which  he  attempted  formerly  without  success,  desisted 
finally  from  his  scheme.  He  then  resigned  the  government  of  the  empire, 
and  having  transferred  all  his  claims  of  obedience  and  allegiance  from  the 
Germanic  body,  to  his  brother  the  king  of  the  Romans,  he  executed  a  deed 

*  Pallav.  lib.  xiii.  177.     Thuan.  lib.  xvii.  58?.     Mem.  deRibier  ii  664-  1  Ambassacle=  fles 

NaaMJe^tom.  v  W' 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  463 

to  that  effect  [Aug.  27],  with  all  the  formalities  requisite  in  such  an  impor- 
tant transaction.  The  instrument  of  resignation  he  committed  to  William 
prince  of  Orange,  and  empowered  him  to  lay  it  before  the  college  ot 
electors.* 

Nothing  now  remained  to  detain  Charles  from  that  retreat  for  which  he 
languished.  The  preparations  for  his  voyage  having  been  made  for  some 
time,  he  set  out  for  Zuitburg  in  Zealand,  where  the  fleet  which  was  to 
convoy  him  had  orders  to  assemble.  In  his  way  thither  he  passed  through 
Ghent,  and  after  stopping  there  a  few  days,  to  indulge  that  tender  and 
pleasing  melancholy,  which  arises  in  the  mind  of  every  man  in  the  decline 
of  life,  on  visiting  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  viewing  the  scenes  and 
objects  familiar  to  him  in  his  early  youth,  he  pursued  his  journey,  accom- 
panied by  his  son  Philip,  his  daughter  the  archdutchess,  his  sisters  the 
dowager  queens  of  France  and  Hungary,  Maximilian  his  son-in-law,  and  a 
numerous  retinue  of  the  Flemish  nobility.  Before  he  went  on  board,  he  dis- 
missed them,  with  marks  of  his  attention  or  regard,  and  taking  leave  of 
Philip  with  all  the  tenderness  of  a  father  who  embraced  his  son  for  the 
last  time,  he  set  sail  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  under  convoy  of  a 
large  fleet  of  Spanish,  Flemish,  and  English  ships.  He  declined  a  pressing- 
invitation  from  the  queen  of  England,  to  land  in  some  part  of  her  dominions 
in  order  to  refresh  himself,  and  that  she  might  have  the  comfort  of  seeing 
him  once  more.  "  It  cannot  surely,"  said  he,  "  be  agreeable  to  a  queen 
to  receive  a  visit  from  a  father-in-law,  who  is  now  nothing  more  than  a 
private  gentleman." 

His  voyage  was  prosperous,  and  he  arrived  at  Laredo  in  Biscay  on  the 
eleventh  day  after  he  left  Zealand.  As  soon  as  he  landed,  he  fell  prostrate 
on  the  ground  ;  and  considering  himself  now  as  dead  to  the  world,  he  kissed 
the  earth,  and  said,  "  Naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb,  and  naked 
I  now  return  to  thee,  thou  common  mother  of  mankind."  From  Laredo  he 
pursued  his  journey  to  Burgos,  carried  sometimes  in  a  chair,  and  some- 
times in  a  horse  litter,  suffering  exquisite  pain  at  every  step,  and  advancing 
with  the  greatest  difficulty.  Some  of  the  Spanish  nobility  repaired  to 
Burgos,  in  order  to  pay  court  to  him,  but  they  were  so  few  in  number,  and 
their  attendance  was  so  negligent,  that  Charles  observed  it,  and  felt,  for 
the  first  time,  that  he  was  no  longer  a  monarch.  Accustomed  from  his 
early  youth  to  the  dutiful  and  officious  respect  with  which  those  who  pos- 
sess sovereign  power  are.  attended,  he  had  received  it  with  the  credulity 
common  to  princes,  and  was  sensibly  mortified,  when  he  now  discovered, 
that  he  had  been  indebted  to  his  rank  and  power  for  much  of  that  obse- 
quious regard  which  he  had  fondly  thought  was  paid  to  his  personal 
qualities.  But  though  he  might  have  soon  learned  to  view  with  unconcern 
the  levity  of  his  subjects,  or  to  have  despised  their  neglect,  he  was  more 
deeply  afflicted  with  the  ingratitude  of  his  son,  who,  forgetting  already  how 
much  he  owed  to  his  father's  bounty,  obliged  him  to  remain  some  weeks 
at  Burgos,  before  he  paid  him  the  first  moiety  of  that  small  pension,  which 
was  all  that  he  had  reserved  of  so  many  kingdoms.  As  without  this  sum, 
Charles  could  not  dismiss  his  domestics  with  such  rewards  as  their  services 
merited  or  his  generosity  had  destined  for  them,  he  could  not  help  express- 
ing both  surprise  and  dissatisfaction.!  At  last  the  money  was  paid,  and 
Charles  having  dismissed  a  great  number  of  his  domestics,  whose  attend- 
ance he  thought  would  be  superfluous  or  cumbersome  in  his  retirement,  he 
proceeded  to  Valladolid.  There  he  took  a  last  and  tender  leave  of  his 
two  sisters,  whom  he  would  not  permit  to  accompany  him  to  his  solitude, 
though  they  requested  him  with  tears,  not  only  that  they  might  have  the 
consolation  of  contributing  by  their  attendance  and  care  to  mitigate  or 
to  soothe  his  sufferings,  but  that  they  might  reap  instruction  and  benefit  by 

*  Oo!<hst.  Omstit.  Imper.  pars  i.  578.  t  Strada  de  Hello  Belg.  lib.  1. 


464  THE   KEIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XII. 

joining  with  him  in  those  pious  exercises  to  which  he  had  consecrated  the 
remainder  of  his  days. 

1557.]  From  Valladolid  he  continued  his  journey  to  Placentia  in  Estre- 
madura.  He  had  passed  through  this  place  a  great  many  years  before, 
and  having  been  struck  at  that  time  with  the  delightful  situation  of  the 
monastery  of  St.  Justus,  belonging  to  the  order  of  St.  Jerome,  not  many 
miles  distant  from  the  town,  he  had  then  observed  to  some  of  his  attendants, 
that  this  was  a  spot  to  which  Dioclesian  might  have  retired  with  pleasure. 
The  impression  had  remained  so  strong  on  his  mind,  that  he  pitched  upon 
it  as  the  place  of  his  own  retreat.  It  was  seated  in  a  vale  of  no  great 
extent,  watered  by  a  small  brook,  and  surrounded  by  rising  grounds, 
covered  with  lofty  trees ;  from  the  nature  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  climate,  it  was  esteemed  the  most  healthful  and  delicious 
situation  in  Spain.  Some  months  before  his  resignation  he  had  sent  an 
architect  thither  to  add  a  new  apartment  to  the  monastery,  for  his  accom- 
modation ;  but  he  gave  strict  orders  that  the  style  of  the  building  should 
be  such  as  suited  his  present  station,  rather  than  his  former  dignity.  It 
consisted  only  of  six  rooms,  four  of  them  in  the  form  of  friars'  cells,  with 
naked  walls;  the  other  two,  each  twenty  feet  square,  were  hung  with 
brown  cloth,  and  furnished  in  the  most  simple  manner.  They  were  all  on 
a  level  with  the  ground  ;  with  a  door  on  one  side  into  a  garden,  of  which 
Charles  himself  had  given  the  plan,  and  had  filled  it  with  various  plants, 
which  he  intended  to  cultivate  with  his  own  hands.  On  the  other  side 
they  communicated  with  the  chapel  of  the  monastery,  in  which  he  was  to 
perform  his  devotions.  Into  this  humble  retreat,  hardly  sufficient  for  the 
comfortable  accommodation  of  a  private  gentleman,  did  Charles  enter 
[Feb.  24,]  with  twelve  domestics  only.  He  buried  there,  in  solitude  and 
silence,  his  grandeur,  his  ambition,  together  with  all  those  vast  projects, 
which,  during  almost  half  a  century,  had  alarmed  and  agitated  Europe, 
filling  every  kingdom  in  it,  by  turns,  with  the  terror  of  his  arms,  and  the 
dread  of  being  subdued  by  his  power.* 

The  contrast  between  Charles's  conduct  and  that  of  the  pope  at  this 
juncture  was  so  obvious,  that  it  struck  even  the  most  careless  observers ; 
nor  was  the  comparison  which  they  made  to  the  advantage  of  Paul.  The 
former,  a  conqueror,  born  to  reign,  long  accustomed  to  the  splendour  which 
accompanies  supreme  power,  and  to  those  busy  and  interesting  scenes  in 
which  an  active  ambition  had  engaged  him,  quitted  the  world  at  a  period  of 
life  not  far  advanced,  that  he  might  close  the  evening  of  his  days  in  tran- 
quillity, and  secure  some  interval  for  sober  thought  and  serious  recollec- 
tion. The  latter  a  priest,  who  had  passed  the  early  part  of  his  life  in  the 
shade  of  the  schools,  and  in  the  study  of  the  speculative  sciences,  who  was 
seemingly  so  detached  from  the  world,  that  he  had  shut  himself  up  for 
many  years  in  the  solitude  of  a  cloister,  and  who  was  not  raised  to  the 
papal  throne  until  he  had  reached  the  extremity  of  old  age,  discovered  at 
once  all  the  impetuosity  of  youthful  ambition,  and  formed  extensive 
schemes,  in  order  to  accomplish  which,  he  scrupled  not  to  scatter  the 
seeds  of  discord,  and  to  kindle  the  flames  of  war,  in  every  corner  of 
Europe.  But  Paul,  regardless  of  the  opinion  or  censures  of  mankind, 
held  on  his  own  course  with  his  wonted  arrogance  and  violence.  These, 
although  they  seemed  already  to  have  exceeded  all  bounds,  rose  to  a  still 
greater  height,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  duke  of  Guise  in  Italy. 

That  which  the  two  princes  of  Lorrain  foresaw  and  desired  had  hap- 
pened. The  duke  of  Guise  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  army 
appointed  to  march  to  the  pope's  assistance.  It  consisted  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  of  the  best  troops  in  the  service  of  France.  So  high  was 
the  duke's  reputation,  and  such  the  general  expectation  of  beholding  som* 

-  Bjndov. !;.  607,  &  Zuniga,  WO.    Thttan  lib.  wil  009 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  465 

extraordinary  exertion  of  his  courage  and  abilities  in  a  war  into  which  he 
had  precipitated  his  country,  chiefly  with  the  design  of  obtaining  a  field 
where  he  might  display  his  own  talents,  that  many  of  the  French  nobility 
who  had  no  command  in  the  troops  employed,  accompanied  him  as  volun- 
teers. This  army  passed  the  Alps  in  an  inclement  season,  and  advanced 
towards  Home  without  any  opposition  from  the  Spaniards,  who,  as  they 
were  not  strong  enough  to  act  in  different  parts,  had  collected  all  their 
forces  in  one  body  on  the  frontiers  of  Naples,  for  the  defence  of  that 
kingdom. 

Emboldened  by  the  approach  of  the  French,  the  pope  let  loose  all  the 
fury  of  his  resentment  against  Philip,  which,  notwithstanding  the  natural 
violence  of  his  temper,  prudential  considerations  had  hitherto  obliged  him 
to  keep  under  some  restraint.  He  named  commissioners  [Feb.  12],  whom 
he  empowered  to  pass  judgment  in  the  suit,  which  the  consistorial  advo- 
cate had  commenced  against  Philip,  in  order  to  prove  that  he  had  forfeited 
the  crown  of  Naples,  by  taking  arms  against  the  holy  see,  of  which  he  was 
a  vassal.  He  recalled  all  the  nuncios  [April  presiding  in  the  courts  of 
Charles  V.,  of  Philip,  or  any  of  their  allies.  This  was  levelled  chiefly 
against  cardinal  Pole,  the  papal  legate  in  the  court  of  England,  whose  great 
merit,  in  having  contributed  so  successfully  to  reconcile  that  kingdom  to 
the  church  of  Rome,  together  with  the  expectation  of  farther  services, 
which  he  might  perform,  was  not  sufficient  to  screen  him  from  the  resent- 
ment that  he  had  incurred  by  his  zealous  endeavours  to  establish  peace 
between  the  house  of  Austria  and  F ranee.  He  commanded  an  addition  to 
be  made  to  the  anathemas  annually  denounced  against  the  enemies  of  the 
church  onMaunday  Thursday,  whereby  he  inflicted  the  censure  of  excom- 
munication on  the  authors  of  the  late  invasion  of  the  ecclesiastical  territo- 
ries, whatever  their  rank  or  dignity  might  be  ;  and  in  consequence  of  this, 
the  usual  prayers  for  the  emperor  were  omitted  next  day  in  the  pope's 
chapel.* 

But  while  the  pope  indulged  himself  in  those  wild  and  childish  sallies 
of  rage,  either  he  neglected,  or  found  that  it  exceeded  his  power,  to  take 
such  measures  as  would  have  rendered  his  resentment  really  formidable, 
and  fatal  to  his  enemies.  For  when  the  duke  of  Guise  entered  Rome, 
where  he  was  received  with  a  triumphal  pomp,  which  would  have  been 
more  suitable  if  he  had  been  returning  after  having  terminated  the  war 
with  glory,  than  when  he  was  going  to  begin  it  with  a  doubtful  chance  of 
success,  he  found  none  of  the  preparations  for  war  in  such  forwardness  as 
cardinal  Caraffa  had  promised,  or  he  had  expected.  The  papal  troops 
were  far  inferior  in  number  to  the  quota  stipulated ;  no  magazines  suffi- 
cient for  their  subsistence  were  formed ;  nor  was  money  for  paying  them 
provided.  The  Venetians,  agreeably  to  that  cautious  maxim  which  the 
misfortunes  of  their  state  had  first  led  them  to  adopt,  and  which  was  now 
become  a  fundamental  principle  in  their  policy,  declared  their  resolution 
to  preserve  an  exact  neutrality,  without  taking  any  part  in  the  quarrels  of 
princes,  so  far  superior  to  themselves  in  power.  The  other  Italian  states 
were  either  openly  united  in  league  with  Philip,  or  secretly  wished  suc- 
cess to  his  arms  against  a  pontiff,  whose  inconsiderate  ambition  had  ren- 
dered Italy  once  more  the  seat  of  war. 

The  duke  of  Guise  perceived  that  the  whole  weight  of  the  war  would 
devolve  on  the  French  troops  under  his  command  ;  and  became  sensible, 
though  too  late,  how  imprudent  it  is  to  rely,  in  the  execution  of  great 
enterprises,  on  the  aid  of  feeble  allies.  Pushed  on,  however,  by  the  pope's 
impatience  for  action,  as  well  as  by  his  own  desire  of  performing  some  part 
of  what  he  had  so  confidently  undertaken,  he  marched  towards  Naples 
[April  13],  and  began  his  operations.     But  the  success  of  these  fell  far 

%  ^1.  lib.  xlit   180.    Mem  d«  Ribicr.  ri.  67H. 

Vol.  II.— 59 


466  THE   REIGN    OF   THE  [Book  XH, 

short  of  his  former  reputation,  of  what  the  world  expected,  and  of  what  he 
himself  had  promised.  He  opened  the  campaign  with  the  siege  of  Civi- 
teJla,  a  town  of  some  importance  on  the  Neapolitan  frontier.  But  the 
obstinacy  with  which  the  Spanish  governor  defended  it,  baffled  all  the  im- 
petuous efforts  of  the  French  valour,  and  obliged  the  duke  of  Guise,  after 
a  siege  of  three  weeks,  to  retire  from  the  town  with  disgrace.  He  endea- 
voured to  wipe  off  that  stain,  by  advancing  boldly  towards  the  duke  of 
Alva's  camp,  and  offering  bim  battle.  But  that  prudent  commander,  sen- 
sible of  all  the  advantages  of  standing  on  the  defensive  before  an  invading 
enemy,  declined  an  engagement,  and  kept  within  his  entrenchments  ;  and 
adhering  to  his  plan  with  the  steadiness  of  a  Castilian, eluded,  with  great 
address,  all  the  duke  of  Guise's  stratagems  to  draw  him  into  action.*  By 
this  time  sickness  began  to  waste  the  French  army  ;  violent  dissensions  had 
arisen  between  the  duke  of  Guise  and  the  commander  of  the  pope's 
forces ;  the  Spaniards  renewed  their  incursions  into  the  ecclesiastical 
state ;  the  pope,  when  he  found,  instead  of  the  conquests  and  triumphs 
which  he  had  fondly  expected,  that  he  could  not  secure  his  own  territories 
from  depredation,  murmured,  complained,  and  began  to  talk  of  peace. 
The  duke  of  Guise,  mortified  to  the  last  degree  with  having  acted  such 
an  inglorious  part,  not  only  solicited  his  court  either  to  reinforce  his  army, 
or  to  recall  him,  but  urged  Paul  to  fulfil  his  engagements ;  and  called  on 
cardinal  Caraffa,  sometimes  with  reproaches,  sometimes  with  threats,  to 
make  good  those  magnificent  promises,  from  a  rash  confidence  in  which  he 
had  advised  his  master  to  renounce  the  truce  of  Vaucelles,  and  to  join  in 
league  with  the  pope.t 

But  while  the  French  affairs  in  Italy  were  in  this  wretched  situation,  an 
unexpected  event  happened  in  the  Low-Countries,  which  called  the  duke 
of  Guise  from  a  station  wherein  he  could  acquire  no  honour,  to  the  most 
dignified  and  important  charge  which  could  be  committed  to  a  subject. 
As  soon  as  the  French  had  discovered  their  purpose  of  violating  the  truce 
of  Vaucelles,  not  only  by  sending  an  army  into  Italy,  but  by  attempting 
to  surprise  some  of  the  frontier  towns  in  Flanders,  Philip,  though  willing 
to  have  avoided  a  rupture,  determined  to  prosecute  the  war  with  such 
spirit,  as  should  make  his  enemies  sensible  that  his  father  had  not  erred, 
when  he  judged  him  to  be  so  capable  of  government,  that  he  had  given 
up  the  reins  into  his  hands.  As  he  knew  that  Henry  had  been  at  great 
expense  in  fitting  out  the  army  under  the  duke  of  Guise,  and  that  his  trea- 
sury was  hardly  able  to  answer  the  exorbitant  and  endless  demands  of  a 
distant  war,  he  foresaw  that  all  his  operations  in  the  Low-Countries  must, 
of  consequence,  prove  feeble,  and  be  considered  only  as  secondary  to 
those  in  Italy.  For  that  reason,  he  prudently  resolved  to  make  his  prin- 
cipal effort  in  that  place  where  he  expected  the  French  to  be  weakest, 
and  to  bend  his  chief  force  against  that  quarter  where  they  would  feel  a 
blow  most  sensibly.  With  this  view,  he  assembled  in  the  Low-Countries 
an  army  of  about  fifty  thousand  men,  the  Flemings  serving  him  on  this 
occasion  with  that  active  zeal  which  subjects  are  wont  to  exert  in  obeying 
the  first  commands  of  a  new  sovereign.  But  Philip,  cautious  and  provi- 
dent, even  at  this  early  period  of  life,  did  not  rest  all  his  hopes  of  success 
on  that  formidable  force  alone. 

He  had  been  labouring  for  some  time  to  engage  the  English  to  espouse 
his  quarrel ;  and  though  it  was  manifestly  the  interest  of  that  kingdom  to 
maintain  a  strict  neutrality,  and  the  people  themselves  were  sensible  of 
the  advantages  which  they  derived  from  it ;  though  he  knew  how  odious 
his  name  was  to  the  English,  and  how  averse  they  would  be  to  co-operate 
with  him  in  any  measure,  he  nevertheless  did  not  despair  of  accomplishing 

*  Herrera  Vida  de  Pelrne.  181.  f  Thuan.  lib-  xxviii.  614.    Patlav  lib-  xiii.  181.    Burn.  If, 

App.  317. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  467 

his  point.  He  relied  on  the  affection  with  which  the  queen  doated  on 
him,  which  was  so  violent,  that  even  his  coldness  and  neglect  had  not 
extinguished  it;  he  knew  her  implicit  reverence  tor  his  opinion,  and  her 
fond  desire  of  gratifying  him  in  every  particular.  That  he  might  work  on 
these  with  greater  facility  and  more  certain  success,  he  set  out  for  Eng- 
land. The  queen,  who,  during  her  husband's  absence,  had  languished  in 
perpetual  dejection,  resumed  fresh  spirits  on  his  arrival ;  and,  without 
paying  the  least  attention  either  to  the  interest  or  to  the  inclinations  of  her 
people,  entered  warmly  into  all  his  schemes.  In  vain  did  her  privy- 
council  remonstrate  against  the  imprudence  as  well  as  danger  of  involving 
the  nation  in  an  unnecessary  war ;  in  vain  did  they  put  her  in  mind  of  the 
solemn  treaties  of  peace  subsisting  between  England  and  France,  which 
the  conduct  of  that  nation  had  afforded  her  no  pretext  to  violate.  Mary, 
soothed  by  Philip's  caresses,  or  intimidated  by  the  threats  which  his 
ascendant  over  her  emboldened  him  at  some  times  to  throw  out,  was  deaf 
to  every  thing  that  could  be  urged  in  opposition  to  his  sentiments,  and 
insisted  with  the  greatest  vehemence  on  an  immediate  declaration  of  war 
against  France.  The  council,  though  all  Philip's  address  and  Mary's 
authority  were  employed  to  gain  or  overawe  them,  after  struggling  long, 
yielded  at  last,  not  from  conviction,  but  merely  from  deference  to  the  will 
of  their  sovereign.  War  was  declared  against  France  [June  20],  the  only 
one  perhaps  against  that  kingdom  into  which  the  English  ever  entered 
with  reluctance.  As  Mary  knew  the  aversion  of  the  nation  to  this  mea- 
sure, she  durst  not  call  a  parliament  in  order  to  raise  money  for  carrying 
on  the  war.  She  supplied  this  want,  however,  by  a  stretch  of  royal  pre- 
rogative, not  unusual  in  that  age ;  and  levied  large  sums  on  her  subjects 
by  her  own  authority.  This  enabled  her  to  assemble  a  sufficient  body  of 
troops,  and  to  send  eight  thousand  men  under  the  conduct  of  the  earl  of 
PembToke  to  join  Philip's  army.* 

Philip,  who  was  not  ambitious  of  military  glory,  gave  the  command  of 
his  army  to  Emanuel  Philibert,  duke  of  Savoy,  and  fixed  his  own  resi- 
dence at  Cambray,  that  he  might  be  at  hand  to  receive  the  earliest  intel- 
ligence of  his  motions,  and  to  aid  him  with  his  councils.  The  duke  opened 
the  campaign  with  a  masterly  stroke  of  address,  which  justified  Philip's 
choice,  and  discovered  such  a  superiority  of  genius  over  the  French  gene- 
rals, as  almost  insured  success  in  his  subsequent  operations.  He  appointed 
the  general  rendezvous  of  his  troops  at  a  place  considerably  distant  from 
the  country  which  he  destined  to  be  the  scene  of  action  ;  and  having  kept 
the  enemy  in  suspense  for  a  good  time  with  regard  to  his  intentions,  he  at 
last  deceived  them  so  effectually  by  the  variety  of  his  marches  and  counter- 
marches, as  led  them  to  conclude  that  he  meant  to  bend  all  his  force 
against  the  province  of  Champagne,  and  would -attempt  to  penetrate  into 
the  kingdom  on  that  side.  In  consequence  of  this  opinion,  they  drew  all 
their  strength  towards  that  quarter,  and  reinforcing  the  garrisons  there,  left 
the  towns  on  other  parts  of  the  frontier  destitute  of  troops  sufficient  to 
defend  them. 

The  duke  of  Savoy,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  that  this  feint  had  its  full 
effect,  turned  suddenly  to  the  right,  advanced  by  rapid  marches  into 
Picardy,  and  sending  his  cavalry,  in  which  he  was  extremely  strong,  before 
him,  invested  St.  Quintin.  This  was  a  town  deemed  in  that  age  of  con- 
siderable strength,  and  of  great  importance,  as  there  were  few  fortified 
cities  between  it  and  Paris.  The  fortifications,  however,  had  been  much 
neglected ;  the  garrison,  weakened  by  draughts  sent  towards  Champagne, 
did  not  amount  to  a  fifth  part  of  the  number  requisite  for  its  defence  ;  and 
the  governor,  though  a  brave  officer,  was  neither  of  rank  nor  authority 
equal  to  the  command  in  a  place  of  so  much  consequence,  besieged  by 

>  Carte  HI.  xn. 


468  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  Xlf. 

such  a  formidable  army.  A  few  days  must  have  put  the  duke  of  Savoy 
in  possession  of  the  town,  if  the  admiral  de  Coligny,  who  thought  it  con- 
cerned his  honour  to  attempt  saving  a  place  of  such  importance  to  his 
country,  and  which  lay  within  his  jurisdiction  as  governor  of  Picardy,  had 
not  taken  the  gallant  resolution  of  throwing  himself  into  it,  with  such  a 
body  of  men  as  he  could  collect  on  a  sudden.  This  resolution  he  executed 
with  great  intrepidity,  and,  if  the  nature  of  the  enterprise  be  considered, 
with  no  contemptible  success  ;  for  though  one  half  of  his  small  body  of 
troops  were  cut  off,  he,  with  the  other,  broke  through  the  enemy,  and 
entered  the  town.  The  unexpected  arrival  of  an  officer  of  such  high  rank 
and  reputation,  and  who  had  exposed  himself  to  such  danger  in  order  to 
join  them,  inspired  the  desponding  garrison  with  courage.  Every  thing 
that  the  admiral's  great  skill  and  experience  in  the  art  of  war  could  sug- 
gest, for  annoying  the  enemy,  or  defending  the  town,  was  attempted  :  and 
the  citizens,  as  well  as  the  garrison,  seconding  his  zeal  with  equal  ardour, 
seemed  to  be  determined  that  they  would  hold  out  to  the  last,  and  -sacri- 
fice themselves  in  order  to  save  their  country.* 

The  duke  of  Savoy,  whom  the  English,  under  the  earl  of  Pembroke, 
joined  about  this  time,  pushed  on  the  siege  with  the  greatest  vigour.  An 
army  so  numerous,  and  so  well  supplied  with  every  thing  requisite,  carried 
on  its  approaches  with  great  advantage  against  a  garrison  which  was  still 
so  feeble  that  it  durst  seldom  venture  to  disturb  or  retard  the  enemy's  ope- 
rations by  sallies.  The  admiral,  sensible  of  the  approaching  danger,  and 
unable  to  avert  it,  acquainted  his  uncle  the  constable  Montmorency,  who 
had  the  command  of  the  French  army,  with  his  situation,  and  pointed  out 
to  him  a  method  by  which  he  might  throw  relief  into  the  town.  The  con- 
stable solicitous  to  save  a  town,  the  loss  of  which  would  open  a  passage  for 
the  enemy  into  the  heart  of  France  ;  and  eager  to  extricate  his  nephew  out 
of  that  perilous  situation,  in  which  zeal  for  the  public  had  engaged  him ; 
resolved,  though  aware  of  the  danger,  to  attempt  what  he  desired.  With 
this  view,  he  marched  from  La  Fere  towards  St.  Quintin  at  the  head  of  his 
army,  which  was  not  by  ojie  half  so  numerous  as  that  of  the  enemy,  and 
having  given  the  command  of  a  body  of  chosen  men  to  Coligny's  brother 
Dandelot,  who  was  colonel-general  of  the  French  infantry,  he  ordered  him 
to  force  his  way  into  the  town  by  that  avenue  which  the  admiral  had  re- 
presented as  most  practicable,  while  he  himself,  with  the  main  army, 
would  give  the  alarm  to  the  enemy's  camp  on  the  opposite  side,  and 
endeavour  to  draw  all  their  attention  towards  that  quarter.  Dandelot 
executed  his  orders  with  greater  intrepidity  than  conduct.  [Aug.  10.]  He 
rushed  on  with  such  headlong  impetuosity,  that,  though  it  broke  the  first 
body  of  the  enemy  which  stood  in  their  way,  it  threw  his  own  soldiers 
into  the  utmost  confusion ;  and  as  they  were  attacked  in  that  situation  by 
fresh  troops  which  closed  in  upon  them  on  every  side,  the  greater  part  of 
them  were  cut  in  pieces,  Dandelot  with  about  five  hundred  of  the  most 
adventurous  and  most  fortunate,  making  good  his  entrance  into  the  town. 

Meanwhile  the  constable,  in  executing  his  part  of  the  plan,  advanced  so 
near  the  camp  of  the  besiegers,  as  rendered  it  impossible  to  retreat  with 
safety  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  so  much  superior  in  number.  The  duke  of 
Savoy  instantly  perceived  Montmorency's  error,  and  prepared,  with  the 
presence  of  mind  and  abilities  of  a  great  general,  to  avail  himself  of  it. 
He  drew  up  his  army  in  order  of  battle,  with  the  greatest  expedition,  and 
watching  the  moment  when  the  French  began  to  file  off  towards  La  Fere, 
he  detached  all  his  cavalry,  under  the  command  of  the  count  of  Egmont. 
to  fall  on  their  rear,  while  he  himself,  at  the  head  of  his  infantry,  advanced 
to  support  him.  The  French  at  first  retired  in  perfect  order,  and  with  a 
good  countenance ;  but  when  they  saw  Egmont  draw  near  with  his  formi- 

*  Thnau.  lib.  xlx.  647 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  469 

dable  body  of  cavalry,  the  shock  of  which  they  were  conscious  that  they 
could  not  withstand,  the  prospect  of  imminent  danger,  added  to  distrust  ot 
their  general,  whose  imprudence  every  soldier  now  perceived,  struck  them 
with  general  consternation.  They  began  insensibly  to  quicken  their  pace, 
and  those  in  the  rear  pressed  so  violently  on  such  as  were  before  them, 
that  in  a  short  time  their  march  resembled  a  flight  rather  than  a  retreat. 
Eginont,  observing  their  confusion,  charged  them  with  the  greatest  tury, 
and  in  a  moment  all  their  men  at  arms,  the  pride  and  strength  of  the 
French  troops  in  that  age,  gave  way  and  fled  with  precipitation.  The 
infantry,  however,  whom  the  constable,  by  his  presence  and  authority, 
kept  to  their  colours,  still  continued  to  retreat  in  good  order,  until  the 
enemy  brought  some  pieces  of  cannon  to  bear  upon  their  centre,  which 
threw  them  into  such  confusion,  that  the  Flemish  cavalry,  renewing  their 
attack,  >roke  in,  and  the  rout  became  universal.  About  four  thousand  ot 
the  French  fell  in  the  field,  and  among  these  the  duke  of  Anguien,  a  prince 
of  the  blood,  together  with  six  hundred  gentlemen.  The  constable,  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  the  fortune  of  the  day  to  be  irretrievable,  rushed  into 
the  thickest  of  the  enemy,  with  a  resolution  not  to  survive  the  calamity 
which  his  ill  conduct  had  brought  upon  his  country ;  but  having  received 
a  dangerous  wound,  and  being  wasted  with  the  loss  of  blood,  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  some  Flemish  officers,  to  whom  he  was  known,  who  protected 
him  from  the  violence  of  the  soldiers,  and  obliged  him  to  surrender. 
Besides  the  constable,  the  dukes  of  Montpensier  and  Longueville,  the 
marechal  St.  Andre,  many  officers  of  distinction,  three  hundred  gentlemen, 
and  near  four  thousand  private  soldiers,  were  taken  prisoners.  All  the 
colours  belonging  to  the  infantry,  all  the  ammunition,  and  all  the  cannon, 
two  pieces  excepted,  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands.  The  victorious  army 
did  not  lose  above  fourscore  men.* 

This  battle,  no  less  fatal  to  France  than  the  ancient  victories  of  Crecjr  and 
Agincourt,  gained  by  the  English  on  the  same  frontier,  bore  a  near  resem- 
blance to  those  disastrous  events  in  the  suddenness  of  the  rout ;  in  the  ill- 
conduct  of  the  commander  in  chief;  in  the  number  of  persons  of  note 
slain  or  taken  ;  and  in  the  small  loss  sustained  by  the  enemy.  It  filled 
France  with  equal  consternation.  Many  inhabitants  of  Pans,  with  the 
same  precipitancy  and  trepidation  as  if  the  enemy  had  been  already  at 
their  gates,  quitted  the  city  and  retired  into  the  interior  provinces.  The 
king,  by  his  presence  and  exhortations,  endeavoured  to  console  and  to 
animate  such  as  remaine  1,  and  applying  himself  with  the  greatest  diligence 
to  repair  the  ruinous  fortifications  of  the  city,  prepared  to  defend  it  against 
the  attack  which  he  instantly  expected.  But  happily  for  France,  Philip's 
caution,  together  with  the  intrepid  firmness  of  the  admiral  de  Coligny,  not 
only  saved  the  capital  from  the  danger  to  which  it  was  exposed,  but 
gained  the  nation  a  short  interval,  during  which  the  people  recovered  from 
the  terror  and  dejection  occasioned  by  a  blow  no  less  severe  than  unex- 
pected, and  Henry  had  leisure  to  take  measures  for  the  public  security, 
with  the  spirit  which  became  the  sovereign  of  a  powerful  and  martial 
people. 

Philip,  immediately  after  the  battle,  visited  the  camp  at  St.  Quintin, 
where  he  was  received  with  all  the  exultation  of  military  triumph  ;  and 
such  were  his  transports  of  joy  on  account  of  an  event  which  threw  so 
much  lustre  on  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  that  they  softened  his  severe 
and  haughty  temper  into  an  unusual  flow  of  courtesy.  When  the  duke  of 
Savoy  approached,  and  was  kneeling  to  kiss  his  hands,  he  caught  him  in 
his  arms,  and  embracing  him  with  warmth,  "  It  becomes  me,  says  he, 
"  rather  to  kiss  your  hands,  which  have  gained  me  such  a  glorious  and 
almost  bloodless  victory." 

•  Thuan.  650.    Hnnei  Annal.  Bmlmnt.  ii.  693.    H*Trera.392. 


47j0  THE   REIGS    OF   THE  [Book  XII. 

As  soon  as  the  rejoicings  and  congratulations  on  Philip's  arrival  were 
.over,  a  council  of  war  was  held,  in  order  to  determine  how  they  might 
improve  their  victory  to  the  best  advantage.  The  duke  of  Savoy, 
seconded  by  several  of  the  ablest  officers  formed  under  Charles  V.  insisted 
that  they  should  immediately  relinquish  the  siege  of  St.  Quintin,  the  re- 
duction of  which  was  now  an  object  below  their  attention,  and  advance 
directly  towards  Paris  ;  that  as  there  were  neither  troops  to  oppose,  nor 
any  town  of  strength  to  retard  their  march,  they  might  reach  that  capital 
while  under  tlie  full  impression  of  the  astonishment  and  terror  occasioned 
by  the  rout  of  the  army,  and  take  possession  of  it  without  resistance. 
But  Philip,  less  adventurous  or  more  prudent  than  his  generals,  preferred 
a  moderate  but  certain  advantage,  to  an  enterprise  of  greater  splendour, 
but  of  more  doubtful  success.  He  represented  to  the  council  the  infinite 
resources  of  a  kingdom  so  powerful  as  France  ;  the  great  number  as  well 
as  martial  spirit  of  its  nobles  ;  their  attachment  to  their  sovereign  ;  the 
manifold  advantages  with  which  they  could  carry  on  war  in  their  own 
territories  ;  and  the  unavoidable  destruction  which  must  be  the  consequence 
of  their  penetrating  too  rashly  into  the  enemy's  country,  before  they  had 
secured  such  a  communication  with  their  own  as  might  render  a  retreat 
safe,  if,  upon  any  disastrous  event,  that  measure  should  become  necessary. 
On  all  these  accounts,  he  advised  the  continuance  of  the  siege,  and  his 
generals  acquiesced  the  more  readily  in  his  opinion,  as  they  made  no  doubt 
of  being  masters  of  the  town  in  a  few  days,  a  loss  of  time  of  so  little  con- 
sequence in  the  execution  of  their  plan,  that  they  might  easily  repair  it  by 
their  subsequent  activity.* 

The  weakness  of  the  fortifications,  and  the  small  number  of  the  garrison, 
which  could  no  longer  hope  either  for  reinforcement  or  relief,  seemed  to 
authorize  this  calculation  of  Philip's  generals.  But,  in  making  it,  they  did 
not  attend  sufficiently  to  the  character  of  admiral  de  Coligny,  who  com- 
manded in  the  town.  A  courage  undismayed,  and  tranquil  amidst  the 
greatest  dangers,  an  invention  fruitful  in  resources,  a  genius  which  roused 
and  seemed  to  acquire  new  force  upon  every  disaster,  a  talent  of  governing 
the  minds  of  men,  together  with  a  capacity  of  maintaining  his  ascendant 
over  them  even  under  circumstances  the  most  adverse  and  distressful,  were 
qualities  which  Coligny  possessed  in  a  degree  superior  to  any  general  of 
that  age.  These  qualities  were  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  station  in  which 
he  was  now  placed  ;  and  as  he  knew  the  infinite  importance  to  his  country 
of  every  hour  which  he  could  gain  at  this  juncture,  he  exerted  himself  to 
the  utmost  in  contriving  how  to  protract  the  siege,  and  to  detain  the  enemy 
from  attempting  any  enterprise  more  dangerous  to  France.     Such  were  the 

{>erseverance  and  skill  with  which  he  conducted  the  defence,  and  such  the 
brtitude  as  well  as  patience  with  which  he  animated  the  garrison,  that 
though  the  Spaniards,  the  Flemings,  and  the  English,  carried  on  the  attack 
with  all  the  ardour  which  national  emulation  inspires,  he  held  out  the 
town  seventeen  days.  He  was  taken  prisoner  at  last  [Aug.  27],  on  the 
breach,  oyerpowered  by  the  superior  number  of  the  enemy. 

Henry  availed  himself,  with  the  utmost  activity,  of  the  interval  which 
the  admiral's  well-timed  obstinacy  had  afforded  him.  He  appointed  offi- 
cers to  collect  the  scattered  remains  of  the  constable's  army  ;  he  issued 
orders  for  levying  soldiers  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom  ;  he  commanded 
the  ban  and  arriere  ban  of  the  frontier  provinces  instantly  to  take  the  field, 
and  to  join  the  duke  of  Nevers  at  Laon  in  Picardy ;  he  recalled  the 
greater  part  of  the  veteran  troops  which  served  under  the  marechal  Bris- 
sac  in  Piedmont ;  he  sent  courier  after  courier  to  the  duke  of  Guise,  requir- 
ing him,  together  with  all  his  army,  to  return  instantly  for  the  defence  of 
their  country  ;  he  despatched  one  envoy  to  the  grand  seignior,  to  solicit  the 

Betear  Commsntar.  de Reb.  Gallic.  901. ' 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  471 

assistance  of  his  fleet,  and  the  loan  of  a  sum  of  money ;  he  sent  another 
into  Scotland,  to  incite  the  Scots  to  invade  the  north  of  England,  that,  by 
drawing  Mary's  attention  to  that  quarter,  he  might  prevent  ner  from  rein- 
forcing her  troops  which  served  under  Philip.  These  efforts  of  the  king 
were  warmly  seconded  by  the  zeal  of  his  subjects.  The  city  of  Paris 
granted  him  a  free  gift  of  three  hundred  thousand  livres.  The  other  great 
towns  imitated  the  liberality  of  the  capital,  and  contributed  in  proportion. 
Several  noblemen  of  distinction  engaged,  at  their  own  expense,  to  garrison 
and  defend  the  towns  which  lay  most  exposed  to  the  enemy.  Nor  was 
the  general  concern  for  the  public  confined  to  corporate  bodies  alone,  or  to 
those  in  the  higher  sphere  of  life,  but  diffusing  itself  among  persons  of 
every  rank,  each  individual  seemed  disposed  to  act  with  as  much  vigour 
as  if  the  honour  of  the  king,  and  the  safety  of  the  state,  had  depended 
solely  on  his  single  efforts.* 

Philip,  who  was  no  stranger  either  to  the  prudent  measures  taken  by  the 
French  monarch  for  the  security  of  his  dominions,  or  to  the  spirit  with 
which  his  subjects  prepared  to  defend  themselves,  perceived,  when  it  was 
too  late,  that  he  had  lost  an  opportunity  which  could  never  be  recalled,  and 
that  it  was  now  vain  to  think  of  penetrating  into  the  heart  of  France.  He 
abandoned,  therefore,  without  much  reluctance,  a  scheme  which  was  too 
bold  and  hazardous  to  be  perfectly  agreeable  to  his  cautious  temper ;  and 
employed  his  army,  during  the  remainder  of  the  campaign,  in  the  sieges 
of  Ham  and  Catelet.  Of  these,  he  soon  became  master ;  and  the  reduc» 
(ion  of  two  such  petty  towns,  together  with  the  acquisition  of  St.  Quintin, 
were  all  the  advantages  which  he  derived  from  one  of  the  most  decisive 
victories  gained  in  that  century.  Philip  himself,  however,  continued  in 
high  exultation  on  account  of  his  success ;  and  as  all  his  passions  were 
tinged  with  superstition,  he,  in  memory  of  the  battle  of  St.  Quintin,  which 
had  been  fought  on  the  day  consecrated  to  St.  Laurence,  vowed  to  build  a 
church,  a  monastery,  and  a  palace,  in  honour  of  that  saint  and  martyr. 
Before  the  expiration  of  the  year,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  an  edifice,  in 
which  all  these  were  united,  at  the  Escurial  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Madrid ;  and  the  same  principle  which  dictated  the  vow,  directed  the 
building.  For  the  plan  of  the  work  was  so  formed  as  to  resemble  a  grid- 
iron, which,  according  to  the  legendary  tale,  had  been  the  instrument  of 
St.  Laurence's  martyrdom.  Notwithstanding  the  great  and  expensive 
schemes  in  which  his  restless  ambition  involved  him,  Philip  continued  the 
building  with  such  perseverance  for  twenty-two  years,  and  reserved  such 
large  sums  for  this  monument  of  his  devotion  and  vanity,  that  the  monarchs 
of  Spain  are  indebted  to  him  for  a  royal  residence,  which,  though  not  the 
most  elegant,  is  certainly  the  most  sumptuous  and  magnificent  of  any  in 
Europe.! 

The  first  account  of  that  fatal  blow  which  the  French  had  received  at 
St.  Quintin  was  carried  to  Rome  by  the  courier  whom  Henry  had  sent  to 
recall  the  duke  of  Guise.  As  Paul,  even  with  the  assistance  of  his  French 
auxiliaries,  had  hardly  been  able  to  check  the  progress  of  the  Spanish 
arms,  he  foresaw  that,  as  soon  as  he  was  deprived  of  their  protection,  his 
territories  must  be  overrun  in  a  moment.  He  remonstrated,  therefore, 
with  the  greatest  violence  against  the  departure  of  the  French  army,  re- 
proaching the  duke  of  Guise  for  his  ill  conduct,  which  had  brought  him 
into  such  an  unhappy  situation  ;  and  complaining  of  the  king  for  deserting 
him  so  ungenerously  under  such  circumstances.  The  duke  of  Guise's 
orders,  however,  were  peremptory.  Paul,  inflexible  as  he  was,  found  it 
necessary  to  accommodate  his  conduct  to  the  exigency  of  his  affairs,  and 
to  employ  the  mediation  of  the  Venetians,  and  of  Cosmo  di  Medici,  in 
order  to  obtain  peace.     Philip,  who  had  been  forced  unwillingly  to  a  rup 

•  M»>m.  <\p  Rifoier.  ii.  701.  703.  >  Colmppnr  Annnlw  rl'Eepajne,  torn.  ii.  n.  190 


472  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  XII. 

ture  with  the  pope,  and  who,  even  while  success  crowned  his  arms, 
doubted  so  much  the  justice  of  his  own  cause,  that  he  had  made  frequent 
overtures  of  pacification,  listened  eagerly  to  the  first  proposals  of  this  nature 
from  Paul,  and  discovered  such  moderation  in  his  demands,  as  could  hardly 
have  been  expected  from  a  prince  elated  with  victory. 

The  duke  of  Alva  on  the  part  of  Philip,  and  the  cardinal  Caraffa  in  the 
name  of  his  uncle,  met  at  Cavi,  and  both  being  equally  disposed  to  peace, 
they,  after  a  short  conference,  terminated  the  war  by  a  treaty  on  the  fol- 
lowing terms:  That  Paul  should  renounce  his  league  with  France,  and 
maintain  for  the  future  such  a  neutrality  as  became  the  common  father  of 
Christendom  ;  That  Philip  should  instantly  restore  all  the  towns  of  the 
ecclesiastical  territory  of  which  he  had  taken  possession  ;  That  the  claims 
of  the  Caraffas  to  the  dutchy  of  Paliano,  and  other  demesnes  of  theColon- 
nas,  should  be  referred  to  the  decision  of  the  republic  of  Venice  ;  That 
the  duke  of  Alva  should  repair  in  person  to  Rome,  and  after  asking  par- 
don of  Paul  in  his  own  name,  and  in  that  of  his  master,  for  having  invaded 
the  patrimony  of  the  church,  should  receive  the  pope's  absolution  from 
that  crime.  Thus  Paul,  through  Philip's  scrupulous  timidity,  finished  an 
unprosperous  war  without  any  detriment  to  the  papal  see.  The  conqueror 
appeared  humble,  and  acknowledged  his  error;  while  he  who  had  been 
vanquished  retain  d  his  usual  haughtiness,  and  was  treated  with  every 
mark  of  superiority.*  The  duke  of  Alva,  in  terms  of  the  treaty,  repaired 
to  Rome,  and,  in  the  posture  of  a  supplicant,  kissed  the  feet,  and  implored 
the  forgiveness  of  that  very  person  whom  his  arms  had  reduced  to  the  last 
extremity.  Such  was  the  superstitious  veneration  of  the  Spaniards  for  the 
papal  character,  that  Alva,  though  perhaps  the  proudest  man  of  the  age, 
and  accustomed  from  his  infancy  to  a  familiar  intercourse  with  princes, 
acknowledged  that  when  he  approached  the  pope,  he  was  so  much  over- 
awed, that  liis  voice  failed,  and  his  presence  of  mind  forsook  him.t 

But  though  this  war,  which  at  its  commencement  threatened  mighty 
revolutions,  was  brought  to  an  end  without  occasioning  any  alteration  in 
those  states  which  were  its  immediate  object,  it  had  produced  during  its 
progress  effects  of  considerable  consequence  in  other  parts  of  Italy.  As 
Philip  was  extremely  solicitous  to  terminate  his  quarrel  with  Paul  as 
speedily  as  possible,  he  was  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice  in  order  to  gain 
those  princes,  who,  by  joining  their  troops  to  the  papal  and  French  army, 
might  have  prolonged  the  war.  With  this  view,  he  entered  into  a  nego- 
tiation with  Octavio  Farnese,  duke  of  Parma,  and  in  order  to  seduce  him 
from  his  alliance  with  France,  he  restored  to  him  the  city  of  Placentia, 
with  the  territory  depending  on  it,  which  Charles  V.  had  seized  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-seven,  had  kept  from  that  time 
in  his  possession,  and  had  transmitted,  together  with  his  other  dominions, 
to  Philip. 

This  step  made  such  a  discovery  of  Philip's  character  and  views  to 
Cosmo  di  Medici,  the  most  sagacious  as  well  as  provident  of  all  the  Italian 
princes,  that  he  conceived  hopes  of  accomplishing  his  favourite  scheme  of 
adding  Sienna  and  its  territories  to  his  dominions  in  Tuscany.  As  his  suc- 
cess in  this  attempt  depended  entirely  on  the  delicacy  ot  address  with 
which  it  should  be  conducted,  he  employed  all  the  refinements  of  policy 
in  the  negotiation  which  he  set  on  foot  tor  this  purpose.  He  began  with 
soliciting  Philip,  whose  treasury  he  knew  to  be  entirely  drained  by  the 
expense  of  the  war,  to  repajr  the  great  sums  which  he  had  advanced  to 
the  emperor  during  the  siege  of  Sienna.  When  Philip  endeavoured  to 
elude  a  demand  which  he  was  unable  to  satisfy,  Cosmo  affected  to  be  ex- 
tremely disquieted,  and  making  no  secret  01   his  disgust,  instructed  his 

*  I'iillav.  lib.  xiii.  183.     P.  Paul,  380.     Herrera.  vol.  i.  310.  f  Pallav.  lib.  xiii.  185.    Sum- 

TWBtti  Istorm  de  Napoli,  iv.  28R. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  473 

ambassador  at  Rome  to  open  a  negotiation  with  the  pope  which  seemed  to 
be  the  effect  of  it.  The  ambassador  executed  his  commission  with  such 
dexterity,  that  Paul,  imagining  Cosmo  to  be  entirely  alienated  from  the 
Spanish  interest,  proposed  to  him  an  alliance  with  France  which  should  be 
cemented  by  the  marriage  of  his  eldest  son  to  one  of  Henry's  daughters. 
Cosmo  received  the  overture  with  such  apparent  satisfaction,  and  with  so 
many  professions  of  gratitude  for  the  high  honour  of  which  he  had  the 
prospect,  that  not  only  the  pope's  ministers,  but  the  French  envoy  at  Rome, 
talked  confidently,  and  with  little  reserve,  of  the  accession  of  that  import- 
ant ally,  as  a  matter  certain  and  decided.  The  account  of  this  was  quickly- 
carried  to  Philip ;  and  Cosmo,  who  foresaw  how  much  it  would  alarm 
him,  had  despatched  his  nephew  Ludovico  de  Toledo  into  the  Netherlands, 
that  he  might  be  at  hand  to  observe  and  take  advantage  of  his  consterna- 
tion, before  the  first  impression  which  it  made  should  in  any  degree  abate. 
Cosmo  was  extremely  lortunate  in  the  choice  of  the  instrument  whom  he 
employed.  Toledo  wailed,  with  patience,  until  he  discovered  with  cer- 
tainty, that  Philip  had  received  such  intelligence  of  his  uncle's  negotia- 
tions at  Rome,  as  must  have  rilled  his  suspicious  mind  with  fear  and 
jealousy ;  and  then  craving  an  audience,  he  required  payment  of  the  money 
which  had  been  borrowed  by  die  emperor,  in  the  most  earnest  and  peremp- 
tory terms.  In  urging  that  point,  he  artfully  threw  out  several  dark  hints 
and  ambiguous  declarations,  concerning  the  extremities  to  which  Cosmo 
might  be  driven  by  a  refusal  of  this  just  demand,  as  well  as  by  other 
grievances  of  which  he  had  good  reason  to  complain. 

Philip,  astonished  at  an  address  in  such  a  strain  from  a  prince  so  far  his 
inferior  as  the  duke  of  Tuscany,  and  comparing  what  he  now  heard  with 
the  information  which  he  had  received  from  Italy,  immediately  concluded 
that  Cosmo  had  ventured  to  assume  (his  bold  and  unusual  tone  on  the 
prospect  of  his  union  with  France.  In  order  to  preveni.  the  pope  and 
Henry  from  acquiring  an  ally,  who,  by  his  abilities,  as  well  as  the  situation 
of  his  dominions,  would  have  added  both  reputation  and  strength  to  their 
confederacy,  he  offered  to  grant  Cosmo  the  investiture  of  Sienna,  if  he 
would  consent  to  accept  of  it  as  an  equivalent  for  the  sums  due  to  him, 
and  engage  to  furnish  a  body  of  troops  towards  the  defence  of  Philip's 
territories  in  Italy,  against  any  power  who  should  attack  them.  As  soon 
as  Cosmo  had  brought  Philip  to  make  this  concession,  which  was  the 
object  of  all  his  artifices  and  intrigues,  he  did  not  protract  the  negotiation 
by  any  unnecessary  delay,  or  any  excess  of  refinement,  but  closed  eagerly 
with  the  proposal,  and  Philip,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  his  ablest 
counsellors,  signed  a  treaty  with  him  to  that  effect.* 

As  no  prince  was  ever  more  tenacious  of  his  rights  than  Philip,  or  less 
willing  to  relinquish  any  territory  which  he  possessed,  by  what  tenure  soever 
he  held  it,  these  unusual  concessions  to  the  dukes  of  Parma  and  Tuscany, 
by  which  he  wantonly  gave  up  countries,  in  acquiring  or  defending  which 
his  father  had  employed  many  years,  and  wasted  much  blood  and  treasure, 
cannot  be  accounted  for  from  any  motive,  but  his  superstitious  desire  of 
extricating  himself  out  of  the  war  which  he  had  been  forced  to  wage  against 
the  pope.  By  these  treaties,  however,  the  balance  of  power  among  the 
Italian  states  was  poised  with  greater  equality,  and  rendered  less  variable 
than  it  had  been  since  it  received  the  first  violent  shock  from  the  invasion 
of  Charles  VIII.  of  France.  From  this  period  Italy  ceased  to  be  the  great 
theatre,  on  which  the  monarchs  ol  Spain,  France,  and  Germany,  contended 
for  power  or  for  fame.  Their  dissensions  and  hostilities,  though  as  frequent 
and  violent  as  ever,  being  excited  by  new  objects,  stained  other  regions  of 
Europe  with  blood,  and  rendered  them  miserable,  in  their  turn,  by  the 
devastations  of  war. 

*  Thuan.  lib.  xviii.  624.    Herrera.  i.  863.  375.    Pallav.  lib.  xiii.  J80. 

Vot.  II.— 60 


474  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XI f. 

The  duke  of  Guise  left  Rome  on  the  same  day  [Sept.  29]  that  his  adver 
sary  the  duke  of  Alva  made  his  humiliating  submission  to  the  pope.  He  was 
received  in  France  as  the  guardian  angel  of  the  kingdom.  His  late  ill  suc- 
cess in  Italy  seemed  to  be  forgotten,  while  his  former  services,  particularly 
bis  defence  of  Metz,  were  recounted  with  exaggerated  praise  ;  and  he  was 
welcomed  in  every  city  through  which  he  passed,  as  the  restorer  of  public 
security,  who,  after  having  set  bounds  by  his  conduct  and  valour  to  the  vie 
torious  arms  of  Charles  V.,  returned  now,  at  the  call  of  his  country,  to  check 
the  formidable  progress  of  Philip's  power.  The  reception  which  he  met 
with  from  Henry  was  no  less  cordial  and  honourable.  New  titles  were 
invented,  and  new  dignities  created,  in  order  to  distinguish  him.  He  was 
appointed  lieutenant-general  in  chief  both  within  and  without  the  kingdom, 
with  a  jurisdiction  almost  unlimited,  and  hardly  inferior  to  that  which  was 
possessed  by  the  king  himself.  Thus,  through  the  singular  felicity  which 
attended  the  princes  of  Lorrain,  the  miscarriage  of  their  own  schemes  con- 
tributed to  aggrandize  them.  The  calamities  of  his  country  and  the  ill 
conduct  of  his  rival  the  constable,  exalted  the  duke  of  Guise  to  a  height  of 
dignity  and  power,  which  he  could  not  have  expected  to  attain  by  the  most 
fortunate  and  most  complete  success  of  his  own  ambitious  projects. 

The  duke  of  Guise,  eager  to  perform  something  suitable  to  the  high 
expectations  of  his  countrymen,  and  that  he  might  justify  the  extraordinary 
confidence  which  the  king  had  reposed  in  him,  ordered  all  the  troops,  which 
could  be  got  together,  to  assemble  at  Compeigne.  Though  the  winter  was 
well  advanced,  and  had  set  in  with  extreme  severity,  he  placed  himself  at 
their  head  and  took  the  field.  By  Henry's  activity  and  the  zeal  of  his  sub- 
jects, so  many  soldiers  had  been  raised  in  the  kingdom,  and  such  consider- 
able reinforcements  had  been  drawn  from  Germany  and  Switzerland,  as 
formed  an  army  respectable  even  in  the  eyes  of  a  victorious  enemy.  Philip, 
alarmed  at  seeing  it  put  in  motion  at  such  an  uncommon  season,  began  to 
tremble  for  his  new  conquests,  particularly  St.  Quintin,  the  fortifications  of 
which  were  hitherto  but  imperfectly  repaired. 

But  the  duke  of  Guise  meditated  a  more  important  enterprise  ;  and  after 
amusing  the  enemy  with  threatening  successively  different  towns  on  the 
frontiers  of  Flanders,  he  turned  suddenly  to  the  left,  and  invested  Calais 
with  his  whole  army  [Jan.  1,1558].  Calais  had  been  taken  by  the  Eng- 
lish under  Edward  III.  and  was  the  fruit  of  that  monarch's  glorious  victory 
at  Crecy.  Being  the  only  place  that  they  retained  of  their  ancient  and 
extensive  territories  in  France,  and  which  opened  to  them,  at  all  times,  an 
easy  and  secure  passage  into  the  heart  of  that  kingdom,  their  keeping  pos- 
session of  it  soothed  the  pride  of  the  one  nation  as  much  as  it  mortified  the 
vanity  of  the  other.  Its  situation  was  naturally  so  strong,  and  its  fortifica- 
tions deemed  so  impregnable,  that  no  monarch  of  France,  how  adventurous 
soever,  had  been  bold  enough  to  attack  it.  Even  when  the  domestic 
strength  of  England  was  broken  and  exhausted  by  the  bloody  wars  between 
the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  and  its  attention  entirely  diverted  from 
foreign  objects,  Calais  had  remained  undisturbed  and  unthreatened.  Mary 
and  her  council,  composed  chiefly  of  ecclesiastics,  unacquainted  with  mili- 
tary affairs,  and  whose  whole  attention  was  turned  towards  extirpating 
heresy  out  of  the  kingdom,  had  not  only  neglected  to  take  any  precautions 
for  the  safety  of  this  important  place,  but  seemed  to  think  that  the  reputa- 
tion of  its  strength  was  alone  sufficient  for  its  security.  Full  of  this  opinion, 
they  ventured,  even  after  the  declaration  of  war,  to  continue  a  practice  which 
the  low  state  of  the  queen's  finances  had  introduced  in  times  of  peace.  As 
the  country  adjacent  to  Calais  was  overflowed  during  the  winter,  and  the 
marshes  around  it  became  impassable,  except  by  one  avenue,  which  the 
forts  of  St.  Agatha  and  Newnham-bridge  commanded,  it  had  been  the  custom 
of  the  English  to  dismiss  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison  towards  the  end 
of  autumn,  and  to  replace  it  in  the  spring.     In  vain  did  Lord  Wentworth. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  475 

the  governor  of  Calais,  remonstrate  against  this  ill-timed  parsimony,  and 
represent  the  possibility  of  his  being  attacked  suddenly,  while  he  had  not 
troops  sufficient  to  man  the  works.  The  privy-council  treated  these  remon- 
strances with  scorn,  as  if  they  had  flowed  from  the  timidity  or  the  rapa- 
ciousness  of  the  governor  ;  and  some  of  them,  with  that  confidence  which  is 
the  companion  of  ignorance,  boasted  that  they  would  defend  Calais  with 
their  white  rods  against  any  enemy  who  should  approach  it  during  winter.* 
In  vain  did  Philip,  who  had  passed  through  Calais  as  he  returned  from 
England  to  the  Netherlands,  warn  the  queen  of  the  danger  to  which  it  was 
exposed  ;  and  acquainting  her  with  what  was  necessary  for  its  security,  in 
vain  did  he  offer  to  reinforce  the  garrison  during  winter  with  a  detachment 
of  his  own  troops.  Mary's  counsellors,  though  obsequious  to  her  in  all 
points  wherein  religion  was  concerned,  distrusted,  as  much  as  the  rest  ot 
their  countrymen,  every  proposition  that  came  from  her  husband  ;  and  sus- 
pecting this  to  be  an  artifice  of  Philip's  in  order  to  gain  the  command  ot  the 
town,  they  neglected  his  intelligence,  declined  his  offer,  and  left  Calais  with 
less  than  a  fourth  part  of  the  garrison  requisite  for  its  defence. 

His  knowledge  of  this  encouraged  the  duke  of  Guise  to  venture  on  an 
enterprise,  that  surprised  his  own  countrymen  no  less  than  his  enemies.  As 
he  knew  that  its  success  depended  on  conducting  his  operations  with  such 
rapidity  as  would  afford  the  English  no  time  for  throwing  relief  into  the 
town  by  sea,  and  prevent  Philip  from  giving  him  any  interruption  by  land, 
he  pushed  the  attack  with  a  degree  of  vigour  little  known  in  carrying  on 
sieges  during  that  age.  He  drove  the  English  from  fort  St.  Agatha,  at 
the  first  assault.  He  obliged  them  to  abandon  the  fort  of  Newnham-bridge 
after  defending  it  only  three  days.  He  took  the  castle  which  commanded 
the  harbour  by  storm  ;  and  on  the  eighth  day  after  he  appeared  before 
Calais,  compelled  the  governor  to  surrender,  as  his  feeble  garrison,  which 
did  not  exceed  five  hundred  men,  was  worn  out  with  the  fatigue  of  sustain- 
ing so  many  attacks,  and  defending  such  extensive  works. 

The  duke  of  Guise,  without  allowing  the  English  time  to  recover  from 
the  consternation  occasioned  by  this  blow,  immediately  invested  Guisnes,  the 
garrison  of  which,  though  more  numerous,  defended  itself  with  less  vigour, 
and  after  standing  one  brisk  assault,  gave  up  the  town.  The  castle  ot 
Hames  was  abandoned  by  the  troops  posted  there,  without  waiting  the 
approach  of  the  enemy. 

Thus  in  a  few  days,  during  the  depth  of  winter,  and  at  a  time  when  the 
fatal  battle  of  St.  Quintin  had  so  depressed  the  sanguine  spirit  of  the  French, 
that  their  utmost  aim  was  to  protect  their  own  country,  without  dreaming 
of  making  conquests  on  the  enemy,  the  enterprising  valour  of  one  man  drove 
the  English  out  of  Calais,  after  they  had  held  it  two  hundred  and  ten  years, 
and  deprived  them  of  every  foot  of  land  in  a  kingdom,  where  their  domi- 
nions had  been  once  very  extensive.  This  exploit,  at  the  same  time  that 
it  gave  a  hitch  idea  of  the  power  and  resources  of  France  to  all  Europe,  set 
the  duke  of  Guise,  in  the  opinion  of  his  countrymen,  far  above  all  the  generals 
of  the  age.  They  celebrated  his  conquests  with  immoderate  transports  of 
joy;  while  the  English  gave  vent  to  all  the  passions  which  animate  a  high- 
spirited  people,  when  any  great  national  calamity  is  manifestly  owing  to  the 
ill  conduct  of  their  rulers.  Mary  and  her  ministers,  formerly  odious,  were 
now  contemptible  in  their  eyes.  All  the  terrors  of  her  severe  and  arbitrary 
administration  could  not  restrain  them  from  uttering  execrations  and  threats 
against  those,  who,  having  wantonly  involved  the  nation  in  a  quarrel  wherein 
it  was  noways  interested,  had  by  their  negligence  or  incapacity  brought 
irreparable  distress  on  their  country,  and  lost  the  most  valuable  possession 
belonging  to  the  English  crown. 

The  kins;  of  France  imitated  the  conduct  of  its  former  conqueror.  Edward 

*  PartP.  iii.  345. 


476  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XII. 

HI.,  with  regard  to  Calais.  He  commanded  all  the  English  inhabitants  to 
quit  the  town,  and  giving  their  houses  to  his  own  subjects,  whom  he  allured 
to  settle  there  by  granting  them  various  immunities,  he  left  a  numerous  gar- 
rison, under  an  experienced  governor,  for  their  defence.  After  this,  his 
victorious  army  was  conducted  into  quarters  of  refreshment,  and  the  usual 
inaction  of  winter  returned. 

During  these  various  operations,  Ferdinand  assembled  the  college  of 
electors  at  Frankfort  [Feb.  24],  in  order  to  lay  before  them  the  instrument 
whereby  Charles  V.  had  resigned  the  Imperial  crown,  and  transferred  it 
to  him.  This  he  had  hitherto  delayed  on  account  of  some  difficulties  which 
had  occurred  concerning  the  formalities  requisite  in  supplying  a  vacancy 
occasioned  by  an  event,  to  which  there  was  no  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the 
empire.  These  being  at  length  adjusted,  the  prince  of  Orange  executed 
the  commission  with  which  he  had  been  intrusted  by  Charles  ;  the  electors 
accepted  of  his  resignation  ;  declared  Ferdinand  his  lawful  successor  ;  and 
put  him  in  possession  of  all  the  ensigns  of  the  Imperial  dignity. 

But  when  the  new  emperor  sent  Gusman  his  chancellor  to  acquaint  the 
pope  with  this  transaction,  to  testify  his  reverence  towards  the  holy  see, 
and  to  signify  that,  according  to  form,  he  would  soon  despatch  an  ambas- 
sador extraordinary  to  treat  with  his  holiness  concerning  his  coronation; 
Paul,  whom  neither  experience  nor  disappointments  could  teach  to  bring 
down  his  lofty  ideas  of  the  papal  prerogative  to  such  a  moderate  standard 
as  suited  the  genius  of  the  times,  rei'used  to  admit  the  envoy  into  his  pre- 
sence, and  declared  all  the  proceedings  at  Frankfort  irregular  and  invalid. 
He  contended  that  the  pope,  as  the  vicegerent  of  Christ,  was  intrusted  with 
the  keys  both  of  spiritual  and  of  civil  government ;  that  from  him  the  Impe- 
rial jurisdiction  was  derived  ;  that  though  his  predecessors  had  authorized 
the  electors  to  choose  an  emperor  whom  the  holy  see  confirmed,  this  privi- 
lege was  confined  to  those  cases  when  a  vacancy  was  occasioned  by  death  ; 
that  the  instrument  of  Charles's  resignation  had  been  presented  in  an  im- 
proper court,  as  it  belonged  to  the  pope  alone  to  reject  or  to  accept  of  it, 
and  to  nominate  a  person  to  fill  the  Imperial  throne  ;  that  setting  aside  all 
these  objections,  Ferdinantt's  election  laboured  under  two  defects  which 
alone  were  sufficient  to  render  it  void,  for  the  protestant  electors  had  been 
admitted  to  vote,  though,  by  their  apostacy  from  the  catholic  faith,  they  had 
forfeited  that  and  every  other  privilege  of  the  electoral  office  ;  and  terdi- 
nand,  by  ratifying  the  concessions  of  several  diets,  in  favour  of  heretics,  had 
rendered  himself  unworthy  of  the  Imperial  dignity,  which  was  instituted 
for  the  protection,  not  for  the  destruction  of  the  church.  But  after  thunder- 
ing out  these  extravagant  maxims,  he  added,  with  an  appearance  of  con- 
descension, that  if  Ferdinand  would  renounce  all  title  to  the  Imperial 
crown,  founded  on  the  election  at  Frankfort,  make  professions  of  repentance 
for  his  past  conduct,  and  supplicate  him,  with  due  humility,  to  confirm 
Charles's  resignation,  as  well  as  his  own  assumption  to  the  empire,  he  might 
expect  every  mark  of  favour  from  his  paternal  clemency  and  goodness. 
Gusman,  though  he  had  foreseen  considerable  difficulties  in  his  negotiation 
with  the  pope,  little  expected  that  he  would  have  revived  those  antiquated 
and  wild  pretensions,  which  astonished  him  so  much  that  he  hardly  knew 
in  what  tone  he  ought  to  reply.  He  prudently  declined  entering  into  any 
controversy  concerning  the  nature  or  extent  of  the  papal  jurisdiction,  and 
confined  himself  to  the  political  considerations,  which  should  determine  the 
pope  to  recognise  an  emperor  already  in  possession,  he  endeavoured  to 
place  them  in  such  a  light,  as  he  imagined  could  scarcely  fail  to  strike 
Paul,  it  he  were  not  altogether  blind  to  his  own  interest.  Philip  seconded 
Gusman's  arguments  with  great  earnestness,  by  an  ambassador  whom  he 
sent  to  Rome  on  purpose,  and  besought  the  pope  to  desist  from  claims  so 
unseasonable,  as  might  not  only  irritate  and  alarm  Ferdinand  and  the  princes 
of  the  empire,  but  furnish  the  enemies  of  the  holy  see  with  a  new  reason 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  477 

for  representing  its  jurisdiction  as  incompatible  with  the  rights  of  princes, 
and  subversive  of  all  civil  authority.  But  Paul,  who  deemed  it  a  crime  to 
attend  to  any  consideration  suggested  by  human  prudence  or  policy,  when 
bethought  himself  called  upon  to  assert  the  prerogatives  of  the  papal  see, 
remained  inflexible  ;  an  1  during  his  pontificate,  Ferdinand  was  not  acknow- 
ledged as  emperor  by  the  court  of  Rome.* 

While  Henry  was  intent  upon  his  preparations  for  the  approaching  cam- 

Eaign,  he  received  accounts  of  the  issue  of  his  negotiations  in  Scotland, 
ong  experience  having  at  last  taught  the  Scots  the  imprudence  of  involving 
their  country  in  every  quarrel  between  France  and  England,  neither  the 
solicitations  of  the  French  ambassador,  nor  the  address  and  authority  of  the 
queen  regent,  could  prevail  on  them  to  take  arms  against  a  kingdom  with 
which  they  were  at  peace.  On  this  occasion,  the  ardour  of  a  martial  nobility, 
and  of  a  turbulent  people  was  restrained  by  regard  for  the  public  interest  and 
tranquillity,  which  in  former  deliberations  of  this  kind  had  been  seldom 
attended  to  by  a  nation  always  prone  to  rush  into  every  new  war.  But 
though  the  Scots  adhered  with  steadiness  to  their  pacific  system,  they  were 
extremely  ready  to  gratify  the  French  king  in  another  particular  which  he 
had  given  in  charge  to  his  ambassador. 

The  young  queen  of  Scots  had  been  affianced  to  the  dauphin  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-eight,  and  having  been  educated  since 
that  time  in  the  court  of  France,  she  had  grown  up  to  be  the  most  amiable, 
and  one  of  the  most  accomplished  princesses  of  that  age.  Henry  demanded 
the  consent  of  her  subjects  to  the  celebration  of  the  marriage,  and  a  parlia- 
ment, which  was  held  for  that  purpose,  appointed  eight  commissioners  to 
represent  the  whole  body  of  the  nation  at  that  solemnity,  with  power  to 
sign  such  deeds  as  might  be  requisite  before  it  was  concluded.  In  settling 
the  articles  of  the  marriage,  the  Scots  took  every  precaution  that  prudence 
could  dictate,  in  order  to  preserve  the  liberty  and  independence  of  their 
country  ;  while  the  French  used  every  art  to  secure  to  the  dauphin  the  con- 
duct of  affairs  during  the  queen's  life,  and  the  succession  of  the  crown  on 
the  event  of  her  demise.  [April  14.]  The  marriage  was  celebrated  with 
pomp  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  the  parties,  and  the  magnificence  of  a  court 
at  that  time  the  most  splendid  in  Europe. f  Thus  Henry,  in  the  course  of 
a  few  months,  had  the  glory  of  recovering  an  important  possession  which 
had  anciently  belonged  to  the  crown  of  France,  and  of  adding  to  it  the 
acquisition  of  a  new  kingdom.  By  this  event,  too,  the  duke  of  Guise 
acquired  new  consideration  and  importance  ;  the  marriage  of  his  niece  to 
the  apparent  heir  of  the  crown,  raising  him  so  far  above  the  condition  of 
other  subjects,  that  the  credit  which  he  had  gained  by  his  great  actions, 
seemed  thereby  to  be  rendered  no  less  permanent  than  it  was  extensive. 

When  the  campaign  opened  soon  after  the  dauphin's  marriage,  the  duke 
of  Guise  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  army,  with  the  same  unlimited 
powers  as  formerly.  Henry  had  received  such  liberal  supplies  from  his 
subjects,  that  the  troops  under  his  command  were  both  numerous  and  well 
appointed;  while  Philip,  exhausted  by  the  extraordinary  efforts  of  the  pro- 
ceding  year,  had  been  obliged  to  dismiss  so  miny  of  his  forces  during  the 
winter,  that  he  could  not  bring  an  army  into  the  field  capable  of  making 
head  against  the  enemy.  The  duke  ot  Guise  did  not  lose  the  favourable 
opportunity  which  his  superiority  afforded  him.  He  invested  Thionville  in 
the  dutchy  of  Luxemburg,  one  of  the  strongest  towns  on  the  frontier  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  of  great  importance  to  France  by  its  neighbourhood  to 
Metz ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  obstinate  valour  with  which  it  was 
defended,  he  forced  it  to  capitulate  [June  22j  after  a  sieareof  three  weeks. J 

But  the  success  of  this  enterprise,  which  it  was  expected  would  lead  to 

*  Godleveus  de  Abdical.  Car.  V  ap.  Gold.  I'olit.  Imper.  39'2.  Pallav.  lib.  xiii.  189.  Ribier,  ii. 
746.759.  f  Keith's  History  of  BcoUand,  rs  73.  Append.  13.  Corps  Diplorru  v.  21.  1  Thuan. 
lib.  xx.  690. 


m  THE  REIGN    OF   THE  [Book  XI J. 

other  conquests,  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  an  event  which  hap- 
pened in  another  part  of  the  Low-Countries.  The  marechal  de  Termes, 
governor  of  Calais,  having  penetrated  into  Flanders  without  opposition, 
invested  Dunkirk  with  an  army  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  and  took  it  by 
storm  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  siege.  Hence  he  advanced  towards  Nieu- 
port,  which  must  have  soon  fallen  into  his  hands,  if  the  approach  of  the 
count  of  Egmont  with  a  superior  army  had  not  made  it  prudent  to  retreat. 
The  French  troops  were  so  much  encumbered  with  the  booty  which  they 
had  got  at  Dunkirk,  or  by  ravaging  the  open  country,  that  they  moved 
slowly ;  and  Egmont,  who  had  left  his  heavy  baggage  and  artillery  behind 
him,  marched  wilh  such  rapidity,  that  he  came  up  with  them  near  Grave- 
lines,  and  attacked  them  with  the  utmost  impetuosity.  De  Termes,  who 
had  the  choice  of  the  ground,  having  posted  his  troops  fo  advantage  in  the 
angle  formed  by  the  mouth  of  the  river  Aa  and  the  sea,  received  him  with 
great  firmness.  Victory  remained  for  some  time  in  suspense,  the  desperate 
valour  of  the  French,  who  foresaw  the  unavoidable  destruction  that  must 
follow  upon  a  rout  in  an  enemy'3  country,  counterbalanced  the  superior 
number  of  the  Flemings,  when  one  of  those  accidents  to  which  human  pru- 
dence does  not  extend,  decided  the  contest  in  favour  of  the  latter.  A 
squadron  of  English  ships  of  war,  which  was  cruising  on  the  coast,  being 
drawn  by  the  noise  of  the  firing  towards  the  place  of  engagement,  entered 
the  river  Aa,and  turning  its  great  guns  against  the  right  wing  of  the  French, 
with  such  effect,  as  immediately  broke  that  body,  and  spread  terror  and 
confusion  through  the  whole  army.  The  Flemings,  to  whom  assistance, 
so  unexpected,  and  so  seasonable,  gave  fresh  spirit,  redoubled  their  efforts, 
that  they  might  not  lose  the  advantage  which  fortune  had  presented  them, 
Of  give  the  enemy  time  to  recover  from  their  consternation,  and  the  rout  of 
the  French  soon  became  universal.  Near  two  thousand  were  killed  on  the 
spot ;  a  greater  number  fell  by  the  hands  of  the  peasants,  who,  in  revenge 
tor  the  cruelty  with  which  their  country  had  been  plundered,  pursued  the 
fugitives,  and  massacred  them  without  mercy ;  the  rest  were  taken  pri- 
soners, together  with  De  Termes  their  general,  and  many  officers  of 
distinction.* 

This  signal  victory,  for  which  the  count  of  Egmont  was  afterwards  30  ill 
requited  by  Philip,  obliged  the  duke  of  Guise  to  relinquish  all  other 
schemes,  and  to  hasten  towards  the  frontier  of  Picardy,  that  he  might  oppose 
the  progress  of  the  enemy  in  that  province.  This  disaster,  however, 
reflected  new  lustre  on  his  reputation,  and  once  more  turned  the  eyes  of  his 
countrymen  towards  him,  as  the  only  general  on  whose  arms  victory  always 
attended,  and  in  whose  conduct,  as  well  as  good  fortune,  they  could  con- 
fide in  every  danger.  Henry  reinforced  the  duke  of  Guise's  army  with 
so  many  troops  drawn  from  the  adjacent  garrisons,  that  it  soon  amounted  to 
forty  thousand  men.  That  of  the  enemy,  after  the  j  unction  of  Egmont  with 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  was  not  inferior  in  number.  They  encamped  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  leagues  from  one  another ;  and  each  monarch  having 
joined  his  respective  army,  it  was  expected,  after  the  vicissitudes  of  good 
and  bad  success  during  this  and  the  former  campaign,  that  a  decisive  battle 
would  at  last  determine,  which  of  the  rivals  should  take  the  ascendant  for 
the  future,  and  give  law  to  Europe.  But  though  both  had  it  in  their 
power,  neither  ot  them  discovered  any  inclination  to  bring  the  determina- 
tion of  such  an  important  point  to  depend  upon  the  uncertain  issue  of  a 
single  battle.  The  fatal  engagements  at  St.  Quintin  and  Gravelines  were 
too  recent  to  be  so  soon  forgotten,  and  the  prospect  of  encountering  the  same 
troops,  commanded  by  the  same  generals  who  had  twice  triumphed  over 
his  arms,  inspired  Henry  with  a  degree  of  caution  which  was  not  common 
to  him.    Philip,  of  a  genius  averse  to  bold  operations  in  war,  naturally 

*  Thtfan.  lib.  tX.BM. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES   V.  «  479 

leaned  to  cautious  measures,  and  was  not  disposed  to  hazard  any  thing 
against  a  general  so  fortunate  and  successful  as  the  duke  of  Guise.  Both 
monarchs,  as  if  by  agreement,  stood  on  the  defensive,  and  fortifying  their 
camps  carefully,  avoided  every  skirmish  or  rencounter  that  might  bring  on 
a  general  engagement. 

While  the  armies  continued  in  this  inaction,  peace  began  to  be  men- 
tioned in  each  camp,  and  both  Henry  and  Philip  discovered  an  inclination 
to  listen  to  any  overture  that  tended  to  re-establish  it.  The  kingdoms  of 
France  and  Spain  had  been  engaged  during  half  a  century  in  almost  con- 
tinual wars,  carried  on  at  great  expense,  and  productive  of  no  considerable 
advantage  to  either.  Exhausted  by  extraordinary  and  unceasing  efforts, 
which  far  exceeded  those  to  which  the  nations  of  Europe  had  been  accus- 
tomed before  the  rivalship  between  Charles  V.  and  Francis  I.,  both 
nations  longed  so  much  for  an  interval  of  repose,  in  order  to  recruit  their 
strength,  that  their  sovereigns  drew  from  them  with  difficulty  the  supplies 
necessary  for  carrying  on  hostilities.  The  private  inclinations  of  both  the 
kings  concurred  with  those  of  their  people.  Philip  was  prompted  to  wish 
for  peace  by  his  fond  desire  of  returning  to  Spain.  Accustomed  from  his 
infancy  to  the  climate  and  manners  of  that  country,  he  was  attached  to  it 
with  such  extreme  predilection,  that  he  never  felt  himself  at  ease  in  any 
other  part  of  his  dominions.  But  as  he  could  not  quit  the  Low-Countries, 
either  with  decency  or  safety,  and  venture  on  a  voyage  to  Spain  during 
the  continuance  of  war,  the  prospect  of  a  pacification  which  would  put  it 
in  his  power  to  execute  his  favourite  scheme,  was  highly  acceptable. 
Henry  was  no  less  desirous  of  being  delivered  from  the  burden  and  occu- 
pations of  war,  that  he  might  have  leisure  to  turn  all  his  attention,  and 
bend  the  whole  force  of  his  government,  towards  suppressing  the  opinions 
of  the  reformers,  which  were  spreading  with  such  rapidity  in  Paris  and 
other  great  towns  of  France,  that  they  began  to  grow  formidable  to  the 
established  church. 

Besides  these  public  and  avowed  considerations,  arising  from  the  state 
of  the  two  hostile  kingdoms,  or  from  the  wishes  of  their  respective 
monarchs,  there  was  a  secret  intrigue  carried  on  in  the  court  of  France, 
which  contributed  as  much  as  either  of  the  other,  to  hasten  and  to  facilitate 
the  negotiation  of  a  peace.  The  constable  Montmorency,  during  his  cap- 
tivity, beheld  the  rapid  success  and  growing  favour  of  the  duke  of  Guise 
with  the  envy  natural  to  a  rival.  Every  advantage  gained  by  the  princes 
of  Lorrain  he  considered  as  a  fresh  wound  to  his  own  reputation,  and  he 
knew  with  what  malevolent  address  it  would  be  improved  to  diminish  his 
credit  with  the  king,  and  to  augment  that  of  the  duke  of  Guise.  These 
arts,  he  was  afraid,  might,  by  degrees,  work  on  the  easy  and  ductile  mind 
of  Henry,  so  as  to  efface  all  remains  of  his  ancient  affection  towards  him- 
self. But  he  could  not  discover  any  remedy  for  this,  unless  he  were 
allowed  to  return  home,  that  he  might  try  whether  by  his  presence  he 
could  defeat  the  artifices  of  his  enemies,  and  revive  those  warm  and  tender 
sentiments  which  had  long  attached  Henry  to  him,  with  a  confidence  so 
entire,  as  resembled  rather  the  cordiality  of  private  friendship,  than  the 
cold  and  selfish  connection  between  a  monarch  and  one  of  his  courtiers. 
While  Montmorency  was  forming  schemes  and  wishes  for  his  return  to 
France  with  much  anxiety  of  mind,  but  little  hope  of  success,  an  unex- 

Eected  incident  prepared  the  way  for  it.  The  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  who 
ad  shared  with  his  brother  in  the  king's  favour,  and  participated  of  the 
power  which  that  conferred,  did  not  bear  prosperity  with  the  same  dis- 
cretion as  the  duke  of  Guise.  Intoxicated  with  their  good  fortune,  he 
forgot  how  much  they  had  been  indebted  for  their  present  elevation  to 
their  connexions  with  the  dutcbess  of  Valentinois,  and  vainly  ascribed  all 
to  the  extraordinary  merit  of  their  family.  This  led  him  not  only  to 
neglect  his  benefactress,  but  to  thwart  her  schemes,  and  to  talk  with  s 


480  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XIL 

sarcastic  liberty  of  her  character  and  person.  That  singular  woman,  who, 
if  we  may  believe  contemporary  writers,  retained  the  beauty  and  charms 
of  youth  at  the  age  of  threescore,  and  on  whom  it  is  certain  that  Henry 
still  doated  with  all  the  fondness  of  love,  felt  this  injury  with  sensibility, 
and  set  herself  with  eagerness  to  inflict  the  vengeance  which  it  merited. 
As  there  was  no  method  of  supplanting  the  princes  of  Lorrain  so  effec- 
tually as  by  a  coalition  of  interests  with  the  constable,  she  proposed  the 
marriage  of  her  granddaughter  with  one  of  his  sons,  as  the  bond  of  their 
future  union ;  and  Montmorency  readily  gave  his  consent  to  the  match. 
Having  thus  cemented  their  alliance,  the  dutchess  employed  all  her  influ- 
ence with  the  king,  in  order  to  confirm  his  inclinations  towards  peace,  and 
induce  him  to  take  the  steps  necessary  for  attaining  it.  She  insinuated 
that  any  overture  of  that  kind  would  come  with  great  propriety  from  the 
constable,  and  if  intrusted  to  the  conduct  of  his  prudence,  could  hardly 
fail  of  success. 

Henry,  long  accustomed  to  commit  all  affairs  of  importance  to  the 
management  of  the  constable,  and  needing  only  this  encouragement  to 
return  to  his  ancient  habits,  wrote  to  him  immediately  with  his  usual 
familiarity  and  affection,  empowering  him  at  the  same  time  to  take  the  first 
opportunity  of  sounding  Philip  and  his  ministers  with  regard  to  peace. 
Montmorency  made  his  application  to  Philip  by  the  most  proper  channel. 
He  opened  himself  to  the  duke  of  Savoy,  who,  notwithstanding  the  high 
command  to  which  he  had  been  raised,  and  the  military  glory  which  he 
had  acquired  in  the  Spanish  service,  was  weary  of  remaining  in  exile,  and 
languished  to  return  into  his  paternal  dominions.  As  there  was  no  prospect 
of  his  recovering  possession  of  them  by  force  of  arms,  he  considered  a  defi- 
nitive treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  Spain  as  the  only  event  by 
which  he  could  hope  to  obtain  restitution.  Being  no  stranger  to  Philip's 
private  wishes  with  regard  to  peace,  he  easily  prevailed  on  him  not  only 
to  discover  a  disposition  on  his  part  towards  accommodation,  but  to  permit 
Montmorency  to  return,  on  his  parole,  to  France,  that  he  might  confirm  his 
own  sovereign  in  his  pacific  sentiments.  Henry  received  the  constable 
with  the  most  flattering  marks  of  regard  ;  absence,  instead  of  having  abated 
or  extinguished  the  monarch's  friendship,  seemed  to  have  given  it  new 
ardour.  Montmorency,  from  the  moment  of  his  appearance  in  court, 
assumed,  if  possible,  a  higher  place  than  ever  in  his  affection,  and  a  more 
perfect  ascendant  over  his  mind.  The  cardinal  of  Lorrain  and  the  duke  of 
Guise  prudently  gave  way  to  a  tide  of  favour  too  strong  for  them  to  oppose, 
and  confining  themselves  to  their  proper  departments,  permitted,  without 
any  struggle,  the  constable  and  dutchess  of  Valentinois  to  direct  public 
affairs  at  their  pleasure.  They  soon  prevailed  on  the  kine:  to  nominate 
plenipotentiaries  to  treat  of  peace.  Philip  did  the  same.  The  abbey  of 
Cercamp  was  fixed  on  as  the  place  of  congress  ;  and  all  military  operations 
were  immediately  terminated  by  a  suspension  of  arms. 

While  these  preliminary  steps  were  taking  towards  a  treaty  which 
restored  tranquillity  to  Europe,  Charles  V.,  whose  ambition  had  so  long 
disturbed  it,  ended  his  days  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Justus.  When  Charles 
entered  this  retreat,  he  formed  such  a  plan  of  life  for  himself,  as  would 
have  suited  the  condition  of  a  private  gentleman  of  a  moderate  fortune. 
His  table  was  neat,  but  plain  ;  his  domestics  few  ;  his  intercourse  with 
them  familiar ;  all  the  cumbersome  and  ceremonious  forms  of  attendance 
on  his  person  were  entirely  abolished,  as  destructive  of  that  social  ease  and 
tranquillity  which  he  courted,  in  order  to  soothe  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
As  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  together  with  his  deliverance  from  the  bur- 
dens and  cares  of  government,  procured  him,  at  first,  a  considerable  remis- 
sion from  the  acute  pains  with  which  he  had  been  long  tormented ;  he 
enjoyed,  perhaps,  more  complete  satisfaction  in  this  humble  solitude,  than 
all  his  grandeur  had  ever  yielded  him.     The   ambitious  thoughts  and 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  481 

projects  which  had  so  Ions:  engrossed  and  disquieted  him,  were  quite 
effaced  from  his  mind ;  far  horn  taking  any  part  in  the  political  trans- 
actions of  the  princes  of  Europe,  he  restrained  his  curiosity  even  from  any 
inquiry  concerning  them  ;  and  he  seemed  to  view  the  husy  scene  which 
he  had  abandoned  with  all  the  contempt  and  indifference  arising  from  hi? 
thorough  experience  of  its  vanity,  as  well  as  from  the  pleasing  reflection  of 
having  disentangled  himself  from  its  cares. 

Other  amusements  and  other  objects  now  occupied  him.  Sometimes  he 
cultivated  the  plants  in  his  garden  with  his  own  hands  ;  sometimes  he  rode 
out  to  the  neighbouring  wood  on  a  little  horse,  the  only  one  that  he  kept, 
attended  by  a  single  servant  on  foot.  When  his  infirmities  confined  him  to 
his  apartment,  which  often  happened,  and  deprived  him  of  these  more 
active  recreations,  he  either  admitted  a  few  gentlemen  who  resided  near 
the  monastery  to  visit  him,  and  entertained  them  familiarly  at  his  table  : 
or  he  employed  himself  in  studying  mechanical  principles,  and  in  forming- 
curious  works  of  mechanism,  of  which  he  had  always  been  remarkably 
fond,  and  to  which  his  genius  was  peculiarly  turned.  With  this  view  he 
had  engaged  Turriano,  one  of  the  most  ingenious  artists  of  that  age,  to 
accompany  him  in  his  retreat.  He  laboured  together  with  him  in  framing 
models  of  the  most  useful  machines,  as  well  as  in  making  experiments 
with  regard  to  their  respective  powers,  and  it  was  not  seldom  that  the 
ideas  of  the  monarch  assisted  or  perfected  the  inventions  of  the  artist.  He 
relieved  his  mind,  at  intervals,  with  slighter  and  more  fantastic  works  of 
mechanism,  in  fashioning  puppets,  which,  by  the  structure  of  interna) 
springs,  mimicked  the  gestures  and  actions  of  men,  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  ignorant  monks,  who,  beholding  movements  which  they  could  not 
comprehend,  sometimes  distrusted  their  own  senses,  and  sometimes  sus- 
pected Charles  and  Turriano  of  being  in  compact  with  invisible  powers. 
He  was  particularly  curious  with  regard  to  the  construction  of  clocks  and 
watches  ;  and  having  found,  after  repeated  trials,  that  he  could  not  bring 
any  two  of  them  to  go  exactly  alike,  he  reflected,  it  is  said,  with  a  mix- 
ture of  surprise  as  well  as  regret,  on  his  own  folly,  in  having  bestowed  so 
much  time  and  labour  on  the  more  vain  attempt  of  bringing  mankind  to  a 
precise  uniformity  of  sentiment  concerning  the  profound  and  mysterious 
doctrines  of  religion. 

But  in  what  manner  soever  Charles  disposed  of  the  rest  of  his  time,  he 
constantly  reserved  a  considerable  portion  of  it  for  religious  exercises. 
He  regularly  attended  divine  service  in  the  chapel  of  the  monastery,  every 
morning  and  evening  ;  he  took  great  pleasure  in  reading  books  of  devotion, 
particularly  the  works  of  St.  Augustin,  and  St.  Bernard  ;  and  conversed 
much  with  his  confessor,  and  the  prior  of  the  monastery,  on  pious  subjects. 
Thus  did  Charles  pass  the  first  year  of  his  retreat,  in  a  manner  not  unbe- 
coming a  man  perfectly  disengaged  from  the  affairs  of  the  present  life,  and 
standing  on  the  confines  of  a  future  world  ;  either  in  innocent  amusements, 
which  soothed  his  pains,  and  relieved  a  mind  worn  out  with  excessive 
application  to  business  ;  or  in  devout  occupations,  which  he  deemed  neces- 
sary in  preparing  for  another  state. 

But  about  six  months  before  his  death,  the  gout,  after  a  longer  intermis- 
sion than  usual,  returned  with  a  proportional  increase  of  violence.  His 
shattered  constitution  had  not  vigour  enough  remaining  to  withstand  such 
a  shock.  It  enfeebled  his  mind  as  much  as  his  body,  and  from  this  period 
we  hardly  discern  any  traces  of  that  sound  and  masculine  understanding, 
which  distinguished  Charles  among  his  contemporaries.  An  illiberal  and 
timid  superstition  depressed  his  spirit.  He  had  no  relish  for  amusements 
of  any  kind.  He  endeavoured  to  conform,  in  his  manner  of  living,  to  all 
the  rigour  of  monastic  austerity.  He  desired  no  other  society  than  that  of 
monks,  and  was  almost  continually  employed  with  them  in  chanting  the 
hymns  of  the  Missal.     As  an  expiation  for  his  sins,  he  grave  himself  the 

Vol.  II.— 61 


482  THE   REIGN   OF   T H E  [Book  XII. 

discipline  in  sccr*:t  with  such  severity,  that  the  whip  of  cords  which  he 
employed  as  the  instrument  of  his  punishment,  was  found  after  his  decease 
tinged  with  his  hlood.  Nor  was  he  satisfied  with  these  acts  of  mortifica- 
tion, which,  however  severe,  were  not  unexampled.  The  timorous  and 
distrustful  solicitude  which  always  accompanies  superstition,  still  continued 
to  disquiet  him,  and  depreciating  all  the  devout  exercises  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  been  engaged,  prompted  him  to  aim  at  something  extraordinary, 
at  some  new  and  singular  act  of  piety  that  would  display  his  zeal,  arid 
merit  the  favour  of  Heaven.  The  act  on  which  he  fixed  was  as  wild  and 
uncommon  as  any  that  superstition  ever  suggested  to  a  weak  and  disor- 
dered fancy.  He  1  solved  to  celebrate  his  own  obsequies  before  his  death. 
He  ordered  his  tomb  to  be  erected  in  tho  chapel  of  the  monastery.  His 
domestics  marched  thither  in  funeral  procession,  with  black  tapers  in  their 
hands.  He  himself  followed  in  his  shroud.  He  was  laid  in  his  coffin  with 
much  solemnity.  The  service  for  the  dead  was  chanted,  and  Charles 
joined  in  the  prayers  which  were  offered  up  for  the  rest  of  his  soul,  min- 
gling his  tears  with  those  which  his  attendants  shed,  as  if  they  had  been 
celebrating  a  real  funeral.  The  ceremony  closed  with  sprinkling  holy 
water  on  the  coffin  in  the  usual  form,  and  all  the  assistants  retiring,  the 
doors  of  the  chapel  were  shut.  Then  Charles  rose  out  of  the  coffin,  and 
withdrew  to  his  apartment,  full  of  those  awful  sentiments  which  such  a 
singular  solemnity  wa3  calculated  to  inspire.  But  either  the  fatiguing 
length  of  the  ceremony,  or  the  impression  which  this  image  of  death  left 
on  his  mind,  affected  him  so  much,  that  next  day  he  was  seized  with  a 
fever.  His  feeble  frame  could  not  long  resist  its  violence,  and  he  expired 
on  the  twenty-first  of  September,  after  a  life  of  fifty-eight  years,  six 
months,  and  twenty-five  days.* 

As  Charles  was  the  first  prince  of  the  age  in  rank  and  dignity,  the  part 
which  he  acted,  whether  we  consider  the  greatness,  the  variety,  or  the  suc- 
cess of  his  undertakings,  was  the  most  conspicuous.  It  is  from  an  atten- 
tive observation  of  his  conduct,  not  from  the  exaggerated  praises  of  the 
Spanish  historians,  or  the  undistinguishing  censure  of  the  French,  that  a 
just  idea  of  Charles's  genius  and  abilities  is  to  be  collected.  He  possessed 
qualities  so  peculiar,  that  they  strongly  mark  his  character,  and  not  only 
distinguish  him  from  the  princes  who  were  his  contemporaries,  but  account 
for  that  superiority  over  them  which  he  so  long  maintained.  In  formins: 
his  schemes,  he  was,  by  nature,  as  well  as  by  habit,  cautious  and  consider- 
ate. Born  with  talents  which  unfolded  themselves  slowly,  and  were  late 
in  attaining  to  maturity,  he  was  accustomed  to  ponder  every  subject  that 
demanded  his  consideration,  with  a  careful  and  deliberate  attention.  He 
bent  the  whole  force  of  his  mind  towards  it,  and  dwelling  upon  it  with  a 
serious  application,  undiverted  by  pleasure,  and  hardly  relaxed  by  any 
amusement,  he  revolved  it,  in  silence,  in  his  own  breast.  He  then  com- 
municated the  matter  to  his  ministers,  and  after  hearing  their  opinions,  took 
his  resolution  with  a  decisive  firmness,  which  seldom  follows  such  slow  and 
seemingly  hesitating  consultations.  Of  consequence,  Charles's  measures, 
instead  of  resembling  the  desultory  and  irregular  sallies  of  Henry  VIII. 
or  Francis  I.,  had  the  appearance  of  a  consistent  system,  in  which  all  the 
parts  were  arranged,  all  the  effects  were  foreseen,  and  even  every  acci- 
dent was  provided  for.  His  promptitude  in  execution  was  no  less  remark- 
able than  his  patience  in  deliberation.  He  did  not  discover  greater  saga- 
city in  his  choice  of  the  measures  which  it  is  proper  to  pursue,  than  fer- 
tility of  genius  in  finding  out  the  means  for  rendering  his  pursuit  of  them 
successful.  Though  he  had  naturally  so  little  of  the  martial  turn,  that 
during  the  most  ardent  and  bustling  period  of  life,  he  remained  in  thi 

*  Strada  de  Bello  Belg.  lib.  i.  p.  11.    Thuan.  723.     Sandov.  ii  609,  &c.     Miniann  Conlin.  Mari 
?nn>.  vol.  iv.  210.     Vera  y  Zuniga  Vida  d«  Carlos,  p.  111. 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  4«3 

cabinet  inactive,  yet  when  he  chose  at  length  to  appear  at  the  head  of  his 
armies,  his  mind  was  so  formed  for  vigorous  exertions  in  every  direction, 
that  he  acquired  such  knowledge  in  the  art  of  war,  and  such  talents  for 
command,  as  rendered  him  equal  in  reputation  and  success  to  the  most  able 
generals  of  the  age.  But  Charles  possessed,  in  the  most  eminent  degree, 
the  science  which  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  a  monarch,  that  of 
knowing  men,  and  of  adapting  their  talents  to  the  various  departments 
which  he  allotted  to  them.  From  the  death  of  Chievres  to  the  end  of  his 
reign,  he  employed  no  general  in  the  field,  no  minister  in  the  cabinet,  no 
ambassador  to  a  foreign  court,  no  governor  of  a  province,  whose  abilities 
were  inadequate  to  the  trust  which  he  reposed  in  them.  Though  desti- 
tute of  that  bewitching  affability  of  manners,  which  gained  Francis  the 
hearts  of  all  who  approached  his  person,  he  was  no  stranger  to  the  virtues 
which  secure  fidelity  and  attachment.  He  placed  unbounded  confidence! 
in  his  generals  ;  he  rewarded  their  services  with  munificence  ;  he  neither 
envied  their  fame,  nor  discovered  any  jealousy  of  their  power.  Almost 
all  the  generals  who  conducted  his  armies,  may  be  placed  on  a  level  with 
those  illustrious  personages  who  have  attained  the  highest  eminence  of 
military  glory;  and  his  advantages  over  his  rivals  are  to  be  ascribed  so 
manifestly  to  the  superior  abilities  of  the  commanders  whom  he  set  in 
opposition  to  them,  that  this  might  seem  to  detract,  in  some  degree,  from 
his  own  merit,  if  the  talent  of  discovering,  and  steadiness  in  employing 
such  instruments  were  not  the  most  undoubted  proofs  of  a  capacity  for 
government. 

There  were,  nevertheless,  defects  in  his  political  character  which  must 
considerably  abate  the  admiration  due  to  his  extraordinary  talents. 
Charles's  ambition  was  insatiable  ;  and  though  there  seems  to  be  no  foun- 
dation for  an  opinion  prevalent  in  his  own  age,  that  he  had  formed  the  chi- 
merical project  of  establishing  a  universal  monarchy  in  Europe,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  his  desire  of  being  distinguished  as  a  conqueror  involved  him  in 
continual  wars,  which  not  only  exhausted  and  oppressed  his  subjects,  but 
left  him  little  leisure  for  giving  attention  to  the  interior  police  and  improve- 
ment of  his  kingdoms,  the  great  objects  of  every  prince  who  makes  the 
happiness  of  his  people  the  end  of  his  government.  Charles,  at  a  very- 
early  period  of  life,  having  added  the  Imperial  crown  to  the  kingdoms  of 
Spain,  and  to  the  hereditary  dominions  of  the  houses  of  Austria  and  Bur- 
gundy, this  opened  to  him  such  a  vast  field  of  enterprise,  and  engaged  him 
in  schemes  so  complicated  as  well  as  arduous,  that  feeling  his  power  to  be 
unequal  to  the  execution  of  them,  he  had  often  recourse  to  low  artifices., 
unbecoming  his  superior  talents,  and  sometimes  ventured  on  such  devia- 
tions from  integrity,  as  were  dishonourable  in  a  great  prince.  His  insi- 
dious and  fraudulent  policy  appeared  more  conspicuous,  and  was  rendered 
more  odious  by  a  comparison  with  the  open  and  undesigning  character  of 
his  contemporaries  Francis  I.  and  Henry  VIII.  This  difference,  though 
occasioned  chiefly  by  the  diversity  of  their  tempers,  must  be  ascribed  in 
some  degree,  to  such  an  opposition  in  the  principles  of  their  political  con- 
duct as  affords  some  excuse  for  this  defect  in  Charles's  behaviour,  though  it 
cannot  serve  as  a  justification  of  it.  Francis  and  Henry  seldom  acted  but 
from  the  impulse  of  their  passions,  and  rushed  headlong  towards  the  object 
in  view.  Charles's  measures,  being  the  result  of  cool  reflection,  were  dis- 
posed into  a  regular  system,  and  carried  on  upon  a  concerted  plan.  Per- 
sons who  act  in  the  former  manner,  naturally  pursue  the  end  in  view,  with- 
out assuming  any  disguise,  or  displaying  much  address.  Such  as  hold  the 
latter  course,  are  apt,  in  forming,  as  well  as  in  executing  their  designs,  to 
employ  such  refinements  as  always  lead  to  artifice  in  conduct,  and  often 
degenerate  into  deceit. 

The  circumstances  transmitted  to  us,  with  respect  to  Charles's  private 
deportment  and  character,  are  fewer  and  less  interesting,  than  might  hav« 


4b4  THE   REIGN   OF    THE  [Book  XII, 

been  expected  from  the  great  number  of  authors  who  have  undertaken  to 
write  an  account  of  his  life.  These  are  not  the  object  of  this  history, 
which  aims  more  at  representing  the  great  transactions  of  the  reign  of 
Charles  V.,  and  pointing  out  the  manner  in  which  they  affected  the  political 
state  of  Europe,  than  at  delineating  his  private  virtues  or  defects. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  France,  Spain,  and  England,  continued  their 
conferences  at  Cercamp  ;  and  though  each  of  them,  with  the  usual  art  of 
negotiators,  made  at  first  very  high  demands  in  the  name  ot  their  respect- 
ive courts,  yet  as  they  were  all  equally  desirous  of  peace,  they  would 
have  consented  reciprocally  to  such  abatements  and  restrictions  of  their 
claims,  as  must  have  removed  every  obstacle  to  an  accommodation.  The 
death  of  Charles  V.  was  a  new  motive  with  Philip  to  hasten  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  treaty,  as  it  increased  his  impatience  for  returning  into  Spainr 
where  there  was  now  no  person  greater  or  more  illustrious  than  himself. 
But  in  spite  of  the  concurring  wishes  of  all  the  parties  interested,  an  event 
happened  which  occasioned  an  unavoidable  delay  in  their  negotiations. 
About  a  month  after  the  opening  of  the  conferences  at  Cercamp,  Mary  of 
England  ended  her  short  and  inglorious  reign  [Nov.  17],  and  Elizabeth,  her 
sister,  was  immediately  proclaimed  queen  with  universal  joy.  As  the 
powers  of  the  English  plenipotentiaries  expired  on  the  death  of  their  mis- 
tress, they  could  not  proceed  until  they  received  a  commission  and  instruc- 
tions from  their  new  sovereign. 

Henry  and  Philip  beheld  Elizabeth's  elevation  to  the  throne  with  equal 
solicitude.  As  during  Mary's  jealous  administration,  under  the  most  diffi- 
cult circumstances,  and  in  a  situation  extremely  delicate,  that  princess  had 
conducted  herself  with  prudence  and  address  tar  exceeding  her  years,  they 
had  conceived  a  high  idea  of  her  abilities,  and  already  formed  expectations 
of  a  reign  very  different  from  that  of  her  sister.  Equally  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  gaining  her  favour,  both  monarchs  set  themselves  >••  ith  emu- 
lation to  court  it,  and  employed  every  art  in  order  to  insinuate  themselves 
into  her  confidence.  Each  of  them  had  something  meritorious,  with  regard 
to  Elizabeth,  to  plead  in  his  own  behalf.  Henry  had  offered  her  a  retreat 
in  his  dominions,  if  the  dread  of  her  sister's  violence  should  force  her  to 
fly  for  safety  out  of  England.  Philip,  by  his  powerful  intercession,  had  pre- 
vented Mary  from  proceeding  to  the  most  fatal  extremities  against  her  sister. 
Each  of  them  endeavoured  now  to  avail  himself  of  the  circumstances  in 
his  favour.  Henry  wrote  to  Elizabeth  soon  after  her  accession,  with  the 
warmest  expressions  of  gratitude  and  friendship.  He  represented  the  war 
which"  had  unhappily  been  kindled  between  their  kingdoms,  not  as  a 
national  quarrel,  but  as  the  effect  of  Mary's  blind  partiality  to  her  husband, 
and  fond  compliance  with  all  his  wishes.  He  entreated  her  to  disengage 
herself  from  an  alliance  which  had  proved  so  unfortunate  to  England,  and 
to  consent  to  a  separate  peace  with  him,  without  mingling  her  interests  with 
those  of  Spain,  from  which  they  ought  now  to  be  altogether  disjoined. 
Philip  on  the  other  hand,  unwilling  to  lose  his  connection  with  England, 
the  importance  of  which,  during  a  rupture  with  France,  he  had  so  recently 
experienced,  not  only  vied  with  Henry  in  declarations  of  esteem  for  Eliza- 
beth, and  in  professions  of  his  resolution  to  cultivate  the  strictest  amity  with 
her,  but,  in  order  to  confirm  and  perpetuate  their  union,  he  offered  himself 
to  her  in  marriage,  and  undertook  to  procure  a  dispensation  from  the  pope 
for  that  purpose. 

Elizabeth  weighed  the  proposals  of  the  two  monarchs  attentively,  and 
with  that  provident  discernment  of  her  true  interest,  which  was  conspicuous 
in  all  her  deliberations.  She  gave  some  encouragement  to  Henry  s  over- 
ture of  a  separate  negotiation,  because  it  opened  a  channel  of  correspond- 
ence with  France,  which  she  might  find  to  be  of  great  advantage,  if  Philip 
should  not  discover  sufficient  zeal  and  solicitude  for  securing  to  her  proper 
terms  in  the  joint  treaty.     But  she  ventured  on  this  step  with  the  most 


EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.  483 

cautious  reserve,  that  she  might  not  alarm  Philip's  suspicious  temper,  and 
lose  an  ally  in  attempting;  to  gain  an  enemy.*  Henry  himself,  by  an  unpar- 
donable act  of  indiscretion,  prevented  her  from  carrying  her  intercourse 
with  him  to  such  a  length  as  might  have  offended  or  alienated  Philip.  At 
the  very  time  when  he  was  courting  Elizabeth's  friendship  with  the  greatest 
assiduity,  lie  yielded  with  an  inconsiderate  facility  to  the  solicitations  of 
the  princes  of  Lorrain,  and  allowed  his  daughter-in-law  the  queen  of  Scots 
to  assume  the  title  and  arms  of  queen  of  England.  This  ill-timed  preten- 
sion, the  source  of  many  calamities  to  the  unfortunate  queen  of  Scots, 
extinguished  at  once  all  the  confidence  that  might  have  grown  between  Henry 
and  Elizabeth,  and  left  in  its  place  distrust,  resentment,  and  antipathy. 
Elizabeth  soon  found  that  she  must  unite  her  interests  closely  with  Philip's, 
and  expect  peace  only  from  negotiations  carried  on  in  conjunction  with  him.f 

As  she  had  granted  a  commission,  immediately  after  her  accession,  to  the 
same  plenipotentiaries  whom  her  sister  had  employed,  she  now  instructed 
them  to  act  in  every  point  in  concert  with  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Spain, 
and  to  take  no  step  until  they  had  previously  consulted  with  them.J  But 
though  she  deemed  it  prudent  to  assume  this  appearance  of  confidence  in 
the  Spanish  monarch,  she  knew  precisely  how  far  to  carry  it;  and  dis- 
covered no  inclination  to  accept  of  that  extraordinary  proposal  of  marriage 
which  Philip  had  made  to  her.  The  English  had  expressed  so  openly 
their  detestation  of  her  sister's  choice  of  him,  that  it  would  have  been 
highly  imprudent  to  have  exasperated  them  by  renewing  that  odious  alli- 
ance. She  was  too  well  acquainted  with  Philip's  harsh  imperious  temper, 
So  think  of  him  for  a  husband.  Nor  could  she  admit  a  dispensation  from 
the  pope  to  be  sufficient  to  authorize  her  marrying  him,  without  condemn- 
ing her  father's  divorce  from  Catherine  of  Arragon,  and  acknowledging  of 
consequence  that  her  mother's  marriage  was  null,  and  her  own  birth  ille- 
gitimate. But  though  she  determined  not  to  yield  to  Philip's  addresses, 
the  situation  of  her  affairs  rendered  it  dangerous  to  reject  them  ;  she  returned 
her  answer,  therefore,  in  terms  which  were  evasive,  but  so  tempered  with 
respect,  that  though  they  gave  him  no  reason  to  be  secure  of  success,  they 
did  not  altogether  extinguish  his  hopes. 

By  this  artifice,  as  well  as  by  the  prudence  with  which  she  concealed 
her  sentiments  and  intentions  concerning  religion,  for  some  time  after  her 
accession,  she  so  far  gained  upon  Philip,  that  he  warmly  espoused  her 
interest  in  the  conferences  which  were  renewed  at  Cercamp,  and  after- 
wards removed  to  Chateau-Cambresis  [Feb.  6, 1559].  A  definitive  treaty, 
which  was  to  adjust  the  claims  and  pretensions  of  so  many  princes,  required 
the  examination  of  such  a  variety  of  intricate  points,  and  led  to  such  infi- 
nite and  minute  details,  as  drew  out  the  negotiations  to  a  great  length. 
But  the  constable  Montmorency  exerted  himself  with  such  indefatigable 
zeal  and  industry,  repairing  alternately  to  the  courts  of  Paris  and  Brussels, 
in  order  to  obviate  or  remove  every  difficulty,  that  all  the  points  in  dispute 
were  adjusted  at  length  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  give  entire  satisfaction  in 
every  particular  to  Henry  and  Philip  ;  and  the  last  hand  was  ready  to  be 
put  to  the  treaty  between  them. 

The  claims  of  England  remained  as  the  only  obstacle  to  retard  it.  Eliza- 
beth demanded  the  restitution  of  Calais  in  the  most  peremptory  tone,  as  an 
essential  condition  of  her  consenting  to  peace;  Henry  refused  to  give  up 
that  important  conquest;  and  Itoth  seemed  to  have  taken  their  resolution 
with  unalterable  firmness.  Philip  warmly  supported  Elizabeth's  preten- 
sions to  Calais,  not  merely  from  a  principle  of  equity  towards  the  English 
nation,  that  he  might  appear  to  have  contributed  to  their  recovering  what 
they. had  lost  by  espousing  his  cause  ;  nor  solely  with  a  view  of  soothing 

*  Forbes,  i.  p.  4.       t  Sfirype'a  Annate  of  the  Reformation,  i.  II.    fart*'?  HH».  of  Fhijrlnni!,  v»! 

iii.  p.  375.         1  Knrtifs's  KirN  View,  i.  i>   Ti    J" 


466  THE  REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XII. 

Elizabeth  by  his  manifestation  of  zeal  for  her  interest ;  but  in  order  to 
render  France  less  formidable,  by  securing  to  her  ancient  enemy  this  easy 
access  into  the  heart  of  the  kingdom.  The  earnestness,  however,  with 
which  he  seconded  the  arguments  of  the  English  plenipotentiaries,  soon 
began  to  relax.  During  the  course  of  the  negotiation,  Elizabeth,  who  now 
felt  herself  firmly  seated  on  her  throne,  began  to  take  such  open  and  vigorous 
measures  not  only  for  overturning  all  that  her  sister  had  done  in  favour  of 
popery,  but  for  establishing  the  protestant  chinch  on  a  firm  foundation,  as 
convinced  Philip  that  his  hopes  of  a  union  with  her  had  been  from  tin: 
beginning  vain,  and  were  now  desperate.  From  that  period,  his  interposi- 
tions in  her  favour  became  more  cold  and  formal,  flowing  merely  from  a 
regard  to  decorum,  or  from  the  consideration  of  remote  political  interests. 
Elizabeth  having  reason  to  expect  such  an  alteration  in  his  conduct,  quickly 
perceived  it.  But  as  nothing  would  have  been  of  greater  detriment  to  her 
people,  or  more  inconsistent  widi  her  schemes  of  domestic  administration, 
than  the  continuance  of  war,  she  saw  the  necessity  of  submitting  to  such  con- 
ditions as  the  situation  of  her  affairs  imposed,  and  that  she  must  reckon 
upon  being  deserted  by  an  ally  who  was  now  united  to  her  by  a  very  feeble 
tie,  if  she  did  not  speedily  reduce  her  demands  to  what  was  moderate  and 
attainable.  She  accordingly  gave  new  instructions  to  her  ambassadors ; 
and  Philip's  plenipotentiaries  acting  as  mediators  between  the  French  and 
them,*  an  expedient  was  fallen  upon  which,  in  some  degree,  justified  Eli- 
zabeth's departing  from  the  rigour  of  her  first  demand  with  regard  to 
<  "alais.  All  lesser  articles  were  settled  without  much  discussion  or  delaj'. 
Philip,  that  he  might  not  appear  to  have  abandoned  the  English,  insisted 
that  the  treaty  between  Henry  and  Elizabeth  should  be  concluded  in  form, 
before  that  between  the  French  monarch  and  himself.  The  one  was  signed 
on  the  second  day  of  April,  the  other  on  the  day  following. 

The  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  England  contained  no  articles 
of  real  importance,  but  that  which  respected  Calais.  It  was  stipulated, 
That  the  king  of  France  should  retain  possession  of  that  town,  with  all  its 
dependencies,  during  eight  years  ;  That  at  the  expiration  of  that  term,  he 
should  restore  it  to  Englancl ;  That  in  case  of  non-performance,  he  should 
forfeit  five  hundred  thousand  crowns,  for  payment  of  which  sum,  seven  or 
eight  wealthy  merchants,  who  were  not  his  subjects,  should  grant  security ; 
That  five  persons  of  distinction  should  be  given  as  hostages  until  that  secu- 
rity were  provided  ;  That,  although  the  tor fe it  of  five  hundred  thousand 
crowns  should  be  paid,  the  right  of  England  to  Calais  should  still  remain 
entire,~in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  term  of  eight  years  were  expired  ; 
That  the  king  and  queen  of  Scotland  should  be  included  in  the  treaty; 
That  if  they,  or  the  French  king,  should  violate  the  peace  by  any  hostile 
action,  Henry  should  be  obliged  instantly  to  restore  Calais ;  That  on  the 
otluer  hand,  if  any  breach  ot  the  treaty  proceeded  from  Elizabeth,  then 
Henry,  and  the  king  and  queen  of  Scots  were  absolved  from  all  the  engage- 
ments which  they  had  come  under  by  this  treaty. 

Notwithstanding  the  studied  attention  with  which  so  many  precautions 
were  taken,  it  i?  evident  that  Henry  did  not  intend  the  restitution  of  Calais, 
nor  is  it  probable  that  Elizabeth  expected  it.  It  was  hardly  possible  that 
she  could  maintain,  during  the  course  of  eight  years,  such  perfect  concord 
both  with  France  and  Scotland,  as  not  to  afford  Henry  some  pretext  for 
alleging  that  she  had  violated  the  treaty.  But  even  it  that  term  should 
elapse  without  any  ground  for  complaint,  Henry  might  then  choose  to  pay 
the  sum  stipulated,  and  Elizabeth  had  no  method  of  asserting  her  right  but 
by  force  of  arms.  However,  by  throwing  the  articles  in  the  treaty  with 
regard  to  Calais  into  this  form,  Elizabeth  satisfied  her  subjects  of  every 
denomination  :  she  gave  men  of  discernment  a  striking  proof  of  her  address 

*  Forbes,  i.  5?. 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  4S7 

in  palliating  what  she  could  not  prevent ;  and  amusing  the  multitude,  to 
whom  the  cession  of  such  an  important  place  would  have  appeared  alto- 
gether infamous,  with  the  prospect  of  recovering  in  a  short  time  that 
favourite  possession. 

The  expedient  which  Montmorency  employed,  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  conclusion  of  peace  hetween  France  and  Spain,  was  the  negotiating 
two  treaties  of  marriage)  one  between  Elizabeth,  Henry's  eldest  daughter, 
and  Philip,  who  supplanted  his  son,  the  unfortunate  Don  Carlos,  to  whom 
that  princess  had  ^een  promised  in  the  former  conferences  at  Cercamp  ; 
the  other  between  Margaret,  Henry's  only  sister,  and  the  duke  of  Savoy. 
For  however  feeble  the  ties  of  blood  may  often  be  among  princes,  or  how 
little  soever  they  may  regard  them  when  pushed  on  to  act  by  motives  ol 
ambition,  they  assume  on  other  occasions  the  appearance  of  being  so  far 
influenced  by  these  domestic  affections  as  to  employ  them  to  justify  mea- 
sures and  concessions  which  they  find  to  be  necessary,  but  know  to  be 
impolitic  or  dishonourable.  Such  was  the  use  Henry  made  of  the  two 
marriages  to  which  he  gave  his  consent.  Having  secured  an  honourable 
establishment  for  his  sister  and  his  daughter,  he,  in  consideration  of  these, 
granted  terms  both  to  Philip  and  the  duke  of  Savoy,  of  which  he  would 
not,  on  any  other  account,  have  ventured  to  approve. 

The  principal  articles  in  the  treaty  between  France  and  Spain  were, 
That  sincere  and  perpetual  amity  should  be  established  between  the  two 
crowns  and  their  respective  allies  ;  That  the  two  monarchs  should  labour 
in  concert  to  procure  the  convocation  of  a  general  council,  in  order  to 
check  the  progress  of  heresy,  and  restore  unity  and  concord  to  the  Chris- 
tian church;  That  all  conquests  made  by  either  party,  on  this  side  of  the 
Alps,  since  the  commencement  of  the  war  in  one  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-one,  should  be  mutually  restored  ;  That  the  dutchy  of  Savoy,  the 
principality  of  Piedmont,  the  country  of  Bresse,  and  all  the  other  territories 
formerly  subject  to  the  dukes  of  Savoy,  should  be  restored  to  Emanuel 
Philibert,  immediately  after  the  celebration  of  his  marriage  with  Margaret 
of  France,  the  towns  of  Turin,  Quiers,  Pignerol,  Chivaz,  and  Villanova 
excepted,  of  which  Henry  should  keep  possession  until  his  claims  to  these 
places,  in  right  of  his  grandmother,  should  be  tried  and  decided  in  course 
of  law  ;  That  as  long  as  Henry  retained  these  places  in  his  hands,  Philip 
should  be  at  liberty  to  keep  garrisons  in  the  towns  of  Varcelli  and  Asti  ; 
That  the  French  king  should  immediately  evacuate  all  the  places  which 
he  held  in  Tuscany  and  the  Siennese,  and  renounce  all  future  pretensions 
to  them  ;  That  he  should  restore  the  marquisate  of  Montferrat  to  the  duke 
of  Mantua  ;  That  he  should  receive  the  Genoese  into  favour,  and  give  up 
to  them  the  towns  which  he  had  conquered  in  the  island  of  Corsica  ;  That 
none  of  the  princes  or  states,  to  whom  these  cessions  were  made,  should 
call  their  subjects  to  account  for  any  part  of  their  conduct  while  under  the 
dominion  of  their  enemies,  but  should  bury  all  past  transactions  in  oblivion. 
The  pope,  the  emperor,  the  kings  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  Poland,  Portugal, 
the  king  and  queen  of  Scots,  and  almost  every  prince  and  state  in  Chris- 
tendom, were  comprehended  in  this  pacification  as  the  allies  either  of 
I  [enry  or  of  Philip.* 

Thus,  by  this  famous  treaty,  peace  was  re-established  in  Europe.  All 
the  causes  of  discord  which  had  so  long  embroiled  the  powerful  monarchs 
of  France  and  Spain,  which  bad  transmitted  hereditary  quarrels  and  wars 
from  Charles  to  Philip,  and  from  Francis  to  Henry,  seemed  to  be  wholly 
removed,  or  finally  terminated.  The  French  alone  complained  of  the 
unequal  condition-  of  a  treaty,  into  which  an  ambitious  minister,  in  order 
to  recover  his  liberty,  and  an  artful  mistiness,  that  she  might  gratify  her 
ie«entment.  had  seduced  their  too  easy  monarch.     They  exclaimed  loudh 

RecueH  d«  Treitaz,  loin.  H.  n 


488  THE    REIGN    OF    THE  [Book  XII. 

against  the  folly  of  giving  up  to  the  enemies  of  France  a  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  fortified  places,  in  the  Low-Countries  or  in  Italy,  in  return  for 
the  three  insignificant  towns  of  St.  Quintin,  Ham,  and  Catelet.  They  con- 
sidered it  as  an  indelible  stain  upon  the  glory  of  the  nation,  to  renounce  in 
one  day  territories  so  extensive,  and  so  capable  of  being;  defended,  that  the 
enemy  could  not  have  hoped  to  wrest  them  out  of  their  hands,  after  many 
years  of  victory. 

But  Henry,  without  regarding  the  sentiments  of  his  people,  or  being 
moved  by  the  remonstrances  of  his  council,  ratified  the  treaty,  and  executed 
with  great  fidelity  whatever  he  had  stipulated  to  perform.  The  duke  of 
Savoy  repaired  with  a  numerous  retinue  to  Paris,  in  order  to  celebrate  his 
marriage  with  Henry's  sister.  The  duke  of  Alva  was  sent  to  the  same 
capital,  at  the  head  of  a  splendid  embassy,  to  espouse  Elizabeth  in  the 
name  of  his  master.  They  were  received  with  extraordinary  magnificence 
by  the  French  court.  Amidst  the  rejoicings  and  festivities  on  that  occa- 
sion, Henry's  days  were  cut  short  by  a  singular  and  tragical  accident  [July 
10].  His  son,  Francis  II.  a  prince  under  age,  of  a  weak  constitution,  and 
of  a  mind  still  more  feeble,  succeeded  him.  Soon  after,  Paul  ended  his 
violent  and  imperious  pontificate,  at  enmity  with  all  the  world,  and  dis- 
gusted even  with  his  own  nephews.  They,  persecuted  by  Philip,  and 
deserted  by  the  succeeding  pope,  whom  they  had  raised  by  their  influence 
to  the  papal  throne,  were  condemned  to  the  punishment  which  their  crimes 
and  ambition  had  merited,  and  their  death  was  as  infamous  as  their  lives 
had  been  criminal.  Thus  most  of  the  personages,  who  had  long  sustained 
the  principal  characters  on  the  great  theatre  of  Europe  disappeared  about 
the  same  time.  A  more  known  period  of  history  opens  at  this  era ;  other 
actors  enter  upon  the  stage,  with  different  views,  as  well  as  different  pas- 
sions ;  new  contests  arose,  and  new  schemes  of  ambition  occupied  and 
disquieted  mankind. 

Upon  reviewing  the  transactions  of  any  active  period,  in  the  history  of 
civilized  nations,  the  changes  which  are  accomplished  appear  wonderfully 
disproportioned  to  the  efforts  which  have  been  exerted.  Conquests  are 
never  very  extensive  or  rapid,  but  among  nations  whose  progress  in 
improvement  is  extremely  unequal.  When  Alexander  the  Great,  at  the 
head  of  a  gallant  people,  of  simple  manners,  and  formed  to  war  by  admi- 
rable military  institutions,  invaded  a  state  sunk  in  luxury,  and  enervated 
by  excessive  refinement ;  when  Ghenchizcan  and  Tamerlane,  with  their 
armies  of  hardy  barbarians,  poured  in  upon  nations,  enfeebled  by  the 
climate  in  which  they  lived,  or  by  the  arts  and  commerce  which  they 
cultivated,  these  conquerors,  like  a  torrent,  swept  every  thing  before  them, 
subduing  kingdoms  and  provinces  in  as  short  a  space  of  time  as  was  requi- 
site to  march  through  them.  But  when  nations  are  in  a  state  similar  to 
each  other,  and  keep  equal  pace  in  their  advances  towards  refinement, 
they  are  not  exposed  to  the  calamity  of  sudden  conquests.  Their  acqui- 
sitions of  knowledge,  their  progress  in  the  art  of  war,  their  political  sagacity 
and  address,  are  nearly  equal.  The  fate  of  states  in  this  situation,  depends 
not  on  a  single  battle.  Their  internal  resources  are  many  and  various. 
Nor  are  they  themselves  alone  interested  in  their  own  safety,  or  active  in 
their  own  defence.  Other  states  interpose,  and  balance  any  temporary 
advantage  which  either  party  may  have  acquired.  After  the  fiercest  and 
most  lengthened  contest,  all  the  rival  nations  are  exhausted,  none  are  con- 
quered. At  length  they  find  it  necessary  to  conclude  a  peace,  which 
restores  to  each  almost  the  same  power  and  the  same  territories  of  which 
they  were  formerly  in  possession. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Europe  during  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  No  prince 
was  so  much  superior  to  the  rest  in  power,  as  to  render  his  efforts  irresist- 
ible, and  his  conquests  easy.     No  nation  had  made  progress  in  improve- 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  4y* 

ment  so  far  beyond  its  neighbours,  as  to  have  acquired  a  very  manifest 
pre-eminence.  Each  state  derived  some  advantage,  or  was  subject  to 
some  inconvenience  from  its  situation  or  its  climate;  each  was  distinguished 
by  something  peculiar  in  the  genius  of  its  people,  or  the  constitution  of  its 
government  But  the  advantages  possessed  by  one  state,  were  counter- 
balanced by  circumstances  favourable  toothers;  and  this  prevented  any 
from  attaining  such  superiority  as  might  have  been  fatal  to  all.  The 
nations  of  Europe  in  that  age,  as  in  the  present,  were  like  one  great  family ; 
there  were  some  features  common  to  all,  which  fixed  a  resemblance  ;  there 
were  certain  peculiarities  conspicuous  in  each,  which  marked  a  distinction. 
But  there  was  not  among  them  that  wide  diversity  of  character  and  of 
genius  which,  in  almost  every  period  of  history,  hath  exalted  the  Euro- 
peans above  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  seems 
to  have  destined  the  one  to  rule,  and  the  other  to  obey. 

But  though  the  .near  resemblance  and  equality  in  improvement  among 
the  different  nations  of  Europe  prevented  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  from 
being  distinguished  by  such  sudden  and  extensive  conquests  as  occur  in 
some  other  periods  of  history,  yet,  during  the  course  of  his  administration, 
all  the  considerable  states  in  Europe  suffered  a  remarkable  change  in  their 
political  situation,  and  felt  the  influence  of  events,  which  have  not  hitherto 
spent  their  force,  but  still  continue  to  operate  in  a  greater  or  in  a  less 
degree.  It  was  during  his  reign,  and  in  consequence  of  the  perpetual 
efforts  to  which  his  enterprising  ambition  roused  him,  that  the  different 
kingdoms  of  Europe  acquired  internal  vigour;  that  they  discerned  the 
resources  of  which  they  were  possessed ;  that  they  came  both  to  feel  their 
own  strength,  and  to  know  how  to  make  it  formidable  to  others.  It  was 
during  his  reign,  too,  that  the  different  kingdoms  of  Europe,  which  in 
former  times  seemed  frequently  to  act  as  if  they  had  been  single  and  dis- 
joined, became  so  thoroughly  acquainted,  and  so  intimately  connected  with 
each  other,  as  to  form  one  great  political  system,  in  which  each  took  a 
station,  wherein  it  has  remained  since  that  time  with  less  variation  than 
could  have  been  expected  after  the  events  of  two  active  centuries. 

The  progress,  however,  and  acquisitions  of  the  house  of  Austria,  were 
not  only  greater  than  those  of  any  other  power,  but  more  discernible  and 
conspicuous.  I  have  already  enumerated  the  extensive  territories  which 
descended  to  Charles  from  his  Austrian,  Burgundian,  and  Spanish  ances- 
tors.* To  these  he  himself  added  the  Imperial  dignity  ;  and,  as  if  all  this 
had  been  too  little,  the  bounds  of  the  habitable  globe  seemed  to  be 
extended,  and  a  new  world  was  subjected  to  his  command.  Upon  his 
resignation,  the  Burgundian  provinces,  and  the  Spanish  kingdoms  with  their 
dependencies,  both  in  the  old  and  new  worlds,  devolved  to  Philip.  But 
Charles  transmitted  his  dominions  to  his  son,  in  a  condition  very  different 
from  that  in  which  he  himself  had  received  them.  They  were  augmented 
by  the  accession  of  new  provinces;  they  were  habituated  to  obey  an 
administration  no  less  vigorous  than  steady ;  they  were  accustomed  to 
expensive  and  persevering  efforts,  which,  though  necessary  in  the  contests 
between  civilized  nations,  had  been  little  known  in  Europe  before  the 
Hxteenth  century.  The  provinces  of  Friesland,  Utrecht,  and  Overyssel, 
which  he  acquired  by  purchase  from  their  former  proprietors,  and  the 
dutchy  of  Gueldres,  of  which  he  made  himself  master,  partly  by  force  of 
arms,  partly  by  the  arts  of  negotiation,  were  additions  of  great  value  to  his 
Burgundian  dominions.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  transmitted  to  him  all  the 
provinces  of  Spain,  from  the  bottom  of  the  Pyrenees  to  the  frontiers  of 
Portugal ;  but  as  he  maintained  a  perpetual  peace  with  that  kingdom,  amidst 
the  various  efforts  of  his  enterprising  ambition,  he  made  no  acquisition  of 
territory  in  that  quarter. 

*  Srr.  p.  89. 

Vor,.  U.-fi^ 


460.  THE   REIGN   OF   THE  [Book  XII. 

Charles  had  gained,  however,  a  vast  accession  of  power  in  this  part  of 
his  dominions.  By  his  success  in  the  war  with  the  commons  of  Castile, 
he  exalted  the  regal  prerogative  upon  the  ruins  of  the  privileges  which 
formerly  helonged  to  the  people.  Though  he  allowed  the  name  of  the 
Cortes  to  remain,  and  the  formality  of  holding  it  to  be  continued  ;  he  reduced 
its  authority  and  jurisdiction  almost  to  nothing,  and  modelled  it  in  such  a 
manner,  that  it  became  rather  a  junto  of  the  servants  of  the  crown,  than 
an  assembly  of  the  representatives  of  the  people-  One  member  of  the 
constitution  being  thus  lopped  off,  it  was  impossible  but  that  the  other 
must  feel  the  stroke,  and  suffer  by  it.  The  suppression  of  the  popular 
power  rendered  the  aristocratical  less  formidable.  The  grandees,  prompted 
by  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  age,  or  allured  by  the  honours  which  they 
enjoyed  in  a  court,  exhausted  their  fortunes  in  military  service,  or  in 
attending  on  the  person  of  their  prince.  They  did  not  dread,  perhaps  did 
not  observe,  the  dangerous  progress  of  the  royal  authority,  which,  leaving 
them  the  vain  distinction  of  being  covered  in  presence  of  their  sovereign, 
stripped  them,  by  degrees,  of  that  real  power  which  they  possessed  while 
they  formed  one  body,  and  acted  in  concert  with  the  people.  Charles's  suc- 
cess in  abolishing  the  privileges  of  the  commons,  and  in  breaking  the 
power  of  the  nobles  of  Castile,  encouraged  Philip  to  invade  the  liberties 
of  Arragon,  which  were  still  more  extensive.  The  Castilians,  accustomed 
to  subjection  themselves,  assisted  in  imposing  the  yoke  on  their  more 
happy  and  independent  neighbours.  The  will  of  the  sovereign  became 
the  supreme  law  in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Spain  ;  and  princes  who  were  not 
checked  in  forming  their  plans  by  the  jealousy  of  the  people,  nor  controlled 
in  executing  them  by  the  power  of  the  nobles,  could  both  aim  at  great 
objects,  and  call  forth  the  whole  strength  of  the  monarchy  in  order  to 
attain  them. 

As  Charles,  by  extending  the  royal  prerogative,  rendered  the  monarchs 
of  Spain  masters  at  home,  he  added  new  dignity  and  power  to  their  crown 
by  his  foreign  acquisitions.  He  secured  to  Spain  the  quiet  possession  ot 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  Ferdinand  had  usurped  by  fraud,  and  held 
with  difficulty.  He  united  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  populous  Italian  provinces,  to  the  Spanish  crown ;  and  left  his  suc- 
cessors, even  without  taking  their  other  territories  into  the  account,  the 
most  considerable  provinces  in  Italy,  which  had  been  long  the  theatre  oi 
contention  to  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  and  in  which  they  had  struggled 
Avith  emulation  to  obtain  the  superiority.  When  the  French,  in  conformity 
to  the  treaty  of  Chateau-Cambresis,  withdrew  their  forces  out  of  Italy, 
and  finally  relinquished  all  their  schemes  of  conquest  on  that  side  of  the 
Alps,  the  Spanish  dominions  then  rose  in  importance,  and  enabled  their 
kings,  as  long  as  the  monarchy  retained  any  degree  of  vigour,  to  preserve 
the  chief  sway  in  all  the  transactions  of  that  country.  But  whatever  ac- 
cession, either  of  interior  authority  or  of  foreign  dominion,  Charles  gained 
for  the  monarchs  of  Spain  in  Europe,  was  inconsiderable  when  compared 
with  his  acquisitions  in  the  new  world.  He  added  there,  not  provinces, 
but  empires  to  his  crown.  He  conquered  territories  of  such  immense 
extent;  he  discovered  such  inexhaustible  veins  of  wealth,  and  opened 
such  boundless  prospects  of  every  kind,  as  must  have  roused  his  successor, 
and  have  called  him  forth  to  action,  though  his  ambition  had  been  much 
less  ardent  than  that  of  Philip,  and  must  have  rendered  him  not  only  en- 
terprising but  formidable. 

While  the  elder  branch  of  the  Austrian  family  rose  to  such  pre-eminence 
in  Spain,  the  younger,  of  which  Ferdinand  was  the  head,  grew  to  be  con- 
siderable in  Germany ;  the  ancient  hereditary  dominions  of  the  house  of 
Austria  in  Germany,  united  to  the  kingdoms  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia, 
which  Ferdinand  had  acquired  by  marriage,  formed  a  respectable  power ; 
and  when  the  Imperial  dignity  was  added  to  these.  Ferdinand  posseted 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  491 

territories  more  extensive  than  had  belonged  to  any  prince,  Charles  V.  ex- 
cepted, who  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  empire  for  several  ages.  For- 
tunately for  Europe,  the  disgust  which  Philip  conceived  on  account  of 
Ferdinand's  refusing  to  relinquish  the  Imperial  crown  in  his  favour,  not  only 
prevented  for  some  time  the  separate  members  of  the  house  of  Austria 
from  acting  in  concert,  but  occasioned  between  them  a  visible  alienation 
and  rivalship.  By  degrees,  however,  regard  to  the  interest  of  their  family 
extinguished  this  unpolitical  animosity.  The  confidence,  which  was 
natural,  returned ;  the  aggrandizing  of  the  house  of  Austria  became  the 
common  object  of  all  their  schemes ;  they  gave  and  received  assistance 
alternately  towards  the  execution  of  them  ;  and  each  derived  consideration 
and  importance  from  the  other's  success.  A  family  so  great  and  so 
aspiring,  became  the  general  object  of  jealousy  and  terror.  All  the  power, 
as  well"  as  policy,  of  Europe  were  exerted  during  a  century,  in  order  to 
check  and  humble  it.  Nothing  can  give  a  more  striking  idea  of  the  as- 
cendant which  it  had  acquired,  and  of  the  terror  which  it  had  inspired, 
than  that  after  its  vigour  was  spent  with  extraordinary  exertions  of  its 
strength,  after  Spain  was  become  only  the  shadow  of  a  great  name,  and 
its  monarcbs  were  sunk  into  debility  and  dotage,  the  house  of  Austria  still 
continued  to  be  formidable.  The  nations  of  Europe  had  so  often  felt  its 
superior  power,  and  had  been  so  constantly  employed  in  guarding  against 
it,  that  the  dread  of  it  became  a  kind  of  political  habit,  the  influence  of 
which  remained  when  the  causes  which  had  formed  it  ceased  to  exist. 

While  the  house  of  Austria  went  on  with  such  success  in  enlarging  it- 
dominions,  Fiance  made  no  considerable  acquisition  of  new  territory.  All 
its  schemes  of  conquest  in  Italy  had  proved  abortive  ;  it  had  hitherto 
obtained  no  establishment  of  consequence  in  the  new  world  ;  and  after  the 
continued  and  vigorous  efforts  of  four  successive  reigns,  the  confines  of  the 
kingdom  were  much  the  same  as  Louis  XI.  had  left  them.  But  though  France 
made  not  such  large  strides  towards  dominion  as  the  house  of  Austria,  it 
continued  to  advance  by  steps  which  were  more  secure,  because  they  were 
gradual  and  less  observed.  The  conquest  of  Calais  put  it  out  of  the 
power  of  the  English  to  invade  France  but  at  their  utmost  peril,  and  de- 
livered the  French  from  the  dread  of  their  ancient  enemies,  who,  previous 
to  that  event,  could  at  any  time  penetrate  into  the  kingdom  by  that  avenue, 
and  thereby  retard  or  defeat  the  execution  of  their  best  concerted  enter- 
prises against  any  foreign  power.  The  important  acquisition  of  Metz 
covered  that  part  of  their  frontier  which  formerly  was  most  feeble,  and 
lay  most  exposed  to  insult.  France,  from  the  time  of  its  obtaining  these 
additional  securities  against  external  invasion,  must  be  deemed  the  most 
powerful  kingdom  in  Europe,  and  is  more  fortunately  situated  than  any 
on  the  continent  either  for  conquest  or  defence.  From  the  confines  of 
Artois  to  the  bottom  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  from  the  British  channel  to  the 
frontiers  of  Savoy  and  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  its  territories  lay 
compact  and  unmingled  with  those  of  any  other  power.  Several  of  the 
considerable  provinces,  which  had  contracted  a  spirit  of  independence  by 
their  having  been  long  subject  to  the  great  vassals  of  the  crown,  who 
were  often  at  variance  or  at  war  with  their  master,  were  now  accustomed 
to  recognise  and  to  obey  one  sovereign.  As  they  became  members  of  the 
same  monarchy,  they  assumed  the  sentiments  of  that  body  into  which  they 
were  incorporated,  and  co-operated  with  zeal  towards  promoting  its 
interest  and  honour.  The  power  and  influence  wrested  from  the  nobles 
were  seized  by  the  crown.  The  people  were  not  admitted  to  share  in 
these  spoils;  they  gained  no  new  privilege  ;  they  acquired  no  additional 
weight  in  the  legislature.  It  was  not  for  the  sake  of  the  people,  but  in 
order  to  extend  their  own  prerogative,  that  the  monarchs  of  France  had 
laboured  to  humble  their  great  vassals.  Satisfied  with  having  brought 
them  under  entire  subjection  to  the  crown,  they  discovered  no  solicitude 


.192  THE  REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  XII. 

to  free  the  people  from  their  ancient  dependence  on  the  nobles  of  whom 
they  held,  and  by  whom  they  were  often  oppressed. 

A  monarch  at  the  head  of  a  kingdom  thus  united  at  home  and  secure 
from  abroad,  was  entitled  to  form  great  designs,  because  he  felt  himself 
in  a  condition  to  execute  them.  The  foreign  wars  which  had  continued 
with  little  interruption  Irom  the  accession  of  Charles  VIII.  had  not  only 
cherished  and  augmented  the  martial  genius  of  the  nation,  but  by  inuring 
the  troops  during  the  course  of  long  service  to  the  fatigues  of  war,  and 
accustoming  them  to  obedience,  had  added  the  force  of  discipline  to  their 
natural  ardour.  A  gallant  and  active  body  of  nobles,  who  considered 
themselves  as  idle  and  useless,  unless  when  they  were  in  the  field  ;  who 
were  hardly  acquainted  with  any  pastime  or  exercise  but  what  was  mili- 
tary; and  who  knew  no  road  to  power,  or  fame,  or  wealth,  but  war, 
would  not  have  suffered  their  sovereign  to  remain  long  in  inaction.  The 
people,  little  acquainted  with  the  arts  of  peace,  and  always  ready  to  take 
arms  at  the  command  of  their  superiors,  were  accustomed,  by  the  expense 
of  long  wars  carried  on  in  distant  countries,  to  bear  impositions,  which, 
however  inconsiderable  they  may  seem  if  estimated  by  the  exorbitant 
rate  of  modern  exactions,  appear  immense  when  compared  with  the  sums 
levied  in  France,  or  in  any  other  country  of  Europe,  previous  to  the  reign 
of  Louis  XI.  As  all  the  members  of  which  the  state  was  composed  were 
thus  impatient  for  action,  and  capable  of  great  efforts,  the  schemes  and 
operations  of  France  must  have  been  no  less  formidable  to  Europe  than 
those  of  Spain.  The  superior  advantages  of  its  situation,  the  contiguity 
and  compactness  of  its  territories,  together  with  the  peculiar  state  of  its 
political  constitution  at  that  juncture,  must  have  rendered  its  enterprises 
still  more  alarming  and  more  decisive.  The  king  possessed  such  a  degree 
of  power  as  gave  him  the  entire  command  of  his  subjects;  the  people 
were  strangers  to  those  occupations  and  habits  of  life  which  render  men 
averse  to  war,  or  unfit  for  it ;  and  the  nobles,  though  reduced  to  the  sub- 
ordination necessary  in  a  regular  government,  still  retained  the  high,  un- 
daunted spirit  which  was  the  effect  of  their  ancient  independence.  The 
vigour  of  the  feudal  times  remained,  their  anarchy  was  at  an  end ;  and  the 
kingsof  France  could  avail  themselvesof  the  martial  ardour  which  that  singu- 
lar institution  had  kindled  or  kept  alive,  without  being  exposed  to  any  of  the 
dangers  or  inconveniences  which  are  inseparable  from  it  when  in  entire  force. 

A  kingdom  in  such  a  state  is,  perhaps,  capable  of  greater  military  efforts 
than  at  any  other  period  in  its  progress.  But  how  formidable  or  how  fatal 
soever  to  the  other  nations  of  Europe  the  power  of  such  a  monarchy  might 
have  been,  the  civil  wars  which  broke  out  in  France  saved  them  at  that 
juncture  from  feeling  its  effects.  These  wars,  of  which  religion  was  the 
pretext  and  ambition  the  cause,  wherein  great  abilities  were  displayed  by 
the  leaders  of  the  different  factions,  and  little  conduct  or  firmness  were 
manifested  by  the  crown  under  a  succession  of  weak  princes,  kept  France 
occupied  and  embroiled  for  half  a  century.  During  these  commotions  the 
internal  strength  of  the  kingdom  was  much  wasted,  and  such  a  spirit  of  anarchy 
was  spread  among  the  nobles,  to  whom  rebellion  was  familiar,  and  the 
restraint  of  laws  unknown,  that  a  considerable  interval  became  requisite 
not  only  for  recruiting  the  internal  vigour  of  the  nation,  but  for  re-establish- 
ing the  authority  of  the  prince  ;  so  that  it  was  long  before  France  could 
turn  her  whole  attention  towards  foreign  transactions,  or  act  with  her  pro- 
per force  in  foreign  wars.  It  was  long  before  she  rose  to  that  ascendant 
in  Europe  which  she  has  maintained  since  the  administration  of  Cardinal 
Richlieu,  and  which  the  situation  as  well  as  extent  of  the  kingdom,  the 
nature  of  her  government,  together  with  the  character  of  her  people,  entitle 
her  to  maintain. 

While  the  kingdoms  on  the  continent  grew  into  power  and  consequence, 
England  likewise  made  considerable  progress  towards  regular  government 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  49J 

and  interior  strength.  Henry  VIII.,  probably  without  intention,  and  cer- 
tainly without  any  consistent  plan,  of  which  his  nature  was  incapable, 
J>ursued  the  scheme  of  depressing  the  nobility,  which  the  policy  of  his 
ather  Henry  VII.  had  begun.  The  pride  and  caprice  of  his  temper  led 
him  to  employ  chiefly  new  men  in  the  administration  of  affairs,  because 
he  found  them  most  obsequious,  or  least  scrupulous ;  and  he  not  only  con- 
ferred on  them  such  plenitude  of  power,  but  exalted  them  to  such  pre- 
eminence in  dignity,  as  mortified  and  degraded  the  ancient  nobility.  By 
the  alienation  or  sale  of  the  church  lands,  which  were  dissipated  with  a 
profusion  not  inferior  to  the  rapaciousness  with  which  they  had  been  seized, 
as  well  as  by  the  privilege  granted  to  the  ancient  landholders  of  selling 
their  estates,  or  disposing  of  them  by  will,  an  immense  property,  formerly 
locked  up,  was  brought  into  circulation.  This  put  the  spirit  of  industry 
and  commerce  in  motion,  and  gave  it  some  considerable  degree  ol  vigour. 
The  road  to  power  and  to  opulence  became  open  to  persons  of  every  con- 
dition. A  sudden  and  excessive  flow  of  wealth  from  the  West  Indies 
proved  fatal  to  industry  in  Spain  ;  a  moderate  accession  in  England  to  the 
sum  in  circulation  gave  life  to  commerce,  awakened  the  ingenuity  oi  the 
nation,  and  excited  it  to  useful  enterprise.  In  France,  vyhat  the  nobles 
lost  the  crown  gained.  In  England,  the  commons  were  gainers  as  well  as 
the  king.  Power  and  influence  accompanied  of  course  the  property 
which  they  acquired.  They  rose  to  consideration  among  their  fellow 
subjects ;  they  began  to  feel  their  own  importance  ;  and  extending  their 
influence  in  the  legislative  body  gradually,  and  often  when  neither  they 
themselves  nor  others  foresaw  all  the  effects  of  their  claims  and  pretensions, 
they  at  last  attained  that  high  authority  to  which  the  British  constitution  is 
indebted  for  the  existence,  and  must  owe  the  preservation  of  its  liberty. 
At  the  same  time  that  the  English  constitution  advanced  towards  perfection, 
several  circumstances  brought  on  a  change  in  the  ancient  system  with 
respect  to  foreign  powers,  and  introduced  another  more  beneficial  to  the 
nation.  As  soon  as  Henry  disclaimed  the  supremacy  of  the  papal  see, 
and  broke  off  all  connexion  with  the  papal  court,  considerable  sums  were 
saved  to  the  nation,  of  which  it  had  been  annually  drained  by  remittances 
to  Rome  for  dispensations  and  indulgences,  by  the  expense  of  pilgrimages 
into  foreign  countries,*  or  by  payment  of  annates,  first  fruits,  and  a  thousand 
other  taxes  which  that  artful  and  rapacious  court  levied  on  the  credulity 
of  mankind.  The  exercise  of  a  jurisdiction  different  from  that  of  the  civil 
power,  and  claiming  not  only  to  be  independent  of  it,  but  superior  to  it, 
a  wild  solecism  in  government,  apt  not  only  to  perplex  and  disquiet  weak 
minds,  but  tending  directly  to  disturb  society,  was  finally  abolished. 
Government  became  more  simple  as  well  as  more  respectable,  when  no 
rank  or  character  exempted  any  person  from  being  amenable  to  the  same 
courts  as  other  subjects,  from  being  tried  by  the  same  judges,  and  from 
being  acquitted  or  condemned  by  the  same  laws. 

By  the  loss  of  Calais  the  English  were  excluded  from  the  continent. 
All  schemes  for  invading  France  became  of  course  as  chimerical  as  they 
had  formerly  been  pernicious.  The  views  of  the  English  were  confined, 
first,  by  necessity,  and  afterwards  from  choice,  within  their  own  island. 
That  rage  for  conquest  which  had  possessed  the  nation  during  many 
centuries,  and  wasted  its  strength  in  perpetual  and  fruitless  wars,  ceased 
at  length.  Those  active  spirits  which  had  known  and  followed  no  pro- 
fession but  war,  sought  for  occupation  in  the  arts  of  peace,  and  their 
country  was  benefited  as  much  by  the  one  as  it  had  suffered  by  the  other. 
The  nation,  which  had  been  exhausted  by  frequent  expeditions  to  the 

•  The  loss  which  the  nation  sustained  by  most  of  these  articles  is  obvious,  and  must  have  been 
great.  Even  that  by  pilgrimages  was  not  inconsiderable.  In  the  year  1428,  license  was  obtained 
by  no  fewer  than'JlG  persons  to  visit  the  shrine  of  St.  .lames  of  Compostella  in  Spain.  Rymer.  vol. 
*.  In  1434,  tnenuuiberof  pilgrims  to  the  same  place  was  24€0.  Ibid.    In  J445,  they  were  3100.  vol.  xi. 


494  THE  REIGN   OF  THE  (Book  XII. 

continent,  recruited  its  numbers,  and  acquired  new  strength ;  and  when 
roused  by  any  extraordinary  exigency  to  take  part  in  foreign  operations, 
the  vigour  of  its  efforts  was  proportionally  great,  because  they  were  only 
occasional  and  of  a  short  continuance. 

The  same  principle  which  had  led  England  to  adopt  this  new  system 
with  regard  to  the  powers  on  the  continent,  occasioned  a  change  in  its 
plan  of  conduct  with  respect  to  Scotland,  the  only  foreign  state  with 
which,  on  account  of  its  situation  in  the  same  island,  the  English  had  such 
a  close  connection  as  demanded  their  perpetual  attention.  Instead  of 
prosecuting  the  ancient  scheme  of  conquering  that  kingdom,  which  the 
nature  of  the  country,  defended  by  a  brave  and  hardy  people,  rendered 
dangerous  if  not  impracticable  ;  it  appeared  more  eligible  to  endeavour  at 
obtaining  such  influence  in  Scotland  as  might  exempt  England  from  any 
danger  or  disquiet  from  that  quarter.  The  national  poverty  of  the  Scots, 
together  with  the  violence  and  animosity  of  their  factions,  rendered  the 
execution  of  this  plan  easy  to  a  people  far  superior  to  them  in  wealth. 
The  leading  men  of  greatest  power  and  popularity  were  gained ;  the 
ministers  and  favourites  of  the  crown  were  corrupted ;  and  such  absolute 
direction  of  the  Scottish  councils  was  acquired,  as  rendered  the  operations 
of  the  one  kingdom  dependent,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  sovereign  of  the 
other.  Such  perfect  external  security,  added  to  the  interior  advantages 
which  England  now  possessed,  must  soon  have  raised  it  to  new  considera- 
tion and  importance :  the  long  reign  of  Elizabeth,  equally  conspicuous  for 
-wisdom,  for  steadiness,  and  for  vigour,  accelerated  its  progress,  and  carried 
it  with  greater  rapidity  towards  that  elevated  station  which  it  hath  since 
held  among  the  powers  of  Europe. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  political  state  of  the  great  kingdoms 
underwent  such  changes,  revolutions  of  considerable  importance  happened 
in  that  of  the  secondary  or  inferior  powers.  Those  in  the  papal  court  are 
most  obvious,  and  of  most  extensive  consequence. 

In  the  Preliminary  Book,  I  have  mentioned  the  rise  of  that  spiritual 
jurisdiction  which  the  popes  claim  as  vicars  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  have 
traced  the  progress  of  that  "authority  which  they  possess  as  temporal 
princes.*  Previous  to  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  there  was  nothing  that 
tended  to  circumscribe  or  to  moderate  their  authority,  but  science  and 
philosophy,  which  began  to  revive  and  be  cultivated.  The  progress  of 
these,  however,  was  still  inconsiderable  ;  they  always  operate  slowly  ; 
and  it  is  long  before  their  influence  reaches  the  people,  or  can  produce  any 
sensible  effect  upon  them.  They  may  perhaps  gradually,  and  in  a  long 
eourse  of  years,  undermine  and  shake  an  established  system  of  false  reli- 
gion, but  there  is  no  instance  of  their  having  overturned  one.  The  battery 
is  too  feeble  to  demolish  those  fabrics  which  superstition  raises  on  deep 
foundations,  and  can  strengthen  with  the  most  consummate  art. 

Luther  had  attacked  the  papal  supremacy  with  other  weapons,  and 
with  an  impetuosity  more  formidable.  The  time  and  manner  of  his  attack 
concurred  with  a  multitude  of  circumstances,  which  have  been  explained, 
in  giving  him  immediate  success.  The  charm  which  had  bound  mankind 
for  so  many  ages  was  broken  at  once.  The  human  mind,  which  had  con- 
tinued long  as  tame  and  passive  as  if  it  had  been  formed  to  believe  what- 
ever was  taught,  and  to  bear  whatever  was  imposed,  roused  of  a  sudden 
and  became  inquisitive,  mutinous,  and  disdainful  of  the  yoke  to  which  it 
had  hitherto  submitted.  That  wonderful  ferment  and  agitation  of  mind, 
which,  at  this  distance  of  time,  appears  unaccountable,  or  is  condemned 
as  extravagant,  was  so  general,  that  it  must  have  been  excited  by  causes 
which  were  natural  and  of  powerful  efficacy.  The  kingdoms  of  Denmark, 
Sweden,  England,  and  Scotland,  and  almost  one  half  of  Germany,  thrcv\ 

See  p.  58 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  495 

off  their  allegiance  to  the  pope,  abolished  his  jurisdiction  within  their  terri- 
tories, and  gave  the  sanction  of  law  to  modes  of  discipline  and  systems  of 
doctrine  which  were  not  only  independent  of  his  power,  but  hostile  to  it. 
Nor  was  this  spirit  of  innovation  confined  to  those  countries  which  openly 
revolted  from  the  pope ;  it  spread  through  all  Europe,  and  broke  out  in 
every  part  of  it  with  various  degrees  of  violence.  It  penetrated  early 
into  France,  and  made  a  quick  progress  there.  In  that  kingdom,  the 
number  of  converts  to  the  opinions  of  the  reformers  was  so  great,  their 
zeal  so  enterprising,  and  the  abilities  of  their  leaders  so  distinguished, 
that  they  soon  ventured  to  contend  for  superiority  with  the  established 
church,  and  were  sometimes  on  the  point  of  obtaining  it.  In  all  the  pro- 
vinces of  Germany  which  continued  to  acknowledge  the  papal  supremacy, 
as  well  as  in  the  Low-Countries,  the  protestant  doctrines  were  secretly 
taught,  and  had  gained  so  many  proselytes,  that  they  were  ripe  for  revolt, 
and  were  restrained  merely  by  the  dread  of  their  rulers  from  imitating  the 
example  of  their  neighbours,  and  asserting  their  independence.  Even  in 
Spain  and  Italy,  symptoms  to  shake  off  the  yoke  appeared.  The  preten- 
sions of  the  pope  to  infallible  knowledge  arid  supreme  power  were  treated 
by  many  persons  of  eminent  learning  and  abilities  with  such  scorn,  ov 
attacked  with  such  vehemence,  that  the  most  vigilant  attention  of  the  civil 
magistrate,  the  highest  strains  of  pontifical  authority,  and  all  the  rigour  of 
inquisitorial  jurisdiction  were  requisite  to  check  and  extinguish  it. 

The  defection  of  so  many  opulent  and  powerful  kingdoms  from  the 
papal  see,  was  a  fatal  blow  to  its  grandeur  and  power.  It  abridged  the 
dominions  of  the  popes  in  extent,  it  diminished  their  revenues,  and  left 
them  fewer  rewards  to  bestow  on  the  ecclesiastics  of  various  denomina- 
tions, attached  to  them  by  vows  of  obedience  as  well  as  by  ties  of  interest, 
and  whom  they  employed  as  instruments  to  establish  or  support  their  usur- 
pations in  every  part  ol  Europe.  The  countries  too  which  now  disclaimed 
their  authority,  were  those  which  formerly  had  been  most  devoted  to  it. 
The  empire  of  superstition  differs  from  every  other  species  of  dominion  ; 
its  power  is  often  greatest  and  most  implicitly  obeyed  in  the  provinces 
most  remote  from  the  seat  of  government ;  while  such  as  are  situated 
nearer  to  that  are  more  apt  to  discern  the  artifices  by  which  it  is  upheld, 
or  the  impostures  on  which  it  is  founded.  The  personal  frailties  or  vice^ 
of  the  popes,  the  errors  as  well  as  corruption  of  their  administration,  the 
ambition,  venality,  and  deceit  which  reigned  in  their  courts,  fell  immedi- 
ately under  the  observation  of  the  Italians,  and  could  not  fail  of  diminishing 
that  respect  which  begets  submission.  But  in  Germany,  England,  and  the 
more  remote  parts  of  Europe,  these  were  either  altogether  unknown,  or 
being  only  known  by  report,  made  a  slighter  impression.  Veneration  for 
the  papal  dignity  increased  accordingly  in  these  countries  in  proportion  to 
their  distance  from  Rome  ;  and  that  veneration,  added  to  their  gross  igno- 
rance, rendered  them  equally  credulous  and  passive.  In  tracing  the 
progress  of  the  papal  domination,  the  boldest  and  most  successful  instances 
of  encroachment  are  to  be  found  in  Germany  and  other  countries  distant 
from  Italy.  In  these  its  impositions  were  heaviest  and  its  exactions  the 
most  rapacious  ;  so  that  in  estimating  the  diminution  of  power  which  the 
court  of  Rome  suffered  in  consequence  of  the  reformation,  not  only  the 
number  but  the  character  of  the  people  who  revolted,  not  only  the  great 
extent  of  territory,  but  the  extraordinary  obsequiousness  of  the  subjects 
which  it  lost,  must  be  taken  into  the  account. 

Nor  was  it  only  by  this  defection  of  so  many  kingdoms  and  states  which 
the  reformation  occasioned,  that  it  contributed  to  diminish  the  power  ol 
the  Roman  pontiffs.  It  obliged  them  to  adopt  a  different  system  of 
conduct  towards  the  nations  which  still  continued  to  recognise  their  juris- 
diction, and  to  govern  them  by  new  maxims  and  with  a  milder  spirit. 
The  reformation  taught  them,  by  a  fatal  example,  what  they  seem  not 


496  THE   REIGN  OF   THE  [Book  XII. 

before  to  have  apprehended,  that  the  credulity  and  patience  of  mankind 
might  be  overburdened  and  exhausted.  They  became  afraid  of  venturing 
upon  any  such  exertion  of  their  authority  as  might  alarm  or  exasperate 
their  subjects,  and  excite  them  to  a  new  revolt.  They  saw  a  rival  church 
established  in  many  countries  of  Europe,  the  members  of  which  were  on 
the  watch  to  observe  any  errors  in  their  administration,  and  eager  to  expose 
them.  They  were  sensible  that  the  opinions,  adverse  to  their  power  and 
usurpations,  were  not  adopted  by  their  enemies  alone,  but  had  spread 
even  among  the  people  who  still  adhered  to  them.  Upon  all  these  ac- 
counts, it  was  no  longer  possible  to  lead  or  to  govern  their  flock  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  those  dark  and  quiet  ages  when  faith  was  implicit,  when 
submission  was  unreserved,  and  all  tamely  followed  and  obeyed  the  voice 
of  their  pastor.  From  the  era  of  the  reformation,  the  popes  have  ruled 
rather  by  address  and  management  than  by  authority.  Though  the  style 
of  their  decrees  be  still  the  same,  the  effect  of  them  is  very  different. 
Those  bulls  and  interdicts  which,  before  the  reformation,  made  the  greatest 
princes  tremble,  have  since  that  period  been  disregarded  or  despised  by 
the  most  inconsiderable.  Those  bold  decisions  and  acts  of  jurisdiction 
which,  during  many  ages,  not  only  passed  uncensured,  but  were  revered 
as  the  awards  of  a  sacred  tribunal,  would,  since  Luther's  appearance,  be 
treated  by  one  part  of  Europe  as  the  effect  of  folly  or  arrogance,  and  be 
detested  by  the  other  as  impious  and  unjust.  The  popes,  in  their  admin- 
istration, have  been  obliged  not  only  to  accommodate' themselves  to  the 
notions  of  their  adherents,  but  to  pay  some  regard  to  the  prejudices  of 
their  enemies.  They  seldom  venture  to  claim  new  powers,  or  even  to 
insist  obstinately  on  their  ancient  prerogatives,  lest  they  should  irritate  the 
former;  they  carefully  avoid  every  measure  that  may  either  excite  the 
indignation  or  draw  on  them  the  derision  of  the  latter.  The  policy  of  the 
court  of  Rome  has  become  as  cautious,  circumspect,  and  timid,  as  it  was 
once  adventurous  and  violent ;  and  though  their  pretensions  to  infallibility, 
on  which  all  their  authority  is  founded,  does  not  allow  them  to  renounce 
any  jurisdiction,  which  they  have  at  any  time  claimed  or  exercised,  they 
find  it  expedient  to  suffer  many  of  their  prerogatives  to  lie  dormant,  and 
not  to  expose  themselves  to  the  risk  of  losing  that  remainder  of  power 
which  they  still  enjoy,  by  ill-timed  attempts  towards  reviving  obsolete 
pretensions.  Before  the  sixteenth  century,  the  popes  were  the  movers 
and  directors  in  every  considerable  enterprise;  they  were  at  the  head  of 
every  great  alliance ;  and  being  considered  as  arbiters  in  the  affairs  of 
Christendom,  the  court  of  Rome  was  the  centre  of  political  negotiation 
and  intrigue.  Since  that  time,  the  greatest  operations  in  Europe  have 
been  carried  on  independent  of  them  ;  they  have  sunk  almost  to  a  level 
with  the  other  petty  princes  of  Italy;  they  continue  to  claim,  though  they 
dare  not  exercise,  the  same  spiritual  jurisdiction,  but  hardly  retain  any 
shadow  of  the  temporal  power  which  they  anciently  possessed. 

But  how  fatal  soever  the  reformation  may  have  been  to  the  power  of 
(he  popes,  it  has  contributed  to  improve  the  church  of  Rome  both  in 
science  and  in  morals.  The  desire  of  equalling  the  reformers  in  those 
talents  which  had  procured  them  respect ;  the  necessity  of  acquiring  the 
knowledge  requisite  for  defending  their  own  tenets,  or  refuting  the  argu- 
ments of  their  opponents  ;  together  with  the  emulation  natural  between 
two  rival  churches,  engaged  the  Roman  catholic  clergy  to  apply  themselves 
to  the  study  of  useful  science,  which  they  cultivated  with  such  assiduity 
and  success,  that  they  have  gradually  become  as  eminent  in  literature,  as 
they  were  in  some  periods  infamous  for  ignorance.  The  same  principle 
occasioned  a  change  no  less  considerable  in  the  morals  of  the  Romish 
clergy.  Various  causes  which  have  formerly  been  enumerated,  had  con- 
curred in  introducing  great  irregularity,  and  even  dissolution  of  manners, 
among  the  popish  clergy.     Luther  and  his  adherents  began  their  attack  on 


EMPEROR  CHARLES  V.  497 

the  church  with  such  vehement  invectives  against  these,  that,  in  order  to 
remove  the  scandal,  and  silence  their  declamations,  greater  decency  of 
conduct  became  necessary.  The  reformers  themselves  were  so  eminent 
not  only  for  the  purity  but  even  austerity  of  their  manners,  and  had  ac- 
quired such  reputation  among-  the  people  on  that  account,  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy  must  have  soon  lost  all  credit,  if  they  had  not  endeavoured 
to  conform  in  some  measure  to  their  standard.  They  knew  that  all  their 
actions  fell  under  the  severe  inspection  of  the  protestants,  whom  enmity 
and  emulation  prompted  to  observe  every  vice,  or  even  impropriety  in 
their  conduct;  to  censure  them  without  indulgence,  and  expose  them 
without  mercy.  This  rendered  them,  of  course,  not  only  cautious  to 
avoid  such  enormities  as  might  give  offence,  but  studious  to  acquire  the 
virtues  which  might  merit  praise.  In  Spain  and  Portugal,  where  the 
tyrannical  jurisdiction  of  the  inquisition  crushed  the  protestant  faith  as 
soon  as  it  appeared,  the  spirit  of  popery  continues  invariable  ;  science  has 
made  small  progress,  and  the  character  of  ecclesiastics  has  undergone  little 
change.  But  in  those  countries  where  the  members  of  the  two  churches 
have  mingled  freely  with  each  other,  or  have  carried  on  any  considerable 
intercourse,  either  commercial  or  literary,  an  extraordinary  alteration  in 
the  ideas,  as  well  as  in  the  morals  of  the  popish  ecclesiastics,  is  manifest. 
In  France,  the  manners  of  the  dignitaries  and  secular  clergy  have  become 
decent  and  exemplary  in  a  high  degree.  Many  of  them  have  been  distin- 
guished for  all  the  accomplishments  and  virtues  which  can  adorn  their  pro- 
fession ;  and  differ  greatly  from  their  predecessors  before  the  reformation, 
both  in  their  maxims  and  in  their  conduct. 

Nor  has  the  influence  of  the  reformation  been  felt  only  by  the  inferior 
members  of  the  Roman  catholic  church  ;  it  has  extended  to  the  see  of 
Rome,  to  the  sovereign  pontiffs  themselves.  Violations  of  decorum,  and 
even  trespasses  against  morality,  which  passed  without  censure  in  those" 
ages,  when  neither  the  power  of  popes,  nor  the  veneration  of  the  people 
for  their  character,  had  any  bounds  ;  when  there  was  no  hostile  eye  to 
observe  the  errors  in  their  conduct,  and  no  adversaries  zealous  to  inveigh 
against  them ;  would  be  liable  now  to  the  severest  animadversion,  and 
excite  general  indignation  or  horror.  Instead  of  rivalling  the  courts  of 
temporal  princes  in  gayety,  and  surpassing  them  in  licentiousness,  the  popes 
have  studied  to  assume  manners  more  severe  and  more  suitable  to  their 
ecclesiastical  character.  The  chair  of  St.  Peter  hath  not  been  polluted 
during  two  centuries,  by  any  pontiff  that  resembled  Alexander  VI.  or 
several  of  his  predecessors,  wLo  were  a  disgrace  to  religion  and  to  human 
nature.  Throughout  this  long  succession  of  popes,  a  wonderful  decorum 
of  conduct,  compared  with  that  of  preceding  ages,  is  observable.  Many 
of  them,  especially  among  the  pontiffs  of  the  present  century,  have  been 
conspicuous  for  all  the  virtues  becoming  their  high  station  ;  and  by  their 
humanity,  their  love  of  literature,  and  their  moderation,  have  made  some 
atonement  to  mankind  for  the  crimes  of  their  predecessors.  Thus  the 
beneficial  influences  of  the  reformation  have  been  more  extensive  than 
they  appear  on  a  superficial  view;  and  this  great  division  in  the  Christian 
church  hath  contributed,  in  some  measure,  to  increase  purity  of  manners, 
to  diffuse  science,  and  to  inspire  humanity.  History  recites  such  a  number 
of  shocking  events  occasioned  by  religious  dissensions,  that  it  must  afford 
peculiar  satisfaction  to  trace  any  one  salutary  or  beneficial  effect  to  that 
source  from  which  so  many  fatal  calamities  have  flowed. 

The  republic  of  Venice,  which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
had  appeared  so  formidable,  that  almost  all  the  potentates  of  Europe 
united  in  a  confederacy  for  its  destruction,  declined  gradually  from  its 
ancient  power  and  splendour.  The  Venetians  not  only  lost  a  great  part 
of  their  territory  in  the  war  excited  by  the  league  of  Cambray,  btot  the 
revenues  as  well  as  vigour  of  the  state  were  exhausted  by  their  extraordi- 

Vol.  II. — 63 


496  THE   REIGN  OF  THE  [Book  Xil, 

nary  and  long-continued  efforts  in  their  own  defence  ;  and  that  commerce 
by  which  they  had  acquired  their  wealth  and  power  began  to  decay,  with- 
out any  hopes  of  its  reviving.  All  the  fatal  consequences  to  their  republic, 
which  the  sagacity  of  the  Venetian  senate  foresaw  on  the  first  discovery 
of  a  passage  to  the  East  Indies  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  actually  took 
place.  Their  endeavours  to  prevent  the  Portuguese  from  establishing 
themselves  in  the  East  Indies,  not  only  by  exciting  the  Soldans  of  Egypt, 
and  the  Ottoman  monarchs,  to  turn  their  arms  against  such  dangerous 
intruders,  but  by  affording  secret  aid  to  the  infidels  in  order  to  insure  their 
success,*  proved  ineffectual.  The  activity  and  valour  of  the  Portuguese 
surmounted  every  obstacle,  and  obtained  such  a  firm  footing  in  that  fertile 
country,  as  secured  to  them  large  possessions,  together  with  an  influence 
till  more  extensive.  Lisbon,  instead  of  Venice,  became  the  staple  for  the 
precious  commodities  of  the  East.  The  Venetians,  after  having  possessed, 
for  many  years,  the  monopoly  of  that  beneficial  commerce,  had  the  mortifi- 
cation to  be  excluded  from  almost  any  share  in  it.  The  discoveries  of  the 
Spaniards  in  the  Western  world  proved  no  less  fatal  to  inferior  branches 
of  their  commerce.  The  original  defects  which  were  formerly  pointed 
out  in  the  constitution  of  the  Venetian  republic  still  continued,  and  the  dis- 
advantages with  which  it  undertook  any  great  enterprise  increased,  rather 
than  diminished.  The  sources  from  which  it  derived  its  extraordinary 
riches  and  power  being  dried  up,  the  interior  vigour  of  the  state  declined, 
and,  of  course,  its  external  operations  became  less  formidable.  Long 
before  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Venice  ceased  to  be  one  of  the 
principal  powers  in  Europe,  and  dwindled  into  a  secondary  and  subaltern 
state.  But  as  the  senate  had  the  address  to  conceal  the  diminution  of  its 
power,  under  the  veil  of  moderation  and  caution  ;  as  it  made  no  rash  effort 
that  could  discover  its  weakness ;  as  the  symptoms  of  political  decay  in 
states  are  not  soon  observed,  and  are  seldom  so  apparent  to  their  neighbours 
as  to  occasion  any  sudden  alteration  in  their  conduct  towards  them,  Venice 
continued  long  to  be  considered  and  respected.  She  was  treated  not 
according  to  her  present  condition,  but  according  to  the  rank  which  she 
had  formerly  held.  Charles  V.  as  well  as  the  kings  of  France  his  rivals, 
courted  her  assistance  with  emulation  and  solicitude  in  all  their  enterprises. 
Even  down  to  the  close  of  the  century,  Venice  remained  not  only  an  object 
of  attention,  but  a  considerable  seat  of  political  negotiation  and  intrigue. 

That  authority  which  the  first  Cosmo  di  Medici,  and  Laurence,  his 
grandson,  had  acquired  in  the  republic  of  Florence,  by  their  beneficence 
and  abilities,  inspired  their  descendants  with  the  ambition  of  usurping  the 
sovereignty  in  their  country,  and  paved  their  way  towards  it.  Charles  V. 
placed  Alexander  di  Medici  at  the  head  of  the  republic  [A.  D.  1550],  and 
to  the  natural  interest  and  power  of  the  family  added  the  weight  as  well 
as  credit  of  the  Imperial  protection.  Of  these,  his  successor  Cosmo,  sur- 
named  the  Great,  availed  himself;  and  establishing  his  supreme  authority 
on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  republican  constitution,  he  transmitted  that, 
together  with  the  title  of  grand  duke  of  Tuscany,  to  his  descendants. 
Their  dominions  were  composed  of  the  territories  which  had  belonged  to 
the  three  commonwealths  of  Florence,  Pisa,  and  Sienna,  and  formed  one 
of  the  most  respectable  of  the  Italian  states. 

The  dukes  of  Savoy,  during  the  former  part  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
possessed  territories  which  were  not  considerable  either  for  extent  or 
value  ;  and  the  French,  having  seized  the  greater  part  of  them,  obliged 
the  reigning  duke  to  retire  for  safety  to  the  strong  fortress  of  Nice,  where 
he  shut  himself  up  for  several  years,  while  his  son,  the  prince  of  Piedmont, 
endeavoured  to  better  his  fortune,  by  serving  as  an  adventurer  in  the 
armies  of  Spain.  The  peace  of  Chateau-Cambresis  restored  to  him  his 
paternal  dominions.     As  these  are  environed  on  every  hand  by  powerful 

*  Frebpr.  Script.  Rer.  German,  vol.  ii.  529 


EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.  499 

neighbours,  all  whose  motions  the  dukes  of  Savoy  must  observe  with  the 
greatest  attention,  in  order  not  only  to  guard  against  the  danger  of  being 
surprised  and  overpowered,  but  that  they  may  choose  their  side  with 
discernment  in  those  quarrels  wherein  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  avoid 
taking  part,  this  peculiarity  in  their  situation  seems  to  have  had  no  inconsi- 
derable influence  on  their  character.  By  rousing  them  to  perpetual  atten- 
tion, by  keeping  their  ingenuity  always  on  the  stretch,  and  engaging  them 
in  almost  continual  action,  it  hath  formed  a  race  of  princes  more  sagacious 
in  discovering  their  true  interest,  more  decisive  in  their  resolutions,  and 
more  dexterous  in  availing  themselves  of  every  occurrence  which  pre- 
sented itself,  than  any  perhaps  that  can  be  singled  out  in  the  history  of 
Europe.  By  gradual  acquisitions  the  dukes  of  Savoy  have  added  to  their 
territories,  as  well  as  to  their  own  importance  ;  and  aspiring  at  length  to 
regal  dignity,  which  they  obtained  about  half  a  century  ago,  by  the  title 
of  kings  of  Sardinia,  they  hold  now  no  inconsiderable  rank  among  the 
monarchs  of  Europe. 

The  territories  which  form  the  republic  of  the  United  Netherlands  were 
lost  during  the  first  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  among  the  numerous 
provinces  subject  to  the  house  of  Austria  ;  and  were  then  so  inconsider- 
able, that  hardly  one  opportunity  of  mentioning  them  hath  occurred  in  all 
the  busy  period  of  this  history.  But  soon  after  the  peace  of  Chateau-Cam- 
bresis,  the  violent  and  bigoted  maxims  of  Philip's  government,  being  car- 
ried into  execution  with  unrelenting  rigour  by  the  duke  of  Alva,  exaspe- 
rated the  free  people  of  the  Low-Countries  to  such  a  degree,  that  they 
threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  asserted  their  ancient  liberties  and  laws. 
These  they  defended  with  a  persevering  valour,  which  gave  employment 
to  the  arms  of  Spain  during  half  a  century,  exhausted  the  vigour,  ruined 
the  reputation  of  that  monarchy,  and  at  last  constrained  their  ancient  mas- 
ters to  recognise  and  to  treat  with  them  as  a  free  independent  state. 
This  state,  founded  on  liberty,  and  reared  by  industry  and  economy,  grew 
into  great  reputation,  even  while  struggling  for  its  existence.  But  when 
peace  and  security  allowed  it  to  enlarge  its  views,  and  to  extend  its  com- 
merce, it  rose  to  be  one  of  the  most  respectable  as  well  as  enterprising 
powers  in  Europe. 

The  transactions  of  the  kingdoms  in  the  North  of  Europe  have  been 
seldom  attended  to  in  the  course  of  this  history. 

Russia  remained  buried  in  that  barbarism  and  obscurity,  from  which  it 
was  called  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  by  the  creative 
genius  of  Peter  the  Great,  who  made  his  country  known  and  formidable  to 
the  rest  of  Europe. 

In  Denmark  and  Sweden,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  great  revolu- 
tions happened  in  their  constitutions,  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical.  In  the 
former  kingdom,  a  tyrant  being  degraded  from  the  throne,  and  expelled 
the  country,  a  new  prince  was  called  by  the  voice  of  tlie  people  to 
assume  the  reins  of  government.  In  the  latter,  a  fierce  people  roused  to 
arms  by  injuries  and  oppression,  shook  off  the  Danish  yoke,  and  conferred  the 
regal  dignity  on  its  deliverer  Gustavus  Ericson,  who  had  all  the  virtues  of  a 
hero,  and  of  a  patriot.  Denmark,  exhausted  bjr  foreign  wars,  or  weakened 
by  the  dissensions  between  the  king  and  the  nobles,  became  incapable  of 
such  efforts  as  were  requisite  in  order  to  recover  the  ascendant  which  it 
had  long  possessed  in  the  North  of  Europe.  Sweden,  as  soon  as  it  was 
lreed  from  the  dominion  of  strangers,  began  to  recruit  its  strength,  and 
acquired  in  a  short  time  such  internal  vigour,  that  it  became  the  first  king- 
dom in  the  North.  Early  in  the  subsequent  century,  it  rose  to  such  a  high 
rank  among  the  powers  of  Europe,  that  it  had  the  chief  merit  in  forming, 
as  well  as  conducting,  that  powerful  league,  which  protected  not  only  the 
protestant  religion,  but  the  liberties  of  Germany,  against  the  bigotry  and 
ambition  of  the  house  of  Austria. 


I   *o  i 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Note  [1].  Page  8. 

The  consternation  of  the  Britons,  when  invaded  by  the  Picts  and  Caledonians 
after  the  Roman  legions  were  called  out  of  the  islands,  may  give  some  idea  of 
the  degree  of  debasement  to  which  the  human  mind  was  reduced  by  long  ser- 
vitude under  the  Romans.  In  their  supplicatory  letter  to  Actius,  which  they 
call  the  Groans  of  Britain,  "  We  know  not,"  say  they,  "  which  way  to  turn  us. 
The  barbarians  drive  us  to  the  sea,  and  the  sea  forces  us  back  on  the  barbarians; 
between  which  we  have  only  the  choice  of  two  deaths,  either  to  be  swallowed 
up  by  the  waves,  or  to  be  slain  by  the  sword.'1  Histor.  Gildae,  ap.  Gale,  Hist. 
Britain.  Script,  p.  6. — One  can  hardly  believe  this  dastardly  race  to  be  the  de- 
scendants of  that  gallant  people,  who  repulsed  Caesar,  and  defended  their  liberty 
so  long  against  the  Roman  arms. 

Note  [2].  Page  8. 

The  barbarous  nations  were  not  only  illiterate,  but  regarded  literature  witii 
contempt.  They  found  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire  sunk 
in  effeminacy,  and  averse  to  war.  Such  a  character  was  the  object  of  scorn 
to  a  high-spirited  and  gallant  race  of  men.  "  When  we  would  brand  an 
enemy,"  says  Liutprandus,  "  with  the  most  disgraceful  and  contumelious  ap- 
pellation, we  call  him  a  Roman  ;  hoc  solo,  id  est  Romani  nomine,  quicquid 
ignobilitatis,  quicquid  timiditatis,  quicquid  avaritise,  quicquid  luxuria;,  quicquid 
mendacii,  immo  quicquid  vitiorum  est  comprehendentes."  Liutprandi  Legatio 
apud  Murat.  Scriptor.  Italic,  vol.  ii.  pars  1.  p.  481.  This  degeneracy  of 
manners,  illiterate  barbarians  imputed  to  their  love  of  learning.  Even  after 
they  settled  in  the  countries  which  they  had  conquered,  they  would  not  permit 
their  children  to  be  instructed  in  any  science  ;  "  for,"  said  they,  "  instruction 
in  the  sciences  tends  to  corrupt,  enervate,  and  depress  the  mind ;  and  he  who 
has  been  accustomed  to  tremble  under  the  rod  of  a  pedagogue,  will  never  look 
on  a  sword  or  spear  with  an  undaunted  eye."  Procop.  de  bello  Gothor.  lib.  i.  p. 
4.  ap.  Scrip.  Byz.  edit.  Vennet.  vol.  i.  A  considerable  number  of  years  elapsed, 
before  nations  so  rude,  and  so  unwilling  to  learn,  could  produce  historians 
capable  of  recording  their  transactions,  or  of  describing  their  manners  and  in- 
stitutions. By  that  time,  the  memory  of  their  ancient  condition  was  in  a  great 
measure  lost,  and  few  monuments  remained  to  guide  their  first  writers  to  any 
certain  knowledge  of  it.  If  one  expects  to  receive  any  satisfactory  account  of 
the  manners  and  laws  of  the  Goths,  Lombards,  or  Franks,  during  their  residence 
in  those  countries  where  they  were  originally  seated,  from  Jornandes,  Paulus 
Warnefridus,  or  Gregory  of  Tours,  the  earliest  and  most  authentic  historians 
of  these  people,  he  will  be  miserably  disappointed.  Whatever  imperfect  know- 
ledge has  been  conveyed  to  us  of  their  ancient  state,  we  owe  not  to  their  own- 
writers,  but  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  historians. 

Note  [3].  Page  8. 

A  circumstance,  related  by  Priscus  in  his  history  of  the  embassy  to  Attila; 
king  of  the  Huns,  gives  a  striking  view  of  the  enthusiastic  passion  for  war  which 
prevailed  among  the  barbarous  nations.  When  the  entertainment,  to  which 
that  fierce  conqueror  admitted  the  Roman  ambassadors,  was  ended,  two  Scy- 
thians advanced  towards  Attila,  and  recited  a  poem  in  which  they  celebrated 
his  victories  and  military  virtues.  All  the  Huns  fixed  their  eyes  with  attention 
on  the  bards.  Some  seemed  to  be  delighted  with  the  verses  ;  others,  remember- 
ing their  own  battles  and  exploits,  exulted  with  joy;  while  such  as  were  become 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  501 

feeble  through  age,  burst  into  tears,  bewailing  the  decay  of  their  vigour,  and 
the  state  of  inactivity  in  which  they  were  now  obliged  to  remain.  Excerpta 
ex  historia  Prisci  Rhetoris  ap.  Byzant.  Histor.  Script,  vol.  i.  p.  45. 

Note  [4].  Page  11. 

A  remarkable  confirmation  of  both  parts  of  this  reasoning  occurs  in  the 
history  of  England.  The  Saxons  carried  on  the  conquest  of  that  country, 
with  the  same  destructive  spirit  which  distinguished  the  other  barbarous  na- 
tions. The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Britain  were  either  exterminated,  or  forced 
to  take  shelter  among  the  mountains  of  Wales,  or  reduced  to  servitude.  The 
Saxon  government,  laws,  manners  and  language  were  of  consequence  intro- 
duced into  Britain  ;  and  were  so  perfectly  established,  that  all  memory  of  the 
institutions  previous  to  their  conquest  of  the  country,  was  in  a  great  measure 
lost.  The  very  reverse  of  this  happened  in  a  subsequent  revolution.  A  single 
victory  placed  William  the  Norman  on  the  throne  of  England.  The  Saxon 
inhabitants,  though  oppressed,  were  not  exterminated.  William  employed  the 
utmost  efforts  of  his  power  and  policy  to  make  his  new  subjects  conform  in 
every  thing  to  the  Norman  standard,  but  without  success.  The  Saxons,  though 
vanquished,  were  far  more  numerous  than  their  conquerors  ;  when  the  two 
races  began  to  incorporate,  the  Saxon  laws  and  manners  gradually  gained 
ground.  The  Norman  institutions  became  unpopular  and  odious  ;  many  of 
them  fell  into  disuse,  and  in  the  English  constitution  and  language,  at  this  day, 
many  essential  parts  are  manifestly  of  Saxon,  not  of  Norman  extraction. 

Note  [5].  Page  11. 

Procopius,  the  historian,  declines,  from  a  principle  of  benevolence,  to  give 
any  particular  detail  of  the  cruelties  of  the  Goths  :  "  Lest,'1  says  he,  lk  I  should 
transmit  a  monument  and  example  of  inhumanity  to  succeeding  ages."  Proc. 
de  bello  Goth.  lib.  iii.  cap.  10.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  i.  p.  126.  But  as  the  change, 
which  I  have  pointed  out  as  a  consequence  of  the  settlement  of  the  barbarous 
nations  in  the  countries  formerly  subject  to  the  Roman  empire,  could  not  have 
taken  place,  if  the  greater  part  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  had  not  been  extir- 
pated, an  event  of  such  importance  and  influence  merits  a  more  particular 
illustration.  This  will  justify  me  for  exhibiting  some  part  of  that  melancholy 
spectacle,  over  which  humanity  prompted  Procopius  to  draw  a  veil.  I  shall 
not,  however,  disgust  my  readers  by  a  minute  narration  ;  but  rest  satisfied  with 
collecting  some  instances  of  the  devastations  made  by  two  of  the  many  nations 
which  settled  in  the  empire.  The  Vandals  were  the  first  of  the  barbarians  who 
invaded  Spain.  It  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  populous  of  the  Roman 
provinces ;  the  inhabitants  had  been  distinguished  for  courage,  and  had  defended 
their  liberty  against  the  arms  of  Rome,  with  greater  obstinacy  and  during  a 
longer  course  of  years,  than  any  nation  in  Europe.  But  so  entirely  were  they 
enervated  by  their  subjection  to  the  Romans,  that  the  Vandals,  who  entered 
the  kingdom,  A.  D.  409,  completed  the  conquest  of  it  with  such  rapidity,  that 
in  the  year  411,  these  barbarians  divided  it  among  them  by  casting  lots.  The 
desolation  occasioned  by  their  invasion,  is  thus  described  by  Idatius  an  eye- 
witness :  "  The  barbarians  wasted  every  thing  with  hostile  cruelty.  The  pesti- 
lence was  no  less  destructive.  A  dreadful  famine  raged,  to  such  a  degree,  that 
the  living  were  constrained  to  feed  on  the  dead  bodies  of  their  fellow-citizens ; 
and  all  those  terrible  plagues  desolated  at  once  the  unhappy  kingdoms.'"  Idatii 
Chron.  ap.  Biblioth.  Patr  n.  vol.  vii.  p.  1233.  edit.  Ludg.  1677.  The  Goths 
having  attacked  the  Vand  !=;  in  their  new  settlements  a  fierce  war  ensued  ;  the 
country  was  plundered  by  >oth  parties;  the  cities  which  had  escaped  from  de- 
struction in  the  first  invasion  of  the  Vandals,  were  now  laid  in  ashes,  and  the 
inhabitants  exposed  to  suffer  every  thing  that  the  wanton  cruelty  of  barbarians 
could  inflict.  Idatius  describes  these  scenes  of  inhumanity,  ibid.  p.  1235.  b. 
1236.  c.  f.  A  similar  account  of  their  devastation  is  given  by  Isidorus  Hispa- 
lensis,  and  other  contemporary  writers.  Isid.  Chron.  ap.  Grot.  hist.  Goth.  732. 
From  Spain  the  Vandals  passed  over  into  Africa,  A.  D.  428.  Africa  was,  next 
to  Egypt,  the  most  fertile  of  the  Roman  provinces.  It  ■  as  one  of  the  grana- 
ries of  the  empire,  and  is  called  by  an  ancient  writer  the  soul  of  the  common- 
wealth.    Though  the  army  with  which  the  Vandals  invaded  it  Hid  not  exceed 


502  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

,  30,000  fighting  men,  they  became  absolute  masters  of  the  province  in  less  than 
two  years.  A  contemporary  author  gives  a  dreadful  account  of  the  havoc  which 
they  made  :  "  They  found  a  province  well  cultivated,  and  enjoying  plenty,  the 
beauty  of  the  whole  earth.  They  carried  their  destructive  arms  into  every 
corner  of  it ;  they  dispeopled  it  by  their  devastations ;  exterminating  every 
thing  with  fire  and  sword.  They  did  not  even  spare  the  vines  and  fruit  trees, 
that  those  to  whom  caves  and  inaccessible  mountains  had  afforded  a  r-  •  cat, 
might  find  no  nourishment  of  any  kind.  Their  hostile  rage  could  not  >>e  sa- 
tiated, and  there  was  no  place  exempted  from  the  effects  of  it.  They  tortured 
their  prisoners  with  the  most  exquisite  cruelty,  that  they  might  force  from  them 
a  discovery  of  their  hidden  treasures.  The  more  they  discovered  the  more 
they  expected,  and  the  more  implacable  they  became.  Neither  the  infirmities 
of  age  nor  of  sex  ;  neither  the  dignity  of  nobility,  nor  the  sanctity  of  the 
sacerdotal  office,  could  mitigate  their  fury  ;  but  the  more  illustrious  their 
prisoners  were,  the  more  barbarously  they  insulted  them.  The  public  build- 
ings which  resisted  the  violence  of  the  flames,  they  levelled  with  the  ground. 
They  left  many  cities  without  an  inhabitant.  VVhen  they  approached  any 
fortified  place,  which  their  undisciplined  army  could  not  reduce,  they  gathered 
together  a  multitude  of  prisoners,  and  putting  them  to  the  sword,  left  their 
bodies  unburied,  that  the  stench  of  the  carcasses  might  oblige  the  garrison  to 
abandon  it."  Victor  Vitensis  de  persecutione  Africana,  ap.  Jhbl.  Patrum, 
vol.  viii.  p.  666.  St.  Augustin,  an  African,  who  survived  the  conquest  of  his 
country  by  the  Vandals  some  years,  gives  a  similar  description  of  their  cruelties, 
Opera,  vol.  x.  p.  372.  edit.  1616. — About  a  hundred  years  after  the  settlement 
of  the  Vandals  in  Africa,  Belisarius  attacked  and  dispossessed  them.  Pro- 
copius,  a  contemporary  historian,  describes  the  devastation  which  that  war  oc- 
casioned. "  Africa,"  says  he,  "  was  so  entirely  dispeopled  that  one  might 
travel  several  days  in  it  without  meeting  one  man  ;  and  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say,  that  in  the  course  of  the  war  five  millions  of  persons  perished !  Proc. 
Hist.  Arcana,  cap.  18.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  i.  315. — I  have  dwelt  longer  upon  the 
calamities  of  this  province,  because  they  are  described  not  only  by  contempo- 
rary authors,  but  by  eye-witnesses.  The  present  state  of  Africa  confirms  their 
testimony.  Many  of  the  most  flourishing  and  populous  cities  with  which  it 
was  filled,  were  so  entirely  *uined,  that  no  vestiges  remain  to  point  out  where 
they  were  situated.  That  fertile  territory  which  sustained  the  Roman  empire, 
still  lies  in  a  great  measure  uncultivated  ;  and  that  province,  which  Victor,  in 
his  barbarous  Latin,  called  Speciositas  totius  terra  flortntis,  is  now  the  retreat  of 
pirates  and  banditti. 

While  the  Vandals  laid  waste  a  great  part  of  the  empire,  the  Huns  desolated 
the  remainder.  Of  all  the  barbarous  tribes  they  were  the  fiercest  and  most 
formidable.  Ammianus  Marcelhnus,  a  contemporary  author,  and  one  of  the 
best  of  the  later  historians,  gives  an  account  of  their  policy  and  manners ; 
which  nearly  resembled  those  of  the  Scythians  described  by  the  ancients,  and 
of  the  Tartars  known  to  the  moderns.  Some  parts  of  their  character,  and 
several  of  their  customs  are  not  unlike  those  of  the  Savages  in  North  America. 
Their  passion  for  war  was  extreme.  "  As  in  polished  societies"  says  Am- 
mianus, "  ease  and  tranquillity  are  courted,  they  delight  in  war  and  dangers. 
He  who  falls  in  battle  is  reckoned  happy.  They  who  die  of  old  age  or  of  dis- 
ease are  deemed  infamous.  They  boast,  with  the  utmost  exultation,  of  the 
number  of  enemies  whom  they  have  slain,  and,  as  the  most  glorious  of  all 
ornaments,  they  fasten  the  scalps  of  those  who  have  fallen  by  their  hands  to 
the  trappings  of  their  horses."  Ammian.  Marc.  lib.  xxxi.  p.  477.  edit.  Gronov. 
Lugd.  1693. — Their  incursions  into  the  empire  began  in  the  fourth  century  ; 
and  the  Romans,  though  no  strangers,  by  that  time,  to  the  effects  of  barbarous 
rage,  were  astonished  at  the  cruelty  of  their  devastations.  Thrace,  Pannonia. 
and  Illyricum,  were  the  countries  which  they  first  laid  desolate.  As  they  had 
at  first  no  intention  of  settling  in  Europe,  they  made  only  inroads  of  short  con- 
tinuance into  the  empire,  but  these  were  frequent,  and  Procopius  computes 
that  in  each  of  these,  at  a  medium,  two  hundred  thousand  persons  perished, 
or  were  carried  off  as  slaves.  Procop.  Hist.  Arcan.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  i.  316. 
Thrace,  the  best  cultivated  province  in  that  quarter  of  the  empire,  was  con - 
verted  into  a  desert,  and.  when  Prisons  accompanied   the  ambassadors  sent  to 


P  HOOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  603 

Attila,  there  were  no  inhabitants  in  some  of  the  cities  but  a  few  miserable  peo- 
ple who  had  taken  shelter  among  the  ruins  of  the  churches ;  and  the  fields 
were  covered  with  the  bones  of  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  sword.  Priscus 
ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  i.  34.  Attila  became  king  of  the  Huns,  A.  D.  434.  He  is 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  enterprising  conquerors  mentioned  in  history.  He 
extended  his  empire  over  all  the  vast  countries  comprehended  under  the  gene- 
ral names  of  Scythia  and  Germany  in  the  ancient  division  of  the  world. 
While  he  was  carrying  on  his  wars  against  the  barbarous  nations,  he  kept  the 
Roman  empire  under  perpetual  apprehensions,  and  extorted  enormous  subsi- 
dies from  the  timid  and  effeminate  monarchs  who  governed  it.  In  the  year 
451,  he  entered  Gaul,  at  the  head  of  an  army  composed  of  all  the  various 
nations  which  he  had  subdued.  It  was  more  numerous  than  any  with  which 
the  barbarians  had  hitherto  invaded  the  empire.  The  devastations  which  he 
committed  were  horrible;  not.  only  the  open  country,  but  the  most  flourishing 
cities,  were  desolated.  The  extent  and  cruelty  of  his  devastations  are  de- 
scribed by  Salvianus  de  Gubernat.  Dei,  edit.  Baluz.  Par.  1669.  p.  139,  &c.  and 
by  Idatius,  ubi  supra,  p.  1235.  Aetius  put  a  stop  to  his  progress  in  that  country 
by  the  famous  battle  of  Chalons,  in  which,  (if  we  may  believe  the  historians 
of  that  age)  three  hundred  thousand  persons  perished.  Jdat.  Ibid.  Jornandes 
de  Rebus  Geticis.  ap.  Grot.  Hist.  Gothr.  p.  671.  Amst.  1665.  But  the  next 
year  he  resolved  to  attack  the  centre  of  the  empire,  and  marching  into  Italy, 
wasted  it  with  rage,  inflamed  by  the  sense  of  his  late  disgrace.  What  Italy 
suffered  by  the  Huns,  exceeded  all  the  calamities  which  the  preceding  bar- 
barians had  brought  upon  it.  Conringius  has  collected  several  passages  from 
the  ancient  historians,  which  prove  that  the  devastations  committed  by  the 
Vandals  and  Huns,  in  the  countries  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  were 
no  less  cruel  and  fatal  to  the  human  race.  Exercitatio  de  urbibus  Germaniaa, 
Opera,  vol.  i.  488.  It  is  endless,  it  is  shocking,  to  follow  these  destroyers  of 
mankind  through  so  many  scenes  of  horror,  and  to  contemplate  the  havoc 
which  they  made  of  the  human  species. 

But  the  state  in  which  Italy  appears  to  have  been,  during  several  ages  after 
the  barbarous  nations  settled  in  it,  is  the  most  decisive  proof  of  the  cruelty  as 
well  as  extent  of  their  devastations.  Whenever  any  country  is  thinly  inhabited, 
trees  and  shrubs  spring  up  in  the  uncultivated  fields,  and  spreading  by  degrees, 
form  large  forests ;  by  the  overflowing  of  rivers,  and  the  stagnating  of  waters, 
other  parts  of  it  are  converted  into  lakes  and  marshes.  Ancient  Italy,  which 
the  Romans  rendered  the  seat  of  elegance  and  luxury,  was  cultivated  to  the 
highest  pitch.  But  so  effectually  did  the  devastations  of  the  barbarians  destroy 
all  the  effects  of  Roman  industry  and  cultivation,  that  in  the  eighth  century  a 
considerable  part  of  Italy  appears  to  have  been  covered  with  forests  and 
marshes  of  great  extent.  Muratori  enters  into  a  minute  detail  concerning  the 
situation  and  limits  of  several  of  these  ;  and  proves  by  the  most  authentic 
evidence,  that  great  tracts  of  territory,  in  all  the  different  provinces  of  Italy, 
were  either  overrun  with  wood,  or  laid  under  water.  Nor  did  these  occupy 
parts  of  the  country  naturally  barren  or  of  little  value,  but  were  spread  over 
districts  which  ancient  writers  represent  as  extremely  fertile,  and  which  at 
present  are  highly  cultivated.  Muratori  Antiquitates  Italics  medii  aevi,  dissert. 
xxi.  v.  ii.  p.  149.  153,  &c.  A  strong  proof  of  this  occurs  in  a  description  of  the 
city  of  Modena,  by  an  author  of  the  tenth  century.  Murat.  Script.  Rerum 
Italic,  vol.  ii.  pars  ii.  p.  691.  The  state  of  desolation  in  other  countries  of 
Europe  seems  to  have  been  the  same.  In  many  of  the  most  early  charters 
now  extant,  the  lands  granted  to  monasteries,  or  to  private  persons,  are  dis- 
tinguished into  such  as  are  cultivated  or  inhabited,  and  such  as  were  eremi, 
desolate.  In  many  instances,  lands  are  granted  to  persons  because  they  had 
taken  them  from  the  desert,  ab  eremo,  and  had  cultivated  and  planted  them 
with  inhabitants.  This  appears  from  a  charter  of  Charlemagne,  published  by 
Eckhart  de  Rebus  Francise  Orientalis,  vol.  ii.  p.  864,  and  from  many  charters 
of  his  successors  quoted  by  Uu  Cange,  voc.  eremus. — Wherever  a  right  of  pro- 
perty in  land  can  be  thus  acquired,  it  is  evident  that  the  country  must  be  ex- 
tremely desolate  and  thinly  peopled.  The  first  settlers  in  America  obtained 
possession  of  land  by  such  a  title.  Whoever  was  able  to  clear  and  cultivate  a 
field,  wns  recognised  as  the  proprietor.     His  industry  merited  such  a  rccom- 


5U4  PKOOFS   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

pense.  The  grants  in  the  charters  which  I  have  mentioned  flow  from  a  similar 
principle,  and  there  must  have  been  some  resemblance  in  the  state  of  the 
countries. 

Muratori  adds,  that  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  Italy  was  greatly 
infested  with  wolves  and  other  wild  beasts  ;  another  mark  of  its  being  destitute 
of  inhabitants.  Murat.  Antiq.  vol.  ii.  p.  163.  Thus  Italy,  the  pride  of  the 
ancient  world  for  its  fertility  and  cultivation,  was  reduced  to  the  state  of  a 
country  newly  peopled  and  lately  rendered  habitable. 

I  am  sensible,  not  only  that  some  of  these  descriptions  of  the  devastations, 
which  I  have  quoted,  may  be  exaggerated,  but  that  the  barbarous  tribes,  in 
making  their  settlements,  did  not  proceed  invariably  in  the  same  manner. 
Some  of  them  seemed  to  be  bent  on  exterminating  the  ancient  inhabitants  ; 
others  were  more  disposed  to  incorporate  with  them.  It  is  not  my  province 
either  to  inquire  into  the  causes  which  occasioned  this  variety  in  the  conduct 
of  the  conquerors,  or  to  describe  the  state  of  those  countries  where  the  ancient 
inhabitants  were  treated  most  mildly.  The  facts  which  I  have  produced  are 
sufficient  to  justify  the  account  which  I  have  given  in  the  text,  and  to  prove, 
that  the  destruction  of  the  human  species,  occasioned  by  the  hostile  invasions 
of  the  northern  nations  and  their  subsequent  settlements,  was  much  greater 
than  many  authors  seem  to  imagine. 

Note  [6].  Page  12. 

I  have  observed,  Note  [2.]  that  our  only  certain  information  concerning  the 
ancient  state  of  the  barbarous  nations  must  be  derived  from  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers.  Happily  an  account  of  the  institutions  and  customs  of  one 
people,  to  which  those  of  all  the  rest  seem  to  have  been  in  a  great  measure 
similar,  has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  two  authors,  the  most  capable,  perhaps, 
that  ever  wrote,  of  observing  them  with  profound  discernment,  and  of  describ- 
ing them  with  propriety  and  force.  The  reader  must  perceive  that  Caesar  and 
Tacitus  are  the  authors  whom  I  have  in  view.  The  former  gives  a  short  ac- 
count of  the  ancient  Germans  in  a  few  chapters  of  the  sixth  book  of  his  Com- 
mentaries ;  the  latter  wrote  a  treatise  expressly  on  that  subject.  These  are  the 
most  precious  and  instructive  monuments  of  antiquity  to  the  present  inhabitants 
of  Europe.     From  them  we  learn, 

1.  That  the  state  of  society  among  the  ancient  Germans  was  of  the  rudest 
a>nd  most  simple  form.  They  subsisted  entirely  by  hunting  or  by  pasturage. 
Caes.  lib.  vi.  c.  21.  They  neglected  agriculture,  and  lived  chiefly  on  milk, 
cheese,  and  flesh.  Ibid.  c.  22.  Tacitus  agrees  with  him  in  most  of  these 
points.  De  Morib.  Germ.  c.  14, 15.  23.  The  Goths  were  equally  negligent  of 
agriculture.  Prise.  Rhet.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  v.  i.  p.  31.  B.  Society  was  in  the 
same  state  among  the  Huns,  who  disdained  to  cultivate  the  earth,  or  to  touch 
a  plough.  Aram.  Marcel,  lib.  xxxi.  p.  475.  The  same  manners  took  place 
among  the  Alans;  ibid.  p.  477.  While  society  remains  in  this  simple  state,  men 
by  uniting  together  scarcely  relinquish  any  portion  of  their  natural  independ- 
ence. Accordingly  we  are  informed,  2.  That  the  authority  of  civil  government 
was  extremely  limited  among  the  Germans.  During  times  of  peace  they  had 
no  common  or  fixed  magistrate,  but  the  chief  men  of  every  district  dispensed 
justice  and  accommodated  differences,  Cass.  ibid.  c.  23.  Their  kings  had  not 
absolute  or  unbounded  power  ;  their  authority  consisted  rather  in  the  privilege 
of  advising,  than  in  the  power  of  commanding.  Matters  of  small  consequence 
were  determined  by  the  chief  men  ;  affairs  of  importance  by  the  whole  com- 
munity. Tacit,  c.  7.  11.  The  Huns,  in  like  manner,  deliberated  in  common 
concerning  every  business  of  moment  to  the  society  ;  and  were  not  subject  to 
the  rigour  of  regal  authority.  Amm.  Marcel,  lib.  xxxi.  p.  474.  3.  Every  in- 
dividual among  the  ancient  Germans  was  left  at  liberty  to  choose  whether  he 
would  take  part  in  any  military  enterprise  which  was  proposed  ;  there  seems  to 
have  been  no  obligation  to  engage  in  it  imposed  on  him  by  public  authority. 
"  When  any  of  the  chief  men  propose  an  expedition,  such  as  approve  of  the 
cause  and  of  the  leader  rise  up,  and  declare  their  intention  of  following  him  ; 
after  coming  under  this  engagement,  those  who  do  not  fulfil  it,  are  considered 
as  deserters  and  traitors,  and  are  looked  upon  as  infamous."  Caes.  ibid.  c.  23. 
Tacitus  plainly  points  at  the  same,  custom,  though   in  terms  more  obscurr-. 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  505 

Tacit,  c.  11.  4.  As  every  individual  was  so  independent,  and  master  in  so 
great  a  degree  of  his  own  actions,  it  became  of  consequence,  the  great  object 
of  every  person  among  the  Germans,  who  aimed  at  being  a  leader,  to  gain  ad- 
herents and  attach  them  to  his  person  and  interest.  These  adherents  Caesar 
calls  Ambacti  and  Clientes,  i.  e.  retainers  or  clients  ;  Tacitus,  Comites,  or  com- 
panions. The  chief  distinction  and  power  of  the  leaders  consisted  in  being 
attended  by  a  numerous  band  of  chosen  youth.  This  was  their  pride  as  well 
as  ornament  during  peace  and  their  defence  in  war.  The  leaders  gained  or 
preserved  the  favour  of  theso  retainers  by  presents  of  armour  and  of  horses ; 
or  by  the  profuse  though  inelegant  hospitality  with  which  ihey  entertained 
them.  Tacit,  c.  14,  15.  5.  Another  consequenco  of  the  personal  liberty  and 
independence  which  the  Germans  retained,  even  after  they  united  in  society, 
was  their  circumscribing  the  criminal  jurisdiction  of  the  magistrate  within  very 
narrow  limits,  and  their  not  only  claiming  but  exercising  almost  all  the  rights 
of  private  resentment  and  revenge.  Their  magistrates  had  not  the  power  either 
of  imprisoning  or  of  inflicting  any  corporal  punishment  on  a  free  man. 
Tacit,  c.  7.  Every  person  was  obliged  to  avenge  the  wrongs  which  his  parents 
or  friends  had  sustained.  Their  enemies  were  hereditary,  but  not  irreconcilable. 
Even  murder  was  compensated  by  paying  a  certain  number  of  cattle.  Tacit. 
c.  21.  A  part  of  the  fine  went  to  the  king,  or  state,  a  part  to  the  person  who 
had  been  injured,  or  to  his  kindred.     Ibid.  c.  12. 

ThoBe  particulars  concerning  the  institutions  and  manners  of  the  Germans, 
though  well  known  to  every  person  conversant  in  ancient  literature,  I  have 
thought  proper  to  arrange  in  this  order,  and  to  lay  before  such  of  my  readers  as 
may  be  less  acquainted  with  these  facts,  both  because  they  confirm  the  account 
which  I  have  given  of  the  state  of  the  barbarous  nations,  and  because  they  tend 
to  illustrate  all  the  observations  I  shall  have  occasion  to  make  concerning  the 
various  changes  in  their  government  and  customs.  The  laws  and  customs  in- 
troduced by  the  barbarous  nations  into  their  new  settlements,  are  the  best  com- 
mentary on  the  writings  of  Caesar  and  Tacitus  ;  and  their  observations  are  the 
best  key  to  a  perfect  knowledge  of  these  laws  and  customs. 

One  circumstance,  with  respect  to  the  testimony  of  Caesar  and  Tacitus,  con- 
cerning the  Germans,  merits  attention.  Caesar  wrote  his  brief  account  of  their 
manners  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  Tacitus  composed  his  treatise  De 
Moribus  Germanorum.  A  hundred  years  make  a  considerable  period  in  the 
progress  of  national  manners,  especially  if,  during  that  time,  those  people  who 
are  rude  and  unpolished  have  had  much  communication  with  more  civilized 
states.  This  was  the  case  with  the  Germans.  Their  intercourse  with  the 
Romans  began  when  Caesar  crossed  the  Rhine,  and  increased  greatly  during 
the  interval  between  that  event  and  the  time  when  Tacitus  flourished.  We 
may  accordingly  observe,  that  the  manners  of  the  Germans,  in  his  time,  which 
Caesar  describes,  were  less  improved  than  those  of  the  same  people  as  delineated 
by  Tacitus.  Besides  this,  it  is  remarkable  that  there  was  a  considerable  differ- 
ence in  the  state  of  society  among  the  different  tribes  of  Germans.  The  Sui- 
ones  were  so  much  improved,  that  they  began  to  be  corrupted.  Tac.  cap.  44. 
The  Fenni  were  so  barbarous,  that  it  is  wonderful  how  they  were  able  to  sub- 
sist. Ibid.  cap.  46.  Whoever  undertakes  to  describe  the  manners  of  the  Ger- 
mans, or  to  found  any  political  theory  upon  the  state  of  society  among  them, 
ought  carefully  to  attend  to  both  these  circumstances. 

Before  I  quit  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  though 
successive  alterations  in  their  institutions,  together  with  the  gradual  progress  of 
refinement,  have  made  an  entire  change  in  the  manners  of  the  various  people 
who  conquered  the  Roman  empire,  there  is  still  one  race  of  men  nearly  in  the 
same  political  situation  with  theirs,  when  they  first  settled  in  their  new  con- 
quests;  I  mean  the  various  tribes  and  nations  of  savages  in  North  America. 
It  cannot  then  be  considered  either  as  a  digression,  or  as  an  improper  indul- 
gence of  curiosity,  to  inquire  whether  this  similarity  in  their  politieal  state  has 
occasioned  any  resemblance  between  their  character  and  manners.  If  the 
likeness  turns  out  to  be  striking,  it  is  a  stronger  proof  that  a  just  account  has 
been  given  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Europe,  than  the  testimony  even  of 
Caesar  or  Tacitus.  • 

1.  The    Americans   subsist  chieflv  bv  hunting  and  fishing.     Some   tribe* 

Vol.  H.— 64 


506  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

negloct  agriculture  entirely.  Among  those  who  cultivate  some  small  spot  near 
their  huts,  that,  together  with  all  works  of  labour,  is  performed  by  the  women. 
P.  Charlevoix  Journal  Historique  d'un  Voyage  de  l'Amerique,  4to.  Par.  1774. 
p.  334.  In  such  a  state  of  society,  the  common  wants  of  men  being  few,  and 
their  mutual  dependence  upon  each  other  small,  their  union  is  extremely  im- 
perfect and  feeble,  and  they  continue  to  enjoy  their  natural  liberty  almost  un- 
impaired. It  is  the  first  idea  of  an  American,  that  every  man  is  born  free  and 
independent,  and  that  no  power  on  earth  hath  any  right  to  diminish  or  circum- 
scribe his  natural  liberty.  There  is  hardly  any  appearance  of  subordination 
either  in  civil  or  domestic  government.  Every  one  does  what  he  pleases.  A 
father  and  mother  live  with  their  children,  like  persons  whom  chance  has 
brought  together,  and  whom  no  common  bond  unites.  Their  manner  of  edu- 
cating their  children  is  suitable  to  this  principle.  They  never  chastise  or  punish 
them,  even  during  their  infancy.  As  they  advance  in  years,  they  continue  to 
be  entirely  masters  of  their  own  actions,  and  seem  not  to  be  conscious  of  being 

responsible  for  any  part  of  their  conduct.     Id.  p.  272,  273. 2.  The  power 

of  their  civil  magistrates  is  extremely  limited.  Among  most  of  their  tribes, 
the  sachem  or  chief  is  elective.  A  council  of  old  men  is  chosen  to  assist  him, 
without  whose  advice  he  determines  no  affair  of  importance.  The  sachems 
neither  possess  nor  claim  any  great  degree  of  authority.  They  propose  and 
entreat,  rather  than  command.     The  obedience  of  their  people  is  altogether 

voluntary.     Ibid.  p.  266.  268. 3.  The  savages  of  America  engage  in   their 

military  enterprises,  not  from  constraint,  but  choice.  When  war  is  resolved, 
a  chief  arises,  and  offers  himself  to  be  the  leader.  Such  as  are  willing  (for 
they  compel  no  person)  stand  up  one  after  another,  and  sing  their  war  song. 
But  if,  after  this,  any  of  these  should  refuse  to  follow  the  leader  to  whom  they 
have  engaged,  his  lite  would  be  in  danger,  and  he  would  be  considered  as  the 

most  infamous  of  men.     Id.  p.  217,  218. 4.  Such  as  engage  to  follow  any 

leader,  expect  to  be  treated  by  him  with  great  attention  and  respect ;  and  he  is 

obliged  to  make  them  presents  of  considerable  value.     Id.  p.  218. 5.  Among 

the  Americans,  the  magistrate  has  scarcely  any  criminal  jurisdiction.  Ibid.  p. 
272.  Upon  receiving  any  injury,  the  person  or  family  offended  may  inflict 
what  punishment  they  please  on  the  person  who  was  the  author  of  it.  Ibid, 
p.  274.  Their  resentment  and  desire  of  vengeance  are  excessive  and  implacable. 
Tune  can  neither  extinguish  «or  abate  it.  It  is  the  chief  inheritance  parents 
leave  to  their  children  ;  it  is  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  until  an 
occasion  be  found  of  satisfying  it.  Ibid.  p.  309.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
offended  party  is  appeased.  A  compensation  is  paid  for  a  murder  that  has 
heen  committed.  The  relations  of  the  deceased  receive  it ;  and  it  consists  most 
commonly  of  a  captive  taken  in  war,  who,  being  substituted  in  place  of  the 
person  who  was  murdered,  assumes  his  name,  and  is  adopted  into  his  family. 
Ibid.  p.  274.  The  resemblance  holds  in  many  other  particulars.  It  is  sufficient 
for  my  purpose  to  have  pointed  out  the  similarity  of  those  great  features  which 
distinguish  and  characterize  both  people.  Bochart,  and  other  philologists  of 
the  last  century,  who,  with  more  erudition  than  science,  endeavoured  to  trace 
the  migration  of  various  nations,  and  who  were  apt,  upon  the  slightest  ap- 
pearance of  resemblance,  to  find  an  affinity  between  nations  far  removed  from 
each  other,  and  to  conclude  that  they  were  descended  from  the  same  ancestors, 
would  hardly  have  failed,  on  viewing  such  an  amazing  similarity,  to  pronounce 
with  confidence,  "  That  the  Germans  and  Americans  must  be  the  same  people." 
But  a  philosopher  will  satisfy  himself  with  observing,  "  That  the  characters  of 
nations  depend  on  the  state  of  society  in  which  they  live,  and  on  the  political 
institutions  established  among  them  ;  and  that  the  human  mind,  whenever  it  is 
placed  in  the  same  situation,  will,  in  ages  the  most  distant,  and  in  countries 
the  most  remote,  assume  the  same  form,  and  be  distinguished  by  the  same 
manners." 

I  have  pushed  the  comparison  between  the  Germans  and  Americans  no  far- 
ther than  was  necessary  for  the  illustration  of  my  subject.  I  do  not  pretend 
that  the  state  of  society  in  the  two  countries  was  perfectly  similar  in  every 
respect.  Many  of  the  German  tribes  were  more  civilized  than  the  Americans. 
Some  of  them  were  not  unacquainted  with  agriculture  ;  almost  all  of  them 
had  flocks  of  tame  cattle,  and  depended  upon  them  for  the  chief  part  of  their 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  597 

subsistence.  Most  of  the  American  tribes  subsist  by  hunting,  and  are  in  a 
ruder  and  more  simple  state  than  the  ancient  Germans.  The  resemblance, 
however,  between  their  condition,  is  greater,  perhaps,  than  any  that  history 
affords  an  opportunity  of  observing  between  any  two  races  of  uncivilized  peo- 
ple, and  this  has  produced  a  surprising  similarity  of  manners. 

Note  [7],  Page  12. 

The  booty  gained  by  an  army  belonged  to  the  army.  The  king  himself  had 
no  part  of  it  but  what  he  acquired  by  lot.  A  remarkable  instance  ot'  this  oc- 
curs in  the  history  of  the  Franks.  The  army  ot  (  lovis,  the  founder  ot  the 
Frencli  monarchy,  having  plundered  a  church,  carried  off,  among  other  sacred 
utensils,  a  vase  of  extraordinary  size  and  bcauiy.  The  bishop  sent  deputies 
to  Clovis,  beseeching  him  to  restore  the  vase,  that  it  might  be  again  employed 
in  the  sacred  services  to  which  it  had  been  consecrated.  Clovis  desired  the 
deputies  to  follow  him  to  Soissons,  as  the  booty  was  to  be  divided  in  that 
place,  and  promised,  that  if  the  lot  should  give  him  the  disposal  of  the  vase, 
he  would  grant  what  the  bishop  desired.  When  he  came  to  Soissons,  and  all 
the  booty  was  placed  in  one  great  heap,  in  the  middle  of  the  army,  Clovis  en- 
treated, that  before  making  the  division,  they  would  give  him  that  vase  over 
and  above  his  share.  All  appeared  willing  to  gratify  the  king,  and  to  comply 
with  his  request,  when  a  fierce  and  haughty  soldier  lifted  up  his  battle-axe,  and 
striking  the  vase  with  the  utmost  .violence,  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  "  You 
shall  receive  nothing  here  but  that  to  which  the  lot  gives  you  a  right."  Gre- 
gor.  Turon.  Histor.  Francorum,  lib.  ii.  c.  27.  p.  70.  Par.  1610. 

Note  [8].  Page  13. 

The  history  of  the  establishment  and  progress  of  the  feudal  system  is  an 
interesting  object  to  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  In  some  countries,  their  juris- 
prudence and  laws  are  still  in  a  great  measure  feudal.  In  others,  many  forms 
and  practices  established  by  custom,  or  founded  on  statutes,  took  their  rise 
from  the  feudal  law,  and  cannot  be  understood  without  attending  to  the  ideas 
peculiar  to  it.  Several  authors  of  the  highest  reputation  for  genius  and  erudi- 
tion, have  endeavoured  to  illustrate  this  subject,  but  still  many  parts  of  it  are 
obscure.  I  shall  endeavour  to  trace,  with  precision,  the  progress  and  variation 
of  ideas  concerning  property  in  land  among  the  barbarous  nations;  and  shall 
attempt  to  point  out  the  causes  which  introduced  these  changes,  as  well  as  the 
effects  which  followed  upon  them.  Property  in  land  seems  to  have  gone  through 
four  successive  changes  among  the  people  who  settled  in  the  various  provinces 
of  the  Roman  empire. 

I.  While  the  barbarous  nations  remained  in  their  original  countries,  their 
property  in  land  was  only  temporary,  and  they  had  no  certain  limits  to  their 
possessions.  After  feeding  their  flocks  in  one  great  district,  they  removed  with 
them,  and  with  their  wives  and  families,  to  another ;  and  abandoned  that  like- 
wise in  a  short  time.  They  were  not,  in  consequence  of  this  imperfect  species 
of  property,  brought  under  any  positive  or  formal  obligation  to  serve  the  com- 
munity ;  all  their  services  were  purely  voluntary.  Every  individual  was  at 
liberty  to  choose  how  far  he  would  contribute  towards  carrying  on  any  military 
enterprise.  If  he  followed  a  leader  in  any  expedition,  it  was  from  attachment, 
not  from  a  sense  of  obligation.  The  clearest  proof  of  this  has  been  produced 
in  Note  [6].  While  property  continued  in  this  state,  we  can  discover  nothing 
that  bears  any  resemblance  to  a  feudal  tenure,  or  to  the  subordination  and 
military  service  which  the  feudal  system  introduced. 

II.  Upon  settling  in  the  countries  which  they  had  subdued,  the  victorious 
troops  divided  the  conquered  lands.  Whatever  portion  of  them  fell  to  a  soldier, 
he  seized  as  the  recompense  due  to  his  valour,  as  a  settlement  acquired  by  hie 
own  sword.  He  took  possession  of  it  as  a  freeman  in  full  property.  He  en- 
joyed it  during  his  own  life,  and  could  dispose  of  it  at  pleasure,  or  transmit  it 
as  an  inheritance  to  his  children.  Thus  property  in  land  became  fixed.  It  was 
at  the  same  time  allodial,  i.  e.  the  possessor  had  the  entire  right  of  property 
and  dominion,  he  held  of  no  sovereign  or  superior  lord,  to  whom  he  9  as  bound 
to  do  homage  and  perform  service.  But  as  these  new  proprietors  were  in  some 
danger  (as  has  been  observed  in  the  text1)  of  being  disturbed  by  the  remainder 


o08  PHOOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

of  the  ancient  inhabitants,  and  in  still  greater  danger  of  being  attacked  by  suc- 
cessive colonies  of  barbarians  as  fierce  and  rapacious  as  themselves,  they  saw 
the  necessity  of  coming  under  obligations  to  defend  the  community,  more  ex- 
plicit than  those  to  which  they  had  been  subject  in  their  original  habitations. 
On  this  account,  immediately  upon  their  fixing  in  their  new  settlements,  every 
freeman  became  bound  to  take  arms  in  defence  of  the  community,  and,  if  he 
refused  or  neglected  so  to  do,  was  liable  to  a  considerable  penalty.  1  do  not 
mean  that  any  contract  of  this  kind  was  formally  concluded,  or  mutually  rati- 
fied by  any  legal  solemnity.  It  was  established  by  tacit  consent,  like  the  other 
compacts  which  hold  society  together.  Their  mutual  security  and  preservation 
made  it  the  interest  of  all  to  recognise  its  authority,  and  to  enforce  the  obser- 
vation of  it.  We  can  trace  back  this  new  obligation  on  the  proprietors  of  land 
to  a  very  early  period  iti  the  history  of  the  Franks.  Chilperic,  who  began  his 
reign  A.  D.  562,  exacted  a  fine,  bannos  jussit  exigi,  from  certain  persons  who 
had  refused  to  accompany  him  in  an  expedition.  Gregor.  Turon.  lib.  v.  c.  26. 
p.  211.  Childebert,  who  began  his  reign  A.  D.  576,  proceeded  in  the  same 
manner  against  others  who  had  been  guilty  of  a  like  crime.  Id.  lib.  vii.  c.  42. 
p.  342.  Such  a  fine  could  not  have  been  exacted  while  property  continued  in 
its  first  state,  and  military  service  was  entirely  voluntary.  Charlemagne  or- 
dained, that  every  freeman  who  possessed  five  mansi,  i.  e.  sixty  acres  of  land 
in  property,  should  march  in  person  against  the  enemy.  Capitul.  A.  D.  807. 
Louis  le  Debonnaire,  A.  D.  815,  granted  lands  to  certain  Spaniards,  who  tied 
from  the  Saracens,  and  allowed  them  to  settle  in  his  territories,  on  condition 
that  they  should  serve  in  the  army  like  other  freemen.  Capitul.  vol.  i.  p.  500. 
By  land  possessed  in  property,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  law  of  Charlemagne, 
we  are  to  understand,  according  to  the  style  of  that  age,  allodial  land  ;  alodes 
and  proprietiis,  alodum  and  proprium  being  words  perfectly  synonymous.  Du 
Cange,  voce  Alodis.  The  clearest  proof  of  the  distinction  between  allodial  and 
beneficiary  possession,  is  contained  in  two  charters  published  by  Muratori,  by 
which  it  appears,  that  a  person  might  possess  one  part  of  his  estate  as  allodial, 
which  he  could  dispose  of  at  pleasure,  the  other  as  a  benejicium,  of  which  he 
had  only  the  usufruct,  the  property  returning  to  the  superior  lord  on  his 
demise.  Antiq.  ltal.  medii  aevi,  vol.  i.  p.  559.  565.  The  same  distinction  is 
pointed  out  in  a  Capitulare_  of  Charlemagne,  A.  D.  812,  edit.  Baluz.  vol.  i. 
p.  491.  Count  Everard,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  in 
the  curious  testament,  by  which  he  disposes  of  his  vast  estate  among  his  chil- 
dren, distinguishes  between  what  he  possessed  proprietute,  and  what  he  held 
benejicio;  and  it  appears  that  the  greater  part  was  allodial,  A.  D.  837.  Aub. 
Mira;i  Opera  Diplomatica,  Lovan.  1723.  vol.  i.  p.  19. 

In  the  same  manner  Liber  homo  is  commonly  opposed  to  Vassus  or  Vassallus  ; 
the  former  denotes  an  allodial  proprietor,  the  latter  one  who  held  of  a  superior. 
These-/rce  men  were  under  an  obligation  to  serve  the  state  ;  and  this  duty  was 
considered  as  so  sacred,  that  freemen  were  prohibited  from  entering  into  holy 
orders  unless  they  had  obtained  the  consent  of  the  sovereign.  The  reason 
given  for  this  in  the  statute  is  remarkable,  "  For  we  are  informed  that  some 
do  so,  not  so  much  out  of  devotion,  as  in  order  to  avoid  that  military  service 
which  they  are  bound  to  perform."  Capitul.  lib.  i.  $  114.  If,  upon  being  sum- 
moned into  the  field,  any  freeman  refused  to  obey,  a  full  Herebannum,  i.  e.  a 
fine  of  sixty  crowns,  was  to  be  exacted  from  him  according  to  the  law-  of  the 
Franks.  Capit.  Car.  Magn.  ap.  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  i.  tit.  14.  i  13.  p.  539.  This 
expression,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Franks,  seems  to  imply,  that  both  the 
obligation  to  serve,  and  the  penalty  on  those  who  disregarded  it,  were  coeval 
with  the  laws  made  by  the  Franks  at  their  first  settlement  in  Gaul.  This  fine 
was  levied  with  such  rigour,  "  That  if  any  person  convicted  of  this  crime  was 
insolvent,  he  was  reduced  to  servitude,  and  continued  in  that  state  until  such 
time  as  his  labour  should  amount  to  the  value  of  the  herebannum.''1  Ibid.  The 
emperor  Lotharius  rendered  the  penalty  still  more  severe  ;  and  if  any  person 
possessing  such  an  extent  of  property  as  made  it  incumbent  on  him  to  take 
the  field  in  person,  refused  to  obey  the  summons,  all  his  goods  were  declared  to 
be  forfeited,  and  he  himself  might  be  punished  with  banishmen..  Murat. 
Script.  Ital.  vol.  i.  pars  ii.  p.  153. 

HI.  Property  in  land  having  thus  become  fixed,  and  subject  to  military  ser- 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  509 

vice,  another  change  was  introduced,  though  slowly,  and  step  by  step.  We 
learn  from  Tacitus,  that  the  chief  men  among  the  Germans  endeavoured  to 
attach  to  their  persons  and  interests  certain  adherents  whom  he  calls  Comiles. 
These  fought  under  their  standard,  and  followed  them  in  all  their  enterprises. 
The  same  custom  continued  among  them  in  their  new  settlements  and  those 
attached  or  devoted  followers  were  called  Jideles,  antrustiones,  homines  in  truste 
Dominica,  leudes.  Tacitus  informs  us,  that  the  rank  of  a  Comes  was  deemed 
honourable  ;  De  Morib.  Germ.  c.  13.  The  composition,  which  is  the  standard 
by  which  we  must  judge  of  the  rank  and  condition  of  persons  in  the  middle 
ages,  paid  for  the  murder  of  one  in  truste  Dominica,  was  triple  to  that  paid  for 
the  murder  of  a  freeman.  Leg.  Salicor.  Tit.  44.  }  1,  2.  While  the  Germans 
remained  in  their  own  country,  they  courted  the  favour,  of  these  Comites,  by 
presents  of  arms  and  horses,  and  by  hospitality.  See  Note  VI.  As  long  as 
they  had  no  fixed  property  in  land,  these  were  the  only  gifts  that  they  could 
bestow,  and  the  only  reward  which  their  followers  desired.  But  upon  their 
settling  in  the  countries  which  they  conquered,  and  when  the  value  of  property 
came  to  be  understood  among  them,  instead  of  those  slight  presents,  the  kings 
and  chieftains  bctowed  a  more  substantial  recompense  in  land  on  their  adhe- 
rents. These  grants  were  called  benejicia,  because  they  were  gratuitous  dona- 
tions ;  and  honores,  because  they  were  regarded  as  marks  of  distinction.  What 
were  the  services  originally  exacted  in  return  for  these  benejicia  cannot  be  de- 
termined with  absolute  precision;  because  there  are  no  records  so  ancient. 
When  allodial  possessions  were  first  rendered  feudal,  they  were  not,  at  once, 
subjected  to  all  the  feudal  services.  The  transition  here,  as  in  all  other  changes 
of  importance,  was  gradual.  As  the  great  object  of  a  feudal  vassal  was  to  ob- 
tain protection,  when  allodial  proprietors  first  consented  to  become  vassals  of 
any  powerful  leader,  they  continued  to  retain  as  much  of  their  ancient  inde- 
pendence as  was  consistent  with  that  new  relation.  The  homage  which  they 
did  to  the  superior  of  whom  they  chose  to  hold,  was  called  homagium  planum, 
and  bound  them  to  nothing  more  than  fidelity,  but  without  any  obligation  either 
of  military  service,  or  attendance  in  the  courts  of  their  superior.  Of  this 
homagium  planum  some  traces,  though  obscure,  may  still  be  discovered.  Brus- 
sel,  torn.  i.  p.  97.  Among  the  ancient  writs  published  by  D.  D.  De  Vic  and 
Vaisette  hist,  de  Lanqued.  are  a  great  many  which  they  call  komagia.  They 
seem  to  be  an  intermediate  step  between  the  homagium  planum  mentioned 
by  Brussel,  and  the  engagement  to  perform  complete  feudal  service.  The 
one  party  promises  protection,  and  grants  certain  castles  or  lands ;  the  other 
engages  to  defend  the  person  of  the  grantor,  and  to  assist  him  likewise  La 
defending  his  property  as  often  as  he  shall  be  summoned  to  do  so.  But 
these  engagements  are  accompanied  with  none  of  the  feudal  formalities,  and 
no  mention  is  made  of  any  of  the  other  feudal  services.  They  appear  rather 
to  be  a  mutual  contract  between  equals,  than  the  engagement  of  a  vassal  to 
perform  services  to  a  superior  lord.  Preuves  de  THist.  de  Lang.  torn.  ii. 
173.  et  passim.  As  soon  as  men  were  accustomed  to  these,  the  other  feudal 
services  were  gradually  introduced.  M.  de  Montosquieu  considers  these 
benejicia  as  fiefs,  which  originally  subjected  those  who  held  them  to  military 
service.  L 'Esprit  des  Loix,  1.  xxx.  c.  3.  16.  M.  TAbbe  de  Mably  contends 
that  such  as  held  these  were  at  first  subjected  to  no  other  service  than  what 
was  incumbent  on  every  freeman.  Observations  sur  THistoire  de  France,  i. 
356.  But,  upon  comparing  their  proofs  and  reasonings  and  conjectures,  it 
seems  to  be  evident,  that  as  every  freeman,  in  consequence  of  his  allodial  pro- 
perty, was  bound  to  serve  the  community  under  a  severe  penalty,  no  good  reason 
can  be  assigned  for  conferring  these  benejicia,  if  they  did  not  subject  such  as 
received  them  to  some  new  obligation.  Why  should  a  king  have  stripped  him- 
self of  his  domain,  if  he  had  not  expected  that,  by  parcelling  it  out,  he  might 
acquire  a  right  to  services,  to  which  he  had  formerly  no  title  ?  We  may  then 
warrantably  conclude,  "  That  as  allodial  pro  erty  subjected  those  who  pos- 
sessed it  to  serve  the  community,  so  benejicia  subjected  such  as  held  them  to 
personal  service  and  fidelity  to  him  from  whom  they  received  these  lands." 
Those  benejicia  were  granted  originally  only  during  pleasure.  No  circumstance 
relating  to  the  customs  of  the  middle  ages  is  better  ascertained  than  this  ;  and 
innumerable  proofs  of  it  might  be  added  to  those  produced  in  L'Esprit  des 
Loix.  1.  xxx.  c.  16.  and  by  Du  Cange,  voc.  Benejicium  etfeudttm. 


510  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

IV.  But  the  possession  of  benefices  did  not  continue  long  in  this  state.  A 
precarious  tenure  during  pleasure  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  such  as  held 
lands,  and  by  various  means  they  gradually  obtained  a  confirmation  of  their 
benefices  during  life.  Feudor.  lib.  tit.  i.  Du  Cange  produces  several  quotations 
from  ancient  charters  and  chronicles  in  proof  of  this ;  Glos.  voc.  Beneficium. 
After  this  it  was  easy  to  obtain  or  extort  charters  rendering  beneficta  hereditary, 
first  in  the  direct  line,  then  in  the  collateral,  and  at  last  in  the  female  line.  Leg. 
Longob.  lib.  iii.  tit.  8.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Beneficium. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  fix  the  precise  time  when  each  of  these  changes  took 
place.  M.  TAb.  Mably  conjectures,  with  some  probability,  that  Charles  Martel 
first  introduced  the  practice  of  granting  benejicia  for  life  ;  Observat.  torn.  i.  p. 
103.  160  ;  and  that  Louis  le  Debonnaire  was  among  the  first  who  rendered 
them  hereditary,  is  evident  from  the  authorities  to  which  he  refers  ;  Id.  429. 
Mabillon,  however,  has  published  a  placitum  of  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  A.  D.  860, 
by  which  it  appears  that  he  still  continued  to  grant  some  beneficta  only  during 
life.  De  Re  Diplomatica,  lib.  vi.  p.  353.  In  the  year  889,  Odo  king  of  France 
granted  lands  to  Ricabodo,  fideli  suo,  jure  beneficiario  et  fructuaAo,  during  his 
own  life  ;  and  if  he  should  die,  and  a  son  were  born  to  him,  that  right  was  to 
continue  during  the  life  of  his  son.  Mabillon  ut  supra,  p.  556.  This  was  an 
intermediate  step  between  fiefs  merely  during  life,  and  fiefs  hereditary  to  per- 
petuity. While  benejicia  continued  under  their  first  form,  and  were  held  only 
during  pleasure,  he  who  granted  them  not  only  exercised  the  dominium  or  pre- 
rogative of  superior  lord,  but  he  retained  the  property,  giving  his  vassal  only 
the  usufruct. — But  under  the  latter  form,  when  they  became  hereditary,  although 
feudal  lawyers  continued  to  define  a  benejicium  agreeably  to  its  original  nature, 
the  property  was  in  effect  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  superior  lords,  and 
lodged  in  those  of  the  vassal.  As  soon  as  the  reciprocal  advantages  of  the 
feudal  mode  of  tenure  came  to  be  understood  by  superiors  as  well  as  vassals, 
that  species  of  holding  became  so  agreeable  to  both,  that  not  only  lands,  but 
casual  rents,  such  as  the  profits  of  a  toll,  the  fare  paid  at  ferries,  &c.  the  sala- 
ries or  perquisites  of  offices,  and  even  pensions  themselves,  were  granted  and 
held  as  fiefs ;  and  military  service  was  promised  and  exacted  on  account  of 
these.  Morice  mem.  pour  servir  de  preuves  a  l'hist.  de  Bretagne,  torn.  ii.  78. 
690.  Brussel,  torn.  i.  p.  41.  How  absurd  soever  it  may  seem  to  grant  or  to  hold 
such  precarious  and  casual  property  as  a  fief,  there  are  instances  of  feudal 
tenures  still  more  singular.  The  profits  arising  from  the  masses  said  at  an 
altar  were  properly  an  ecclesiastical  revenue,  belonging  to  the  clergy  of  the 
church  or  monastery  which  performed  that  duty  ;  but  these  were  sometimes 
seized  by  the  powerful  barons.  In  order  to  ascertain  their  right  to  them,  they 
held  them  as  fiefs  of  the  church,  and  parcelled  them  out  in  the  same  manner 
as  other  property  to  their  sub-vassals.  Bouquet,  recueil  des  hist.  vol.  x.  238. 
480.  The  same  spirit  cf  encroachment  which  rendered  fiefs  hereditary,  led 
the  nobles  to  extort  from  their  sovereigns  hereditary  grants  of  offices.  Many 
of  the  great  offices  of  the  crown  became  hereditary  in  most  of  the  kingdoms 
in  Europe ;  and  so  conscious  were  monarchs  of  this  spirit  of  usurpation 
among  the  nobility,  and  so  solicitous  to  guard  against  it,  that  on  some  occa- 
sions, they  obliged  the  persons  whom  they  promoted  to  any  office  of  dignity, 
to  grant  an  obligation,  that  neither  they  nor  their  heirs  should  claim  it  as 
belonging  to  them  by  hereditary  right.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  is  pro- 
duced, Mem.  de  l'Acad.  des  Inscript.  torn.  xxx.  p.  595.  Another  occurs  in  the 
Thesaur.  anecdot.  published  by  Martene  and  Durand,  vol.  i.  p.  873. — This  re- 
volution in  property  occasioned  a  change  corresponding  to  it  in  political  govern- 
ment ;  the  great  vassals  of  the  crown,  as  they  acquired  such  extensive  pos- 
sessions, usurped  a  proportional  degree  of  power,  depressed  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  crown,  and  trampled  on  the  privileges  of  the  people.  It  is  on  account  of 
this  connection,  that  it  becomes  an  object  of  importance  in  history  to  trace  the 
progress  of  feudal  property  ;  for  upon  discovering  in  what  state  property  was 
at  any  particular  period,  we  may  determine  with  precision  what  was  the  degree 
of  power  possessed  by  the  king  or  by  the  nobility  at  that  juncture. 

One  circumstance  more,  with  respect  to  the  changes  which  property  under- 
went, deserves  attention.  I  have  shown,  that  when  the  various  tribes  of  bar- 
barians divided  their  conquests  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  the  property 
which   they  acquired  was  allodial :  but  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  property 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  511 

had  become  almost  entirely  feudal  by  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century.  The 
former  species  of  property  seems  to  bo  so  much  better  and  more  desirable  than 
the  latter,  that  such  a  change  appears  surprising,  especially  when  we  are  in- 
formed that  allodial  property  was  frequently  converted  into  feudal,  by  a  volun- 
tary deed  of  the  possessor.  The  motives  which  determined  them  to  a  choice  so 
repugnant  to  the  ideas  of  modem  times  concerning  property,  have  been  inves- 
tigated and  explained  by  M.  de  Montesquieu,  with  his  usual  discernment  and 
accuracy,  lib.  xxxi.  c.  8.  The  most  considerable  is  that  of  which  we  have  a  hint 
in  Lambertus  Ardensis,  an  ancient  writer  quoted  by  Du  Cange,  voce  Alodis.  In 
those  times  of  anarchy  and  disorder  which  became  general  in  Europe  after  the 
death  of  Charlemagne,  when  there  was  scarcely  any  union  among  the  different 
membersof  the  community, and  individuals  were  exposed,single  andundefended 
by  government,  to  rapine  and  oppression,  it  became  necessary  for  every  man 
to  have  a  powerful  protector,  under  whose  banner  he  might  range  himself,  and 
obtain  security  against  enemies  whom  singly  he  could  not  oppose.  For  this 
reason  he  relinquished  his  allodial  independence,  and  subjected  himself  to  the 
feudal  services,  that  he  might  find  safety  under  the  patronage  of  some  respecta- 
ble superior.  In  some  parts  of  Europe,  this  change  from  allodial  to  feudal 
property  became  so  general,  that  he  who  possessed  land  had  no  longer  any 
liberty  of  choice  left.  He  was  obliged  to  recognise  some  liege  lord,  and  to 
hold  of  him.  Thus  Beaumanoir  informs  us,  that  in  the  counties  of  Clermont 
and  Beauvois,  if  the  lord  or  count  discovered  any  lands  within  his  jurisdiction, 
for  which  no  service  was  performed,  and  which  paid  to  him  no  taxes  or  cus- 
toms, he  might  instantly  seize  it  as  his  own  ;  for,  says  lie,  no  man  can  hold 
allodial  property.  Coust.  ch.  24.  p.  123.  Upon  the  same  principle  is  founded 
a  maxim,  which  has  at  length  become  general  in  the  law  of  France,  Nulle  terre. 
sans  Seigneur.  In  other  provinces  of  France,  allodial  property  seems  to  have 
remained  longer  unalienated,  and  to  have  been  more  highly  valued.  A  great 
number  of  charters,  containing  grants,  or  sales,  or  exchanges  of  allodial  lands 
in  the  province  of  Languedoc,  are  published.  Hist,  gener.  de  Langued.  par. 
D.  D.  De  Vic  et  Vaisette,  torn.  ii.  During  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  great  part  of 
the  eleventh  century,  the  property  in  that  province  seems  to  have  been  entirely 
allodial ;  and  scarcely  any  mention  of  feudal  tenures  occurs  in  the  deeds  of 
that  country.  The  state  of  property,  during  these  centuries,  seems  to  have 
been  perfectly  similar  in  Catalonia  and  the  country  of  Roussillon,  as  appears 
from  the  original  charters  published  in  the  Appendix  to  Petr.  de  la  Marca's 
treatise  de  Marca  sive  limite  Hispanico.  Allodial  property  seems  to  have  con- 
tinued in  the  Low-Countries  to  a  period  still  later.  During  the  eleventh, 
twelfth,  and  thirteenth  centuries,  this  species  of  property  seems  to  have  been 
of  considerable  extent.  Miraei  opera  diplom.  vol.  i.  34.  74,  75.  83.  296.  817. 
842.  847.  578.  Some  vestiges  of  allodial  property  appear  there  as  late  as  the 
fourteenth  century.  Ibid.  218.  Several  facts  which  prove  that  allodial  pro- 
perty subsisted  in  different  parts  of  Europe  long  after  the  introduction  of  feudal 
tenures,  and  which  tend  to  illustrate  the  distinction  between  these  two  difl'erent 
species  of  possession,  are  produced  by  M.  Houard,  Anciennes  Loix  des  Fran- 
cois, conserves  dans  les  Coutumes  Angloises,  vol.  i.  p.  192,  &c.  The  notions 
of  men  with  respect  to  property  vary  according  to  the  diversity  of  their  under- 
standings, and  the  caprice  of  their  passions.  At  the  same  time  that  some 
persons  were  fond  of  relinquishing  allodial  property,  in  order  to  hold  it  by 
feudal  tenure,  others  seem  to  have  been  solicitous  to  convert  their  fiefs  into  al- 
lodial property.  An  instance  of  this  occurs  in  a  charter  of  Louis  le  Debonnaire, 
published  by  Eckhard,  Commentarii  de  rebus  Francise  Orientalis,  vol.  ii.  p.  885. 
Another  occurs  in  the  year  1299,  Reliquiae  MSS.  omnis  aevi,  by  Ludwig,  vol.  i. 
p.  209 ;  and  even  one  as  late  as  the  year  1337,  ibid.  vol.  vii.  p.  40.  The  same 
thing  took  place  in  the  Low-Countries.     Mirffii  oper.  1.  52. 

In  tracing  these  various  revolutions  of  property,  I  have  hitherto  chiefly  con- 
fined myself  to  what  happened  in  France,  because  the  ancient  monuments  of 
that  nation  have  either  been  more  carefully  preserved,  or  have  been  more 
clearly  illustrated  than  those  of  any  people  in  Europe. 

In  Italy,  the  same  revolutions  happened  in  property,  and  succeeded  each 
other  in  the  same  order.  There  is  some  ground,  however,  for  conjecturing  that, 
allodial  property  continued  longer  in  estimation  among  the  Italians,  than 


512  PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

among  the  French.  It  appears,  that  many  of  the  charters  granted  by  the  em- 
perors in  the  ninth  century,  conveyed  an  allodial  right  to  land.  Murat.  Antiq. 
med.  aevi,  v.  i.  p.  575,  &c.  But  in  the  eleventh  century  we  find  some  examples 
of  persons  who  resigned  their  allodial  property,  and  returned  it  back  as  a  feu- 
dal tenure.  Id.  p.  610,  &c.  Muratori  observes,  that  the  word  feudum,  which 
came  to  be  substituted  in  place  of  beneficvum,  does  not  occur  in  any  authentic 
charter  previous  to  the  eleventh  century.  Id.  594.  A  charter  of  king  Robert 
of  France,  A.  D.  1008,  is  the  earliest  deed  in  which  I  have  met  with  the  word 
feudum.  Bouquet  recueil  des  historiens  de  Gaule  et  de  la  France,  torn.  x.  p. 
593.  b.  This  word  occurs  indeed  in  an  edict,  A.  D.  790,  published  by  Brussel, 
vol.  i.  p.  77.  But  the  authenticity  of  that  deed  has  been  called  in  question, 
and  perhaps  the  frequent  use  of  the  word  feudum  in  it  is  an  additional  reason 
for  doing  so.  The  account  which  I  have  given  of  the  nature  both  of  allodial 
and  feudal  possessions  receives  some  confirmation  from  the  etymology  of  the 
words  themselves.  Alode  or  allodium  is  compounded  of  the  German  particle 
an  and  lot,  i.  e.  land  obtained  by  lot.  Wachteri  Glossar.  Germanicum,  voc. 
Allodium,  p.  35.  It  appears  from  the  authorities  produced  by  him,  and  by  Du 
Cange,  voc.  Sort,  that  the  northern  nations  divided  the  lands  which  they  had 
conquered  in  this  manner.  Feodum  is  compounded  of  od  possession  or  estate, 
and  feo  wages,  pay ;  intimating  that  it  was  stipendary,  and  granted  a  recom- 
pense for  service.     Wachterus,  ibid.  voc.  Feodum,  p.  441. 

The  progress  of  the  feudal  system  among  the  Germans  was  perfectly  similar 
to  that  which  we  have  traced  in  France.  But  as  the  emperors  of  Germany, 
especially  after  the  Imperial  crown  passed  from  the  descendants  of  Charlemagne 
to  the  house  of  Saxony,  were  far  superior  to  the  contemporary  monarchs  of 
France  in  abilities,  the  Imperial  vassals  did  not  aspire  so  early  to  independence, 
nor  did  they  so  soon  obtain  the  privilege  of  possessing  their  benefices  by  heredi- 
tary right.  According  to  the  compilers  of  the  Libri  Feudorum,  Conrad  II.  or 
the  Salic,  was  the  first  emperor  who  rendered  fiefs  hereditary.  Lib.  i.  tit.  i. 
Conrad  began  his  reign  A.  D.  1024.  Ludovicus  Pius,  under  whose  reign 
grants  of  hereditary  fiefs  were  frequent  in  France,  succeeded  his  father  A.  D. 
314.  Not  only  was  this  innovation  so  much  later  in  being  introduced  among 
the  vassals  of  the  German  emperors,  but  even  after  -Conrad  had  established  it, 
the  law  continued  favourable  to  the  ancient  practice  ;  and  unless  the  charter  of 
the  vassal  bore  expressly  that  the  fief  descended  to  his  heirs,  it  was  presumed 
to  be  granted  only  during  life.  Lib.  feud.  ibid.  Even  after  the  alteration  made 
by  Conrad,  it  was  not  uncommon  in  Germany  to  grant  fiefs  only  for  life ;  a 
charter  of  this  kind  occurs  as  late  as  the  year  1376.  Charta  ap.  Boehmer. 
Princip.  Jur.  feud.  p.  361.  The  transmission  of  fiefs  to  collateral  and  female 
heirs,  took  place  very  slowly  among  the  Germans.  There  i6  extant  a  charter, 
A.  D.  1201,  conveying  the  right  of  succession  to  females,  but  it  is  granted  as 
an  extraordinary  mark  of  favour,  and  in  reward  of  uncommon  services. 
Boehmer.  ibid.  p.  365.  In  Germany,  as  well  as  in  France  and  Italy,  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  lands  continued  to  be  allodial  long  after  the  feudal  mode 
of  tenure  was  introduced.  It  appears  from  the  Codex  Diplomaticus  Monasterii 
Buch,  that  a  great  part  of  the  lands  in  the  Marquisatc  of  Misnia  was  still 
allodial  as  late  as  the  thirteenth  century.  No.  31.  36,  37.  46,  &c.  ap.  Scriptores 
hist.  German,  cura  Schoetgenii  et  Kreysigii.  Altenb.  1755.  vol.  ii.  183,  &c. 
Allodial  property  seems  to  have  been  common  in  another  district  of  the  same 
province,  during  the  same  period.  Reliquiae  Diplomaticae  Sanctimonial. 
Beutiz.  No.  17.  36.  58.  ibid.  374,  &e. 

Note  [9].  Page  13. 

As  I  shall  have  occasion,  in  another  Note,  to  represent  the  condition  of  that 
part  of  the  people  who  dwelt  in  cities,  I  will  confine  myself  in  this  to  considei 
the  state  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  The  persons  employed  in  culti- 
vating the  ground  during  the  ages  under  review  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes  ;  1.  servi  or  slaves.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  most  numerous  class, 
and  consisted  either  of  captives  taken  in  war,  or  of  persons  the  property  in 
whom  was  acquired  in  some  one  of  the  various  methods  enumerated  by  Du 
Cange,  voc.  Servus,x.  6.  p.  447.  The  wretched  condition  of  this  numerous 
race  of  men  will  appear  from  several  circumstances'.     1.  Their  masters  had 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  MS 

absolute  dominion  over  their  persons.  They  had  the  power  of  punishing  their 
slaves  capitally,  without  the  intervention  of  any  judge.  This  dangerous  right 
ihey  possessed  not  only  in  the  more  early  periods,  when  their  manners  were. 
fierce,  but  it  continued  as  late  as  the  twelfth  century.  Joach.  Potgiesserus  de 
statu  servoruni.  Lemgov.  1737.  4to.  lib.  ii.  cap.  i.  sect.  4.  10.  13.  24.  Even 
nfter  this  jurisdiction  of  masters  came  to  be  restrained,  the  life  of  a  slave  was 
deemed  to  be  of  so  little  value,  that  a  very  slight  compensation  atoned  for 
taking  it  away.  Idem,  lib.  iii.  c.  6.  If  masters  had  power  over  the  lives  of 
their  slaves,  it  is  evident  that  almost  no  bounds  would  be  set  to  the  rigour  of 
the  punishments  which  they  might  inflict  upon  them.  The  codes  of  ancient. 
Jaws  prescribed  punishments  for  the  crimes  of  slaves  different  from  those  which 
were  inflicted  on  free  men.  The  latter  paid  only  a  fine  or  compensation ;  the 
former  were  subjected  to  corporal  punishments.  The  cruelty  of  these  was  in 
many  instances  excessive.  Slaves  might  be  put  to  the  rack  on  very  slight 
occasions.  The  laws  with  respect  to  these  points  are  to  be  found  in  Potgies- 
serus, lib.  iii.  cap.  7.  and  are  shocking  to  humanity.  2.  If  the  dominion  of 
masters  over  the  lives  and  persons  of  their  slaves  was  thus  extensive,  it  was  no 
.'ess  so  over  their  actions  and  property.  They  were  not  originally  permitted  to 
marry.  Male  and  female  slaves  were  allowed  and  even  encouraged  to  cohabit, 
together.  But  this  union  was  not  considered  as  a  marriage,  it  was  called  con- 
tubernium,  not  nuptia,  or  malrimonium.  Potgiess.  lib.  ii.  c.  ii.  sect.  1.  This 
notion  was  so  much  established,  that,  during  several  centuries  after  the  bar- 
barous nations  embraced  the  Christian  religion,  slaves,  who  lived  as  husband 
and  wife,  were  not  joined  together  by  any  religious  ceremony,  and  did  not 
receive  the  nuptial  benediction  from  a  priest.  Ibid.  sect.  10,  11.  When  tliib 
i  onjunction  between  slaves  came  to  be  considered  as  a  lawful  marriage,  they 
were  not  permitted  to  marry  without  the  consent  of  their  master  ;  and  such  as 
ventured  to  do  so,  without  obtaining  that,  were  punished  with  great  severity, 
and  sometimes  were  put  to  death.  Potgiess.  ibid.  sect.  12,  &c.  Gregor.  Turon. 
Hist.  lib.  v.  c.  3.  When  the  manners  of  the  European  nations  became  more 
gentle,  and  their  ideas  more  liberal,  slaves  who  married  without  their  master's 
consent  were  subjected  only  to  a  fine.  Potgiess.  ibid.  sect.  20.  Du  Cange 
Gloss,  voc.  Forimiaritagium.  3.  All  the  children  of  slaves  were  in  the  same 
condition  with  their  parents,  and  became  the  property  of  the  master.  Du 
Cange  Gloss,  voc.  Servus,  vol.  vi.  450.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  i.  766.  4. 
Slaves  were  so  entirely  the  property  of  their  masters,  that  they  could  sell  them 
at  pleasure.  While  domestic  slavery  continued,  property  in  a  slave  was  sold 
in  the  same  manner  with  that  which  a  person  had  in  any  other  moveable. 
Afterwards  slaves  became  adscripti  gkba>,  and  were  conveyed  by  sale,  together 
with  the  farm  or  estate  to  which  they  belonged.  Potgiesserus  has  collected 
the  laws  and  charters  which  illustrate  this  well-known  circumstance  in  the  con- 
dition  of  slaves.  Lib.  ii.  c.  4.  5.  Slaves  had  a  title  to  nothing  but  subsistence 
and  clothes  from  their  master ;  all  the  profits  of  their  labour  accrued  to  him. 
If  a  master,  from  indulgence,  gave  bis  slaves  any  peeulium,  or  fixed  allowance 
for  their  subsistence,  they  had  no  right  of  property  in  what  they  saved  out  of 
that.  All  that  they  accumulated  belonged  to  their  master.  Potgiess.  lib.  ii.  c. 
10.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  i.  768.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Servm,  vol.  vi.  p.  451, 
Conformably  to  the  same  principle,  all  the  effects  of  slaves  belonged  to  their 
master  at  their  death,  and  they  could  not  dispose  of  them  by  testament.  Pot- 
giess. lib.  ii.  c.  11.  6.  Slaves  were  distinguished  from  free  men  by  a  peculiar 
dress.  Among  all  the  barbarous  nations,  long  hair  was  a  mark  of  dignity  and 
of  freedom;  slaves  were  for  that  reason  obliged  to  shave  their  heads;  and  by  this 
distinction,  how  indifferent  soever  it  may  be  in  its  own  nature,  they  were  re- 
minded every  moment  of  the  inferiority  of  their  condition.  Potgies.  lib.  iii.  c.  4. 
For  the  same  reason  it  was  enacted  in  the  laws  of  almost  all  the  nations  of  Europe, 
that  no  slave  should  be  admitted  to  give  evidence  against  a  free  man  in  a  court 
of  justice.     Du  Cange,  voc.  Servus,  vol.  vi.  p.  451.  Potgiess.  lib.  iii.  c.  3. 

2.  Villani.  They  were  likewise  adscripti  gtefa  or  villff,  from  which  they  de- 
rived their  name,  and  were  transferable  along  with  it.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Fillanus. 
But  in  this  they  differed  from  slaves,  that  they  paid  a  fixed  rent  to  their  master 
for  the  land  which  they  cultivated,  and,  after  paying  that,  all  the  fruits  of  their 
labour  and  industry  belonged  to  themselves  in  property.     This  distinction  i? 

Vot.  II.— 65 


SI*  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

marked  by  Pierre  de  Fontain's  Conseil.  Vie  de  St.  Louis  par  Joinville,  p. 
119.  edit,  de  Du  Cange.  Several  cases  decided  agreeably  to  this  principle  are 
mentioned  by  Murat.  ib.  p.  773. 

3.  The  last  class  of  persons  employed  in  agriculture  were  free  men.  These 
are  distinguished  by  various  names  among  the  writers  of  the  middle  ages, 
Arimanni,  conditionalts,  originarii,  tributales,  &cc.  These  seem  to  have  been 
persons  who  possessed  some  small  allodial  property  of  their  own,  and  besides 
that,  cultivated  some  farm  belonging  to  their  more  wealthy  neighbours,  for 
which  they  paid  a  fixed  rent ;  and  bound  themselves  likewise  to  perform  seve- 
ral small  services  in  prato  vel  in  messe,  in  aralura  vel  in  vinea,  such  as  ploughing 
a  certain  quantity  of  their  landlord's  ground,  assisting  him  in  harvest  and 
vintage  work,  &c.  The  clearest  proof  of  this  may  be  found  in  Muratori,  v.  i. 
p.  712.  and  in  Du  Cange  under  the  respective  words  above  mentioned.  1  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  whether  these  arimanni,  &c.  were  removable  at 
pleasure,  or  held  their  farms  by  lease  for  a  certain  number  of  years.  The 
former,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  genius  and  maxims  of  the  age,  seems  to  be 
most  probable.  These  persons,  however,  were  considered  as  free  men  in  the 
most  honourable  sense  of  the  word  ;  they  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  that 
condition,  and  were  even  called  to  serve  in  war ;  an  honour  to  which  no  slave 
was  admitted.  Murat.  Antiq.  vol.  i.  p.  743.  vol.  ii.  p.  446.  This  account  of 
the  condition  of  these  three  different  classes  of  persons,  will  enable  the  reader 
to  apprehend  the  full  force  of  an  argument  which  I  shall  produce  in  confirma- 
tion of  what  I  have  said  in  the  text  concerning  the  wretched  state  of  the  peo- 
ple during  the  middle  ages.  Notwithstanding  the  immense  difference  between 
the  first  of  these  classes  and  the  third,  such  was  the  spirit  of  tyranny  whicli 
prevailed  among  the  great  proprietors  of  lands,  and  so  various  their  opportu- 
nities of  oppressing  those  who  were  settled  on  their  estates,  and  of  rendering 
their  condition  intolerable,  that  many  free  men,  in  despair  renounced  their 
liberty,  and  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves  as  slaves  to  their  powerful 
masters.  This  they  did,  in  order  that  their  masters  might  become  more  im- 
mediately interested  to  afford  them  protection,  together  with  the  means  of 
subsisting  themselves  and  their  families.  The  forms  of  such  a  surrender,  or 
obnoxiatio,  as  it  was  then  called,  are  preserved  by  Marculfus,  lib.  ii.  c.  28 ;  and 
by  the  anonymous  author  published  by  M.  Bignon,  together  with  the  collection 
of  formula  compiled  by  Marculfus,  c.  16.  In  both,  the  reason  given  for  the 
obnoxiatio,  is  the  wretched  and  indigent  condition  of  the  person  who  gives  up 
his  liberty.  It  was  still  more  common  for  free  men  to  surrender  their  liberty 
to  bishops  or  abbots,  that  they  might  partake  of  the  security  which  the  vassals 
and  slaves  of  churches  and  monasteries  enjoyed,  in  consequence  of  the  super- 
stitious veneration  paid  to  the  saint  under  whose  immediate  protection  they 
were  supposed  to  be  taken.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Oblatus,  vol.  iv.  p.  1286.  That 
condition  must  have  been  miserable  indeed,  which  could  induce  a  free  man 
voluntarily  to  renounce  his  liberty,  and  to  give  up  himself  as  a  slave  to  the 
disposal  of  another.  The  number  of  slaves  in  every  nation  of  Europe  was 
immense.  The  greater  part  of  the  inferior  class  of  people  in  France  were 
reduced  to  this  state  at  the  commencement  of  the  third  race  of  kings.  L/Espr. 
des  Loix.  liv.  xxx.  c.  11.  The  same  was  the  case  in  England.  Brady  Pref.  to 
Gen.  Hist.  Many  curious  facts,  with  respect  to  the  ancient  state  of  villains^ 
or  slaves  in  England,  are  published  in  Observations  on  the  Statutes,  chiefly  the 
more  ancient,  third  edit.  p.  269,  &c. 

Note  [10].  Page  14. 

Innumerable  proofs  of  this  might  be  produced.  Many  charters,  granted  by- 
persons  of  the  highest  rank,  are  preserved,  from  which  it  appears  that  they 
could  not  subscribe  their  name.  It  was  usual  for  persons,  who  could  not  write, 
to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  in  confirmation  of  a  charter.  Several  of  these 
remain,  where  kings  and  persons  of  great  eminence  affix  signum  cruris  man>t 
propria  pro  ignoratione  literarum.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Crux,  vol.  iii.  p.  1191. 
From  this  is  derived  the  phrase  of  signing  instead  of  subscribing  a  paper.  In 
the  ninth  century,  Herbaud  Comes  Palatii,  though  supreme  judge  of  the  em- 
pire by  virtue  of  his  office,  could  not  subscribe  his  name.  Nouveau  Traite"  de 
Diplomatique  par  deux  Benedictins.  4to.  torn.  ii.  p.  422.     As  late  as  the  four- 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  515 

toentb  century  Du  Guesclin,  constable  of  France,  the  greatest  man  in  the  state, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his   age,  could   neither   read   nor  write.     St. 
Palaye  Memoires  sur  Pancienne  Chevalerie,  tit.  ii.  p.  82.     Nor  was  this  igno- 
rance confined  to  laymen;  the  greater  part  of  the  clergy  was  not  many  degrees 
superior  to  them  in  science.     Many  dignified  ecclesiastics  could  not  subscribo 
the   canons  of  those  councils,  in  which  they  sat  as  members.     Nouv.  Traite 
de  Diplom.  torn.  ii.  p.  424.     One  of  the  questions  appointed  by  the  canons  to 
be  put  to  persons  who  were  candidates  for  orders  was  this,  "  Whether  they 
could  read  the  gospels  and  epistles,  and   explain   the  sense  of  them,  at  least 
literally?"     Regino  Prumiensis  ap.  Bruck.  Hist.  Philos.  v.  iii.  p.  631.     Alfred 
the  Great  complained,  that  from  the   Humber  to  the  Thames  there  was  not  a. 
priest  who  understood  the  liturgy  in  his  mother-tongue,  or  who  could  translate 
the  easiest  piece  of  Latin  ;  and  that  from  the  Thames  to  the  sea,  the  ecclesias- 
tics were  still  more  ignorant.     Asserius  de  rebus  gestis  Alfredi,  ap.  Camdeni 
Anglica,  &c.  p.  25.     The  ignorance  of  the  clergy  is  quaintly  described   by  an 
author  of  the  dark  ages  :  "  Potius  dediti  gulfe  quam  glossae  ;  potius  coiligunt 
libras  quam  logunt  libros  ;  libentius  intuenturMarthamquam  Marcum  ;  malunt 
legere  in  Salmone  quam  in  Solomone."     Alanus  de  Art.  Predicat.  ap.  Lebeuf 
Dissert,  torn.  ii.  p.  21.     To  the  obvious  causes  of  such  universal  ignorance, 
arising  from  the  state  of  government  and  manners,  from  the  seventh  to  the 
eleventh  century,  we  may  add  the  scarcity  of  books  during  that  period,  and 
the   difficulty  of  rendering   them   more   common.     The    Romans  wrote   their 
books  either  on  parchment  or  on  paper  made  of  the  Egyptian  papyrus.     The 
latter  being  the  cheapest,  was  of  course  the  most  commonly  used.     But  after  the 
Saracens  conquered  Egypt  in  the  seventh  century,  the  communication  between 
that  country  and  the  people  settled  in  Italy,  or  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  waB 
almost  entirely  broken  oft*,  and  the  papyrus  was  no  longer  in  use  among  them. 
They  were  obliged,  on  that  account,  to  write  all  their  books  upon  parchment, 
and,  as  the  price  of  that  was  high,  books  became  extremely  rare  and  of  great 
value.     We  may  judge  of  the  scarcity  of  the  materials  for  writing  them  from 
one  circumstance.     There  still  remain  several  manuscripts  of  the  eighth,  ninth, 
and  following  centuries,  written  on  parchment,  from  which  some  former  writing 
had  been  erased,  in  order  to  substitute  a  new  composition  in  its  place.     In  this 
manner  it  is  probable  that  several  works  of  the  ancients  perished.     A  book  of 
Livy  or  of  Tacitus  might  be  erased,  to  make  room  for  the  legendary  tale  of  a 
saint,  or  the  superstitious  prayers  of  a  missal.     Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  v.  iii.  p.  833. 
P.  de  Montfaucon  affirms,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  manuscripts  on  parchment 
which  he  has  seen,  those  of  an  ancient  date  excepted,  are  written  on  parchment 
from  which  some  former  treatise  had  been  erased.     Mem.  de  l'Acad.  des  In- 
script.  torn.  ix.  p.  325.     As  the  want  of  materials  for  writing  is  one  reason 
why  so  many  of  the  works  of  the  ancients  have  perished,  it  accounts  likewise 
for  the  small  number  of  manuscripts  of  any  kind,  previous  to  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, when  they  began  to  multiply  from  a  cause  which  shall  be   mentioned. 
Uistor.  Liter,  de  France,  torn.  vi.  p.  6.     Many  circumstances  prove  the  scarcity 
of  books   during  these   ages.     Private  persons   seldom    possessed   any  books 
whatever.     Even  monasteries  of  considerable  note  had  only  one  missal.    Murat. 
Antiq.  v.  ix.  p.  789.     Lupus,  abbot  of  Ferrieres,  in  a  letter  to  the  pope,  A.  D. 
i'55,  beseeches  him  to  lend  him  a  copy  of  Cicero  de  Oratore  and  Quintilian's 
Institutions,  "  for,1'  says  he,  "  although  we  have  parts  of  those  books,  there  is 
no  complete  copy  of  them  in  all  France."     Murat.  Antiq.  v.  iii.  p.  835.     The 
price  of  books  became  so  high,  that  persons  of  a  moderate  fortune  could  not 
aft'ord  to  purchase  them.     The  Countess  of  Anjou  paid  for  a  copy  of  the  homi- 
lies of  Haimon.  bishop  of  Alberstadt,  two  hundred  sheep,  five  quarters  of  wheal, 
and  the  same  quantity  of  rye   and  millet.     Histoire  Literaire  de  France  par 
des  Religieux  Benedictins,  torn.  vii.  p.  3.     Even  so  late  as  the  year  1471,  when 
Louis  XI.  borrowed  the  works  of  Rasis,  the  Arabian  physician,  from  the  faculty'taj 
of  medicine  in  Paris,  he  not  only  deposited  in  pledge  a  considerable  quantity 
of  plate,  but  was  obliged  to  procure  a  nobleman  to  join  with  him  as  surety  in 
a  deed,  binding  himself  under  a   great  forfeiture  to  restore  H.     Gabr.  Naade 
Addit.  a  PHistoire  de  Louys  XI.  par  Comines,  edit,  de  Fresnoy,  torn.  iv.  p.  281. 
Many  curious  circumstances,  with  respect  to  the  extravagant  price  of  books  in 
'\\9  middle  ages,  are  collected  by  that  industrious  compiler,  to  whom   I  refer 


Hi  f ROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

such  of  my  readers  as  deem  this  small  branch  of  literary  history  an  object  c 
curiosity.  When  any  person  made  a  present  of  a  book  to  a  church  or  a 
monastery,  in  which  were  the  only  libraries  during  several  ages,  it  was  deemed 
a  donative  of  such  value  that  he  offered  it  on  the  altar  pro  remedio  aninuz  sua, 
iu  order  to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins.  Murat.  vol.  iii.  p.  836.  Hist. 
Lit.  de  France,  torn.  vi.  p.  ti.  N'ouv.  Trait,  du  Diplomat,  par  deux  Benedictins, 
Uo.  torn.  i.  p.  481.  In  the  eleventh  century,  the  art  of  making  paper,  in  thi 
manner  now  become  universal,  was  invented  ;  by  means  of  that,  not  only  the 
number  of  manuscripts  increased,  but  the  study  of  the  sciences  was  wonder- 
fully facilitated.  Murat.  ib.  p.  871.  The  invention  of  the  art  of  making 
paper,  and  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  are  two  considerable  events  in 
literary  history.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  former  preceded  the  first  dawning 
of  letters  and  improvement  in  knowledge  towards  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
century ;  the  latter  ushered  in  the  light  which  spread  over  Europe  at  the  era 
of  the  reformation. 

Note  [11].  Pack  15. 

All  the  religious  maxims  and  practices  of  the  dark  ages  are  a  proof  of  this 
1  shall  produce  one  remarkable  testimony  in  confirmation  of  it,  from  an  author 
canonized  by  the  church  of  Rome,  St.  Eloy,  or  Egidius,  bishop  of  Noyon,  in 
the  seventh  century.  "  He  is  a  good  Christian  who  comes  frequently  to  church; 
who  presents  the  oblation  which  is  offered  to  God  upon  the  altar ;  who  doth 
not  taste  of  the  fruits  of  his  own  industry  until  he  has  consecrated  a  part  of 
them  to  God,  who,  when  the  holy  festivals  approach,  lives  chastely  even  with 
his  own  wife  during  several  days,  that  with  a  safe  conscience  he  may  draw  near 
Uie  altar  of  God;  and  who,  in  the  last  place,  can  repeat  the  Creed  and  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  Redeem  then  your  souls  from  destruction,  while  you  have  the 
means  in  your  power ;  offer  presents  and  tithes  to  churchmen  ;  come  more  fre- 
quently to  church  ;  humbly  imploro  the  patronage  of  the  saints  ;  for,  if  you 
observe  these  things,  you  may  come  with  security  in  the  day  of  retribution  to 
the  tribunal  of  the  eternal  Judge,  and  say,  '  Give  to  us,  O  Lord,  for  we  have 
given  unto  thee.'  "  Dacherii  Spicelegium  Vet.  Script,  v.  ii.  p.  94.  The  learned 
and  judicious  translator  of  Dr.  Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History,  to  one  of 
whose  additional  notes  I  am  indebted  for  my  knowledge  of  this  passage,  sub- 
joins a  very  proper  reflection  :  "  We  see  here  a  large  and  ample  description 
of  a  good  Christian,  in  which  there  is  not  the  least  mention  of  the  love  of 
God,  resignation  to  his  will,  obedience  to  his  laws,  or  of  justice,  benevolence, 
and  charity  towards  men."     Mosh.  Eccles.  Hist.  v.  i.  p.  324. 

Note  [12].  Page  15L 

That  infallibility  in  all  its  determinations,  to  which  the  church  of  Romo 
pretends,  has  been  attended  with  one  unhappy  consequence.  As  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  relinquish  any  opinion,  or  to  alter  any  practice  which  has  been  established 
by  authority  that  cannot  err,  all  its  institutions  and  ceremonies  must  be  im- 
mutable and  everlasting,  and  the  church  must  continue  to  observe,  in  enlight- 
e.ned  times,  those  rights  which  were  introduced  during  the  ages  of  darkness 
and  credulity.  What  delighted  and  edified  the  latter,  must  disgust  and  shock 
the  former.  Many  of  the  rites  observed  in  the  Romish  church  appear  mani- 
festly to  have  been  introduced  by  a  superstition  of  the  lowest  and  most  illiberal 
species.  Many  of  them  were  borrowed,  with  little  variation,  from  the  religious 
ceremonies  established  among  the  ancient  heathens.  Some  were  so  ridiculous, 
that  if  every  age  did  not  furnish  instances  of  the  fascinating  influence  of  super- 
stition, as  well  as  of  the  whimsical  forms  which  it  assumes,  it  must  appear  in- 
credible that  they  should  have  been  ever  received  or  tolerated.  In  several 
churches  of  France,  they  celebrated  a  festival  in  commemoration  of  the  Virgin 
Mary's  flight  into  Egypt.  It  was  called  the  feast  of  the  Ass.  A  young  girl 
richly  dressed,  with  a  child  in  her  arms,  was  set  upon  an  ass  superbly  capari- 
soned. The  ass  was  led  to  the  altar  in  solemn  procession.  High  mass  was 
said  with  great  pomp.  The  ass  was  taught  to  kneel  at  proper  places;  a  hymn 
no  less  childish  than  impious  was  sung  in  his  praise  ;  and  when  the  ceremony 
was  ended,  the  priest,  instead  of  the  usual  words  with  which  he  dismissed  the 
people,  brayed  three  times  like  an  oss.  and  the  people,  instead  of  the  usual 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  517 

iesponse,  We  bless  the  Lord,  brayed  three  times  in  the  same  manner.  Du 
Cange,  voc.  Festum,  v.  iii.  p.  424.  This  ridiculous  ceremony  was  not,  like  the. 
festival  of  fools,  and  some  other  pageants  of  those  ages,  a  mere  farcical  enter- 
tainment exhibited  in  a  church,  and  mingled,  as  was  then  the  custom,  with  an 
imitation  of  some  religious  rites  ;  it  was  an  act  of  devotion,  performed  by  the 
ministers  of  religion,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  church.  However,  as  tibia 
practice  did  not  prevail  universally  in  the  Catholic  church,  its  absurdity  con- 
tributed at  last  to  abolish  it. 

Note  [13].  Page  17. 

As  there  is  no  event  in  the  history  of  mankind  more  singular  than  that  of 
the  crusades,  every  circumstance  that  tends  to  explain  or  to  give  any  rational 
account  of  this  extraordinary  frenzy  of  the  human  mind  is  interesting.  1  have 
asserted  in  the  text,  that  the  minds  of  men  were  prepared  gradually  for  the 
amazing  effort  which  they  made  in  consequence  of  the  exhortations  of  Peter 
the  hermit,  by  several  occurrences  previous  to  his  time.  A  more  particular 
detail  of  this  curious  and  obscure  part  of  history,  may  perhaps  appear  to  some 
of  my  readers  to  be  of  importance.  That  the  end  of  the  world  was  expected 
about  the  close  of  the  tenth  and  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century;  and  that 
this  occasioned  a  general  alarm,  is  evident  from  the  authors  to  whom  I  have 
referred  in  the  text.  This  belief  was  so  universal  and  so  strong,  that  it  mingled 
itself  with  civil  transactions.  Many  charters  in  the  latter  part  of  the  tenth 
century  begin  in  this  manner  :  "  Appropinquante  mundi  termino,"  &c.  As  the 
end  of  the  world  is  now  at  hand,  and  by  various  calamities  and  judgments  the 
signs  of  its  approach  are  now  manifest.  Hist,  de  Langued.  par  D.  D.  de  Vic.  et. 
Vaisette.  torn.  ii.  Preuves,  p.  86.  89, 90.  1 17.  158,  &c.  One  effect  of  this  opinion 
was,  that  a  great  number  of  pilgrims  resorted  to  Jerusalem  with  a  resolution 
to  die  there,  or  to  wait  the  coming  of  the  Lord  ;  kings,  earls,  marquisses, 
bishops,  and  even  a  great  number  of  women,  besides  persons'of  inferior  rank, 
flocked  to  the  Holy  Land.  Glaber.  Rodulph.  Hist,  chez  Bouquet  Recueil, 
(om.  x.  p.  50.  52.  Another  historian  mentions  a  vast  cavalcade  of  pilgrims 
who  accompanied  the  count  of  Angouleme  to  Jerusalem  in  the  year  1026. 
Chronic.  Ademari,  ibid.  p.  162.  Upon  their  return,  these  pilgrims  filled  Europe 
with  lamentable  accounts  of  the  state  of  Christians  in  the  Holy  Land.  Wil 
lerm.  Tyr.  Hist.  ap.  Gest.  Dei  per  France,  vol.  ii.  p.  636.  Guibert.  Abbat. 
Hist.  ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  476.  Besides  this,  it  was  usual  for  many  of  the  Christian 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as  of  other  cities  in  the  East,  to  travel  as 
mendicants  through  Europe;  and  by  describing  the  wretched  condition  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  Christian  faith  under  the  dominion  of  Infidels,  to  extort  charity, 
and  to  excite  zealous  persons  to  make  some  attempt  in  order  to  deliver  them 
from  oppression.  Baldrici  Archiepiscopi  Histor.  ap.  Gesta  Dei,  &c.  vol.  i.  p. 
86.  In  the  year  986,  Gerbert,  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  afterwards  Pope  Silvester 
II.  addressed  a  letter  to  all  Christians  in  the  name  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem. 
It  is  eloquent  and  pathetic,  and  contains  a  formal  exhortation  to  take  arms 
against  the  Pagan  oppressors,  in  order  to  rescue  the  holy  city  from  their  yoke. 
Gerberti  Epistolte  ap.  Bouquet  Recueil,  torn.  x.  p.  426.  In  consequence  of  this 
spirited  call,  some  subjects  of  the  republic  of  Pisa  equipped  a  fleet,  and  invaded 
the  territories  of  the  Mahometans  in  Syria.  Murat.  Script.  Rer.  Italic,  vol.  iii. 
p.  400.  The  alarm  was  taken  in  the  East,  and  an  opinion  prevailed,  A.  D.  1010. 
that  all  the  forces  of  Christendom  were  to  unite,  in  order  to  drive  the  Maho- 
metans out  of  Palestine.  Chron.  Ademari  ap  Bouquet,  torn.  x.  p.  152.  It  is 
evident  from  all  these  particulars,  that  the  ideas  which  led  the  crusaders  to 
undertake  their  wild  enterprise  did  not  arise,  according  to  the  description  of 
many  authors,  from  a  sudden  fit  of  frantic  enthusiasm,  but  were  gradually 
formed  ;  ro  that  the  universal  concourse  to  the  standard  of  the  cross,  when 
erected  by  Urban  II.  will  appear  less  surprising. 

If  the  various  circumstances  which  I  have  enumerated  in  this  note,  as  well 
as  in  the  history,  are  sufficient  to  account  for  the  ardour  with  which  such  vast 
numbers  erigiitred  in  such  a  dangerous  undertaking,  the  extensive  privileges  and 
immunities  granted  to  the  persons  who  assumed  the  cross,  served  to  account 
for  the  long  continuance  of  this  spirit  in  Europe.  1.  They  were  exempted 
from   prosecutions  on  account  of  debt,  (luring  the  time  of  their  being  engaged 


51b  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

jii  this  holy  service.  Du  Cange  voc.  Cruets  privilegium,  v .  ii.  p.  1194. — x.'. 
They  were  exempted  from,  paying  interest  for  the  money  which  they  had 
borrowed,  in  order  to  fit  them  for  this  sacred  warfare.  Ibid. — 3.  They  were 
exempted  either  entirely,  or  at  least  during  a  certain  time,  from  the  payment  of 
taxes.  Ibid.  Ordonnances  des  Rois  de  France,  torn.  i.  p.  33.-4.  They  might 
alienate  their  lands  without  the  consent  of  the  superior  lord  of  whom  they  held. 
Ibid. — 5.  Their  persons  and  effects  were  taken  under  the  protection  of  St. 
Peter,  and  anathemas  of  the  church  were  denounced  against  ail  who  should 
molest  them,  or  carry  on  any  quarrel  or  hostility  against  them,  during  their 
absence  on  account  of  the  holy  war.  Du  Can^e,  Ibid.  Guibertus  Abbas  up. 
Bongars.  i.  p.  480.  482. — 6.  They  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  ecclesiastics, 
and  were  not  bound  to  plead  in  any  civil  court,  but  were  declared  subject  to 
the  spiritual  jurisdiction  alone.  Du  Cange,  lb.  Ordon.  des  Rois,  torn.  i.  p. 
34.  174, — 7.  They  obtained  a  plenary  remission  of  all  their  sins,  and  the 
gates  of  heaven  were  set  open  to  them,  without  requiring  any  other  proof  of 
their  penitence,  but  their  engaging  in  this  expedition  ;  and  thus,  by  gratifying 
their  favourite  passion,  the  love  of  war,  they  secured  to  themselves  civil  rights 
of  great  value,  and  religious  immunities,  which  were  not  usually  obtained,  but 
by  paying  large  sums  of  money,  or  by  undergoing  painful  penances.  Guibert. 
Abbas,  p.  480.  When  we  behold  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers  vying  with 
each  other,  and  straining  their  invention  in  order  to  devise  expedients  for 
encouraging  and  adding  strength  to  the  spirit  of  superstition,  can  we  be  sur- 
prised that  it  should  become  so  general  as  to  render  it  infamous,  and  a  mark 
of  cowardice,  to  decline  engaging  in  the  holy  war  ?  Willierm.  Tyriensis  ap. 
Bongars,  vol.  ii.  p.  641.  The  histories  of  the  crusades,  written  by  modern 
authors,  who  are  apt  to  substitute  the  ideas  and  maxims  of  their  own  age  in 
the  place  of  those  which  influenced  the  persons  whose  actions  they  attempt  to 
relate,  convey  a  very  imperfect  notion  of  the  spirit  at  that  time  predominant 
in  Europe.  The  original  historians  who  were  animated  themselves  with  the 
same  passions  which  possessed  their  contemporaries,  exhibit  to  us  a  moro 
striking  picture  of  the  times  and  manners  which  they  describe.  The  enthusi- 
astic rapture  with  which  they  account  for  the  effects  of  the  pope's  discourse  in 
the  council  of  Clermont;  the  exultation  with  which  they  mention  the  numbers 
who  devoted  themselves  to  .this  holy  warfare  ;  the  confidence  with  which  they 
express  their  reliance  on  the  Divine  protection  ;  the  ecstasy  of  joy  with  which 
they  describe  their  taking  possession  of  the  holy  city,  will  enable  us  to  con- 
ceive, in  some  degree,  the  extravagance  of  that  zeal  which  agitated  the  minds 
of  men  with  such  violence,  and  will  suggest  as  many  singular  reflections  to  a 
philosopher,  as  any  occurrence  in  the  history  of  mankind.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  select  the  particular  passages  in  the  several  historians,  which  confirm  this 
observation.  But  lest  those  authors  may  be  suspected  of  adorning  their  narra- 
tive with  any  exaggerated  description,  I  shall  appeal  to  one  of  the  leaders 
who  conducted  the  enterprise.  There  is  extant  a  letter  from  Stephen,  the  earl 
of  Chartres  and  Blois,  to  Adela  his  wife,  in  which  he  gives  her  an  account  of 
the  progress  of  the  crusaders.  He  describes  the  crusaders  as  the  chosen 
army  of  Christ,  as  the  servants  and  soldiers  of  God,  as  men  who  marched 
under  the  immediate  protection  of  the  Almighty,  being  conducted  by  his  hand 
to  victory  and  conquest.  He  speaks  of  the  Turks  as  accursed,  sacrilegious, 
and  devoted  by  Heaven  to  destruction :  and  when  he  mentions  the  soldiers  in 
the  Christian  army  who  had  died,  or  were  killed,  he  is  confident  that  their  souls 
were  admitted  directly  into  the  joys  of  Paradise.  Dacherii  Spicelegium,  vol. 
iv.  p.  257. 

The  expense  of  conducting  numerous  bodies  of  men  from  Europe  to  Asia, 
must  have  been  excessive,  and  the  difficulty  of  raising  the  necessary  sums 
must  have  been  proportionally  great,  during  ages  when  the  public  revenues  in 
every  nation  of  Europe  were  extremely  small.  Some  account  is  preserved  of 
the  expedients  employed  by  Humbert  II.  dauphin  of  Vienne,  in  order  to  levy 
the  money  requisite  towards  equipping  him  for  the  crusade,  A.  D.  1346. 
These  I  shall  mention,  as  they  tend  to  show  the  considerable  influence  which 
the  crusades  had,  both  on  the  state  of  property,  and  of  civil  government.  1 . 
He  exposed  to  sale  part  of  his  domains  ;  and  as  the  price  was  destined  for 
such  a  sacred  service,  he  obtained  the  consent  of  the  French  king,  of  whom 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  519 

these  lands  were  held,  ratifying  the  alienation.  Hist,  de  Dauphinc,  torn.  i.  p. 
332.  335. — 2.  He  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  promised  to  grant  new 
privileges  to  the  nobles,  as  well  as  new  immunities  to  the  cities  and  towns,  in 
his  territories,  in  consideration  of  certain  sums  which  they  were  instantly  to 
pay  on  that  account.  Ibid.  torn.  ii.  p.  512.  Many  of  the  charters  of  commu- 
nity, which  1  shall  mention  in  another  Note,  were  obtained  in  this  manner. — 3. 
He  exacted  a  contribution  towards  defraying  the  charges  of  the  expedition 
from  all  his  subjects,  whether  ecclesiastics  or  laymen,  who  did  not  accompany 
him  in  person  to  the  East.  Ibid.  torn.  i.  p.  335. — 4.  He  appropriated  a  con- 
siderable part  of  his  usual  revenues  for  the  support  of  the  troops  to  be  em- 
ployed in  this  service.  Ibid.  torn.  ii.  p.  518. — 5.  He  exacted  considerable 
sums  not  only  of  the  Jews  settled  in  his  dominions,  but  also  of  the  Lombards 
and  other  bankers  who  had  fixed  their  residence  there.  Ibid.  torn.  i.  p.  338. 
torn.  ii.  528.  Notwithstanding  the  variety  of  their  resources,  the  dauphin  was 
involved  in  such  expense  by  this  expedition,  that  on  his  return  he  was  obliged 
to  make  new  demands  on  his  subjects,  and  to  pillage  the  Jews  by  fresh  exactions. 
Ibid.  torn.  i.  p.  344.  347.  When  the  count  de  Foix  engaged  in  the  first  crusade, 
lie  raised  the  money  necessary  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  that  expedition, 
by  alienating  part  of  his  territories.  Hist,  de  Langued.  par  D.  D.  de  Vic  and 
Vaisette,  torn.  ii.  p.  287.  In  like  manner  Baldwin,  count  of  Hainault,  mort- 
gaged or  sold  a  considerable  portion  of  his  dominions  to  the  bishop  of  Liege, 
A.  D.  1096.  Du  Mont,  Corps  Diplomatique,  torn.  i.  p.  59.  At  a  later  period, 
Baldwin,  count  of  Namur,  sold  part  of  his  estate  to  a  monastery  when  he. 
intended  to  assume  the  cross,  A.  D.  1239.     Mirsei  Oper.  i.  313. 

Note  [14].  Page  19. 

The  usual  method  of  forming  an  opinion  concerning  the  comparative  state 
of  manners  in  two  different  nations,  is  by  attending  to  the  facts  which  historians 
relate  concerning  each  of  them.  Various  passages  might  be  selected  from  the 
Byzantin  historians,  describing  the  splendour  and  magnificence  of  the  Greek 
empire.  P.  de  Montfaucon  has  produced  from  the  writings  of  St.  Chrysostom 
a  very  full  account  of  the  elegance  and  luxury  of  the  Greeks  in  his  age.  That 
father  in  his  sermons  enters  into  such  minute  details  concerning  the  .manners 
and  customs  of  his  contemporaries,  as  appear  strange  in  discourses  from  the 
pulpit.  P.  de  Montfaucon  has  collected  these  descriptions,  and  ranged  them 
under  different  heads.  The  court  of  the  more  early  Greek  emperors  seems  to 
have  resembled  those  of  Eastern  monarchs,  both  in  magnificence  and  in  corrup- 
tion of  manners.  The  emperors  in  the  eleventh  century,  though  inferior  in 
power,  did   not  yield   to  them  in  ostentation   and   splendour.     Memoires  do 

l'Acad.  des  Inscript.  torn.  xx.  p.  197. But  we   may  decide  concerning  the 

comparative  state  of  manners  in  the  eastern  empire,  and  among  the  nations 
in  the  west  of  Europe  by  another  method,  which,  if  not  more  certain,  is  at 
least  more  striking.  As  Constantinople  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  all 
the  armies  of  the  crusaders,  this  brought  together  the  people  of  the  East  and 
West  as  to  one  great  interview.  There  are  extant  several  contemporary  authors 
both  among  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  who  were  witnesses  of  this  singular  con- 
gress of  people,  formerly  strangers,  in  a  great  measure,  to  each  other.  They 
describe  with  simplicity  and  candour,  the  impression  which  that  new  spectacle 
made  upon  their  own  minds.  This  may  be  considered  as  a  most  lively  and 
just  picture  of  the  real  character  and  manners  of  each  people.  When  the 
Greeks  speak  of  the  Franks,  they  describe  them  as  barbarians,  fierce,  illiterate, 
impetuous,  and  savage.  They  assume  a  tone  of  superiority,  as  a  more  polished 
people,  acquainted  with  the  arts  both  of  government  and  of  elegance,  of  which 
the  other  was  ignorant.  It  is  thus  Anna  Comnena  describes  the  manners  of 
the  Latins,  Alexias,  p.  224.  231.  237.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  xi.  She  always 
views  them  with  contempt  as  a  rude  people,  the  very  mention  of  whose  names 
was  sufficient  to  contaminate  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  history,  p.  229. 
Nicetas  Choniatus  inveighs  against  them  with  still  more  violence,  and  gives 
an  account  of  their  ferocity  and  devastations,  in  terms  not  unlike  those  which 
preceding  historians  had  employed  in  describing  the  incursions  of  the  Goths 
and  Vandals.  Nicet.  Chon.  ap.  Byz.  Script,  vol.  iii.  p.  302,  &c.  But  on  the. 
other  hand,  the  Latin  historians  were  struck  with  astonishment  at.  the  magnift- 


520  PROOFS  AMj  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

fence,  wealth,  and  elegance  which  they  discovered  in  the  eastern  empire.  '•  O 
what  a  vast  city  is  Constantinople  (exclaims  Fulcherius  Carnotensjs,  when  he 
first  beheld  it),  and  how  beautiful  !  How  many  monasteries  are  there  in  it,  and 
how  many  palaces  built  with  wonderful  art!  How  many  manufactures  are 
there  in  the  city  amazing  to  behold  !  It  would  be  astonishing  to  relate  how  it 
abounds  with  all  good  tilings,  with  gold,  silver,  and  stuffs  of  various  kinds ; 
for  every  hour  ships  arrive  in  its  port  laden  with  all  things  necessary  for  the 
use  of  man.''  Fuicher.  ap.  Bongars.  vol.  i.  p.  3o6.  Willermus,  archbishop  of 
Tyre,  the  most  intelligent  historian  of  the  crusades,  seems  to  be  fond  on  every 
occasion  of  describing  the  elegance  and  splendour  of  the  court  of  Constanti- 
nople, and  adds,  that  what  he  and  his  countrymen  observed  there  exceeded  any 
idea  which  they  could  have  formed  of  it,  "  nostrarum  enim  rerum  modum  et 
dignitatem  excedunt."  Willerm.  Tyr.  ap.  Bong.  vol.  ii.  p.  657.  664.  Benjamin 
the  Jew,  of  Tudela.  in  Navarre,  who  began  his  travels  A.  D.  1173,  appears  to 
have  been  equally  astonished  at  the  magnificence  of  that  city,  and  gives  a  de- 
scription of  its  splendour,  in  terms  of  high  admiration.  Benj.  Tudel.  chez  les 
Voyages  faits  en  14,  13,  &c.  Siecles,  par  Bergeron,  p.  10,  &c.  Guntherus,  a 
French  monk,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  cru- 
saders in  the  thirteenth  century,  speaks  of  the  magnificence  of  that  city  in  the 
same  tone  of  admiration  :  "  Structuram  autem  sedificiorum  in  corpore  civitatis, 
in  ecclesiis  videlicet,  et  turribus,  et  in  domibus  magnatorum,  vix  ullus  vel  descri- 
bere  potest,  vel  credere  describenti,  nisi  qui  ea  oculata  fide  cognoverit."  Hist. 
Constantinop.  ap.  Canisii  Lectiones  Antiquas,  fol.  Antw.  1725.  vol.  iv.  p.  14. 
Geoffrey  de  Villehardouin,  a  nobleman  of  high  rank,  and  accustomed  to  all  the 
magnificence  then  known  in  the  West,  describes,  in  similar  terms,  the  astonishment 
and  admiration  of  such  of  his  fellow-soldiers  as  beheld  Constantinople  for  the  first 
time  :  "  They  could  not  have  believed,"  says  he,  u  that  there  was  a  city  so  beau- 
tiful and  so  rich  in  the  whole  world.  When  they  viewed  its  high  walls,  its  lofty 
Sowers,  its  rich  palaces,its  superb  churches, all  appeared  so  great,  that  they  could 
haveformednoconceptionof  this  sovereign  city,  unless  they  had  seen  it  with  their 
own  eyes."  Histoire  de  la  Conquete  de  Constant,  p. 49.  From  these  undisguised 
representations  of  their  own  feelings,  it  is  evident  that  to  the  Greeks  the  cru- 
saders appeared  to  be  a  race  of  rude,  unpolished  barbarians  ;  whereas  the  latter, 
how  much  soever  they  might  contemn  the  unwarlike  character  of  the  former, 
could  not  help  regarding  them  as  far  superior  to  themselves  in  elegance  and 
arts. — That  the  state  of  government  and  manners  were  much  more  improved 
in  Italy  than  in  the  other  countries  of  Europe,  is  evident  not  only  from  the 
facts  recorded  in  history,  but  it  appears  that  the  more  intelligent  leaders  of  the 
crusaders  were  struck  with  the  difference.  Jacobus  de  Vitriaco,  a  French  his- 
torian of  the  holy  war,  makes  an  elaborate  panegyric  on  the  character  and 
manners  of  the  Italians.  He  views  them  as  a  more  polished  people,  and  par- 
ticularly celebrates  them  for  their  love  of  liberty,  and  civil  wisdom ;  "  in  con- 
siliis  circumspect!,  in  re  sua  publica  procuranda  diligentes  et  studiosi  ;  sibi  in 
posterum  providentes ;  aliis  subjici  renuentes ;  ante  omnia  libertatem  sibi 
defendentes ;  sub  uno  quem  eligunt  capitaneo,  communitati  suee  jura  et  insti- 
tuta  dictantes  et  similiter  observantes."  Histor.  Hierosol.  ap.  Gesta  Dei  pep 
Francos,  vol.  ii.  p.  1085. 

Note  [15].  Page  20. 

The  different  steps  taken  by  the  cities  of  Italy  in  order  to  extend  their  power 
and  dominions  are  remarkable.  As  soon  as  their  liberties  were  established, 
and  they  began  to  feel  their  own  importance,  they  endeavoured  to  render  them- 
selves masters  of  the  territory  round  their  walls.  Under  the  Romans,  when 
cities  enjoyed  municipal  privileges  and  jurisdiction,  the  circumjacent  lands 
belonged  to  each  town,  and  were  the  property  of  the  community.  But  as  it 
was  not  the  genius  of  the  feudal  policy  to  encourage  cities,  or  to  show  any 
regard  for  their  possessions  and  immunities,  these  lands  had  been  seized,  and 
shared  among  the  conquerors.  The  barons  to  whom  they  were  granted,  erected 
their  castles,  almost  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  exercised  their  jurisdiction 
there.  Under  pretence  of  recovering  their  ancient  property,  many  of  the 
cities  in  Italy  attacked  these  troublesome  neighbours,  and  dispossessing  them, 
annexed  their  territories  to  the  communities,  and  made  thereby  a  considerable 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  621 

audition  to  their  power.  Several  instances  of"  this  occur  in  the  eleventh,  and 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  centuries.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  iv.  p.  159,  &c. 
Their  ambition  increasing  together  with  their  power,  the  cities  afterwards 
attacked  several  barons  situated  at  a  greater  distance  from  their  walls,  and 
obliged  them  to  engage  that  they  would  become  members  of  their  community, 
that  they  would  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  their  magistrates  ;  that  they  would 
subject  their  lands  to  all  burdens  and  taxes  imposed  by  common  consent ;  that 
they  would  defend  the  community  against  all  its  enemies  ;  and  that  they  would 
reside  within  the  city  during  a  certain  specified  time  in  each  year.  Murat. 
ibid.  163.  This  subjoction  of  the  nobility  to  the  municipal  government  esta- 
blished in  cities,  became  almost  universal,  and  was  often  extremely  grievous  to 
persons  accustomed  to  consider  themselves  as  independent.  Otto  Frisingensis 
thus  describes  the  state  of  Italy  under  Frederick  I.  "  The  cities  so  much  affect 
liberty,  and  are  so  solicitous  to  avoid  the  insolence  of  power,  that  almost  all 
of  them  have  thrown  off  every  other  authority,  and  are  governed  by  their  own 
magistrates.  Insomuch  that  all  that  country  is  now  filled  with  free  cities,  most 
of  which  have  compelled  their  bishops  to  reside  within  their  walls,  and  there 
is  scarcely  any  nobleman,  how  great  soever  his  power  may  be,  who  is  not  sub- 
ject to  the  laws  and  government  of  some  city."  De  Gestis  Frider.  i.  Imp.  lib. 
ii.  c.  13.  p.  453.  In  another  place  he  observes  of  the  Marquis  of  Montserrat, 
that  he  was  almost  the  only  Italian  baron  who  had  preserved  his  independence, 
and  had  not  become  subject  to  the  laws  of  any  city.  See  also  Muratori  Anti- 
chita  Estensi,  vol.  i.  p.  411,  412.  That  state  into  which  some  of  the  nobles 
were  compelled  to  enter,  others  embraced  from  choice.  They  observed  the 
highest  degree  of  security,  as  well  as  of  credit  and  estimation,  which  the  grow- 
ing wealth  and  dominion  of  the  great  communities  procured  to  all  the  members 
of  them.  They  were  desirous  to  partake  of  these,  and  to  put  themselves 
under  such  powerful  protection.  With  this  view  they  voluntarily  became 
citizens  of  the  towns  to  which  their  lands  were  most  contiguous  ;  and  abandon- 
ing their  ancient  castles,  took  up  their  residence  in  the  cities  at  least  during 
part  of  the  year.  Several  deeds  are  still  extant,  by  which  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  families  in  Italy  are  associated  as  citizens  of  different  cities.  Murat. 
ibid.  p.  165,  &c.  A  charter,  by  which  Atto  de  Macerata  is  admitted  as  a  citizen 
of  Osirno,  A.  D.  1198,  in  the  Marcha  di  Ancona,  is  still  extant.  In  this  ho 
stipulates,  that  he  will  acknowledge  himself  to  be  a  burgess  of  that  community  ; 
that  he  will  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  promote  its  honour  and  welfare  ;  that 
he  will  obey  its  magistrates  ;  that  he  will  enter  into  no  leagues  with  its  ene- 
mies ;  that  he  will  reside  in  the  town  during  two  months  in  every  year,  or  for 
a  longer  time,  if  required  by  the  magistrates.  The  community,  on  the  other 
hand,  take  him,  his  family,  and  friends,  under  their  protection,  and  engage  to 
defend  him  against  every  enemy.  Fr.  Ant.  Zacharias  Anectoda  medii  cevi. 
Aug.  Taur.  1755.  fol.  p.  66.  This  privilege  was  deemed  so  important,  that  not 
only  laymen,  but  ecclesiastics  of  the  highest  rank,  condescended  to  be  adopted 
as  members  of  the  great  communities,  in  hopes  of  enjoying  the  safety  and  dig- 
nity which  that  condition  conferred.  Murat.  ibid.  179.  Before  the  institutiou 
of  communities,  persons  of  noble  birth  had  no  other  residence  but  their  castles. 
They  kept  their  petty  courts  there  ;  and  the  cities  were  deserted,  having  hardly 
any  inhabitants  but  slaves,  or  persons  of  low  condition.  But  in  consequenco 
of  the  practice  which  J  have  mentioned,  cities  not  only  became  more  populous, 
but  were  filled  with  inhabitants  of  better  rank,  and  a  custom  which  still  sub- 
sists in  Italy  was  then  introduced,  that  all  families  of  distinction  reside  more 
constantly  in  the  great  towns,  than  is  usual  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  As  cities 
acquired  new  consideration  and  dignity  by  the  accession  of  such  citizens,  they 
became  more  solicitous  to  preserve  their  liberty  and  independence.  The  em- 
perors, as  sovereigns,  had  anciently  a  palace  in  almost  every  great  city  of  Italy; 
when  they  visited  that  country  they  were  accustomed  to  reside  in  these  palaces, 
and  the  troops  which  accompanied  them  were  quartered  in  the  houses  of  the 
citizens.  This  the  citizens  deemed  both  ignominious  and  dangerous.  They 
could  not  help  considering  it  as  receiving  a  master  and  an  enemy  within  their 
walls.  They  laboured,  therefore  to  get  free  of  this  subjection.  Some  cities 
prevailed  on  the  emperors  to  engage  that  they  would  never  enter  their  gates, 
but  take  up  their  residence  without  the  walls:  Chart.  Hen.  IV.  Murat.  ib.  p. 
Vol.  It— 66 


S22  PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

24.  Others  obtained  the  imperial  license  to  pull  down  the  palace  situated 
within  their  liberties,  on  condition  that  they  would  build  another  in  the  suburbs 
for  the  occasional  reception  of  the  Emperor.  Chart.  Hen.  IV.  Murat.  ib.  p.  25. 
These  various  encroachments  of  the  Italian  cities  alarmed  the  emperors,  and 
put  them  on  schemes  for  re-establishing  the  imperial  jurisdiction  over  them  on 
its  ancient  footing.  Frederick  Barbarossa  engaged  in  this  enterprise  with  great 
ardour.  The  free  cities  of  Italy  joined  together  in  a  general  league,  and  stood 
on  their  defence  :  and  after  a  long  contest,  carried  on  with  alternate  success,  a 
solemn  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  at  Constance,  A.  D.  1183,  by  which  all 
the  privileges  and  immunities  granted  by  former  emperors  to  the  principal  cities 
in  Italy  were  confirmed  and  ratified.  Murat.  Dissert.  XL VIII.  This  treaty  of 
Constance  was  considered  as  such  an  important  article  in  the  jurisprudence  of 
the  middle  ages,  that  it  is  usually  published  together  with  the  Libri  Feudorum 
at  the  end  of  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis.  The  treaty  secured  privileges  of  great 
importance  to  the  confederate  cities,  and  though  it  reserved  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  authority  and  jurisdiction  to  the  empire,  yet  the  cities  persevered  with 
such  vigour  in  their  efforts  in  order  to  extend  their  immunities,  and  the  con- 
junctures in  which  they  made  them  were  so  favourable,  that,  before  the  con- 
clusion of  the  thirteenth  century,  most  of  the  great  cities  in  Italy  had  shaken 
off  all  marks  of  subjection  to  the  empire,  and  were  become  independent  sove- 
reign republics.  It  is  not  requisite  that  I  should  trace  the  various  steps  by  which 
they  advanced  to  this  high  degree  of  power  so  fatal  to  the  empire,  and  so 
beneficial  to  the  cause  of  liberty  in  Italy.  Muratori,  with  his  usual  industry, 
has  collected  many  original  papers  which  illustrate  this  curious  and  little  known 
part  of  history.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  Dissert.  L.  See  also  Jo.  Bapt.  Villanovse 
Hist.  Laudis  Pompeii  sive  Lodi.  in  Graev.  Thes.  Antiquit.  Ital.  vol.  iii.  p.  888. 

Note  [16].  Page  21. 

Long  before  the  institution  of  communities  in  France,  charters  of  immunity 
or  franchise  were  granted  to  some  towns  and  villages  by  the  lords  on  whom 
they  depended.  But  these  are  very  different  from  such  as  became  common  in 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  They  did  not  erect  these  towns  into 
corporations  ;  they  did  not  establish  a  municipal  government ;  they  did  not 
grant  them  the  privilege  of  bearing  arms.  They  contained  nothing  more  than 
a  manumission  of  the  inhabitants  from  the  yoke  of  servitude  ;  an  exemption 
from  certain  services  which  were  oppressive  and  ignominious  ;  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  fixed  tax  or  rent  which  the  citizens  were  to  pay  to  their  lord  in 
place  of  impositions  which  he  could  formerly  lay  upon  them  at  pleasure.  Two 
charters  of  this  kind  to  two  villages  in  the  county  of  Rousillon,  one  in  A.  D. 
974,  the  other  in  A.  D.  1025,  are  still  extant.  Petr.  de  Marca,  Marca,  sive 
Limes  Hispanicus,  App.  p.  909.  1038.  Such  concessions,  it  is  probable,  were 
not  unknown  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  may  be  considered  as  a  step 
towards  the  more  extensive  privileges  conferred  by  Louis  le  Gros,  on  the 
towns  within  his  domains.  The  communities  in  France  never  aspired  to  the 
same  independence  with  those  in  Italy.  They  acquired  new  privileges  and 
immunities,  but  the  right  of  sovereignty  remained  entire  to  the  king  or  baron 
within  whose  territories  the  respective  cities  were  situated,  and  from  whom  they 
received  the  charter  of  their  freedom.  A  great  number  of  these  charters, 
granted  both  by  the  kings  of  France,  and  by  their  great  vassals,  are  published 
by  M.  D'Achery  in  his  Spicelegium,  and  many  are  found  in  the  collection  of 
the  Ordonnances  des  Rois  de  France.  These  convey  a  very  striking  representa- 
tion of  the  wretched  condition  of  cities  previous  to  the  institution  of  commu- 
nities, when  they  were  subject  to  the  judges  appointed  by  the  superior  lords  of 
whom  they  held,  and  who  had  scarcely  any  other  law  but  their  will.  Each 
concession  in  these  charters  must  be  considered  as  a  grant  of  some  new  privi- 
lege which  the  people  did  not  formerly  enjoy,  and  each  regulation  as  a  method 
of  redressing  some  grievance  under  which  the  inhabitants  of  cities  formerly 
laboured.  The  charters  of  communities  contain  likewise  the  first  expedients 
employed  for  the  introduction  of  equal  laws  and  regular  government.  On 
both  these  accounts  they  merit  particular  attention,  and  therefore,  instead  of 
referring  my  readers  to  the  many  bulky  volumes  in  which  they  are  scattered,  I 
shall   give  them  n  view  of  some  of  the  most  important  articles  in  these  char- 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  523 

lers,  ranged  under  two  general  heads.     I.  Such  as  respect  personal  safety.    II. 
Such  as  respect  the  security  of  property. 

I.  During  that  state  of  turbulence  and  disorder  which  the  corruption  of  the. 
feudal  government  introduced  into  Europe,  personal  safety  was  the  first  and 
great  object  of  every  individual ;  and,  as  the  great  military  barons  alone  were 
able  to  give  sufficient  protection  to  their  vassals,  this  was  one  great  source  of 
their  power  and  authority.  But,  by  the  institution  of  communities,  effectual 
provision  was  made  for  the  safety  of  individuals,  independent  of  the  nobles. 
For,  1.  The  fundamental  article  in  every  charter  was,  that  all  the  members  of 
the  community,  bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  assist,  defend,  and  stand  by 
each  other  against  all  aggressors,  and  that  the}'  should  not  suffer  any  person 
to  injure,  distress,  or  molest  any  of  their  fellow  citizens.  DAcher.  Spicel.  x. 
642.  xi.  341,  &c. — 2.  Whoever  resided  in  any  town  which  was  made  free,  was 
obliged,  under  a  severe  penalty,  to  accede  to  the  community,  and  to  take  part 
in  the  mutual  defence  of  its  members.  D'Acher.  Spic.  xi.  344. — 3.  The  com- 
munities had  the  privilege  of  carrying  arms ;  of  making  war  on  their  private 
enemies  ;  and  of  executing  by  military  force  any  sentence  which  their  magis- 
trates pronounced.  D'Ach.  Spicel.  x.  643,644.  xi.  343. — 4.  The  practice  of 
making  satisfaction  by  a  pecuniary  compensation  for  murder,  assault,  or  other 
acts  of  violence,  most  inconsistent  with  the  order  of  society  and  the  safety  of 
individuals  was  abolished  ;  and  such  as  committed  these  crimes  were  punished 
capitally,  or  with  rigour  adequate  to  their  guilt.  D'Ach.  xi.  362.  Mirsei  Opera 
Diplomatica,  i.  292. — 5.  No  member  of  a  community  was  bound  to  justify  or 
defend  himself  by  battle  or  combat ;  but,  if  he  was  charged  with  any  crime,  he 
could  be  convicted  only  by  the  evidence  of  witnesses,  and  the  regular  course  of 
legal  proceedings.  Miraeus,  ibid.  D'Ach.  xi.  375.  349.  Ordon.  torn.  iii.  265. — 6. 
If  any  man  suspected  himself  to  be  in  danger  from  the  malice  or  enmity  of 
another,  upon  making  oath  to  that  effect  before  a  magistrate,  the  person  sus- 
pected was  bound  under  a  severe  penalty  to  give  surety  for  his  peaceable  behaviour. 
D'Ach.  xi.  346.  This  is  the  same  species  of  security  which  is  still  known  in 
Scotland  under  the  name  of  Lawburrows.  In  France,  it  was  first  introduced 
among  the  inhabitants  of  communities,  and  having  been  found  to  contribute 
considerably  towards  personal  safety,  it  was  extended  to  all  the  other  members 
of  society.  Establissemens  de  St.  Louis,  liv.  i.  cap.  28.  ap.  Du  Cange  Vie  dc 
St.  Louis,  p.  15. 

II.  The  provisions  in  the  charters  of  communities  concerning  the  security  of 
property,  are  not  less  considerable  than  those  respecting  personal  safety.  By 
the  ancient  law  of  France,  no  person  could  be  arrested  or  confined  in  prison  on 
account  of  any  private  debt.  Ordon.  des  Rois  de  France,  torn.  i.  p.  72 — 80.  If 
any  person  was  arrested  upon  any  pretext,  it  was  lawful  to  rescue  him  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  officers  who  had  seized  him.  Ordon.  iii.  p.  17.  Freedom  from  arrest 
on  account  of  debt  seems  likewise  to  have  been  enjoyed  in  other  countries. 
Gudenus  Sylloge  Diplom.  473.  In  society,  while  it  remained  in  its  rudest 
and  most  simple  form,  debt  seems  to  have  been  considered  as  an  obligation 
merely  personal.  Men  had  made  some  progress  towards  refinement,  before 
creditors  acquired  a  right  of  seizing  the  property  of  their  debtors  in  order  to 
recover  payment.  The  expedients  for  this  purpose  were  all  introduced 
originally  in  communities,  and  we  can  trace  the  gradual  progress  of  them.  1. 
The  simplest  and  most  obvious  species  of  security  was,  that  the  person  who 
sold  any  commodity  should  receive  a  pledge  from  him  who  bought  it,  which  he 
restored  upon  receiving  payment.  Of  this  custom  there  are  vestiges  in  several 
charters  of  community.  D'Ach.  ix.  185.  xi.  377. — 2.  When  no  pledge  was 
given,  and  the  debtor  became  refractory  or  insolvent,  the  creditor  was  allowed 
to  seize  his  effects  with  a  strong  hand,  and  by  his  private  authority;  the 
citizens  of  Paris  are  warranted  by  the  royal  mandate  ;  "  ut  ubicumque,  et  quo- 
cumque  modo  poterunt,  tantum  capiant,  unde  pecuniam  sibi  debitam  integre  of. 
plenarie  habeant,  et  inde  sibi  invicem  adjutores  existant."  Ordon.  &c.  torn.  i. 
p.  6.  This  rude  practice,  suitable  only  to  the  violence  of  that  which  has  been 
called  a  state  of  nature,  was  tolerated  longer  than  one  can  conceive  to  be  possi- 
ble in  any  society  where  laws  and  order  were  at  all  known.  The  ordonnanco 
authorizing  it  was  issued,  A.  D.  1134:  and  that  which  corrects  the  law,  and 
prohibits  creditors  from  seizin?  the  effects  of  their  debtors,  unless  bv  a  warrant 


624  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

from  a  magistrate,  and  under  his  inspection,  was  not  published  until  the  yeap 
1351.  Ordon.  torn.  ii.  p.  438.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  men  were  taught, 
by  observing  the  disorders  which  the  former  mode  of  proceeding  occasioned,  to 
correct  it  in  practice  long  before  a  remedy  was  provided  by  a  law  to  that  effect. 
Every  discerning  reader  will  apply  this  observation  to  many  other  customs  and 
practices  which  1  have  mentioned.  New  customs  are  not  always  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  laws  whicli  authorize  them.  Tli06e  statutes  only  give  a  legal  sanction  to 
such  things  as  the  experience  of  mankind  has  previously  found  to  be  proper 
and  beneficial. — 3.  As  soon  as  the  interposition  of  the  magistrate  became 
requisite,  regular  provision  was  made  for  attaching  or  distraining  the  moveable 
effects  of  a  debtor ;  and  if  his  moveable  were  not  sufficient  to  discharge  tho 
debt,  his  immoveable  property,  or  estate  in  land,  was  liable  to  the  same  distress, 
and  was  sold  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditor.  D'Ach.  ix.  p.  184,  185.  xi.  p.  348 
— 380.  As  this  regulation  afforded  the  most  complete  security  to  the  creditor, 
it  was  considered  as  so  severe,  that  humanity  pointed  out  several  limitations 
in  the  execution  of  it.  Creditors  were  prohibited  from  seizing  the  wearing 
apparel  of  their  debtors,  their  beds,  the  door  of  their  house,  their  instruments  of 
husbandry,  &c.  D'Ach.  ix.  184.  xi.  377.  Upon  the  same  principles,  when  the 
power  of  distraining  effects  became  more  general,  the  horse  and  arms  of  a 
gentleman  could  not  be  seized.  D'Ach.  ix.  185.  As  hunting  was  the  favourite 
amusement  of  martial  nobles,  the  emperor  Lodovicus  Pius  prohibited  the  seiz- 
ing of  a  hawk,  on  account  of  any  composition  or  debt.  Capitul.  lib.  iv.  sect.  21. 
But  if  the  debtor  had  no  other  moveables,  even  these  privileged  articles  might 
be  seized. — 4.  In  order  to  render  the  security  of  property  complete  within  a 
community,  every  person  who  was  admitted  a  member  of  it,  was  obliged  to 
buy  or  build  a  house,  or  to  purchase  lands  within  its  precincts,  or  at  least  to 
bring  into  the  town  a  considerable  portion  of  his  moveables,  per  qua  justiciar'/, 
possit,  si  quid  forte  in  eum  querela  crenerit.  D'Ach.  xi.  326.  Ordon.  i.  367. 
Libertates  S.  Georgii  de  Esperanchia.  Hist,  de  Dauphine,  torn.  i.  p.  26. — 5. 
That  security  might  be  as  perfect  as  possible,  in  some  towns,  the  members  of 
the  community  seem  to  have  been  bound  for  each  other.  D'Ach.  x.  644. — 6.  All 
questions  with  respect  to  property  were  tried  within  the  community,  by  magis- 
trates and  judges  whom  the  citizens  elected  or  appointed.  Their  decisions  were 
more  equal  and  fixed  than  thejsentences  which  depended  on  the  capricious  and 
arbitrary  will  of  a  baron,  who  thought  himself  superior  to  all  laws.  D'Ach.  x. 
644.  646.  xi.  344.  et  passim.  Ordon.  iii.  204. — 7.  No  member  of  a  community 
could  be  burdened  by  any  arbitrary  tax;  for  the  superior  lord  who  granted  the 
charter  of  community,  accepted  of  a  fixed  census  or  duty  in  lieu  of  all  demands. 
Ordon.  torn.  iii.  204.  Libertates  de  Calma  Hist,  de  Dauphine,  torn.  i.  p. 
19.  Libert.  St.  Georgii  de  Esperanchia.  ibid.  p.  26.  Nor  could  the  members 
of  a  community  be  distressed  by  an  unequal  imposition  of  the  sum  to  be  levied 
on  the  community.  Regulations  are  inserted  in  the  charters  of  some  commu- 
nities, concerning  the  method  of  determining  the  quota  of  any  tax  to  be  levied 
on  each  inhabitant.  D'Ach.  xi.  350.  365.  St.  Louis  published  an  ordonnanco 
concerning  this  matter  which  extended  to  all  the  communities.  Ordon.  torn.  i. 
186.  These  regulations  are  extremely  favourable  to  liberty,  as  they  vest  the 
power  of  proportioning  the  taxes  in  a  certain  number  of  citizens  chosen  out  of 
each  parish,  who  were  bound  by  solemu  oath  to  decide  according  to  justice. — 
That  the  more  perfect  security  of  property  was  one  great  object  of  those  who 
instituted  communities,  we  learn,  not  only  from  the  nature  of  the  thing,  but 
from  the  express  words  of  several  charters,  of  which  I  shall  only  mention  that 
granted  by  Alienor  queen  of  England  and  dutcliess  of  Guienne,  to  the  com- 
munity of  Poitiers,  "  ut  sua  propria  melius  defendere  possint,  et  magis  integre 
oustodire."  Du  Cange,  voc.  Comnmnia,  v.  ii.  p.  863. — Such  are  some  of  the 
capital  regulations  established  in  communities  during  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries.  These  may  be  considered  as  the  first  expedients  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  law  and  order,  and  contributed  greatly  to  introduce  regular 
government  among  all  the  members  of  society.  As  soon  as  communities  were 
instituted,  high  sentiments  of  liberty  began  to  manifest  themselves.  When 
Humbert  lord  of  Beaujeu,  upon  granting  a  charter  of  community  to  the  town  of 
Belleville,  exacted  of  the  inhabitants  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  himself  and  success- 
ore,  they   stipulated   on  their  part,  that  he    should   swear  to   maintain  them 


PUOOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  525 

franchises  and  liberties;  and  for  their  greater  security,  they  obliged  him  to 
bring  twenty  gentlemen  to  take  the  same  oath,  and  to  be  bound  together 
with  him.  D'Ach.  ix.  183.  In  the  same  manner  the  lord  of  Moriens  in  Dau- 
phine  produced  a  certain  number  of  persons  as  his  sureties  for  the  observation 
of  the  articles  contained  in  the  charter  of  community  to  that  town.  These 
were  bound  to  surrender  themselves  prisoners  to  the  inhabitants  of  Moriens,  if 
their  liege  lord  should  violate  any  of  their  franchises,  and  they  promised  to 
remain  in  custody  until  lie  should  grant  the  members  of  the  community 
redress.  Hist,  de  Oauphine,  torn.  i.  p.  17.  If  the  mayor  or  chief  magistrate  of 
a.  town  did  any  injury  to  a  citizen,  he  was  obliged  to  give  security  for  his 
appearance  in  judgment  in  the  same  manner  as  a  private  person  ;  arid  if  cast, 
was  liable  to  the  same  penalty.  D'Ach.  ix.  183.  These  are  ideas  of  equality 
uncommon  in  the  feudal  times.  Communities  were  so  favourable  to  freedom, 
that  they  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  lAbertatts.  Du  Cange,  v.  ii.  p. 
863.  They  were  at  first  extremely  odious  to  the  nobles,  who  foresaw  what  a 
check  they  must  prove  to  their  power  and  domination.  Guibert  abbot  of 
Nogent  calls  them  execrable  inventions,  by  which,  contrary  to  law  and  justice, 
slaves  withdrew  themselves  from  that  obedience  which  they  owed  to  their 
masters.  Du  Cange,  ib.  862.  The  zeal  with  which  some  of  the  nobles  and 
powerful  ecclesiastics  opposed  the  establishment  of  communities,  and  endea- 
voured to  circumscribe  their  privileges,  was  extraordinary.  A  striking  instance 
of  this  occurs  in  the  contest  between  the  archbishop  of  Reims,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  that  community.  It  was-  the  chief  business  of  every  archbishop, 
during  a  considerable  time,  to  abridge  the  rights  and  jurisdiction  of  the  com- 
munity; and  the  great  object  of  the  citizens,  especially  when  the  see  was 
vacant,  to  maintain,  to  recover,  and  to  extend  their  own  jurisdiction.  Histoirc 
civile  et  politique  do  la  Vilie  de  Reims,  par  M.  Anquetil,  torn.  i.  p.  287,  &c. 

The  observations  which  I  have  made  concerning  the  lowstateof  cities,  and  the 
condition  of  their  inhabitants,  are  confirmed  by  innumerable  passages  in  the 
historians  and  laws  of  the  middle  ages.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that 
some  cities  of  the  first  order  were  in  a  better  state,  and  enjoyed  a  superior 
degree  of  liberty.  Under  the  Roman  government,  the  municipal  government 
established  in  cities  was  extremely  favourable  to  liberty.  The  jurisdiction  of  the 
senate  in  each  corporation,  and  the  privileges  of  the  citizens,  were  both  extensive. 
There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  some  of  the  greater  cities  which  escaped  the 
destructive  rage  of  the  barbarous  nations  still  retained  their  ancient  form  of 
government,  at  least  in  a  great  measure.  They  were  governed  by  a  council  of 
citizens,  and  by  magistrates  whom  they  themselves  elected.  Very  strong  pre- 
sumptions in  favour  of  this  opinion  are  produced  by  M.  TAbbe  Dc  Bos,  Hist. 
Crit.  de  la  Mon.  Franc,  torn.  i.  p.  18,  &c.  torn.  ii.  p.  524.  edit.  1742.  It  appears 
from  some  of  the  charters  of  community  to  cities,  granted  in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries,  that  these  only  confirm  the  privileges  possessed  by  the  in- 
habitants previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  community.  D'Acher.  Spiceleg. 
vol.  xi.  p.  345.  Other  cities  claimed  their  privileges,  as  having  possessed  them 
without  interruption  from  the  times  of  the  Romans.  Hist.  Crit.  de  la  Mon. 
Franc,  torn.  ii.  p.  333.  But  the  number  of  cities  which  enjoyed  such  immuni- 
ties was  so  small,  as  hardly  in  any  degree  to  diminish  the  force  of  my  con- 
clusions in  the  text. 

Note  [17].  Page  21. 

Having  given  a  full  account  of  the  establishment  as  well  as  effects  of  com- 
munities in  Italy  and  France,  it  will  be  necessary  to  inquire  with  some  attention 
into  the  progress  of  cities  and  municipal  government  in  Germany.  The  ancient 
Germans  had  no  cities.  Even  in  their  hamlet6  or  villages,  they  did  not  build 
their  houses  contiguous  to  each  other.  Tac.  de  Mor.  Germ.  cap.  16.  They 
considered  it  as  a  badge  of  servitude  to  be  obliged  to  dwell  in  a  city  surrounded 
with  walls.  When  one  of  their  tribes  had  shaken  oft'  the  Roman  yoke,  their 
countrymen  required  of  them,  as  an  evidence  of  their  having  recovered  liberty, 
to  demolish  the  walls  of  a  town  which  the  Romans  had  built  in  their  country. 
Even  the  fiercost  animals,  said  they,  lose  their  spirit  and  courage  when  they 
are  confined.  Tac.  Histor.  lib.  iv.  c.  64.  The  Romans  built  several  cities  of 
note  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.     But  in  all  tho  va,«t  countries  from  that  rivet 


526  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATION. 

to  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic,  there  was  hardly  one  city  previous  to  the  ninth 
century  of  the  Christian  era.  Conringius  Exercitatio  de  Urbibus  Germanise, 
Oper.  vol.  i.  $  25.  27.  31,  &c.  Heineccius  differs  from  Conringius  with  respect 
to  this.  But  even,  after  allowing  to  his  arguments  and  authorities  their  utmost, 
force,  they  prove  only,  that  there  were  a  few  places  in  those  extensive  regions 
on  which  some  historians  have  bestowed  the  name  of  towns.  Elem.  Jur.  Ger- 
man, lib.  i.  i  102.  Under  Charlemagne,  and  the  emperors  of  his  family,  as  the 
political  state  of  Germany  began  to  improve,  several  cities  were  founded,  and 
men  hecame  accustomed  to  associate  and  to  live  together  in  one  place.  Char- 
lemagne founded  two  archbishoprics  and  nine  bishoprics  in  the  most  considera- 
ble towns  of  Germany.  Aub.  Miraei  Opera  Diplomatica,  vol.  i.  p.  16.  His 
successors  increased  the  number  of  these  ;  and  as  bishops  fixed  their  residence 
in  the  chief  town  of  their  diocess,  and  performed  religious  functions  there,  that 
induced  many  people  to  settle  in  them.  Conring.  ibid,  i  48.  But  Henry  sur- 
named  the  Fowler,  who  began  his  reign,  A.  D.  920,  must  be  considered  as  the 
great  founder  of  cities  in  Germany.  The  empire  was  at  that  time  infested  by 
the  incursions  of  the  Hungarians  and  other  barbarous  people.  In  order  to 
oppose  them,  Henry  encouraged  his  subjects  to  settle  in  cities  which  he  sur- 
rounded with  walls  strengthened  by  towers.  He  enjoined  or  persuaded  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  nobility  to  fix  their  residence  in  the  towns,  and  thus 
rendered  the  condition  of  citizens  more  honourable  than  it  had  been  formerly. 
Wittikindus  Annal.  lib.  i.  ap.  Conring.  }  82.  From  this  period  the  number  of 
cities  continued  to  increase,  and  they  became  more  populous  and  more  wealth}7. 
But  cities  in  Germany  were  still  destitute  of  municipal  liberty  or  jurisdiction. 
Such  of  them  as  were  situated  in  the  Imperial  demesnes  were  subject  to  the 
emperors.  Their  Comiles,  Missi,  and  other  judges  presided  in  them  and  dis- 
pensed justice.  Towns  situated  on  the  estate  of  a  baron,  were  part  of  his  fief, 
and  he  or  his  officers  exercised  a  similar  jurisdiction  in  them.  Conring.  ibid.  $ 
73,  74.  Heinec.  Elem.  Jur.  Germ.  lib.  i.  $  104.  The  Germans  borrowed  the 
institution  of  communities  from  the  Italians.  Knipschildius  Tractatus  Politico- 
Histor.  Jurid.  de  Civitatum  Imperialium  Juribus,  vol.  i.  lib.  i.  cap.  5.  No.  23. 
Frederick  Barbarossa  was  the  first  emperor  who,  from  the  same  political  con- 
sideration that  influenced  Louis  le  Gros,  multiplied  communities  in  order  to 
abridge  the  power  of  the  noblos.  Pfcffel  Abrege  de  THistoire  et  du  Droit 
Publique  d'Allemagne,  4to.  p.*297.  From  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Fowler,  to 
the  time  when  the  German  cities  acquired  full  possession  of  their  immunities, 
various  circumstances  contributed  to  their  increase.  The  establishment  of 
bishoprics  (already  mentioned)  and  the  building  of  cathedrals  naturally  in- 
duced many  people  to  settle  near  the  chief  place  of  worship.  It  became  the 
custom  to  hold  councils  and  courts  of  judicature  of  every  kind,  ecclesiastical 
as  well  as  civil,  in  cities.  In  the  eleventh  century,  man}'  slaves  were  enfran- 
chised, the  greater  part  of  whom  settled  in  cities.  Several  mines  were  dis- 
covered and  wrought  in  different  provinces,  which  drew  together  such  a  con- 
course of  people  as  gave  rise  to  several  cities,  and  increased  the  number  of 
inhabitants  in  others.  Conring.  i  105.  The  cities  began  in  the  thirteenth 
century  to  form  leagues  for  their  mutual  defence,  and  for  repressing  the  dis- 
orders occasioned  by  the  private  wars  among  the  barons,  as  well  as  by  their 
exactions.  This  rendered  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  cities  more  secure 
than  that  of  any  other  order  of  men,  and  allured  many  to  become  members  of 
their  communities.  Conring.  $  94.  There  were  inhabitants  of  three  different 
ranks  in  the  towns  of  Germany  :  the  nobles,  or  familioe  ;  the  citizens,  or  liberi ; 
and  the  artisans,  who  were  slaves,  or  homines  proprii.  Knipschild.  lib.  ii.  cap. 
29.  No.  13.  Henry  V.,  who  began  his  reign  A.  D.  1106,  enfranchised  the  slaves 
who  were  artisans  or  inhabitants  in  several  towns,  and  gave  them  the  rank  of 
citizens  or  liberi.  Pfeffel,  p.  254.  Knipsch.  lib.  ii.  c.  29.  No.  113.  119.  Though 
the  cities  in  Germany  did  not  acquire  liberty  so  early  as  those  in  France,  they 
extended  their  privileges  much  farther.  All  the  imperial  and  free  cities,  the 
number  of  which  is  considerable,  acquired  the  full  right  of  being  immediate : 
by  which  term,  in  the  German  jurisprudence,  we  are  to  understand  that  the} 
are  subject  to  the  empire  alone,  and  possess  within  their  own  precincts  all  the 
rights  of  complete  and  independent  sovereignty.  The  various  privileges  ot 
the  Imperial  cities,  the  ereat  guardians  of  the  Germanic  liberties,  are  enurtip 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  527 

rated  by  Knipschild.  lib.  ii.  The  most  important  articles  are  generally  known, 
and  it  would  be  improper  to  enter  into  any  disquisition  concerning  minute 
particulars. 

Note  [18].  Page  21. 

The  Spanish  historians  are  almost  entirely  silent  concerning  the  origin  and 
progress  of  communities  in  that  kingdom;  so  that  1  cannot  fix,  with  any  degree 
of  certainty,  the  time  and  manner  of  their  first  introduction  there.  It  appears, 
however,  from  Mariana,  vol.  ii.  p.  221.  fol.  Hag®,  1736,  that  in  the  year  1359, 
eighteen  cities  had  obtained  a  seat  in  the  Cortes  of  Castile.  From  the  account 
which  will  be  given  of  their  constitution  and  pretensions,  Sect.  III.  of  this 
volume,  it  appears  that  their  privileges  and  form  of  government  were  the  same 
with  those  of  the  other  feudal  corporations;  and  this,  as  well  as  the  perfect 
similarity  of  political  institutions  and  transactions  in  all  the  feudal  kingdoms, 
may  lead  us  to  conclude  that  communities  were  there  introduced  in  the  same 
manner  and  probably  about  the  same  time,  as  in  the  other  nations  of  Europe. 
In  Arragon,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  observe  in  a  subsequent  note,  cities 
seem  early  to  have  acquired  extensive  immunities,  together  with  a  share  in  the 
legislature.  In  the  year  1118,  the  citizens  of  Saragossa  had  not  only  attained 
political  liberty,  but  they  were  declared  to  be  of  equal  rank  with  the  nobles 
of  the  second  class  ;  and  many  other  immunities,  unknown  to  persons  in  their 
rank  of  life  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  were  conferred  upon  them.  Zurita, 
Annales  de  Arragon,  torn.  i.  p.  44.  In  England,  the  establishment  of  commu- 
nities or  corporations  was  posterior  to  the  conquest.  The  practice  was  bor- 
rowed from  France,  and  the  privileges  granted  by  the  crown  were  perfectly 
similar  to  those  which  I  have  enumerated,  but  as  this  part  of  history  is  well 
known  to  most  of  my  readers,  I  shall,  without  entering  into  any  critical  or 
minute  discussion,  refer  them  to  authors  who  have  fully  illustrated  this  inter- 
esting point  in  the  English  history.  Brady's  Treatise  of  Boroughs.  Madox 
Firma  Burgi,  cap.  i.  sect.  ix.  Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  i.  append,  i. 
and  ii.  It  is  not  improbable  that  some  of  the  towns  in  England  were  formed 
into  corporations  under  the  Saxon  kings,  and  that  the  charters  granted  by  the 
kings  of  the  Norman  race  were  not  charters  of  enfranchisement  from  a  state 
of  slavery,  but  a  confirmation  of  privileges  which  they  already  enjoyed.  See 
Lord  Lyttleton's  History  of  Henry  II.  vol.  ii.  p.  317.  The  English  critics, 
however,  were  very  inconsiderable  in  the  twelfth  century.  A  clear  proof  of 
this  occurs  in  the  history  to  which  I  last  referred.  Fitzstephen,  a  contemporary 
author,  gives  a  description  of  the  city  of  London  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  and 
the  terms  in  which  he  speaks  of  its  trade,  its  wealth,  and  the  splendour  of  its 
inhabitants,  would  suggest  no  inadequate  idea  of  its  state  at  present,  when  it  is 
the  greatest  and  most  opulent  city  of  Europe.  But  all  ideas  of  grandeur  and 
magnificence  are  merely  comparative ;  and  every  description  of  them  in  gene- 
ral terms  is  very  apt  to  deceive.  It  appears  from  Peter  of  Blois,  archdeacon  of 
London,  who  flourished  in  the  same  reign,  and  who  had  good  opportunity  of 
being  well  informed,  that  this  city,  of  which  Fitzstephen  gives  such  a  pompous 
account,  contained  no  more  than  forty  thousand  inhabitants.  Ibid.  315,316. 
The  other  cities  were  small  in  proportion,  and  were  not  in  a  condition  to  extort, 
any  extensive  privileges.  That  the  constitution  of  the  boroughs  in  Scotland, 
in  many  circumstances,  resembled  that  of  the  towns  in  France  and  England,  is 
manifest  from  the  Leges  Burgorum,  annexed  to  the  Regiam  Majestatum. 

Note  [19.]  Page  23. 

Soon  after  the  introduction  of  the  third  estate  into  the  national  council,  the 
spirit  of  liberty  which  that  excited  in  France  began  to  produce  conspicuous 
effects.  In  several  provinces  of  France,  the  nobility  and  communities  formed 
associations,  whereby  they  bound  themselves  to  defend  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges against  the  formidable  and  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  king.  The  count 
de  Boulainvilliers  has  preserved  a  copy  of  one  of  these  associations,  dated  in  the 
year  1314,  twelve  years  after  the  admission  of  the  deputies  from  towns  into  the 
States  General.  Histoire  de  l'ancien  Gouvernement  de  la  France,  torn.  ii.  p. 
94.  The  vigour  with  which  the  people  asserted  and  prepared  to  maintain  their 
rights,  obliged  their  sovereigns  to  respect  them.     Six  years  after  this  assneia- 


628  PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

t.ion,  Philip  the  Long  issued  a  writ  of  summons  to  the  community  of  N&rbonne 
in  the  following  terms:  "Philip,  by  the  grace,  &c.  to  our  well-beloved,  &c. 
As  we  desire  with  all  our  heart,  and  above  all  other  things,  to  govern  our  kingdom 
and  people  in  peace  and  tranquillity,  by  the  help  of  God  ;  and  to  reform  our  said 
kingdom  in  so  far  as  it  stands  in  need  thereof,  for  the  public  good,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  our  subjects,  who  in  times  past  have  been  aggrieved  and  oppressed 
in  divers  manners  by  the  malice  of  sundry  persons,  as  we  have  learned  by 
common  report,  as  well  as  by  the  information  of  good  men  worthy  of  credit, 
and  we  having  determined  in  our  counsel  which  wc  have  called  to  meet  in  our 
good  city,  &c.  to  give  redress  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  by  all  ways  and 
means  possible,  according  to  reason  and  justice,  and  willing  that  this  should  be 
done  with  solemnity  and  deliberation  by  the  advice  of  the  prelates,  barons,  and 
good  towns  of  our  realm,  and  particularly  of  you,  and  that  it  should  be  trans- 
acted agreeably  to  the  will  of  God,  and  for  the  good  of  our  people,  therefore 
we  command,"  &c.  Mably,  Observat.  ii.  App.  p.  386.  I  shall  allow  these  to 
be  only  the  formal  words  of  a  public  and  legal  style;  but  the  ideas  are  singular, 
and  much  more  liberal  and  enlarged  than  one  could  expect  in  that  age.  A 
popular  monarch  of  Great  Britain  could  hardly  address  himself  to  parliament, 
in  terms  more  favourable  to  public  liberty.  There  occurs  in  the  history  of 
France,  a  striking  instance  of  the  progress  which  the  principles  of  liberty  had 
made  in  that  kingdom,  and  of  the  influence  which  the  deputies  of  towns  had 
acquired  in  the  States  General.  During  the  calamities  in  which  the  war  with 
England,  and  the  captivity  of  King  John,  had  involved  France,  the  States 
General  made  a  bold  effort  to  extend  their  own  privileges  and  jurisdiction. 
The  regulations  established  by  the  States,  held  A.  D.  1355,  concerning  the  mode 
of  levying  taxes,  the  administration  of  which  they  vested  not  in  the  crown, 
but  in  commissioners  appointed  by  the  States ;  concerning  the  coining  of 
money;  concerning  the  redress  of  the  grievance  of  purveyance  ;  concerning  the 
regular  administration  of  justice ;  are  much  more  suitable  to  the  genius  of  a 
republican  government  than  that  of  a  feudal  monarchy.  This  curious  statute 
is  published,  Ordon.  torn.  iii.  p.  19.  Such  as  have  not  an  opportunity  to  con- 
sult that  large  collection,  will  find  an  abridgment  of  it  in  Hist,  de  France  par 
Villaret,  torn.  ix.  130,  or  in  Histoire  de  Boulainv.  torn.  ii.  p.  213.  The  French 
historians  represent  the  bishop  of  Laon,  and  Marcel  provost  of  the  merchants 
of  Paris,  who  had  the  chief*  direction  of  this  assembly,  as  seditious  tribunes, 
violent,  interested,  ambitious,  and  aiming  at  innovations  subversive  of  the  con- 
stitution and  government  of  their  country.  That  may  have  been  the  case, 
but  these  men  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  people  ;  and  the  measures  which 
they  proposed  as  the  most  popular  and  acceptable,  as  well  as  most  likely  to 
increase  their  own  influence,  plainly  prove  that,  the  spirit  of  liberty  had  spread 
wonderfully,  and  that  the  ideas  which  then  prevailed  in  France  concerning 
government  were  extremely  liberal.  The  States  General  held  at  Paris,  A.  D. 
1355,  consisted  of  about  eight  hundred  members,  and  above  one  half  of  these 
were  deputies  from  towns.  M.  Secousse  Preff.  a  Ordon.  torn.  iii.  p.  48.  It 
appears  that  in  all  the  different  assemblies  of  the  States,  held  during  the  reign 
of  John,  the  representatives  of  towns  had  great  influence,  and  in  every  respect 
the  third  state  was  considered  as  co-ordinate  and  equal  to  either  of  the  other  two, 
Ibid,  passim.  These  spirited  efforts  were  made  in  France  long  before  the  House 
of  Commons  in  England  acquired  any  considerable  influence  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. As  the  feudal  system  was  carried  to  its  utmost  height  in  France  sooner 
than  in  England,  so  it  began  to  decline  sooner  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter 
kingdom.  In  England,  almost  all  attempts  to  establish  or  to  extend  the  liberty 
of  the  people  have  been  successful ;  in  Franco  they  have  proved  unfortunate. 
What  were  the  accidental  events  or  political  causes  which  occasioned  this  differ- 
ence,  it  is  not  my  present  business  to  inquire. 

Note  [20.]  Page  24. 

In  a  former  Note,  No.  8, 1  have  inquired  into  the  condition  of  that  part  of 
the  people  which  was  employed  in  agriculture,  and  have  represented  the  various 
hardships  and  calamities  of  their  situation.  When  charters  of  liberty  or 
manumission  were  granted  to  such  persons,  they  contained  four  concessions 
•  orrespondingr  to  the  four  capital  grievances  to  which  men  in  a  state  of  servi- 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  52U 

tude  are  subject.  1.  The  right  of  disposing  of  their  persons  by  sale  or  grant 
was  relinquished.  2.  Power  was  given  to  them  of  conveying  their  property 
and  effects  by  will  or  any  other  legal  deed.  Or  if  they  happened  to  die  intes- 
tate, it  was  provided  that  their  property  should  go  to  their  lawful  heirs  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  property  of  other  persons.  3-  The  services  and  taxes 
which  they  owed  to  their  superior  or  liege  lord  which  were  formerly  arbitrary 
and  imposed  at  pleasure,  are  precisely  ascertained.  4.  They  are  allowed  the 
privilege  of  marrying  according  to  their  own  inclination;  formerly  they  could 
contract  no  marriage  without  their  lord's  permission,  and  with  no  person  but 
one  of  his  slaves.  All  these  particulars  are  found  united  in  the  charter  granted 
Habitatoribus  Montis  Britonis,  A.  D.  1376.  Hist,  de  Dauphine,  torn.  i.  p.  81. 
Many  circumstances  concurred  with  those  which  1  have  mentioned  in  the  text  in 
procuring  them  deliverance  from  that  wretched  state.  The  gentle  spirit  of  the 
Christian  religion ;  the  doctrines  which  it  teaches,  concerning  the  original 
equality  of  mankind ;  its  tenets  with  respect  to  the  divine  government,  and  the 
impartial  eye  with  whicli  the  Almighty  regards  men  of  every  condition,  and 
admits  them  to  a  participation  of  his  benefits,  are  all  inconsistent  with  servi- 
tude. But  in  this,  as  in  many  other  instances,  considerations  of  interest,  and 
the  maxims  of  false  policy,  led  men  to  a  conduct  inconsistent  with  their  princi- 
ples. They  were  so  sensible,  however,  of  this  inconsistency,  that  to  set  their 
fellow  Christians  at  liberty  from  servitude  was  deemed  an  act  of  piety  highly 
meritorious  and  acceptable  to  Heaven.  The  humane  spirit  of  the  Christian 
religion  struggled  long  with  the  maxims  and  manners  of  the  world,  and  con- 
tributed more  than  any  other  circumstance  to  introduce  the  practice  of  manu- 
mission. When  pope  Gregory  the  Great,  who  flourished  towards  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century,  granted  liberty  to  some  of  his  slaves,  he  gives  this  reason 
for  it,  "Cum  Redcmptor  noster,  totius  conditor  naturae,  ad  hoc  propitiatus 
humanam  carnem  voluerit  assumere,  ut  divinitatis  suas  gratia,  dirempto  (quo 
tenebamur  captivi)  vinculo,  pristine  nos  restitueret  libertati ;  salubriter  agitur, 
si  homines,  quos  ab  initio  libcros  natura  protulit,  et  jus  gentium  jugo  substi- 
tuit  servilutis,  in  ea,  qua  nati  fuerant,  manumittentis  beneficio,  libertati  red- 
dantur."  Gregor.  Magn.  ap.  Potgiess.  lib.  iv.  c.  i.  sect.  3.  Several  laws  or 
charters  founded  on  reasons  similar  to  this,  are  produced  by  the  same  author. 
Accordingly,  a  great  part  of  the  charters  of  manumission,  previous  to  the  reign 
of  Louis  X.  are  granted  pro  amore  Dei,  pro  remedio  animaB,  et  pro  mercede 
anima?.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  i.  p.  849,  850.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Manumissio. 
The  formality  of  manumission  was  executed  in  a  church,  as  a  religious 
solemnity.  The  person  to  be  set  free  was  led  round  the  great  altar  with  a 
torch  in  his  hand,  he  took  hold  of  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and  there  the  solemn 
words  conferring  liberty  were  pronounced.     Du  Cange,  ib.  vol.  iv.  p.  467. 

I  shall  transcribe  a  part  of  a  charter  of  manumission  granted,  A.  D.  1056  ; 
both  as  it  contains  a  full  account  of  the  ceremonies  used  in  this  form  of  manu- 
mission, and  as  a  specimen  of  the  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  in 
that  barbarous  age.  It  is  granted  by  Willa  the  widow  of  Hugo  the  Duke  and 
Marquis,  in  favour  of  Clariza,  one  of  her  slaves.  "  Et  ideo  nos  Domine  Wille 
inclite  cometisse — libera  et  absolvo  te  Cleriza  filia  Uberto — pro  timore  omni- 
potentis  Dei,  et  remedio  luminarie  anime  bone^iemorie  quondam  supra  scripto 
Domini  Ugo  gloriosissimo,  ut  quando  ilium  Dominus  de  hac  vita  migrare, 
jusserit,  pars  iniqua  non  abeat  potestatem  ullam,  sed  anguelus  Domini  nostri 
Jesu  Christi  colocare  dignitur  ilium  inter  sanctos  dilectos  suos ;  et  beatus 
Petrus  princips  apostolorum,  qui  habed  potestatem  omnium  animarum  ligandi 
et  absolvendi,  ut  ipsi  absolvat  animae  ejus  de  peccatis  sui,  et  aperiad  ilium  janua 
paradisi ;  pro  eadem  vero  rationi,  in  mano  mite  te  Benzo  presbitcr,  ut  vadat 
tecum  in  ecclesia  sancti  Bartholoman  apostoli ;  traad  de  tribus  vicibus  circa 
altare  ipsius  ecclesiae  cum  csreo  apprehensum  in  manibus  tuis  et  manibus  suis  ; 
deinde  exite  ambulate  in  via  quadrubio,  ubi  quatuor  vie  se  deviduntur.  Sta- 
timq  ;  pro  remedio  luminarie  anime  bone  memorie  quondam  supra  scripto 
Domini  Ugo  et  ipsi  presbiter  Benzo  fecit  omnia,  ct  dixit,  ecce  quatuor  vie,  ite 
et  ambulate  in  quacunq ;  partem  tibi  placuerit,  tarn  sic  supra  scripta  Cleriza, 
qua  nosque  tui  heredes,  qui  ab  ac  hora  in  antca  nati,  vel  procreati  fuerit  utriusq; 
sexus,"  &c.  Murat.  ib.  p.  853.  Many  other  charters  might  have  been  selected, 
which,  in  noint  of  grammas  or  stvle.  are  in  no  wise  superior  fo  this.  Manvi- 
Vol.  II.— 67 


S3<»  PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS, 

mission  was  frequently  granted  on  death-bed  or  by  latter-will.  As  the  mind* 
of  men  are  at  that  time  awakened  to  sentiments  of  humanity  and  piety,  these 
deeds  proceeded  from  religious  motives,  and  were  granted  pro  rcdemptione  animmy 
in  order  to  obtain  acceptance  with  God.  Du  Cange,  ubi  supra,  p.  470.  et  voc. 
Servus,  vol.  vi.  p.  451.  Another  method  of  obtaining  liberty  was  by  entering  into 
holy  orders,  or  taking  the  vow  in  a  monastery.  This  was  permitted  for  some 
time,  but  so  many  slaves  escaped  by  this  means,  out  of  the  hands  of  their 
masters,  that  the  practice  was  afterwards  restrained,  and  at  last  prohibited  by 
the  laws  of  almost  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  Murat.  ib.  p.  842.  Conforma- 
bly to  the  same  principles,  princes,  on  the  birth  of  a  son,  or  upon  any  other 
agreeable  event,  appointed  a  certain  number  of  slaves  to  be  enfranchised,  as  a. 
testimony  of  their  gratitude  to  God  for  that  benefit.  Marculfi  Form.  lib.  i.  cap. 
39.  There  are  several  forms  of  manumission  published  by  Marculfus,  and  all 
of  them  are  founded  on  religious  considerations,  in  order  to  procure  the  favour 
of  God,  or  to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins.  Lib.  ii.  c.  23.  33,  34.  edit. 
Baluz.  The  same  observation  holds  with  respect  to  the  other  collections  of 
Formulae  annexed  to  Marculfus.  As  sentiments  of  religion  induced  some  to 
grant  liberty  to  their  fellow  Christians  who  groaned  under  the  yoke  of  servi- 
tude ;  so  mistaken  ideas  concerning  devotion  led  others  to  relinquish  their 
liberty.  When  a  person  conceived  an  extraordinary  respect  for  the  saint  who 
was  the  patron  of  any  church  or  monastery  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
attend  religious  worship,  it  was  not  unusual  among  men  possessed  with  an 
excess  of  superstitious  reverence,  to  give  up  themselves  and  their  posterity  to 
be  the  slaves  of  the  saint.  Mabillon  de  Re  Diplomat,  lib.  vi.  632.  The  oblati 
or  voluntary  slaves  of  churches  or  monasteries  were  very  numerous,  and  may 
be  divided  into  three  different  classes.  The  first  were  such  as  put  themselves 
and  effects  under  the  protection  of  a  particular  church  or  monastery,  binding 
themselves  to  defend  its  privileges  and  property  against  every  aggressor.  These 
were  prompted  to  do  so  not  merely  by  devotion,  but  in  order  to  obtain  that 
security  which  arose  from  the  protection  of  the  church.  They  were  rather 
vassals  than  slaves,  and  sometimes  persons  of  noble  birth  found  it  prudent  to 
secure  the  protection  of  the  church  in  this  manner.  Persons  of  the  second 
class  bound  themselves  to  pay  an  annual  tax  or  quit-rent  out  of  their  estates 
to  a  church  or  monastery.  -  Besides  this,  they  sometimes  engaged  to  perform 
certain  services.  They  were  called  censuales.  The  last  class  consisted  of  such 
as  actually  renounced  their  liberty,  and  became  slaves  in  the  strict  and  proper 
sense  of  the  word.  These  were  called  ministerialcs,  and  enslaved  their  bodies, 
as  some  of  their  charters  bear,  that  they  might  procure  the  liberty  of  their 
souls.  Potgiesserus  de  statu  servorum,  lib.  i.  cap.  i.  sect.  6,  7.  How  zealous 
the  clergy  were  to  encourage  the  opinions  which  led  to  this  practice,  will  ap- 
pear from  a  clause  in  a  charter  by  which  one  gives  up  himself  as  a  slave  to  a 
monastery.  "  Cum  sit  omni  carnali  ingenuitate  generosius  extremum  quod- 
cumq  ;  Dei  servitium,  scilicet  quod  terrena  nobilitas  multos  plerumq  ;  vitiorum 
servos  facit,  servitus  vero  Christi  nobiles  virtutibus  reddit,  nemo  autem  sani 
capitis  virtutibus  vitia  comparaverit,  claret  pro  certo  eum  esse  generosiorem, 
qui  se  Deiservitio  prffibuerit  proniorem.  Quod  ego  Ragnaldus  intelligens,'"  &c. 
Another  charter  is  expressed  in  the  following  words  :  "  Eligens  magis  esse 
sorvus  Dei  quam  libertus  snsculi,  firmiter  crcdens  et  sciens,  quod  scrvire  Deo, 
regnare  est,  summaque  ingenuitas  sit  in  qua  servitus  comparabatur  Christi," 
&c.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Oblatus,  vol.  iv.  p.  1286,  1287.  Great,  however,  as  the 
power  of  religion  was,  it  does  not  appear,  that  the  enfranchisement  of  slaves  was 
a  frequent  practice  while  the  feudal  system  preserved  its  vigour.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  were  laws  which  set  bounds  to  it  as  detrimental  to  society.  Pot- 
giess.  lib.  iv.  c.  2.  }  6.  The  inferior  order  of  men  owed  the  recovery  of  their 
liberty  to  the  decline  of  that  aristocratical  policy,  which  lodged  the  most  ex- 
tensive power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  members  of  the  society,  and  repressed  all 
the  rest.  When  Louis  X.  issued  his  ordonnance,  several  slaves  had  been  so 
long  accustomed  to  servitude,  and  their  minds  were  so  much  debased  by  that 
unhappy  situation,  that  they  refused  to  accept  of  the  liberty  which  was  offered 
them.  D'Ach.  Spicel.  vol.  xi.  p.  387.  Long  after  the  reign  of  Louis  X.  several 
of  the  French  nobility  continued  to  assert  their  ancient  dominion  over  their 
slaves.     It  appears  from  an  ordonnance  of  the  famous  Bertrand  de  Gueschlin. 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS  631 

Constable  of  France,  that  the  custom  of  enfranchising  them  was  considered  as 
a  pernicious  innovation.  Morice  Mem.  pour  servir  dcs  prouves  a  l'Hist.  de 
Bret.  torn.  ii.  p.  100.  In  some  instances,  when  the  pra?dial  slaves  were  declared 
to  be  freemen,  they  were  still  bound  to  perform  certain  services  to  their  ancient 
masters  ;  and  were  kept  in  a  state  different  from  other  subjects,  being  restricted 
either  from  purchasing  land,  or  becoming  members  of  a  community  within  the 
precincts  of  the  manor  to  which  they  formerly  belonged.  Martene  and  Durand. 
Thesaur.  Anecdot.  vol.  i.  p.  914.  This,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been 
common. — There  is  no  general  law  for  the  manumission  of  slaves  in  the  Sta- 
tute-book of  England,  similar  to  that  which  has  been  quoted  from  the  Ordon- 
nances  of  the  kings  of  France.  Though  the  genius  of  the  English  constitution 
seems  early  to  have  favoured  personal  liberty,  personal  servitude,  nevertheless, 
continued  long  in  England  in  some  particular  places.  In  the  year  1514,  we 
find  a  charter  of  Henry  VIII.  enfranchising  two  slaves  belonging  to  one  of  his 
manors.  Rym.  Feeder,  vol.  xiii.  p.  470.  As  late  as  the  year  1574,  there  is  a 
commission  from  Queen  Elizabeth  with  respect  to  the  manumission  of  certain 
bondmen  belonging  to  her.     Rymer,  in  Observat.  on  the  Statutes,  &c.  p.  251. 

Note  [21].  Page  27. 

There  is  no  custom  in  the  middle  ages  more  singular  than  that  of  private 
war.  It  is  a  right  of  so  great  importance,  and  prevailed  so  universally,  that 
the  regulations  concerning  it  occupy  a  considerable  place  in  the  system  of  laws 
during  the  middle  ages.  M.  de  Montesquieu,  who  has  unravelled  so  many  intri- 
cate points  in  feudal  jurisprudence,  and  thrown  light  on  so  many  customs 
formerly  obscure  and  unintelligible,  was  not  led  by  his  subject  to  consider  this. 
1  shall  therefore  give  a  more  minute  account  of  the  customs  and  regulations 
which  directed  a  practice  so  contrary  to  the  present  ideas  of  civilized  nations 
concerning  government  and  order.  1.  Among  the  ancient  Germans,  as  well 
as  other  nations  in  a  similar  state  of  society,  the  right  of  avenging  injuries  was 
a  private  and  personal  right  exercised  by  force  of  arms,  without  any  reference 
to  an  umpire,  or  any  appeal  to  a  magistrate  for  decision.  The  clearest  proofs 
of  this  were  produced,  Note  6. — 2.  This  practice  subsisted  among  the  barba- 
rous nations  after  their  settlement  in  the  provinces  of  the  empire  which  they 
conquered  ;  and  as  the  causes  of  dissension  among  them  multiplied,  their 
family  feuds  and  private  wars  became  more  frequent.  Proofs  of  this  occur  in 
their  early  historians.  Greg.  Turon.  Hist.  lib.  vii.  c.  2.  lib.  viii.  c.  18.  lib.  x.  c. 
27.  and  likewise  in  the  codes  of  their  laws.  It  was  not  only  allowable  for 
the  relations  to  avenge  the  injuries  of  their  family,  but  it  was  incumbent  on 
them.  Thus,  by  the  laws  of  the  Angli  and  Werini,  ad  quemcunque  hcreditas 
terrae  pervenerit,  ad  ilium  vestis  bellica  id  est  lorica  et  ultio  proximi,  et  solatio 
leudis,  debet  pertinere,  tit.  vi.  $  5.  ap.  Lindenbr.  Leg.  Saliq.  tit.  63.  Leg. 
Longob.  lib.  ii.  tit.  14.  •)  10.-^-3.  None  but  gentlemen,  or  persons  of  noble 
birth,  had  the  right  of  private  war.  All  disputes  between  slaves,  villani,  the 
inhabitants  of  towns,  and  free  men  of  inferior  condition,  were  decided  in  the 
courts  of  justice.  All  disputes  between  gentlemen  and  persons  of  inferior  rank 
were  terminated  in  the  same  manner.  The  right  of  private  war,  supposed 
nobility  of  birth,  and  equality  of  rank  in  both  the  contending  parties.  Beau- 
manoir  Coustumes  de  Beauv.  ch.  lix.  p.  300.  Ordon.  des  Rois  de  France,  torn, 
ii.  395.  t  xvii.  508.  4  xv.  &c.  The  dignified  ecclesiastics  likewise  claimed  and 
exercised  the  right  of  private  war;  but  as  it  was  not  altogether  decent  for  them 
to  prosecute  quarrels  in  person,  advocati  or  vidames  were  chosen  by  the  several 
monasteries  and  bishoprics.  These  were  commonly  men  of  high  rank  and 
reputation,  who  became  the  protectors  of  the  churches  and  convents  by  which 
they  were  elected;  espoused  their  quarrels,  and  fought  their  battles;  armis 
omnia  quse  erant  ecclesioe  viriliter  defendebant,  et  vigilanter  protegebant. 
Brussel  Usage  des  Fiefs,  torn.  i.  p.  144.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Adrocatus.  On  many 
occasions,  the  martial  ideas  to  which  ecclesiastics  of  noble  birth  were  accus- 
tomed, made  them  forgot  the  pacific  spirit  of  their  profession,  and  led  them 
into  the  field  in  person  at  the  head  of  their  vassals,  "flamma,  ferro,  coede,  pos- 
sessiones  ecclesiarum  prselati  defendebant."  Guido  Abbas  ap.  Du  Cange,  ib. 
p.  179. — 4.  It  was  not  every  injury  or  trespass  that  gave  a  gentleman  a  title  to 
make  war  upon  his  adversary.     Atrocious  acts  of  violence,  intfults  and^iffro.ntp. 


532  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

publicly  committed  were  legal  and  permitted  motives  for  taking  arms  against 
the  authors  of  them.  Such  crimes  as  are  now  punished  capitally  in  civilized 
nations,  at  that  time  justified  private  hostilities.  Beauman.  ch.  lix.  Du  Cange 
Dissert,  xxix.  sur  Joinville,  p.  331 .  But  though  the  avenging  of  injuries  was  the 
only  motive  that  could  legally  authorize  a  private  war,  yet  disputes  concerning 
civil  property  often  gave  rise  to  hostilities,  and  were  terminated  by  the  sword. 
Du  Cange  Dissert,  p.  332. — 5.  All  persons  present  when  any  quarrel  arose,  or 
any  act  of  violence  was  committed,  were  included  in  the  war  which  it  occa- 
sioned ;  for  it  was  supposed  to  be  impossible  for  any  man  in  such  a  situation  to 
remain  neuter,  without  taking  side  with  one  or  other  of  the  contending  par- 
ties. Beauman.  p.  300. — 6.  All  the  kindred  of  the  two  principals  in  the  war 
were  included  in  it,  and  obliged  to  espouse  the  quarrel  of  the  chieftain  with 
whom  they  were  connected.  Du  Cange,  ib.  332.  This  was  founded  on  the 
maxim  of  the  ancient  Germans,  "suscipere  tarn  inimicitias  seu  patris,  seu  pro- 
pinqui,  quam  amicitias,  necesse  est;"  a  maxim  natural  to  all  rude  nations, 
among  which  the  form  of  society,  and  political  union,  strengthen  such  a  senti- 
ment. This  obligation  was  enforced  by  legal  authority.  If  a  person  refused 
to  take  part  in  the  quarrel  of  his  kinsman,  and  to  aid  him  against  his  adversary, 
lie  was  deemed  to  have  renounced  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  kindredship, 
and  became  incapable  of  succeeding  to  any  of  his  relations,  or  of  deriving  any 
benefit  from  any  civil  right  or  property  belonging  to  them.  Du  Cange  Dis- 
sert, p.  333.  The  method  of  ascertaining  the  degree  of  affinity  which  obliged 
a  person  to  take  part  in  the  quarrel  of  a  kinsman,  was  curious.  While  the 
church  prohibited  the  marriage  of  persons  within  tiis  seventh  degree  of  affinity, 
the  vengeance  of  private  war  extended  as  far  as  this  absurd  prohibition,  and  all 
who  had  such  a  remote  connection  with  any  of  the  principles,  were  involved  in 
the  calamities  of  war.  But  when  the  church  relaxed  somewhat  of  its  rigour, 
and  did  not  extend  its  prohibition  of  marrying  beyond  the  fourth  degree  of 
affinity,  the  same  restriction  took  place  in  the  conduct  of  private  war.  Beau- 
man. 303.  Du  Cange  Dissert.  333. — 7.  A  private  war  could  not  be  carried  on 
between  two  full  brothers,  because  both  have  the  same  common  kindred,  and  con- 
sequently neither  had  any  persons  bound  to  stand  by  him  against  the  other  in  the 
contest;  but  two  brothers  of  the  half  blood  might  wage  war,  because  each  of 
them  has  a  distinct  kindretl  Beauman.  p.  299. — 8.  The  vassals  of  each  prin- 
cipal in  any  private  war  were  involved  in  the  contest,  because  by  the  feudal 
maxims  they  were  bound  to  take  arms  in  defence  of  the  chieftain  of  whom  they 
held,  and  to  assist  him  in  every  quarrel.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  feudal  tenures 
were  introduced,  and  this  artificial  connexion  was  established  between  vassals 
and  the  baron  of  whom  they  held,  vassals  came  to  be  considered  as  in  the  same 
state  -with  relations.  Beauman.  303. — 9.  Private  wars  were  very  frequent  for 
several  centuries.  Nothing  contributed  more  to  increase  those  disorders 
in  government,  or  to  encourage  such  ferocity  of  manners  as  reduced  the 
nations  of  Europe  to  that  wretched  state  which  distinguished  the  period  of 
history  which  I  am  reviewing.  Nothing  was  such  an  obstacle  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  regular  administration  of  justice.  Nothing  could  more  effectually 
discourage  industry,  or  retard  the  progress  and  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  peace. 
Private  wars  were  carried  on  with  all  the  destructive  rage  which  is  to  be 
dreaded  from  violent  resentment  when  armed  with  force,  and  authorized  by 
law.  It  appears  from  the  statutes  prohibiting  or  restraining  the  exercise  of 
private  hostilities,  that  the  invasion  of  the  most  barbarous  enemy  could  not  be 
more  desolating  to  a  country,  or  more  fatal  to  its  inhabitants,  than  those  intes- 
tine wars.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  701.  torn.  ii.  p.  39.5.  408.  507,  &c.  The  contem- 
porary historians  describe  the  excesses  committed  in  prosecution  of  these 
quarrels  in  such  terms  as  excite  astonishment  and  horror.  I  shall  mention  only 
one  passage  from  the  history  of  the  Holy  War,  by  Guibert  Abbot  of  Nogent : 
"  Erat  eo  tempore  maximis  ad  invicem  hostilitatibus,  totius  Francorum  regni 
facta  turbatio;  crebra  ubiq;  latrocinia,  viarum  obsessio;  audiebantur  passim, 
immo  fiebant  incendia  infinita;  nullis  propter  sola  et  indomita  cupiditate  exis- 
tentibus  causis  extruebantur  prnslia  ;  et  ut  brevi  totum  claudam,  quicquid  obtu- 
tibus  cupidorum  subjacebat,  nusquam  attendenlo  cujus  esset,  prsedse  patebat." 
Gesta  Dei  per  Francos,  vol.  i.  p.  482. 

Having  thus  collected  the  chief  regulations  which  custom  had  established 


FROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  533 

concerning  the  right,  and  exercise  of  private  war,  1  shall  enumerate  in  chrono- 
logical order,  the  various  expedients  employed  to  abolish  or  restrain  this  fatal 
custom.  1.  The  first  expedient  employed  by  the  civil  magistrate,  in  order  to 
set  some  bounds  to  the  violence  of  private  revenge,  was  the  fixing  by  law  the 
fine  or  composition  to  be  paid  for  each  different  crime.  The  injured  person 
was  originally  the  sole  judge  concerning  the  nature  of  the  wrong  which  he 
had  suffered,  the  degree  of  vengeance  which  he  should  exact,  as  well  as  the 
species  of  atonement  or  reparation  with  which  he  might  rest  satisfied.  Re- 
sentment became  of  course  as  implacable  as  it  was  fierce.  It  was  often  a 
point  of  honour  not  to  forgive,  nor  to  be  reconciled.  This  made  it  necessary 
to  fix  those  compositions  which  make  so  great  a  figure  in  the  laws  of  barbarous 
nations.  The  nature  of  crimes  and  offences  was  estimated  by  the  magistrate, 
and  the  sum  due  to  the  person  offended  was  ascertained  with  a  minute  and 
often  a  whimsical  accuracy.  Rothans,  the  legislator  of  the  Lombards,  who 
reigned  aoout  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century,  discovers  his  intention  both 
in  ascertaining  the  composition  to  be  paid  by  the  offender,  and  in  increasing  its 
value  ;  it  is,  says  he,  that  the  enmity  may  be  extinguished,  the  prosecution  may 
cease,  and  peace  may  be  restored.  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  i.  tit.  7.  sect.  10. — 2. 
About  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  Charlemagne  struck  at  the  root  of 
the  evil,  and  enacted,  "  That  when  any  person  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime,  or 
had  committed  an  outrage,  he  should  immediately  submit  to  the  penance  which 
the  church  imposed,  and  offer  to  pay  the  composition  which  the  law  prescribed, 
and  if  the  injured  person  or  his  kindred  should  refuse  to  accept  of  this,  and 
presume  to  avenge  themselves  by  force  of  arms,  their  lands  and  properties 
should  be  forfeited.1  Capitul.  A.  D.  802.  edit.  Baiuz.  vol.  i.  371. — 3.  But  in 
this,  as  well  as  in  other  regulations,  the  genius  of  Charlemagne  advanced  before 
the  spirit  of  his  age.  The  ideas  of  his  contemporaries  concerning  regular 
government  were  too  imperfect,  and  their  manners  too  fierce  to  submit  to  this 
law.  Private  wars,  with  all  the  calamities  which  they  occasioned,  became  more 
frequent  than  ever  after  the  death  of  that  great  monarch.  His  successors  were 
unable  to  restrain  them.  The  church  found  it  necessary  to  interpose.  The 
most  early  of  these  interpositions  now  extant,  is  towards  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century.  In  the  year  990,  several  bishops  in  the  south  of  France  assembled, 
and  published  various  regulations,  in  order  to  set  some  bounds  to  the  violence 
and  frequency  of  private  wars  ;  if  any  person  within  their  diocesses  should 
venture  to  transgress,  they  ordained  that  he  should  be  excluded  from  all  Chris 
tian  privileges  during  his  life,  and  be  denied  Christian  burial  after  his  death. 
Du  Mont  Corps  Diplomatique,  torn.  i.  p.  41.  These,  however,  were  only  par- 
tial remedies;  and  therefore  a  council  was  held  at  Limoges,  A.  D.  994.  The 
bodies  of  the  saints,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  ages,  were  carried  thither; 
and  by  these  sacred  relics  men  were  exhorted  to  lay  down  their  arms,  to  ex- 
tinguish their  animosities,  and  to  swear  that  they  would  not  for  the  future 
violate  the  public  peace  by  their  private  hostilities.  Bouquet  Recueil  des 
Histor.  vol.  x.  p.  49.  147.  Several  other  councils  issued  decrees  to  the  same 
effect.  Du  Cange  Dissert.  343. — 4.  But  the  authority  of  councils,  how  vene- 
rable soever  in  those  ages,  was  not  sufficient  to  abolish  a  custom  which  flattered 
the  pride  of  the  nobles,  and  gratified  their  favourite  passions.  The  evil  grew 
so  intolerable,  that  it  became  necessary  to  employ  supernatural  means  for  sup- 
pressing it.  A  bishop  of  Aquitaine,  A.  D.  1032,  pretended  that  an  angel  had 
appeared  to  him,  and  brought  him  a  writing  from  heaven,  enjoining  men  to 
cease  from  their  hostilities,  and  to  be  reconciled  to  each  other.  It  was  during 
a  season  of  public  calamity  that  he  published  this  revelation.  The  minds  of 
men  were  disposed  to  receive  pious  impressions,  and  willing  to  perform  any 
thing  in  order  to  avert  the  wrath  of  heaven.  A  general  peace  and  cessation 
from  hostilities  took  place,  and  continued  for  seven  years ;  and  a  resolution 
was  formed,  that  no  man  should  in  times  to  come  attack  or  molest  his  adver- 
saries during  the  season  set  apart  for  celebrating  the  great  festivals  of  the  church, 
or  from  the  evening  of  Thursday  in  each  week,  to  the  morning  of  Monday  in 
the  week  ensuing,  the  intervening  days  being  considered  as  particularly  holy ; 
our  Lord's  Passion  having  happened  on  one  of  these  days,  and  his  Resurrection 
on  another.  A  change  in  the  dispositions  of  men  so  sudden,  and  which  pro* 
duced  a  resolution  so  unexpected,  was  considered  as  miraculous ;  and  the 


534  FKOOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

respite  from  hostilities  which  followed  upon  it,  was  called  The  Truce  of  God. 
Glaber.  Rodolphus  Histor.  lib.  v.  ap.  Bouquet,  vol.  x.  p.  59.  This,  from  being 
a  regulation  or  concert  in  one  kingdom,  became  a  general  law  in  Chiisiendom, 
was  confirmed  by  the  authority  of  several  popes,  and  the  violators  were  sub- 
jected to  the  penalty  of  excommunication.  Corpus  Jur.  Canon.  Decretal,  lib. 
i.  tit.  34.  o.  i.  Du  Cange  Glossar.  voc.  Treuga.  An  act  of  the  council  of  Tou- 
lujes  in  Rousillon,  A.  D.  1041,  containing  all  the  stipulations  required  by  the 
truce  of  God,  is  published  by  Dom  de  Vic  and  Dom  Vaisette,  Hist,  de  Languc- 
doc,  torn.  ii.  preuves,  p.  206.  A  cessation  from  hostilities  during  three  com- 
plete days  in  every  week,  allowed  such  a  considerable  space  for  the  passions  of 
the  antagonists  to  cool,  and  for  the  people  to  enjoy  a  respite  from  the  calami- 
ties of  war,  as  well  as  to  take  measures  for  their  own  security,  that,  if  this 
truce  of  God  had  been  exactly  observed,  it  must  have  gone  far  towards  putting 
an  end  to  private  wars.  This,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been  the  case  ;  the 
nobles,  disregarding  the  truce,  prosecuted  their  quarrels  without  interruption  as 
formerly.  Qua  nimirum  tempestate,  universae  provineise  adeo  devastations 
continual  importunitate  inquietantur  ut  ne  ipsa,  pro  observatione  divinae  pacis, 
professa  sacramenta  custodiantur.  Abbas  Uspergensis,  apud  Datt  de  pace  im- 
peri.  publica.  p.  13.  No.  35.  The  violent  spirit  of  the  nobility  could  not  be 
restrained  by  any  engagements.  The  complaints  of  this  were  frequent ;  and 
bishops,  in  order  to  compel  them  to  renew  their  vows  and  promises  of  ceasing 
from  their  private  wars,  were  obliged  to  enjoin  their  clergy  to  suspend  the  per- 
formance of  divine  service  and  the  exercise  of  any  religious  function  within  the 
parishes  of  such  as  were  refractory  and  obstinate.  Hist,  de  Langued.  par  D. 
D.  de  Vic  et  Vaisette,  torn.  ii.  Preuves,  p.  118. — 5.  The  people,  eager  to  obtain 
relief  from  their  sufferings,  called  in  a  second  time  revelation  to  their  aid. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  a  carpenter  in  Guienne  gave  out,  that 
Jesus  Christ,  together  with  the  blessed  Virgin,  had  appeared  to  him,  and  having 
commanded  him  to  exhort  mankind  to  peace,  had  given  him,  as  a  proof  of  his 
mission,  an  Image  of  the  Virgin  holding  her  son  in  her  arms,  with  this  inscrip- 
tion, Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  give  us  peace.  This 
low  fanatic  addressed  himself  to  an  ignorant  age,  prone  to  credit  what  was 
marvellous.  He  was  received  as  an  inspired  messenger  of  God.  Many  pre- 
lates and  barons  assembled  at  Puy,  and  took  an  oath,  not  only  to  make  peace 
with  all  their  enemies,  but  fo  attack  such  as  refused  to  lay  down  their  arms, 
and  to  be  reconciled  to  their  enemies.  They  formed  an  association  for  this 
purpose,  and  assumed  the  honourable  name  of  the  Brotherhood  of  God.  Ro- 
bertus  de  Monte  Michaele,  ap.  M.  de  Lauriere  Pref.  torn.  i.  Ordon.  p.  29.  But 
the  influence  of  this  superstitious  terror  or  devotion  was  not  of  long  continu- 
ance.— 6.  The  civil  magistrate  was  obliged  to  exert  his  authority  in  order  to 
check  a  custom  which  threatened  the  dissolution  of  government.  Philip  Au- 
gustus, as  some  imagine,  or  St.  Louis,  as  is  more  probable,  published  an  ordon- 
nance,  A.  D.  1245,  prohibiting  any  person  to  commence  hostilities  against  the 
friends  and  vassals  of  his  adversary,  until  forty  days  after  the  commission  of 
the  crime  or  offence  which  gave  rise  to  the  quarrel  ;  declaring,  that  if  any  man 
presumed  to  transgress  this  statute,  that  he  should  be  considered  as  guilty  of  a 
breach  of  the  public  peace,  and  be  tried  and  punished  by  the  judge  ordinary  as 
a  traitor.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  56.  This  was  called  the  Royal  Truce,  and  afforded 
time  for  the  violence  of  resentment  to  subside,  as  well  as  leisure  for  the  good 
offices  of  such  as  were  willing  to  compose  the  difference.  The  happy  effects 
of  this  regulation  seem  to  have  been  considerable,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
solicitude  of  succeeding  monarchs  to  enforce  it. — 7.  In  order  to  restrain  the 
exercise  of  private  war  still  farther,  Philip  the  Fair,  towards  the  close  of  the 
same  century,  A.  D.  1296,  published  an  ordonnance  commanding  all  private 
hostilities  to.  cease,  while  he  was  engaged  in  war  against  the  enemies  of  the 
state.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  328.  390.  This  regulation,  which  seems  to  be  almost 
essential  to  the  existence  and  preservation  of  society,  was  often  renewed  by 
his  successors,  and  being  enforced  by  the  regal  authority,  proved  a  considerable 
check  to  the  destructive  contests  of  the  nobles.  Both  these  regulations,  in- 
troduced first  in  France,  were  adopted  by  the  other  nations  of  Europe. — 8. 
The  evil,  however,  was  so  inveterate,  that  it  did  not  yield  to  all  these  remedies. 
No  sooner    was  public    peace  established  in   any  kingdom,  than  the   barons 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  535 

renewed  their  private  hostilities.  They  not  only  struggled  to  maintain  this  per- 
nicious right,  but  to  secure  the  exercise  of  it  without  any  restraint.  Upon  tho 
death  of  Philip  the  Fair,  the  nobles  of  different  provinces  in  France  formed 
associations,  and  presented  remonstrances  to  his  successor,  demanding  the  re- 
peal of  several  laws,  by  which  he  had  abridged  the  privileges  of  their  order. 
Among  these,  the  right  of  private  war  is  always  mentioned  as  one  of  the  most 
valuable;  and  they  claim  that  the  restraint  imposed  by  the  truce  of  God,  the 
royal  truce,  as  well  as  that  arising  from  the  ordonnances  of  the  year  1296, 
should  be  taken  oft",  in  some  instances,  the  two  sons  of  Philip  who  mounted 
the  throne  successively,  eluded  their  demands  ;  in  others,  they  were  obliged  to 
make  concessions.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  551.  557.  561.  573.  The  ordonnances  to 
which  1  here  refer  are  of  such  length  that  1  cannot  insert  them,  but  they  are 
extremely  curious,  and  may  be  peculiarly  instructive  to  an  English  reader,  as 
they  throw  considerable  light  on  that  period  of  En  lish  history,  in  which  the 
attempts  to  circumscribe  the  regal  prerogative  were  carried  on,  not  by  the  people 
struggling  for  liberty,  but  by  the  nobles  contending  for  power.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  produce  any  evidence  of  the  continuance  and  frequency  of  private  wars 
under  the  successors  of  Philip  the  Fair. — 9.  A  practice  somewhat  similar  to 
the  royal  truce  was  introduced,  in  order  to  strengthen  and  extend  it.  Bonds 
of  assurance,  or  mutual  security,  were  demanded  from  the  parties  at  variance, 
by  which  they  obliged  themselves  to  abstain  from  all  hostilities,  either  during 
a  time  mentioned  in  the  bond,  or  for  ever  ;  and  became  subject  to  heavy  penal- 
ties, if  they  violated  this  obligation.  These  bonds  were  sometimes  granted 
voluntarily,  but  more  frequently  exacted  by  the  authority  of  the  civil  magis- 
trate. Upon  a  petition  from  the  party  who  felt  himself  weakest,  the  magistrate 
summoned  his  adversary  to  appear  in  court,  and  obliged  him  to  give  a  bond  of 
assurance.  If  after  that,  he  committed  any  farther  hostilities,  he  became  sub- 
ject to  all  the  penalties  of  treason.  This  restraint  on  private  war  was  known 
in  the  age  of  St.  Louis.  Establissemens,  liv.  i.  c.  28.  It  was  frequent  in  Bre- 
tagne  ;  and  what  is  very  remarkable,  such  bonds  of  assurance  were  given 
mutually  between  vassals  and  the  lord  of  whom  they  held.  Oliver  de  Clisson 
grants  one  to  the  Duke  of  Bretagne,  his  sovereign.  Morice  Mem.  pour  servir 
de  Preuves  a  lTiist.  de  Bret.  torn.  i.  p.  846.  ii.  p.  371.  Many  examples  of  bonds 
of  assurance  in  other  provinces  of  France  are  collected  by  Brussel,  torn.  ii.  p. 
iJ56.  The  nobles  of  Burgundy  remonstrated  against  this  practice,  and  obtained 
exemption  from  it  as  an  encroachment  on  the  privileges  of  their  order.  Ordon. 
torn.  i.  p.  558.  This  mode  of  security  was  first  introduced  in  cities,  and  the 
good  effects  of  it  having  been  felt  there,  was  extended  to  the  nobles.  See 
Note  16. — 10.  The  calamities  occasioned  by  private  wars  became  at  some  times 
so  intolerable,  that  the  nobles  entered  into  voluntary  associations,  binding  them- 
selves to  refer  all  matters  in  dispute,  whether  concerning  civil  property,  or 
points  of  honour,  to  the  determination  of  the  majority  of  the  associates.  Mo- 
rice Mem.  pour  servir  de  preuves  a  l'Hist.  de  Bret.  torn.  ii.  p.  728. — 11.  But 
all  these  expedients  proving  ineffectual,  Charles  VI.,  A.  D.  1413,  issued  an 
ordonnance  expressly  prohibiting  private  wars  on  any  pretext  whatsoever,  with 
power  to  the  judge  ordinary  to  compel  all  persons  to  comply  with  this  injunc- 
tion, and  to  punish  such  as  should  prove  refractory  or  disobedient,  by  imprison- 
ing their  persons,  seizing  their  goods,  and  appointing  the  officers  of  justice, 
Mangeurs  et  Gasteurs,  to  live  at  free  quarters  on  their  estate.  If  those  who 
were  disobedient  to  this  edict  could  not  be  personally  arrested,  he  appointed 
their  friends  and  vassals  to  be  seized,  and  detained  until  they  gave  surety  for 
keeping  the  peace  ;  and  he  abolished  all  laws,  customs,  or  privileges  which 
might  be  pleaded  in  opposition  to  this  ordonnance.  Ordon.  torn.  x.  p.  138. 
How  slow  is  the  progress  of  reason  and  of  civil  order  !  Regulations  which  to 
us  appear  so  equitable,  obvious,  and  simple,  required  the  efforts  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  authority,  during  several  centuries,  to  introduce  and  establish 
them.  Even  posterior  to  this  period,  Louis  XI.  was  obliged  to  abolish  private 
wars  in  Dauphine,  by  a  particular  edict,  A.  D.  1451.  Du  Cange  Dissert, 
p.  348. 

This  note  would  swell  to  a  disproportionate  bulk,  if  I  should  attempt  to  in- 
quire with  the  same  minute  attention  into  the  progress  of  this  pernicious  cus- 
tom jn  the  other  oountrips  of  Europe.     )n  Ensrland.  the  ideas  of  the  Saxons 


536  PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

concerning  personal  revenge,  the  right  of  private  wars,  and  the  composition 
due  to  the  party  offended,  seem  to  have  been  much  the  same  with  tlio.se  which 
prevailed  on  the  Continent.  The  law  of  Ina  de  vindicantibus,  in  the  eighth 
century,  Lamb.  p.  3,  those  of  Edmund  in  the  tenth  century,  de  homicidio,  Lamb, 
p.  72,  et  de  inimicitiis,  p.  76.  and  those  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  de  temporibus  et  diebus pacis,  or  Treuga  Dei,  Lamb.  p.  126,  are 
periiectly  similar  to  the  ordonnances  of  the  French  kings  their  contemporaries. 
The  laws  of  Edward,  de  pace  regis,  are  still  more  explicit  than  those  of  the 
French  monarchs,  and,  by  several  provisions  in  them,  discover  that  a  more 
perfect  police  was  established  in  England  at  that  period.  Lambard,  p.  128. 
ibl.  vers.  Even  after  the  conquest,  private  wars,  and  the  regulations  for  pre- 
venting them,  were  not  altogether  unknown,  as  appears  from  Madox  Formulare 
Anglicanum,  No.  CXLV.  and  from  the  extracts  from  Domesday  Book,  published 
by  Gale  Scriptores  Hist.  Britan.  p.  759.  777.  The  well  known  clause  in  the 
form  of  an  English  indictment,  which,  as  an  aggravation  of  the  criminal's 
guilt,  mentions  his  having  assaulted  a  person,  who  was  in  the  peace  of  God 
and  of  the  King,  seems  to  be  borrowed  from  the  Treuga  or  Pax  Dei,  and  the 
Pax  Regis,  which  1  have  explained.  But  after  the  conquest,  the  mention  of 
private  wars  among  the  nobility  occurs  more  rarely  in  the  English  history, 
than  in  that  of  any  other  European  nation,  and  no  laws  concerning  them  are 
to  be  found  in  the  body  of  their  statutes.  Such  a  change  in  their  own  manners, 
and  such  a  variation  from  those  of  their  neighbours,  is  remarkable.  Is  it  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  extraordinary  power  that  William  the  Norman  acquired  by 
right  of  conquest,  and  transmitted  to  his  successors,  which  rendered  the  execu- 
tion of  justice  more  vigorous  and  decisive,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  king's 
court  more  extensive  than  under  the  monarchs  on  the  Continent  ?  Or  was 
it  owing  to  the  settlement  of  the  Normans  in  England,  who,  having  never 
adopted  the  practice  of  private  war  in  their  own  country,  abolished  it  in  the 
kingdom  which  they  conquered  ?  It  is  asserted  in  an  ordonnance  of  John 
king  of  France,  that  in  all  times  past,  persons  of  every  rank  in  Normandy 
have  been  prohibited  to  wage  private  war,  and  the  practice  has  been  deemed 
unlawful.  Ordon.  torn.  ii.  p.  407.  If  this  fact  were  certain,  it  would  go  far 
towards  explaining  the  peculiarity  which  I  have  mentioned.  But  as  there  are 
some  English  Acts  of  Parliament,  which,  according  to  the  remarks  of  the 
learned  author  of  the  Obs (nations  on  the  Statutes,  chiefly  the  more  ancient,  recite 
falsehoods,  it  may  be  added,  that  this  is  not  peculiar  to  the  laws  of  that  coun- 
try. Notwithstanding  the  positive  assertion  contained  in  this  public  law  of 
France,  there  is  good  reason  for  considering  it  as  a  statute  which  recites  a 
falsehood.  This,  however,  is  not  the  place  for  discussing  that  point.  It  is  an 
inquiry  not  unworthy  the  curiosity  of  an  English  antiquary. 

In  Castile,  the  pernicious  practice  of  private  war  prevailed,  and  was  author- 
ized by  the  customs  and  laws  of  the  kingdom.  Leges  Tauri,  tit.  76.  cum 
commentario  Anton.  Gomezii.  p.  551.  As  the  Castilian  nobles  were  no  less 
turbulent  than  powerful,  their  quarrels  and  hostilities  involved  their  country  in 
many  calamities.  Innumerable  proofs  of  this  occur  in  Mariana.  In  Arragon, 
the  right  of  private  revenge  was  likewise  authorized  by  law  ;  exercised  in  its 
full  extent,  and  accompanied  with  the  same  unhappy  consequences.  Hieron. 
Blanca  Comment,  de  Rebus  Arag.  ap.  Schotii  Hispan.  illustrat.  vol.  iii.  p.  733. 
Lex  Jacobi  I.,  A.  D.  1247.  Fueros  et  Observancias  del  Reyno  de  Aragon.  lib. 
ix.  p.  182.  Several  confederacies  between  the  kings  of  Arragon  and  their 
nobles  for  the  restoring  of  peace,  founded  on  the  truce  of  God,  are  still  extant. 
Petr.  de  Marca,  Marca  sive  Limes  Hispanic,  app.  1303,  1388,  1428.  As  early  as 
the  year  1165,  we  find  a  combination  of  the  king  and  court  of  Arragon,  in 
order  to  abolish  the  right  of  private  war,  and  to  punish  those  who  presumed  to 
claim  that  privilege.  Anales  de  Aragon  por.  Zurita,  vol.  i.  p.  73.  But  the 
evil  was  so  inveterate,  that  as  late  as  A.  D.  1.519,  Charles  V.  was  obliged  to 
publish  a  law  enforcing  all  former  regulations  tending  to  suppress  this  practice, 
Fueros  et  observanc.  lib.  ix.  183. 

The  Lombards,  and  other  northern  nations  who  settled  in  Italy,  introduced 
the  same  maxims  concerning  the  right  of  revenge  into  that  country,  and  these 
were  followed  by  the  same  effects.  As  the  progress  of  the  evil  was  perfectly 
similar  to  what  happened  in  Fiance,  the  expedients  employed  to  check  its 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  537 

career,  or  to  extirpate  it  finally,  resembled  those  which  I  have  enumerated. 
Murat.  Ant.  Ital.  vol.  ii.  p.  306,  &c 

In  Germany,  the  disorders  and  calamities  occasioned  by  the  right  of  private 
war  were  greater  and  more  intolerable  than  in  any  other  country  of  Europe. 
The  Imperial  authority  was  so  much  shaken  and  enfeebled  by  the  violence  of 
the  civil  wars  excited  by  the  contests  between  the  popes  and  the  emperors  of 
the  Franconian  and  Suabian  lines,  that  not  only  the  nobility  but  the  cities  ac- 
quired almost  independent  power,  and  scorned  all  subordination  and  obedience 
to  the  laws.  The  frequency  of  these  faidce,  or  private  wars,  is  often  mentioned 
in  the  German  annals,  and  the  fatal  effects  of  them  are  most  pathetically  de- 
scribed, Datt  de  Pace  Imper.  pub.  lib.  i.  cap.  v.  No.  JO,  et  passim.  The  Ger- 
mans early  adopted  the  Treuga  Dei,  which  was  first  established  in  France. 
This,  however,  proved  but  a  temporary  and  ineffectual  remedy.  The  disorders 
multiplied  so  fast,  and  grew  to  be  so  enormous,  that  they  threatened  tbe  disso- 
lution of  society,  and  compelled  the  Germans  to  have  recourse  to  the  only 
remedy  of  the  evil,  viz.  an  absolute  prohibition  of  private  wars.  The  emperor 
William  published  his  edict  to  this  purpose,  A.  D.  1255,  a  hundred  and  sixty 
years  previous  to  the  Ordonnance  of  Charles  VI.  in  France,  Datt,  lib.  i.  cap.  4. 
No.  20.  But  neither  he  nor  his  successors  had  authority  to  secure  the  observ- 
ance of  it.  This  gave  rise  to  a  practice  in  Germany,  which  conveys  to  us  a 
striking  idea  both  of  the  intolerable  calamities  occasioned  by  private  wars,  and 
of  the  feebleness  of  government  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 
The  cities  and  nobles  entered  into  alliances  and  associations,  by  which  they 
bound  themselves  to  maintain  the  public  peace,  and  to  make  war  on  such  as 
should  violate  it.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  league  of  the  Rhine,  of  Suabia, 
and  of  many  smaller  confederacies  distinguished  by  various  names.  The  rise, 
progress,  and  beneficial  effects  of  these  associations  are  traced  by  Datt,  with 
great  accuracy.  Whatever  degree  of  public  peace  or  of  regular  administration 
was  preserved  in  the  empire  from  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  to  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth,  Germany  owes  to  these  leagues.  During  that  period, 
political  order,  respect  for  the  laws,  together  with  the  equal  administration  of 
justice,  made  considerable  progress  in  Germany.  But  the  final  and  perpetual 
abolition  of  the  right  of  private  war  was  not  accomplished  until  A.  D.  1495. 
The  imperial  authority  was  by  that  time  more  firmly  established,  the  ideas  of 
men  with  respect  to  government  and  subordination  were  become  more  just. 
That  barbarous  and  pernicious  privilege  of  waging  war,  which  the  nobles  had 
so  long  possessed,  was  declared  to  be  incompatible  with  the  happiness  and 
existence  of  society.  In  order  to  terminate  any  differences  which  might  arise 
among  the  various  members  of  the  Germanic  body,  the  imperial  chamber  was 
instituted  with  supreme  jurisdiction,  to  judge  without  appeal  in  every  question 
brought  before  it.  That  court  has  subsisted  since  that  period,  forming  a  very 
respectable  tribunal,  of  essential  importance  in  the  Germanic  constitution, 
Datt,  lib.  iii.  iv.  v.     Pfeffel  Abrege  de  lTIistoire,  du  Droit,  &c.  p.  556. 

Note  [22].  Page  31. 

It  would  be  tedious  and  of  little  use  to  enumerate  the  various  modes  of  ap- 
pealing to  the  justice  of  God,  which  superstition  introduced  during  the  ages  of 
ignorance.  I  shall  mention  only  one,  because  we  have  an  account  of  it  in  a 
placituin  or  trial  in  the  presence  of  Charlemagne,  from  which  we  may  learn 
the  imperfect  manner  in  which  justice  was  administered  even  during  his  reign. 
In  the  year  775,  a  contest  arose  between  the  bishop  of  Paris  and  the  abbot  of 
St.  Denys,  concerning  the  property  of  a  small  abbey.  Each  of  them  exhibited 
deeds  and  records,  in  order  to  prove  the  right  to  be  in  them.  Instead  of  trying 
the  authenticity,  or  considering  the  import  of  these,  the  point  was  referred  to 
the  judicium  cruris.  Each  produced  a  person,  who  during  the  celebration  of 
mass,  stood  before  the  cross  with  his  arms  expanded  ;  and  he,  whose  represen- 
tative first  became  weary,  and  altered  his  posture,  lost  the  cause.  The  person 
employed  by  the  bishop  on  this  occasion  had  less  strength  or  less  spirit  than  his 
adversary,  and  the  qur.L.tion  was  decided  in  favour  of  the  abbot.  Mabillon 
de  Re  Diplomat,  lib.  vi.  p.  498.  If  a  prince  so  enlightened  as  Charlemagne 
countenanced  such  an  absurd  mode  of  decision,  it  is  no  wonder  that  other 
monarchs  should  tolerate  it  so  long.     M.  de  Montesquieu  has  treated  of  the 

Vol.  IT.— 68 


638  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

trial  by  judicial  combat  at  considerable  length.  The  two  talents  which  dis- 
tinguished that  illustrious  author,  industry  in  tracing  all  the  circumstances  of 
ancient  and  obscure  institutions,  and  sagacity  in  penetrating  into  the  causes 
and  principles  which  contributed  to  establish  them,  are  equally  conspicuous  in 
his  observations  on  this  subject.  To  these  1  refer  the  leader,  as  they  contain 
most  of  the  principles  by  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  explain  this  practice. 
De  l'Esprit  des  Loix,  lib.  xxviii.  It  seems  to  be  probable  from  the  remarks  of 
M.  de  Montesquieu  as  well  as  from  the  facts  produced  by  Muratori,  torn.  iii. 
Dissert,  xxxviii.  that  appeals  to  the  justice  of  God  by  the  experiments  with 
fire  and  water,  &c.  were  frequent  among  the  people  who  settled  in  the  different 
provinces  of  the  Roman  empire,  before  they  had  recourse  to  the  judicial  com- 
bat ;  and  yet  the  judicial  combat  seems  to  have  been  the  most  ancient  mode  of 
terminating  any  controversy  among  the  barbarous  nations  in  their  original 
settlements.  This  is  evident  from  Velleius  Paterculus,  lib.  ii.  c.  118,  who  in- 
forms us,  that  all  questions  which  were  decided  among  the  Romans  by  legal 
trial,  were  terminated  among  the  Germans  by  arms.  The  same  thing  appears 
in  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  Swedes,  quoted  by  Jo.  O.  Stiernhook 
de  Jure  Sueonum  et  Gothorum  vetusto.  4to.  Holinia;  1682.  lib.  i.  c.  7.  It  is 
probable  that  when  the  various  tribes  which  invaded  the  empire  were  converted 
to  Christianity,  their  ancient  custom  of  allowing  judicial  combats  appeared  so 
glaringly  repugnant  to  the  precepts  of  religion,  that,  for  some  tune,  it  was 
abolished,  and  by  degrees,  several  circumstances  which  1  have  mentioned  led 
them  to  resume  it. 

It  seems  likewise  to  be  probable  from  a  law  quoted  by  Stiernhook  in  the 
treatise  which  I  have  mentioned,  that  the  judicial  combat  was  originally  per- 
mitted, in  order  to  determine  points  respecting  the  personal  character  or  repu- 
tation of  individuals,  and  was  afterwards  extended  not  only  to  criminal  cases, 
but  to  questions  concerning  property.  The  words  of  the  law  are,  "  If  any 
man  shall  say  to  another  these  reproachful  words  '  you  are  not  a  man  equal 
to  other  men,'  or, '  you  have  not  the  heart  of  a  man,1  and  the  other  shall  reply, 
'  I  am  a  man  as  good  as  you,'  let  them  meet  on  the  highway.  If  he  who  first 
gave  offence  appear,  and  the  person  offended  absent  himself,  let  the  latter  be 
deemed  a  worse  man  even  than  he  was  called  ;  let  him  not  be  admitted  to  give 
evidence  in  judgment  either  fon  man  or  woman,  and  let  him  not  have  the  privi- 
lege of  making  a  testament.  If  he  who  gave  the  offence  be  absent,  and  only 
the  person  offended  appear,  let  him  call  upon  the  other  thrice  with  a  loud  voice, 
and  make  a  mark  upon  the  earth,  and  then  let  him  who  absented  himself  be 
deemed  infamous,  because  he  uttered  words  which  he  durst  not  support.  If 
both  shall  appear  properly  armed,  and  the  person  offended  shall  fall  in  the 
combat,  let  a  half  compensation  be  paid  for  his  death.  But  it  the  person  who 
gave  the  offence  shall  fall,  let  it  be  imputed  to  his  own  rashness.  The  petulance 
of  his  tongue  hath  been  fatal  to  him.  Let  him  lie  in  the  field  without  any 
compensation  being  demanded  for  his  death."  Lex  Uplandica,  ap.  Stiern.  p. 
76.  Martial  people  were  extremely  delicate  with  respect  to  every  thing  that 
affected  their  reputation  as  soldiers.  By  the  laws  of  the  Salians,  if  any  man 
called  another  a  hare,  or  accused  him  of  having  left  his  shield  in  the  field  of 
battle,  he  was  ordained  to  pay  a  large  fine.  Leg.  Sal.  tit.  xxxii.  i  4.  6.  By 
the  law  of  the  Lombards,  if  any  one  called  another  arga,  i.  e.  a  good  for  nothing 
fellow,  he  might  immediately  challenge  him  to  combat.  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  i. 
tit.  v.  G  1.  By  the  law  of  the  Salians,  if  one  called  another  crnitus,  a  term  of 
reproach  equivalent  to  arga,  he  was  bound  to  pay  a  very  high  fine.  Tit.  xxxii. 
§  1.  Paulus  Diaconus  relates  the  violent  impression  which  this  reproachful 
expression  made  upon  one  of  his  countrymen,  and  the  fatal  effects  with  which 
it  was  attended.  De  Gestis  Longobard.  lib.  vi.  c.  34.  Thus  the  ideas  con- 
cerning the  point  of  honour,  which  we  are  apt  to  consider  as  a  modern  refine- 
ment, as  well  as  the  practice  of  duelling,  to  which  it  gave  rise,  are  derived 
from  the  notions  of  our  ancestors,  while  in  a  state  of  society  very  little  im- 
proved. 

As  M.  de  Montesquieu's  view  of  this  subject  did  not  lead  him  to  consider 
every  circumstance  relative  to  judicial  combats.  I  shall  mention  some  particular 
facts  necessary  for  the  illustration  of  what  I  have  said  with  respect  to  them. 
A  remarkable  instance  occurs  of  the  decision  of  an  abstract  point  of  law  by 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  539 

combat.  A  question  arose  in  the  tenth  century,  concerning  the  right  of  repre- 
sentation, which  was  not  then  fixed,  though  now  universally  established  in 
every  part  of  Europe.  "It  was  a  matter  of  doubt  and  dispute,  (saith  the  his- 
torian,) whether  the  sons  of  a  son  ought  to  be  reckoned  among  the  children  of 
the  family,  and  succeed  equally  with  their  uncles,  if  their  father  happened  to 
die  while  their  grandfather  was  alive.  An  assembly  was  called  to  deliberate  on 
this  point,  and  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  remitted  to  the 
examination  and  decision  of  judges.  But  the  emperor  following  a  better 
course,  and  desirous  of  dealing  honourably  with  his  people  and  nobles,  appointed 
the  matter  to  be  decided  by  battle  between  two  champions.  He  who  appeared 
in  behalf  of  the  right  of  children  to  represent  their  deceased  father  was  victo- 
rious; and  it  was  established,  by  a  perpetual  decree,  that  they  should  hereafter 
share  in  the  inheritance  together  with  their  uncles."  Wittikindus  Corbiensis, 
lib.  Annal.  ap.  M.  de  Lauriere  Pref.  Ordon.  vol.  i.  p.  33.  If  we  can  suppose 
the  caprice  of  folly  to  lead  men  to  any  action  more  extravagant  than  this  of 
settling  a  point  in  law  by  combat,  it  must  be  that  of  referring  the  truth  or 
falsehood  of  a  religious  opinion  to  be  decided  in  the  same  manner.  To  the 
disgrace  of  human  reason,  it  has  been  capable  even  of  this  extravagance.  A 
question  was  agitated  in  Spain  in  the  eleventh  century,  whether  the  Musarabic 
liturgy  and  ritual  which  had  been  used  in  the  churches  of  Spain,  or  that 
approved  of  by  the  see  of  Rome,  which  differed  in  many  particulars  from  the 
other,  contained  the  form  of  worship  most  acceptable  to  the  Deity.  The  Span- 
iards contended  zealously  for  the  ritual  of  their  ancestors.  The  popes  urged 
them  to  receive  that  to  which  they  had  given  their  infallible  sanction.  A 
violent  contest  arose.  The  nobles  proposed  to  decide  the  controversy  by  the 
sword.  The  king  approved  of  this  method  of  decision.  Two  knights  in 
complete  armour  entered  the  lists.  John  Ruys  de  Matanca,  the  champion  of 
the  Musarabic  liturgy,  was  victorious.  But  the  queen  and  archbishop  of  Toledo, 
who  favoured  the  other  form,  insisted  on  having  the  matter  submitted  to  another 
trial,  and  had  interest  enough  to  prevail  in  a  request,  inconsistent  with  the  laws 
of  combat,  which  being  considered  as  an  appeal  to  God,  the  decision  ought  to 
have  been  acquiesced  in  as  final.  A  great  fire  was  kindled.  A  copy  of  each 
liturgy  wae  cast  into  the  flames.  It  was  agreed  that  the  book  which  stood  this 
proof,  and  remained  untouched,  should  be  received  in  all  the  churches  of  Spain. 
The  Musarabic  liturgy  triumphed  likewise  in  this  trial,  and  if  we  may  believe 
Roderigo  de  Toledo,  remained  unhurt  by  the  fire,  when  the  other  was  reduced 
to  ashes.  The  queen  and  archbishop  had  power  or  art  sufficient  to  elude  this 
decision  also,  and  the  use  of  the  Musarabic  form  of  devotion  was  permitted 
only  in  certain  churches.  A  determination  no  less  extraordinary  than  the 
whole  transaction.  Roder  de  Toledo,  quoted  by  P.  Orleans,  Hist,  de  Revol. 
d'Espagne,  torn.  i.  p.  417.  Mariana,  lib.  i.  c.  IB.  vol.  i.  p.  378. — A  remarkable 
proof  of  the  general  use  of  trial  by  combat,  and  of  the  predilection  for  that 
mode  of  decision,  occurs  in  the  laws  of  the  Lombards.  It  was  a  custom  in  the 
middle  ages,  that  any  person  might  signify  publicly  the  law  to  which  he  chose 
to  be  subjected ;  and  by  the  prescriptions  of  that  law  he  was  obliged  to  regulate 
his  transactions,  without  being  bound  to  comply  with  any  practice  authorized 
by  other  codes  of  law.  Persons  who  had  subjected  themselves  to  the  Roman 
law,  and  adhered  to  the  ancient  jurisprudence,  as  far  as  any  knowledge  of  it 
was  retained  in  those  ages  of  ignorance,  were  exempted  from  paying  any 
regard  to  the  forms  of  proceedings  established  by  the  laws  of  the  Burgundians, 
Lombards,  and  other  barbarous  people.  But  the  emperor  Otho,  in  direct  con- 
tradiction to  this  received  maxim,  ordained,  "  That  all  persons,  under  whatever 
law  they  lived,  even  although  it  were  the  Roman  law,  should  be  bound  to  con- 
form to  the  edicts  concerning  the  trial  by  combat."  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  ii.  tit. 
55.  sect.  38.  While  the  trial  by  judicial  combat  subsisted,  proofs  by  charters, 
contracts,  or  other  deeds  became  ineffectual  ;  and  even  this  species  of  written 
evidence,  calculated  to  render  the  proceedings  of  courts  certain  and  decisive, 
was  eluded.  When  a  charter,  or  other  instrument  was  produced  by  one  of  the 
parties,  his  opponent  might  challenge  it,  affirm  that  it  was  false  and  forged,  and 
offer  to  prove  this  by  combat.  Leg.  Longob.  ib.  sect.  34.  It  is  true,  that  among  the 
reasons  enumerated  by  Beaumanoir,  on  account  of  which  judges  might  refuse  to 
permit  a  trial  by  combat,  one  is,  "If  the  point  in  contest  ca«  be  clearly  proved  or 


540  PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ascertained  by  other  evidence."  Coust.  de  Beauv.  ch.  63.  p.  325.  But  that 
regulation  removed  the  evil  only  a  single  step.  For  the  party  who  suspected 
that  a  witness  was  about  to  depose  in  a  manner  unfavourable  to  his  cause, 
might  accuse  him  of  being  suborned,  give  him  the  lie,  and  challenge  him  to 
combat ;  it'  the  witness  was  vanquished  in  battle,  no  other  evidence  could  be 
admitted,  and  the  party  by  whom  he  was  summoned  to  appear  lost  his  cause. 
Leg.  Baivar.  tit.  16.  sect.  2.  Leg.  Burgund.  tit.  45.  Beauman.  ch.  61.  p.  315.  The 
reason  given  for  obliging  a  w  itness  to  accept  of  a  defi  nee,  and  to  defend  himself 
by  combat,  is  remarkable,  and  contains  the  same  idea  which  is  still  the  founda- 
tion of  what  is  called  the  point  of  honour;  "for  it  is  just,  that  if  any  one 
affirms  that  he  perfectly  knows  the  truth  of  any  thing,  and  offers  to  give  oath 
upon  it,  that  he  should  not  hesitate  to  maintain  the  veracity  of  his  affirmation 
in  combat."     Leg.  Burgund.  tit.  45. 

That  the  trial  by  judicial  combat  was  established  in  every  country  of  Europe, 
is  a  fact  well  known,  and  requires  no  proof.  That  this  mode  of  decision  was 
frequent,  appears  not  only  from  the  codes  of  ancient  laws  which  established  it, 
but  from  the  earliest  writers  concerning  the  practice  of  law  in  the  different 
nations  of  Europe.  They  treat  of  this  custom  at  great  length ;  they  enume- 
rate the  regulations  concerning  it  with  minute  accuracy;  and  explain  them 
with  much  solicitude.  It  made  a  capital  and  extensive  article  in  jurisprudence. 
There  is  not  any  one  subject  in  their  system  of  law,  which  Beaumanoir,  Defon- 
taines,  or  the  compilers  of  the  Assises  de  Jerusalem,  seem  to  have  considered 
as  of  greater  importance  ;  and  none  upon  which  they  have  bestowed  so  much 
attention.  The  same  observation  will  hold  with  respect  to  the  early  authors  of 
other  nations.  It  appears  from  Madox,  that  trials  of  this  kind  v.  ere  so  fre- 
quent in  England,  that  tines,  paid  on  these  occasions,  made  no  inconsiderable 
branch  of  the  king's  revenue.  Hist,  of  the  Excheq.  vol.  i.  p.  349.  A  very 
curious  account  of  a  judicial  combat  between  Mesne  Robert  de  Beauma- 
noir, and  Mesire  Pierre  Tournemine,  in  presence  of  the  duke  of  Bretagne, 
A.  D.  1385,  is  published  by  Morice,  Mem.  pour  servir  de  preuves  a  l'Hist.  de 
Bretagne,  torn.  ii.  p.  498.  All  the  formalities  observed  in  such  extraordinary 
proceedings  are  there  described  more  minutely  than  in  any  ancient  monument 
which  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  considering.  Tournemine  w  as  accused  by 
Beaumanoir  of  having  murdered  his  brother.  The  former  was  vanquished,  but 
was  saved  from  being  hanged  on  the  spot  by  the  generous  intercession  of  his 
antagonist.  A  good  account  of  the  origin  of  the  laws  concerning  judicial  com- 
bat is  published  in  the  history  of  Pavia,  by  Bernardo  Sacci,  lib.  ix.  c.  8.  in 
GraBV.  Thes.  Antiquit.  Ital.  vol.  iii.  743. 

This  mode  of  trial  was  so  acceptable,  that  ecclesiastics,  notwithstanding  the 
prohibitions  of  the  church,  were  constrained  not  only  to  connive  at  the  practice, 
but  to  authorize  it.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  is  produced  by  Pasquier 
Recherches,  lib.  iv.  ch.  i.  p.  350.  The  abbot  Wittikindus,  whose  words  1  have 
produced  in  this  note,  considered  the  determination  of  a  point  in  law  by  com- 
bat as  the  best  and  most  honourable  mode  of  decision.  In  the  year  978,  a  judicial 
combat  was  fought  in  the  presence  of  the  emperor.  The  archbishop  Aldebert 
advised  him  to  terminate  a  contest  which  had  arisen  between  two  noblemen  of 
his  court,  by  this  mode  of  decision.  The  vanquished  combatant,  though  a 
person  of  high  rank,  was  beheaded  on  the  spot.  Chronic.  Ditmari  Episc. 
Mersb.  chez  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Hist.  torn.  x.  p.  121.  Questions  concerning 
the  property  of  churches  and  monasteries  were  decided  by  combat.  In  the  year 
961,  a  controversy  concerning  the  church  of  St.  Medard,  whether  it  belonged  to 
the  abbey  of  Beaulieu  or  not,  was  terminated  by  judicial  combat.  Bouquet 
Recueil  des  Hist.  torn.  ix.  p.  729.  lb.  p.  612,  &c.  The  emperor  Henry  1.  de- 
clares, that  this  law,  authorizing  the  practice  of  judicial  combats,  was  enacted 
with  consent  and  applause  of  many  faithful  bishops,  lb.  p.  231.  So  remarka- 
bly did  the  martial  ideas  of  those  ages  prevail  over  the  genius  and  maxims  of 
the  canon  law,  which  in  other  instances  was  in  the  highest  credit  and  authority 
with  ecclesiastics.  A  judicial  combat  was  appointed  in  Spain,  by  Charles  V., 
A.  D.  1522.  The  combatants  fought  in  the  emperor's  presence,  and  the  battle 
was  conducted  with  all  the  rights  prescribed  by  the  ancient  laws  of  chivalry. 
The  whole  transaction  is  described  at  great  length  by  Pontus  Heuterus  Rnr. 
Austriac.  lib.  viii.  c.  17.  p.  205. 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  541 

The  last  instance  which  occurs  in  the  history  of  France,  of  a  judicial  combat 
authorized  by  the  magistrate,  was  the  famous  one  between  M.  Jarnac  and  M. 
de  la  Chaistaignerie,  A.  D.  1547.  A  trial  by  combat  was  appointed  in  England, 
A.  D.  1571,  under  the  inspection  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  Common  Pleas  ; 
and  though  it  was  not  carried  to  the  same  extremity  with  the  former,  queen 
Elizabeth  having  interposed  her  authority,  and  enjoined  the  parties  to  com- 
pound the  matter,  yet  in  order  to  preserve  their  honour,  the  lists  were  marked 
out,  and  all  the  forms  previous  to  the  combat  were  observed  with  much  cere- 
mony. Spelm.  Gloss,  voc.  Campus,  p.  103.  In  the  year  1631,  a  judicial 
combat  was  appointed  between  Donald  Lord  Ilea,  and  David  Ramsay,  Esq.  by 
the  authority  of  the  lord  high  constable,  and  earl  marshal  of  England  ;  but 
that  quarrel  likewise  terminated  without  bloodshed,  being  accommodated  by 
Charles  I.  Another  instance  occurs  seven  years  later.  Rushworth  in  Obser- 
vations on  the  Statutes,  &c.  p.  266. 

Note  [23].  Page  33. 

The  text  contains  the  great  outlines  which  mark  the  course  of  private  and 
public  jurisdiction  in  the  several  nations  of  Europe.  1  shall  here  follow  more 
minutely  the  various  steps  of  this  progress,  as  tiie  matter  is  curious  and  impor- 
tant enough  to  merit  this  attention.  The  payment  of  a  fine  by  way  of  satisfac- 
tion to  the  person  or  family  injured,  was  the  first  device  of  a  rude  people,  in. 
order  to  check  the  career  of  private  resentment,  and  to  extinguish  those  faidce, 
or  deadly  feuds,  which  were  prosecuted  among  them  with  the  utmost  violence. 
This  custom  may  be  traced  back  to  the  ancient  Germans.  Tacit,  de  Morib. 
Germ.  c.  21.  and  prevailed  among  other  uncivilized  nations.  Many  examples 
of  this  are  collected  by  the  ingenious  and  learned  author  of  Historical  Law 
Tracts,  vol.  i.  p.  41.  These  fines  were  ascertained  and  levied  in  three  different 
manners.  At  first  they  were  settled  by  voluntary  agreement  between  the 
parties  at  variance.  When  their  rage  began  to  subside,  and  they  felt  the  bad 
effects  of  their  continuing  in  enmity,  they  came  to  terms  of  concord,  and  the 
satisfaction  made  was  called  a  composition,  implying  that  it  was  fixed  by  mutual 
consent.  De  1'Esprit  des  Loix,  lib.  xxx.  c.  19.  It  is  apparent  from  some  of 
the  more  ancient  codes  of  laws,  that  at  the  time  when  these  were  compiled, 
matters  still  remained  in  that  simple  state.  In  certain  cases,  the  person  who 
had  committed  an  offence,  was  left  exposed  to  the  resentment  of  those  whom 
he  had  injured,  until  he  should  recover  their  favour,  quoquo  modo  potuerit. 
Lex  Frision.  tit.  11.  5  1.  The  next  mode  of  levying  these  fines  was  by  the 
sentence  of  arbiters.  An  arbiter  is  called  in  the  Regiam  Majestatem  amicabilis 
compositor,  lib.  xi.  c.  4.  {  10.  He  could  estimate  the  degree  of  offence  with 
more  impartiality  than  the  parties  interested,  and  determine  with  greater  equity 
what  satisfaction  ought  to  be  demanded.  It  is  difficult  to  bring  an  authentic 
proof  of  a  custom  previous  to  the  records  preserved  in  any  nation  of  Europe. 
But  one  of  the  Formula  Andegavenses  compiled  in  the  sixth  century,  seems  to 
allude  to  a  transaction  carried  on,  not  by  the  authority  of  a  judge,  but  by  the 
mediation  of  arbiters  chosen  by  mutual  consent.  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Histor. 
torn.  iv.  p.  566.  But  as  an  arbiter  wanted  authority  to  enforce  his  decisions, 
judges  were  appointed  with  compulsive  power  to  oblige  both  parties  to  acqui- 
esce in  their  decisions.  Previous  to  this  last  step,  the  expedient  of  paying 
compositions  was  an  imperfect  remedy  against  the  pernicious  effects  of  private 
resentment.  As  soon  as  this  important  change  was  introduced,  the  magistrate, 
putting  himself  in  place  of  the  person  injured,  ascertained  the  composition  with 
which  he  ought  to  rest  satisfied.  Every  possible  injury  that  could  occur  in  the 
intercourse  of  civil  society  was  considered  and  estimated,  and  the  compositions 
due  to  the  person  aggrieved  were  fixed  with  such  minute  attention,  as  discovers, 
in  most  cases,  amazing  discernment  and  delicacy  ;  in  some  instances,  unac- 
countable caprice.  Besides  the  composition  payable  to  the  private  party,  a 
certain  sum  called  a  fredum,  was  paid  to  the  king  or  state,  as  Tacitus  expresses 
it,  or  to  the  fiscus,  in  the  language  of  the  barbarous  laws.  Some  authors  blend- 
ing the  refined  ideas  of  modern  policy  with  their  reasonings  concerning  ancient 
transactions,  have  imagined  that  the  fredum  was  a  compensation  due  to  the 
community  on  account  of  the  violation  of  the  public  peace.  But  it  is  mani- 
festly nothing  more  than  the  price  paid  to  the  magistrate  for  the  protection 


542  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

which  he  afforded  against  the  violence  of  resentment.  The  enacting  of  this 
was  a  considerable  step  towards  improvement  in  criminal  jurisprudence.  In 
some  of  the  more  ancient  codes  of  laws,  the  freda  are  altogether  omitted,  or  so 
seldom  mentioned,  that  it  is  evident  they  were  but  little  known.  In  the  later 
codes,  the  fredum  is  as  precisely  specified  as  the  composition.  In  common 
cases  it  was  equal  to  the  third  part  of  the  composition.  Capitul.  vol.  i.  p.  52. 
In  some  extraordinary  cases,  where  it  was  more  difficult  to  protect  the  person 
who  had  committed  violence,  the  fredum  was  augmented.  Capitul.  vol.  i.  p. 
515.  These  freda  made  a  considerable  branch  in  the  revenues  of  the  barons  ; 
and  in  whatever  district  territorial  jurisdiction  was  granted,  the  royal  judges 
were  prohibited  from  levying  any  freda.  In  explaining  the  nature  of  the 
fredum,  I  have  followed  in  a  great  measure  the  opinion  of  M.  de  Montesquieu, 
though  I  know  that  several  learned  antiquaries  have  taken  the  word  in  a  differ- 
ent sense.  De  TEsprit  des  Loix,  liv.  xxx.  c.  20,  Sic.  The  great  object  of 
judges  was  to  compel  the  one  party  to  give,  and  the  other  to  accept,  the  satis- 
faction prescribed.  They  multiplied  regulations  to  this  purpose,  and  enforced 
them  by  grievous  penalties.  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  i.  tit.  9.  $  34.  lb.  tit.  37.  i  1, 
2.  Capitul.  vol.  i.  p.  371.  0  22.  The  person  who  received  a  composition  was 
obliged  to  cease  from  all  farther  hostility,  and  to  confirm  his  reconciliation  to 
the  adverse  party  by  an  oath.  Leg.  Longob.  lib.  i.  tit.  9.  i  8.  As  an  addi- 
tional and  more  permanent  evidence  of  reconciliation,  he  was  required  to  grant 
a  bond  of  security  to  the  person  from  whom  he  received  a  composition,  absolv- 
ing him  from  all  farther  prosecution.  Marculfus,  and  the  other  collectors  of 
ancient  writs,  have  preserved  several  different  forms  of  such  bonds.  Marc.  lib. 
xi.  $  18.  Append.  $  23.  Form.  Simondicae,  $  39.  The  Letters  of  Slanes,  known 
in  the  law  of  Scotland,  are  perfectly  similar  to  these  bonds  of  security.  By 
the  Letters  of  Slanes,  the  heirs  and  relations  of  a  person  who  had  been  mur- 
dered, bound  themselves,  in  consideration  of  an  assytkment  or  composition  paid  to 
ihem,  to  forgive,  "pass  over  and  for  ever  forget,  and  in  oblivion  inter,  all  ran- 
cour, malice,  revenge,  prejudice,  grudge  and  resentment,  that  they  have  or  may 
conceive  against  the  aggressor  or  his  posterity,  for  the  crime  which  he  had 
committed,  and  discharge  him  of  all  action,  civil  or  criminal,  against  him  or  his 
estate,  for  now  and  ever."  System  of  Stiles  by  Dallas  of  St.  Martin's,  p.  862. 
In  the  ancient  form  of  Letters,  of  Slanes,  the  private  party  not  only  forgives 
and  forgets,  but  pardons  and  grants  remission  of  the  crime.  This  practice, 
Dallas,  reasoning  according  to  the  principles  of  his  own  age,  considers  as  an 
encroachment  on  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  as  none,  says  he,  could  pardon  a 
criminal  but  the  king.  Ibid.  But,  in  early  and  rude  times,  the  prosecution, 
the  punishment,  and  the  pardon  of  criminals,  were  all  deeds  of  the  private  per- 
son who  was  injured.  Madox  has  published  two  writs,  one  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.,  the  other  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  by  which  private  persons 
grant  a  release  or  pardon  of  all  trespasses,  felonies,  robberies,  and  murders  com- 
mitted. Formal.  Anglican.  No.  702.  705.  In  the  last  of  these  instruments, 
some  regard  seems  to  be  paid  to  the  rights  of  the  sovereign,  for  the  pardon  is 
granted  en  quaint  que  en  nous  est.  Even  after  the  authority  of  the  magistrate 
was  interposed  in  punishing  crimes,  the  punishment  of  criminals  is  long  consi- 
dered chiefly  as  a  gratification  to  the  resentment  of  the  persons  who  have  been 
injured.  In  Persia  a  murderer  is  still  delivered  to  the  relations  of  the  person 
whom  he  has  slain,  who  put  him  to  death  with  their  own  hands.  If  they  refuse 
to  accept  of  a  sum  of  money  as  a  compensation,  the  sovereign,  absolute  as  he 
is,  cannot  pardon  the  murderer.  Voyages  de  Chardin,  iii.  p.  417.  edit.  1735, 
4to.  Voyages  de  Tavernier,  liv.  v.  c.  5.  10.  Among  the  Arabians,  though  one  of 
the  first  polished  people  in  the  east,  the  same  custom  still  subsists.  Description 
de  l'Arabia  par  M.  Niebuhr,  p.  28.  By  a  law  in  the  kingdom  of  Arragon,  as  late 
as  the  year  1564,  the  punishment  of  one  condemned  to  death  cannot  be  miti- 
gated but  by  consent  of  the  parties  who  have  been  injured.  Fueros  and  obser- 
vancias  del  Reyno  de  Arragon.  p.  204.  6.  V^ 

If,  after  all  the  engagements  to  cease  from  enmity  which  I  Have  mentioned, 
any  person  renewed  hostilities,  and  was  guilty  of  any  violence,  either  towards 
the  person  from  whom  he  had  received  a  composition,  or  towards  his  relations 
and  heir6,  this  was  deemed  a  most,  heinous  crime,  and  punished  with  extraor- 
dinary rigour-     Tt  wns  an  act.  of  direct  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Si'3 

magistrate,  and  waa  repressed  by  the  interposition  of  all  his  power.  Leg. 
Longob.  lib.  i.  tit.  9.  i  8.  34.  Capit.  vol.  i.  p.  371.  I  22.  Thus  the  avenging 
of  injuries  was  taken  out  of  private  hands,  a  legal  composition  was  established, 
and  peace  and  amity  were  restored,  under  the  inspection,  and  by  the  authority 
of  a  judge.  It  is  evident  that  at  the  time  when  the  barbarians  settled  in  the 
provinces  of  the  Roman  empire,  they  had  fixed  judges  established  among  them 
with  compulsive  authority.  Persons  vested  with  this  character  are  mentioned 
by  the  earliest  historians.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Judices.  The  right  of  territorial 
jurisdiction  was  not  altogether  an  usurpation  of  the  feudal  barons,  or  an  inva- 
sion of  the  prerogative  of  the  sovereign.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe,  that 
the  powerful  leaders,  who  seized  different  districts  of  the  countries  which  they 
conquered,  and  kept  possession  of  them  as  allodial  property,  assumed  from  the 
beginning  the  right  of  jurisdiction,  and  exercised  it  within  their  own  territories. 
This  jurisdiction  was  supreme,  and  extended  to  all  causes.  The  clearest  proofs 
of  this  are  produced  by  M.  Bouquet.  Le  Droit  publique  de  France  eclairci, 
&c.  torn.  i.  p.  206,  &c.  The  privilege  of  judging  his  own  vassals,  appears  to 
have  been  originally  a  right  inherent  in  every  baron  who  held  a  fief.  As  far 
back  as  the  archives  of  nations  can  conduct  us  with  any  certainty,  we  find  the 
jurisdiction  and  fief  united.  One  of  the  earliest  charters  to  a  layman  which  i 
have  met  with,  is  that  of  Ludovicus  Pius,  A.  D.  814.  And  it  contains  the 
right  of  territorial  jurisdiction,  in  the  most  express  and  extensive  terms.  Capi- 
tul.  vol.  ii.  p.  1405.  There  are  many  charters  to  churches  and  monasteries  of 
a  more  early  date,  containing  grants  of  a  similar  jurisdiction,  and  prohibiting 
any  royal  judge  to  enter  the  territories  of  those  churches  or  monasteries,  or  to 
perform  any  act  of  judicial  authority  there.  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Hist.  torn. 
iv.  p.  628.  631.  633.  torn.  v.  p.  703.  710.  752.  762.  Muratori  has  published 
many  very  ancient  charters  containing  the  same  immunities.  Antiq.  Ital.  Dis- 
sert, lxx.  In  most  of  these  deeds,  the  royal  judge  is  prohibited  from  exacting 
the  freda  due  to  the  possessor  of  territorial  jurisdiction,  which  shows  that  they 
constituted  a  valuable  part  of  the  revenue  of  each  superior  lord  at  that  juncture. 
The  expense  of  obtaining  a  sentence  in  a  court  of  justice  during  the  middle 
ages  was  so  considerable,  that  this  circumstance  alone  was  sufficient  to  render 
men  unwilling  to  decide  any  contest  in  judicial  form.  It  appears  from  a  char- 
ter in  the  thirteenth  century,  that  the  baron  who  had  the  right  of  justice,  re- 
ceived the  fifth  part  of  the  value  of  every  subject,  the  property  of  which  was 
tried  and  determined  in  his  court.  If,  after  the  commencement  of  a  law-suit, 
the  parties  terminated  the  contest  in  an  amicable  manner,  or  by  arbitration, 
they  were  nevertheless  bound  to  pay  the  fifth  part  of  the  subject  contested,  to 
the  court  before  which  the  suit  had  been  brought.  Hist,  de  Dauphine,  Geneve, 
1722,  torn.  i.  p.  22.  Similar  to  this  is  a  regulation  in  the  charter  of  liberty 
granted  to  the  town  of  Friburg,  A.  D.  1120.  If  two  of  the  citizens  shall  quarrel, 
and  if  one  of  them  shall  complain  to  the  superior  lord,  or  to  his  judge,  and  after 
commencing  the  suit,  shall  be  privately  reconciled  to  his  adversary,  the  judge, 
if  he  does  not  approve  of  this  reconciliation,  may  compel  him  to  go  on  with 
his  law-suit ;  and  all  who  were  present  at  the  reconciliation  shall  forfeit  the 
favour  of  the  superior  lord.  Historia  Zaringo  Badensis.  Auctor.  Jo.  Dan. 
Schoepflinus.  Carolsr.  1765,  4to.  vol.  v.  p.  55. 

What  was  the  extent  of  that  jurisdiction  which  those  who  held  fiefs  possessed 
originally,  we  cannot  now  determine  with  certainty.  It  is  evident  that,  during 
the  disorders  which  prevailed  in  every  kingdom  of  Europe,  the  great  vassals 
took  advantage  of  the  feebleness  of  their  monarchs,  and  enlarged  their  juris- 
diction to  the  utmost.  As  early  as  the  tenth  century,  the  more  powerful  barons 
had  usurped  the  right  of  deciding  all  causes,  whether  civil  or  criminal.  They 
had  acquired  the  High  Justice  as  well  as  the  Low.  Establ.  de  St.  Louis,  lib.  i. 
c.  24,  25.  Their  sentences  were  final,  and  there  lay  no  appeal  from  them  to 
any  superior  court.  Several  striking  instances  of  this  are  collected  by  Brussel. 
Traite  des  Fiefs,  liv.  iii.  c.  11,  12,  13.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  the  more  potent 
barons  got  their  territories  erected  into  Regalities,  with  almost  every  royal 
prerogative  and  jurisdiction.  Instances  of  these  were  frequent  in  France. 
Bruss.  ib.  In  Scotland,  where  the  power  of  the  feudal  nobles  became  exor- 
bitant, they  were  very  numerous.  Historical  Law  Tracts,  vol.  i.  tract  vi. 
Even  in  England,  though  the  authority  of  the  Norman  kings  circumscribed  the 


544  PROOFS   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

jurisdiction  of  the  barons  within  more  narrow  limits  than  in  any  other  ieudal 
kingdom,  several  counties  palatine  wore  erected,  into  which  the  king's  judges 
could  not  enter,  and  no  writ  could  come  in  the  king's  name,  until  it  received 
the  seal  of  the  county  palatine.  Spelman.  Gloss,  voc.  Comites  Palatini ; 
Blackstone's  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  England,  vol.  iii.  p.  78.  These 
lords  of  Regalities  had  a  right  to  claim  or  rescue  their  vassals  from  the  king's 
judges,  if  they  assumed  any  jurisdiction  over  them.  Brussel,  ubi  supra.  In 
the  law  of  Scotland  tins  privilege  was  termed  the  right  of  repledging ;  and  the 
frequency  of  it  not  only  interrupted  the  course  of  justice,  but  gave  rise  to 
great  disorders  in  the  exercise  of  it.  Hist.  Law  Tracts,  ib.  The  jurisdiction 
of  the  counties  palatine  seems  to  have  been  productive  of  like  inconveniences 
in  England. 

The  remedies  provided  by  princes  against  the  bad  effects  of  these  usurpations 
of  the  nobles,  or  inconsiderate  grants  of  the  crown,  were  various,  and  gradually 
applied.  Under  Charlemagne  and  his  immediate  de.-cendants,  the  regal  pre- 
rogative still  retained  great  vigour,  and  the  Duces,  Comites,  and  Missi  Dominici, 
the  former  of  whom  were  ordinary  and  fixed  judges,  the  latter  extraordinary  and 
itinerant  judges,  in  the  different  provinces  of  their  extensive  dominions,  exer- 
cised a  jurisdiction  co-ordinate  with  the  barons  in  some  cases,  and  superior  to  them 
in  others.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Dux,  Comites,  and  Missi.  Murat.  Antiq.  Dissert. 
Tiii.  and  ix.  But  under  the  feeble  race  of  monarchs  who  succeeded  them,  the 
authority  of  the  royal  judges  declined,  and  the  barons  acquired  that  unlimited 
jurisdiction  which  has  been  described.  Louis  VI.  of  France  attempted  to  revive 
the  function  of  the  Missi  Dominici  under  the  title  of  Juges  des  Exempts,  but 
the  barons  were  become  too  powerful  to  bear  such  an  encroachment  on  their 
jurisdiction,  and  he  was  obliged  to  desist  from  employing  them.  Henaut 
Abrege  Chron.  torn.  ii.  p.  730.  His  successor  (as  has  been  observed)  had  re- 
course to  expedients  less  alarming.  The  appeal  de  defaule  de  droit,  or  on  ac- 
count of  the  refusal  of  justice,  was  the  first  which  was  attended  with  any 
considerable  effect.  According  to  the  maxims  of  feudal  law,  if  a  baron  had 
not  as  many  vassals  as  enabled  him  to  try  by  their  peers  the  parties  who  offered 
to  plead  in  his  court,  or  if  he  delayed  or  refused  to  proceed  in  the  trial,  the 
cause  might  be  carried,  by  appeal,  to  the  court  of  the  superior  lord  of  whom 
the  baron  held,  and  tried  there.  De  TEsprit  des  Loix,  liv.  xxviii.  c.  28.  Du 
Cange,  voc.  Defectus  Justitia.'  The  number  of  peers  or  assessors  in  the  court.v 
of  barons  was  frequently  very  considerable.  It  appears  from  a  criminal  trial 
in  the  court  of  the  viscount  de  Lautrec,  A.  D.  1299,  that  upwards  of  ttro 
hundred  persons  were  present,  and  assisted  in  the  trial,  and  voted  in  passing 
judgment.  Hist,  de  Langued.  par  D.  D.  de  Vic  and  Vaisette,  torn.  iv.  Preuves, 
p.  1 14.  But  as  the  right  of  jurisdiction  had  been  usurped  by  many  inconsider- 
able barons,  they  were  often  unable  to  hold  courts.  This  gave  frequent  oc- 
casion to  such  appeals,  and  rendered  the  practice  familiar.  By  degrees  such 
appeals  began  to  be  made  from  the  courts  of  the  more  powerful  barons,  and  it 
is  evident,  from  a  decision  recorded  by  Brussel,  that  the  royal  judges  were 
willing  to  give  countenance  to  any  pretext  for  them.  Traite  des  Fiefs,  torn.  i. 
p.  235.  261.  This  species  of  appeal  had  less  effect  in  abridging  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  nobles,  than  the  appeal  on  account  of  the  injustice  of  the  sentence. 
When  the  feudal  monarchs  were  powerful,  and  their  judges  possessed  extensive 
authority,  such  appeals  seem  to  have  been  frequent.  Capitul.  vol.  i.  p.  175. 
180;  and  they  were  made  in  a  manner  suitable  to  the  rudeness  of  a  simple 
a<re.  The  persons  aggrieved  resorted  to  the  palace  of  their  sovereign,  and 
with  outcries  and  loud  noise  called  to  him  for  redress.  Capitul.  lib.  iii.  c.  59. 
Chronic.  Laterberginense  ap.  Mencken,  Script.  German,  vol.  ii.  p.  284.  b.  In 
the  kingdom  of  Arragon,  the  appeals  to  the  Justiza  or  supreme  judge,  were 
taken  in  such  a  form  as  supposed  the  appellant  to  be  in  immediate  danger  of 
death,  or  of  some  violent  outrage  ;  he  rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  judge, 
crying  with  a  loud  voice,  Ari,  Avi,  Fucrsa,  Fuerza,  thus  imploring  (as  it  were) 
the  instant  interposition  of  that  supreme  judge  in  order  to  save  him.  H»cr- 
Blanca  Comment,  de  rebus  Arragon.  ap.  Script.  Hispanic.  Pistorii,  vol.  iii.  p. 
753.  The  abolition  of  the  trial  by  combat  facilitated  the  revival  of  appeals  of 
this  kind.  The  effects  of  the  subordination  which  appeals  established,  in  in- 
troducing attention,  equity,  tind  consistency  of  decision  into  courts  of  judica- 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  545 

mre,  were  soon  conspicuous  ;  and  almost  all  causes  of  importance  were  carried 
to  be  finally  determined  in  the  king's  courts.  Brunei*  torn.  i.  252.  Various 
i  ircumstaiici >s  which  contributed  towards  the  introduction  and  frequency  of 
such  appeals  are  enumerated  Dc  l'Esprit  des  Loix,  liv.  xxviii.  c.  27.  Nothing, 
however,  was  of  such  effect  as  the  attention  which  auraarcha  gave  to  the  con- 
stitution and  dignity  of  their  courts  of  justice.  It  was  the  ancient  custom  for 
the  feudal  monarchs  to  preside  themselves  in  their  courts,  and  to  administer  jus- 
tice in  person.  BAarculf.  lib.  i.  i  25.  Murat.  Dissert,  xxxi.  Charlemagne, 
while  he  was  dressing,  used  to  call  parties  into  his  presence,  and  having 
heard  and  considered  the  subject  of  litigation,  gave  judgment  concerning  it. 
Eginhartus,  Vita  Caroli  Magni,  cited  by  Madox,  Hist,  of  Exchequer,  vol.  i.  p. 
91.  This  trial  and  decision  of  causes  by  the  sovereigns  themselves  could  not 
fail  of  rendering  their  courts  respectable.  St.  Louis,  who  encouraged  to  the 
utmost  the  practice  of  appeals,  revived  this  ancient  custom,  and  administered 
justice  in  person  with  all  the  ancient  simplicity.  "  I  have  often  seen  the  saint," 
says  Joinville,  "sit  under  the  shade  of  an  oak  in  the  wood  of  Vincennes,  when 
all  who  had  any  complaint  freely  approached  him.  At  other  times  he  gave 
orders  to  spread  a  carpet  in  a  garden,  and  seating  himself  upon  it,  heard  the 
causes  that  were  brought  before  him."  Hist,  de  St.  Louis,  p.  13.  edit.  1761. 
Princes  of  inferior  rank,  who  possessed  the  right  of  justice,  sometimes  dispensed 
it  in  person,  and  presided  in  their  tribunals.  Two  instances  of  this  occur  with 
respect  to  the  Dauphines  of  Vienne.  Hist,  de  Dauphims,  torn.  i.  p.  18.  torn, 
ii.  p.  257.  But  as  kings  and  princes  could  not  decide  every  cause  in  person, 
nor  bring  them  all  to  be  determined  in  the  same  court ;  they  appointed  Baillis, 
with  a  right  of  jurisdiction,  in  different  districts  of  their  kingdom.  These  pos- 
sessed powers  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  ancient  Comites.  It  was  towards 
the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  and  beginning  of  the  thirteenth,  that  this  office 
was  first  instituted  in  France.  Brussel,  liv.  ii.  c.  35.  When  the  king  had  a 
court  established  in  different  quarters  of  his  dominions,  this  invited  his  subjects 
to  have  recourse  to  it.  It  was  the  private  interest  of  the  Baillis,  as  well  as  an 
object  of  public  policy,  to  extend  their  jurisdiction.  They  took  advantage  of 
every  defect  in  the  rights  of  the  barons,  and  of  every  error  in  their  proceedings, 
to  remove  causes  out  of  their  courts,  and  to  bring  them  under  their  own  cog- 
nizance. There  was  a  distinction  in  the  feudal  law,  and  an  extremely  ancient 
one,  between  the  high  justice  and  the  low.  Capitul.  3.  A.  D.  812.  $  4.  A.  D. 
815.  i  3.  Establ.  de  St.  Louis,  liv.  i.  c.  40.  Many  barons  possessed  the  latter 
jurisdiction  who  had  no  title  to  the  former.  The  former  included  the  right  of 
trying  crimes  of  every  kind,  even  the  highest ;  the  latter  was  confined  to  petty 
trespasses. 

This  furnished  endless  pretexts  for  obstructing,  restraining,  and  reviewing 
the  proceedings  in  the  baron  courts.  Ordon.ii.  457.  $  25.  458.  }  29. A  regu- 
lation of  greater  importance  succeeded  the  institution  of  Baillis.  The  king's 
supreme  court  or  parliament  was  rendered  fixed  as  to  the  place,  and  constant 
as  to  the  time  of  its  meetings.  In  France,  as  well  as  in  the  other  feudal 
kingdoms,  the  king's  court  of  justice  was  originally  ambulatory,  followed  the 
person  of  the  monarch,  and  was  held  only  during  some  of  the  great  festivals. 
Philip  Augustus,  A.  D.  1305,  rendered  it  stationary  at  Paris,  and  continued  ltd 
terms  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Pasquier  Recherches,  liv.  ii.  c.  2.  et 
3,  &c.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  366.  $  62.  He  and  his  successors  vested  extensive 
powers  in  that  court ;  they  granted  the  members  of  it  several  privileges  and 
distinctions  which  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate.  Pasquier,  ib.  Velly  Hist. 
de  France,  torn.  vii.  p.  307.  Persons  eminent  for  integrity  and  skill  in  law 
were  appointed  judges  there.  Ib.  By  degrees  the  final  decisions  of  all  causes 
of  importance  was  brought  into  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  the  other  parlia- 
ments, which  administered  justice  in  the  king's  name,  in  different  provinces  of 
the  kingdom.  This  jurisdiction,  however,  the  parliament  of  Paris  acquired 
very  slowly,  and  the  great  vassals  of  the  crown  made  violent  efforts  in  order 
to  obstruct  the  attempts  of  this  parliament  to  extend  its  authority.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Philip  the  Fair  was  obliged  to  prohibit  his 
parliament  from  taking  cognizance  of  certain  appeals  brought  into  it  from  the 
courts  of  the  count  of  Brctagne,  ar.d  to  recognise  and  fMpecl  his  right  <•'.' 
supreme  and  final  jurisdiction      MenMirea  pour  mtvil  H«  Prruves  a  I'^istoire 

Vol.  II .—«.•> 


546  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

de  Bretagne,  par  Morice,  torn.  i.  p.  1037.  1074.  Charles  VI.  at  the  end  of  tile 
following  century  was  obliged  to  confirm  the  rights  of  the  dukes  of  Bretagne  in 
Htill  more  ample  form.  Ibid.  torn.  ii.  p.  580,  581.  So  violent  was  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  barons  to  this  right  of  appeal,  which  they  considered  as  fatal  to 
(heir  privileges  and  power,  that  the  authors  of  the  Encyclopedie  have  mentioned 
several  instances  in  which  barons  put  to  death,  or  mutilated,  such  persons  as 
ventured  to  appeal  from  the  sentences  pronounced  in  their  courts,  to  the  par- 
liament of  Paris,  torn.  xii.  art.  Parlemnit,  p.  25. 

The  progress  of  jurisdiction  in  the  other  feudal  kingdoms,  was  in  a  great 
measure  similar  to  that  which  we  have  traced  in  France,  in  England  the  terri- 
torial jurisdiction  of  the  barons  was  both'  ancient  and  extensive.  Leg.  Edw. 
Conf.  No.  5.  and  9.  After  the  Norman  conquest,  it  became  more  strictly 
feudal ;  and  it  is  evident  from  facts  recorded  in  the  English  history,  as  well  as 
from  the  institution  of  Counties  Palatine,  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  that 
the  usurpations  of  the  nobles  in  England  were  not  less  bold  or  extensive  than 
those  of  their  contemporaries  on  the  continent.  The  same  expedients  were 
employed  to  circumscribe  or  abolish  those  dangerous  jurisdictions.  William 
the  Conqueror  established  a  constant  court  in  the  hall  of  his  palace ;  from  which 
the  four  courts  now  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  justice  in  England 
took  their  rise.  Henry  II.  divided  his  kingdom  into  six  circuits,  and  sent, 
itinerant  judges  to  hold  their  courts  in  them  at  stated  seasons.  Blackstone's 
Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  England,  vol.  iii.  57.  Justices  of  the  peace 
were  appointed  in  every  county  by  subsequent  monarchs  ;  to  whose  jurisdiction 
the  people  gradually  had  recourse  in  many  civil  causes.  The  privileges  of  the 
Counties  Palatine  were  gradually  limited  ;  with  respect  to  some  points  they 
were  abolished  ;  and  the  administration  of  justice  was  brought  into  the  king's 
courts,  or  before  judges  of  his  appointment.  The  several  steps  taken  for  this 
purpose  are  enumerated  in  Dairymple's  History  of  Feudal  Property,  chap.  vii. 

In  Scotland  the  usurpations  of  the  nobility  were  more  exorbitant  than  in 
any  other  feudal  kingdom.  The  progress  of  their  encroachments,  and  the 
methods  taken  by  the  crown  to  limit  or  abolish  their  territorial  and  indepen- 
dent jurisdictions,  both  which  I  had  occasion  to  consider  and  explain  in  a  former 
work,  differed  very  little  from  those  of  which  I  have  now  given  the  detail. 
History  of  Scotland. 

I  should  perplex  myself  and  my  readers  in  the  labyrinth  of  German  juris- 
prudence, if  I  were  to  attempt  to  delineate  the  progress  of  jurisdiction  in  tho 
empire,  with  a  minute  accuracy.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe,  that  the  authority 
which  the  Aulic  council  and  imperial  chamber  now  possess,  took  its  rise  from 
the  same  desire  of  redressing  the  abuses  of  territorial  jurisdiction,  and  was 
acquired  in  the  same  manner  that  the  royal  courts  attained  influence  in  other 
countries  of  Europe.  All  the  important  facts  with  respect  to  both  these  par- 
ticulars may  be  found  in  Phil.  Datt  de  pace  publica  Imperii,  lib.  iv.  The 
capital  articles  are  pointed  out  in  Pfeffel  Abrege  de  THistoire  et  Droit  publique 
d'Allemagne,  p.  556.  581.  and  in  Traite  du  Droit  publique  de  l'Empire  par  M. 
le  Coq.  de  Villeray.  The  two  last  treatises  are  of  great  authority,  having  been 
composed  under  the  eye  of  M.  Schoepflin  of  Strasburg,  one  of  the  ablest  public 
lawyers  in  Germany. 

Note  [24].  Page  34. 

It  is  not  easy  to  fix  with  precision  the  period  at  which  ecclesiastics  first  began 
to  claim  exemption  from  the  civil  jurisdiction.  It  is  certain  that  during  the 
early  and  purest  ages  of  the  church,  they  pretended  to  no  such  immunity.  The 
authority  of  the  civil  magistrate  extended  to  all  persons,  and  to  all  causes. 
This  fact  has  not  only  been  clearly  established  by  Protestant  authors,  but  is 
admitted  by  many  Roman  Catholics  of  eminence,  and  particularly  by  the 
writers  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  the  Gallican  church.  There  are  several 
original  papers  published  by  Muratori,  which  show  that,  in  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries,  causes  of  the  greatest  importance  relating  to  ecclesiastics  were  still 
determined  by  civil  judges.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  v.  dissert,  lxx.  Proofs  of  this  are 
produced  likewise  by  M.  Houard,  Anciennes  Loix  des  Francois,  &c.  vol.  i.  p. 
209.  Ecclesiastics  did  not  shake  off  all  at  once  their  subjection  to  civil  courts. 
This  privilege,  like  their  other  usurpationst  was  acquired  slowly,  and  step  by 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  547 

step.  This  exemption  seems  at  first  to  have  been  merely  an  act  of  complai- 
sance, flowing  from  veneration  for  their  character.  Thus,  from  a  charter  of 
Charlemagne  in  favour  of  the  church  of  Mans,  A.  D.  796,  to  which  M.  l'Abbe 
de  Foy  refers  in  his  Notice  de  Diplomes.  torn.  i.  p.  201.  that  monarch  directs 
his  judges,  if  any  difference  should  arise  between  the  administrators  of  the 
revenues  of  that  church  and  any  person  whatever,  not  to  summon  the  adminis- 
trators to  appear  in  mallo  publico  :  but  first  of  all  to  meet  with  them,  and  to 
endeavour  to  accommodate  the  difference  in  an  amicable  manner.  This  indul- 
gence was  in  process  of  time  improved  into  a  legal  exemption  ;  which  was 
founded  on  the  same  superstitious  respect  of  the  laity  for  the  clerical  character 
and  function.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  occurs  in  a  charter  of  Frederic 
Barbarossa,  A.  D.  1172,  to  the  monastery  of  Altenburg.  He  grants  them 
"judicium  non  tantum  sanguinolentis  plagae,  sed  vita?  et  mortis  ;"  he  prohibits 
any  of  the  royal  judges  from  disturbing  their  jurisdiction  ;  and  the  reason 
which  he  gives  for  this  ample  concession  is,  "nam  quorum,  ex  Dei  gratia,  ratione 
divini  ministerii  onus  leve  est,  et  jugum  suave  ;  nos  penitus  nolumus  illos 
oppressionis  contumelia,  vel  manu  Laica,  fatigari."  Mencken.  Script,  rer. 
Germ.  vol.  iiii  p.  1067. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  illustrating  what  is  contained  in  the  text,  that  I  should 
describe  the  manner  in  which  the  code  of  the  canon  law  was  compiled,  or  show 
that  the  doctrines  in  it  most  favourable  to  the  power  of  the  clergy,  are  founded 
on  ignorance,  or  supported  by  fraud  or  forgery.  The  reader  will  find  a  full 
account  of  these  in  Gerard.  Van  Mastrich.  Historia  Juris  Ecclesiastici,  et  in 
Science  de  Gouvernement  par  M.  Real,  torn.  vii.  c.  i.  et  3.  sect.  2,  3,  &c.  The 
history  of  the  progress  and  extent  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  with  an 
account  of  the  arts  which  the  clergy  employed  in  order  to  draw  causes  of 
every  kind  into  the  spiritual  courts,  is  no  less  curious,  and  would  throw  great 
light  upon  many  of  the  customs  and  institutions  of  the  dark  ages  ;  but  it  is 
likewise  foreign  from  the  present  subject.  Du  Cange  in  his  Glossary,  voc. 
Curia  Christianitatis,  has  collected  most  of  the  causes  with  respect  to  which 
the  clergy  arrogated  an  exclusive  jurisdiction,  and  refers  to  the  authors,  or 
original  papers  which  confirm  his  observations.  Giannone  in  his  Civil  His- 
tory of  Naples,  lib.  xix.  sect.  3.  has  arranged  these  under  proper  heads,  and 
scrutinizes  the  pretensions  of  the  church  with  his  usual  boldness  and  discern- 
ment. M.  Fleury  observes,  that  the  clergy  multiplied  the  pretexts  for  extending 
the  authority  of  the  spiritual  courts  with  so  much  boldness  that  it  was  soon  in 
their  power  to  withdraw  almost  every  person  and  every  cause  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  civil  magistrate.  Hist.  Eccles.  torn.  xix.  Disc.  Prelim.  16.  But 
how  ill-founded  soever  the  jurisdiction  of  the  clergy  may  have  been,  or  what- 
ever might  be  the  abuses  to  which  their  manner  of  exercising  it  gave  rise,  the 
principles  and  forms  of  their  jurisprudence  were  far  more  perfect  than  that 
which  was  known  in  the  civil  courts.  It  seems  to  be  certain  that  ecclesiastics 
never  submitted,  during  any  period  in  the  middle  ages,  to  the  laws  contained  in 
the  codes  of  the  barbarous  nations,  but  were  governed  entirely  by  the  Roman 
law.  They  regulated  all  their  transactions  by  such  of  its  maxims  as  were 
preserved  by  tradition,  or  were  contained  in  the  Theodosian  code,  and  other 
books  extant  among  them.  This  we  learn  from  a  custom  which  prevailed 
universally  in  those  ages.  Every  person  was  permitted  to  choose  among  the 
various  codes  of  laws  then  in  force,  that  to  which  he  was  willing  to  conform. 
In  any  transaction  of  importance,  it  was  usual  for  the  persons  contracting,  to 
mention  the  law  to  which  they  submitted,  that  it  might  be  known  how  any 
controversy  that  should  arise  between  them  was  to  be  decided.  Innumerable 
proofs  of  this  occur  in  the  charters  of  the  middle  ages.  But  the  clergy  consi- 
dered it  as  such  a  valuable  privilege  of  their  order  to  be  governed  by  the 
Roman  law,  that  when  any  person  entered  into  holy  orders,  it  was  usual  for 
him  to  renounce  the  code  of  laws  to  which  he  had  been  formerly  subject,  and 
to  declare  that  he  now  submitted  to  the  Roman  law.  Constat  me  Johannem 
clericum,  filium  quondam  Verandi,  qui  professus  sum,  ex  natione  mea,  lege 
vivere  Langobardorum,  sed  tamen,  pro  honore  ecclesiastico,  lege  nunc  videor 
viverc  Romana.  Charta,  A.  D.  1072.  Farulfus  presbyter  qui  professus  sum, 
more  sacerdotii  mei,  lege  vivere  Romana.  Charta,  A.  D.  1075.  Muratori 
Antichita  Estensi.  vol.  i.  p.  78.  See  likewise  Houard  Ancienncs  Lois  dec 
Francois,  &c.  vol.  i.  p.  208. 


548  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  code  of  the  canon  law  began  to  be  compiled  early  in  the  ninth  century. 
Mem.  de  l'Acad.  des  Inscript.  torn,  xviii.  p.  346,  &c.  It  was  above  two  centu- 
ries after  that  before  any  collection  was  made  of  those  customs,  which  were  the 
rule  of  judgments  in  the  courts  of  the  barons.  Spiritual  judges  decided,  of 
course,  according  to  written  and  known  laws:  lay  judges,  left  without  any  fixed 
«mido,  were  directed  by  loose  traditionary  customs.  But  besides  this  general 
advantage  of  the  canon  law,  its  forms  and  principles  were  more  consonant  to 
reason,  and  more  favourable  to  the  equitable  decision  of  every  point  in  contro- 
versy, than  those  which  prevailed  in  lay  courts.  It  appears,  from  Notes  21  and 
23,  concerning  private  wars,  and  the  trial  by  combat,  that  the  whole  spirit  of 
ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  was  adverse  to  those  sanguinary  customs  which  were 
destructive  of  justice;  and  the  whole  force  of  ecclesiastical  authority  was  exerted 
to  abolish  them,  and  to  substitute  trials  by  law  and  evidence  in  their  room. 
Almost  all  the  forms  in  lay  courts,  which  contribute  to  establish,  and  continue  to 
preserve  order  in  judicial  proceedings, are  borrowed  from  the  canon  law.  Fleury 
Instit.  du  Droit,  canon,  part  iii.  c.  6.  p.  52.  St.  Louis,  in  his  Establissemens,  con- 
firms many  of  his  new  regulations  concerning  property,  and  the  administration 
of  justice,  by  the  authority  of  the  canon  law,  from  which  he  borrowed  them. 
Thus,  for  instance, the  first  hint  of  attaching  moveables  forthe  recovery  of  a  debt, 
was  taken  from  the  canon  law.  Estab.  lib.  ii.  c.  21  et  40.  And  likewise  the  cessio 
bonorum,  by  a  person  who  was  insolvent.  Ibid.  In  the  same  manner  he  esta- 
blished new  regulations  with  respect  to  the  effects  of  persons  dying  intestate, 
liv.  i.  c.  89.  These  and  many  other  salutary  regulations  the  canonists  borrowed 
from  the  Roman  law.  Many  other  examples  might  be  produced  of  more  per- 
fect jurisprudence  in  the  canon  law  than  was  known  in  lay  courts.  For  that 
reason  it  was  deemed  a  high  privilege  to  be  subject  to  ecclesiastical  jurisdic- 
tion. Among  the  many  immunities,  by  which  men  were  allured  to  engage  in 
the  dangerous  expeditions  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land,  one  of  the  most 
considerable  was  the  declaring  such  as  took  the  Cross  to  be  subject  only  to  the 
spiritual  courts,  and  to  the  rules  of  decision  observed  in  them.  See  Note  13. 
and  Du  Cange,  voc.  Cruris  Priviltgia. 

Note  [25].  Page  35. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  knowledge  and  study  of  the  Roman  law  spread 
over  Europe  is  amazing.  The  copy  of  the  Pandects  was  found  at  Amalphi, 
A.  D.  1137.  Irnerius  opened  a  college  of  civil  law  at  Bologna  a  few  years  after. 
Gian.  Hist,  book  xi.  c.  2.  It  began  to  be  taught  as  a  part  of  academical  learn- 
ing in  different  parts  of  France  before  the  middle  of  the  century.  Vaccarius 
gave  lectures  on  the  civil  law  at  Oxford,  as  early  as  the  year  1147.  A  regular 
system  of  feudal  law,  formed  plainly  in  imitation  of  the  Roman  code,  was  com- 
posed by"  two  Milanese  lawyers  about  the  year  1150.  Gratian  published  the 
code  of  canon  law,  with  large  additions  and  emendations,  about  the  same  time. 
The  earliest  collection  of  those  customs,  which  served  as  the  rules  of  decision 
in  the  courts  of  justice,  is  the  Assises  de  Jerusalem.  They  were  compiled,  as 
the  preamble  informs  us,  in  the  year  1099,  and  are  called  Jus  Consuetudinarium 
quo  regebatur  regnum  orientale.  Willerm.  Tyr.  lib.  xix.  c.  2.  But  peculiar 
circumstances  gave  occasion  to  this  early  compilation.  The  victorious  cru- 
saders settled  as  a  colony  in  a  foreign  country,  and  adventurers  from  all  the 
different  nations  of  Europe  composed  this  new  society.  It  was  necessary  on 
that  account  to  ascertain  the  laws  and  customs  which  were  to  regulate  the 
transactions  of  business,  and  the  administration  of  justice  among  them.  But 
in  no  country  of  Europe  was  there,  at  that  time,  any  collection  of  customs,  nor 
had  any  attempt  been  made  to  render  law  fixed.  The  first  undertaking  of  that 
kind  was  by  Glanville,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  in  his  Tractatus  de 
Legibus  et  Consuetudinibus  Angliae,  composed  about  the  year  1181.  The 
Regiam  Majestatem  in  Scotland,  ascribed  to  David  I.  seems  to  be  an  imitation, 
and  a  servile  one,  of  Glanville.  Several  Scottish  antiquaries,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  that  pious  credulity,  which  disposes  men  to  assent,  without  hesitation, 
to  whatever  they  deem  for  the  honour  of  their  native  country,  contend  zealously, 
that  the  Regiam  Majestatem  is  a  production  prior  to  the  treatise  of  Glanville ; 
and  have  brought  themselves  to  believe,  that  a  nation,  in  a  superior  state  of 
improvement,  borrowed  its  laws  and  institutions  from  one  considerably  less  ad- 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  549 

ranced  in  its  political  progress.  The  internal  evidence  (were  it  iny  province 
to  examine  it)  by  which  this  theory  might  be  refuted,  is,  in  my  opinion,  decisive. 
The  external  circumstances  which  have  seduced  Scottish  authors  into  this  mis- 
take, have  been  explained  with  so  much  precision  and  candour  by  Sir  David 
Dalrymple,  in  his  examination  of  some  of  the  arguments  for  the  high  antiquity 
of  Regiam  Majestatem,  Edin.  1769,  4to.  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  controversy 
will  not  be  again  revived.  Pierre  de  P'ontaines,  who  tells  us,  that  he  was  the 
first  who  had  attempted  such  a  work  in  France,  composed  his  Conseil,  which 
contains  an  account  of  the  customs  of  the  country  of  Vermandois,  in  the  reign 
of  St.  Louis,  which  began,  A.  D.  1226.  Beaunianoir,  the  author  of  the  Cous- 
tumes  de  Beauvoisis,  lived  about  the  same  time.  The  Establissemens  of  St. 
Louis,  containing  a  large  collection  of  the  customs  which  prevailed  within  the 
royal  domains,  were  published  by  the  authority  of  that  monarch.  As  soon  as 
men  became  acquainted  with  the  advantages  of  having  written  customs  and 
laws,  to  which  they  could  have  recourse  on  every  occasion,  the  practice  of  col- 
lecting them  became  common.  Charles  VII.  of  France,  by  an  ordonnance,  A. 
D.  1453,  appointed  the  customary  Jaws  in  every  province  of  France  to  be  col- 
lected and  arranged.  Velley  and  Villaret,  Histoire,  torn.  xvi.  p.  113.  His 
successor,  Louis  XI.  renewed  the  injunction.  But  this  salutary  undertaking 
hath  never  been  fully  executed,  and  the  jurisprudence  of  the  French  nation 
remains  more  obscure  and  uncertain  than  it  would  have  been  if  these  prudent 
regulations  of  their  monarchs  had  taken  effect.  A  mode  of  judicial  determina- 
tion was  established  in  the  middle  ages,  which  affords  the  clearest  proofs  that 
judges,  while  they  had  no  other  rule  to  direct  their  decrees  but  unwritten  and 
traditionary  customs,  were  often  at  a  loss  how  to  find  out  the  facts  and  prin- 
ciples, according  to  which  they  were  bound  to  decide.  They  were  obliged,  in 
dubious  cases,  to  call  a  certain  number  of  old  men,  and  to  lay  the  case  before 
them,  that  they  might  inform  them  what  was  the  practice  or  custom  with  regard 
to  the  point.  This  was  called  Enqueste  par  tourbe.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Turba. 
The  effects  of  the  revival  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence  have  been  explained  by 
M.  de  Montesquieu,  liv.  xxviii.  c.  42,  and  by  Mr.  Hume,  Hist,  of  England,  vol. 
ii.  p.  441.  I  have  adopted  many  of  their  ideas.  Who  can  pretend  to  review 
any  subject  which  such  writers  have  considered,  without  receiving  from  them 
light  and  information  ?  At  the  same  time  I  am  convinced,  that  the  knowledge 
of  the  Roman  law  was  not  so  entirely  lost  in  Europe  during  the  middle  ages, 
as  is  commonly  believed.  My  subject  does  not  require  me  to  examine  this 
point.  Many  striking  facts  with  regard  to  it  are  collected  by  Donato  Antonio 
d'Asti  Dall'  Uso  e  autorita  della  regione  civile  nelle  provincie  dell  Imperio 
Occidentale.     Nap.  1751,  2  vols.  8vo. 

That  the  civil  law  is  intimately  connected  with  the  municipal  jurisprudence 
in  several  countries  of  Europe,  is  a  fact  so  well  known,  that  it  needs  no  illus- 
tration. Even  in  England,  where  the  common  law  is  supposed  to  form  a  sys- 
tem perfectly  distinct  from  the  Roman  code,  and  although  such  as  apply  in  that 
country  to  the  study  of  the  common  law,  boast  of  this  distinction  with  some 
degree  of  affectation,  it  is  evident  that  many  of  the  ideas  and  maxims  of  the 
civil  law  are  incorporated  into  the  English  jurisprudence.  This  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  ingenious  and  learned  author  of  Observations  on  the  Statutes, 
chiefly  the  more  ancient,  3d  edit.  p.  76,  &c. 

Note  [26].  Page  36 

The  whole  history  of  the  middle  ages  makes  it  evident,  that  war  was  the  sole 
profession  of  gentlemen,  and  almost  the  only  object  attended  to  in  their  educa- 
tion. Even  after  some  change  in  manners  began  to  take  place,  and  the  civil 
arts  of  life  had  acquired  some  reputation,  the  ancient  ideas  with  respect  to  the 
accomplishments  necessary  for  a  person  of  noble  birth,  continued  long  in  force. 
In  the  Memoires  de  Fleuranges,  p.  9,  &c.  we  have  an  account  of  the  youthful 
exercises  and  occupations  of  Francis  I.  and  they  were  altogether  martial  and 
athletic.  That  father  of  letters  owed  his  relish  for  them,  not  to  education,  but 
to  his  own  good  sense  and  good  taste.  The  manners  of  the  superior  order  of 
ecclesiastics  during  the  middle  ages  furnish  the  strongest  proof  that,  in  some 
instances,  the  distinction  of  professions  was  not  completely  ascertained  in 
Europe.     The  functions  and  character  of  the  clergy  are  obviously  very  different 


650  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

from  those  of  laymen  ;  and  among  the  inferior  orders  of  churchmen,  this  con- 
stituted a  distinct  character  separate  from  that  of  other  citizens.  But  the  dig- 
nified ecclesiastics,  who  were  frequently  of  noble  birth,  were  above  such  a  dis- 
tinction ;  they  retained  the  idea  of  what  belonged  to  them  as  gentlemen,  and 
in  spite  of  the  decrees  of  popes,  or  the  canons  of  councils,  they  bore  arms,  led 
their  vassals  to  the  field,  and  fought  at  their  head  in  battle.  Among  them  the 
priesthood  was  scarcely  a  separate  profession  ;  the  military  accomplishments 
which  they  thought  essential  to  them  as  gentlemen,  were  cultivated  ;  the  theo- 
logical science,  and  pacific  virtues  suitable  to  their  spiritual  function,  were 
neglected  and  despised. 

As  soon  as  the  science  of  law  became  a  laborious  study,  and  the  practice  of 
it  a  separate  profession,  such  persons  as  rose  to  eminence  in  it  obtained  honours 
which  had  formerly  been  appropriated  to  soldiers.  Knighthood  was  the  most 
illustrious  mark  of  distinction  during  several  ages,  and  conferred  privileges  to 
which  rank  or  birth  alone  were  not  entitled.  To  this  high  dignity  persons  emi- 
nent for  their  knowledge  of  law  were  advanced,  and  were  thereby  placed  on  a 
level  with  those  whom  their  military  talents  had  rendered  conspicuous.  Miles 
Justitice,  Miles  Literatus,  became  common  titles.  Matthew  Paris  mentions  such 
knights  as  early  as  A.  D.  1251.  If  a  judge  attained  a  certain  rank  in  the  courts 
of  justice,  that  alone  gave  him  a  right  to  the  honour  of  knighthood.  Pasquier 
Recherches,  liv.  xi.  c.  16.  p.  130.  Dissertations  historiques  sur  la  Chevalerie, 
par  Honore  de  Sainte  Marie,  p.  164,  &c.  A  profession  that  led  to  offices,  which 
ennobled  the  persons  that  held  them,  grew  into  credit,  and  the  people  of  Europe 
became  accustomed  to  see  men  rise  to  eminence  by  civil  as  well  as  military 
talents. 

Note  [27].  Page  37. 

The  chief  intention  of  these  notes  was  to  bring  at  once  under  the  view  of 
my  readers,  such  facts  and  circumstances  as  tend  to  illustrate  or  confirm  what 
is  contained  in  that  part  of  the  history  to  which  they  refer.  When  these  lay 
scattered  in  many  different  authors,  and  were  taken  from  books  not  generally 
known,  or  which  many  of  my  readers  might  find  it  disagreeable  to  consult,  I 
thought  it  would  be  of  advantage  to  collect  them  together.  But  when  every 
thing  necessary  for  the  proofor  illustration  of  my  narrative  or  reasoning  may 
be  found  in  any  book  which  is  generally  known,  or  deserves  to  be  so,  I  shall 
satisfy  myself  with  referring  to  it.  This  is  the  case  with  respect  to  Chivalry. 
Almost  every  fact  which  I  have  mentioned  in  the  text,  together  with  many  other 
curious  and.  instructive  particulars  concerning  this  singular  institution,  may  bo 
found  in  Memoires  sur  l'ancienne  Chevalerie  considered  comme  unc  Establissc- 
ment  politique  et  militaire,  par  M.  de  la  Curne  de  St.  Palaye. 

Note  [28].  Page  39. 

The  subject  of  my  inquiries  does  not  call  me  to  write  a  history  of  the  pro- 
gress of  science.  The  facts  and  observations  which  I  have  produced,  are  suffi- 
cient to  illustrate  the  effects  of  its  progress  upon  manners  and  the  state  of 
society.  While  science  was  altogether  extinct  in  the  western  parts  of  Europe, 
it  was  cultivated  in  Constantinople  and  other  parts  of  the  Grecian  empire.  But 
the  subtile  genius  of  the  Greeks  turned  almost  entirely  to  theological  disputa- 
tion. The  Latins  borrowed  that  spirit  from  them,  and  many  of  the  controver- 
sies which  still  occupy  and  divide  theologians,  took  their  rise  among  the  Greeks, 
from  whom  the  other  Europeans  derived  a  considerable  part  of  their  knowledge. 
See  the  testimony  of  ./Eneas  Sylvius  ap.  Conringiurn  du  antiq.  academicis,  p. 
43.  Histoire  literaire  de  France,  torn.  vii.  p.  113,  Sec.  torn.  be.  p.  151,  &c. 
Soon  after  the  empire  of  the  Caliphs  was  established  in  the  East,  some  illus- 
trious princes  arose  among  them,  who  encouraged  science.  But  when  the 
Arabians  turned  their  attention  to  the  literature  cultivated  by  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans,  the  chaste  and  correct  taste  of  their  works  of  genius  ap- 
peared frigid  and  unaniinatcd  to  a  people  of  a  more  warm  imagination.  Though 
they  could  not  admire  the  poets  and  historians  of  Greece  or  of  Rome,  they  were 
sensible  of  the  merit  of  their  philosophers.  The  operations  of  the  intellect  are 
more  fixed  and  uniform  than  those  of  the  fancy  or  taste.  Truth  makes  an  im- 
pression nearly  the  same  in  every  place  ;  the  ideas  of  what  is  beautiful,  elegant. 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  551 

er  sublime,  vary  in  different  climates.  The  Arabians,  though  they  neglected 
Homer,  translated  the  most  eminent  of  the  Greek  philosophers  into  their  own 
language  ;  and,  guided  by  their  precepts  and  discoveries,  applied  themselves 
with  great  ardour  to  the  study  of  geometry,  astronomy,  medicine,  dialectics, 
and  metaphysics.  In  the  three  former,  they  made  considerable  and  useful  im- 
provements, which  have  contributed  not  a  little  to  advance  those  sciences  to 
that  high  degree  of  perfection  which  they  have  attained,  in  the  two  latter, 
they  chose  Aristotle  for  their  guide,  and  refining  on  the  subtle  and  distinguishing 
spirit  which  characterizes  his  philosophy,  they  rendered  it  in  a  great  degree 
frivolous  or  unintelligible.  The  schools  established  in  the  East  for  teaching 
and  cultivating  these  sciences  were  in  high  reputation.  They  communicated 
their  love  of  science  to  their  countrymen,  who  conquered  Africa  and  Spain  ; 
and  the  schools  instituted  there  were  little  inferior  in  fame  to  those  in  the  East. 
Many  of  the  persons  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their  proficiency  in  science 
during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,,  were  educated  among  the  Arabians. 
Bruckerus  collects  many  instances  of  this,  Histor.  Philos.  v.  iii.  p.  681,  &c. 
Almost  all  the  men  eminent  for  science,  during  several  centuries,  if  they  did 
not  resort  in  person  to  the  schools  of  Africa  and  Spain,  were  instructed  in  the 
philosophy  of  the  Arabians.  The  first  knowledge  of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy 
in  the  middle  ages  was  acquired  by  translations  of  Aristotle's  works  out  of  the 
Arabic.  The  Arabian  commentators  were  deemed  the  most  skilful  and  authen- 
tic guides  in  the  study  of  his  system.  Conring.  Antiq.  Acad.  Diss.  iii.  p.  95, 
&c.  Supplem.  p.  241,  &c.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  iii.  p.  932,  &c.  From  them 
the  schoolmen  derived  the  genius  and  principles  of  their  philosophy,  which  con- 
tributed so  much  to  retard  the  progress  of  true  science. 

The  establishment  of  colleges  or  universities  is  a  remarkable  era  in  literary 
history.     The  schools  in  cathedrals  and  monasteries  confined  themselves  chiefly 
to  the  teaching  of  grammar.     There  were  only  one  or  two  masters  employed 
in  that  office.     But  in  colleges,  professors  were  appointed  to  teach  all  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  science.     The   course  or  order  of  education  was  fixed.     The  time 
that  ought  to  be  allotted  to  the  study  of  each  science  was  ascertained.     A  regu- 
lar form  of  trying  the  proficiency  of  students  was  prescribed ;  and  academical 
titles  and  honours  were  conferred  on  such  as  acquitted  themselves  with  appro- 
bation.    A  good  account  of  the  origin  and  nature   of  these  is   given   by   Seb. 
Bacmeisterus  Antiquitates  Rostochienses,    sive  Historia    Urbis   et  Academics 
Rostoch.  ap.  Monumenta  inedita  Rer.  Germ,  per  E.  J.  de  Westphalen,  vol.  iii. 
p.  781.     Lips.  1743.     The  first  obscure  mention  of  these  academical  degrees  in 
the  university  of  Paris  (from  which  the  other  universities  in  Europe  have  bor- 
rowed most  of  their  customs  and  institutions)  occurs  A.  D.  1215.     Crevier.  Hist, 
de   l'Univ.  de  Paris,  torn.  i.  p.  296,  &c.     They  were  completely  established,  A. 
D.  1231.     lb.   248.     It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate   the  several  privileges  to 
which  bachelors,   masters,  and   doctors   were  entitled.      One  circumstance  is 
sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  high  degree  of  estimation  in  which  they  were  held. 
Doctors  in  the  different  faculties  contended  with  knights  for  precedence, and  the 
dispute  was  terminated  in  many  instances  by  advancing  the  former  to  the  dig- 
nity of  knighthood,  the  high  prerogatives  of  which  I  have  mentioned.     It  was 
even  asserted  that  a  doctor  had  a  right  to  that  title  without  creation.     Bartolus 
taught — doctorem  actualiter  regentem  in  jure  civili  per  decennium  effici  mili- 
tem  ipso  facto.     Hcnore  de  St.  Marie  Dissert,  p.  165.     This  was  called  Cheva- 
lerie  de  Lectures,  and  the  persons   advanced  to  that   dignity,  Milites  Clerici. 
These    new    establishments    for    education,  together    with   the   extraordinary 
honours  conferred   on  learned  men,  greatly  increased   the  number  of  scholars. 
In  the  year  1262,  there  were  ten  thousand  students  in  the  university  of  Bologna; 
and  it  appears  from  the  history  of  that  university,  that  law  was  the  only  science 
taught  in  it  at  that  time.     In  the  year  1340,  there  were  thirty  thousand  in  the 
university  of  Oxford.     Speed's  Chron.  ap.  Anderson's  Chronol.     Deduction  of 
Commerce,  vol.  i.  p.  172-     In  the  same  century,  ten  thousand  persons  voted  in 
a  question   agitated  in   the   university  of  Paris;  and  as  graduates  alone  were 
admitted  to  that  privilege,  the  number  of  students  must  have  been  very  great. 
Velly  Hist,  de  France,  torn.  xi.  p.  147.     There  were  indeed  few  universities  in 
Europe  at  that  time;  but  such  a  number  of  students  may  nevertheless  be  pro- 
<inc^d  as  a  proof  of  the  extraordinary  ardour  with  whirh  men  applied   to  the 


552  PROOFS   ANU   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

study  of  science  in  those  ages;  it  shows  likewise  that  they  already  began  to 
consider  other  professions  besides  that  of  a  soldier  as  honourable  and  useful. 

Note  [29].  Page  40. 

The  great  variety  of  subjects  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  illustrate,  and  the 
extent  of  this  upon  which  I  now  enter,  will  justify  my  adopting  the  words  of 
M.  de  Montesquieu,  when  he  begins  to  treat  of  commerce.  "The  subject  which 
follows  would  require  to  be  discussed  more  at  large  ;  but  the  nature  of  this 
work  does  not  permit  it.  I  wish  to  glide  on  a  tranquil  stream  ;  but  I  am  hurried 
along  by  a  torrent." 

Many  proofs  occur  in  history  of  the  little  intercourse  between  nations  during 
die  middle  ages.  Towards  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  Count  Bouchard, 
intending  to  found  a  monastery  at  St.  Maur  des  Fosses  near  Paris,  applied  to 
an  abbot  of  Clugny  in  Burgundy,  famous  for  his  sanctity,  entreating  him  to 
conduct  the  monks  thither.  The  language  in  which  he  addressed  that  holy  man 
is  singular  :  he  tells  him  that  he  had  undertaken  the  labour  of  such  a  great 
journey  ;  that  he  was  fatigued  with  the  length  of  it,  therefore  hoped  to  obtain 
his  request,  and  that  his  journey  into  such  a  distant  country  should  not  be  in 
vain.  The  answer  of  the  abbot  is  still  more  extraordinary  :  he  refused  to  com- 
ply with  his  desire,  as  it  would  be  extremely  fatiguing  to  go  along  with  him  into 
a  strange  and  unknown  region.  Vita  Burchardi  venerabilis  comitis  ap.  Bouquet 
Rec.  des  Hist.  vol.  x.  p.  351.  Even  so  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, the  monks  of  Ferrieres  in  the  diocess  of  Sens  did  not  know  that  there 
was  such  a  city  as  Tournay  in  Flanders  ;  and  the  monks  of  St.  Martin  of 
Tournay,  were  equally  unacquainted  with  the  situation  of  Ferrieres.  A  trans- 
action in  which  they  were  both  concerned  made  it  necessary  for  them  to  have 
some  intercourse.  The  mutual  interest  of  both  monasteries  prompted  each 
to  find  out  the  situation  of  the  other.  After  a  long  search,  which  is  particularly 
described,  the  discovery  was  made  by  accident.  Herimannus  Abbas  de  Restau- 
ratione  St.  Martini  Tornacensis  ap.  Dacher.  Spicel.  vol.  xii.  p.  400.  The  igno- 
rance of  the  middle  ages  with  respect  to  the  situation  and  geography  of 
remote  countries  was  still  more  remarkable.  The  most  ancient  geographical 
chart  which  now  remains  as  a  monument  of  the  state  of  that  science  in  Europe 
during  the  middle  ages,  is  found  in  a  manuscript  of  the  Chronique  de  St, 
Denys.  There  the  three  parts  of  the  earth  then  known  are  so  represented,  that 
Jerusalem  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  globe,  and  Alexandria  appears  to  be 
as  near  to  it  as  Nazareth.  Mem.  de  l'Acad.  des  Belles  Lettres,  torn.  xvi.  p.  185. 
There  seem  to  have  been  no  inns  or  houses  of  entertainment  for  the  reception 
of  travellers  during  the  middle  ages.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  hi.  p.  581,  &c. 
This  is  a  proof  of  the  little  intercourse  w  hich  took  place  between  different 
nations.  Among  people  whose  manners  are  simple,  and  who  are  seldom  visited 
by  strangers,  hospitality  is  a  virtue  of  the  first  rank.  This  duty  of  hospitality 
was  so  necessary  in  that  state  of  society  which  took  place  during  the  middle 
ages,  that  it  was  not  considered  as  one  of  those  virtues  which  men  may  prac- 
tise or  not,  according  to  the  temper  of  their  minds,  and  the  generosity  of  their 
hearts.  Hospitality  was  enforced  by  statutes,  and  such  as  neglected  this  duty 
were  liable  to  punishment.  Quicunque  hospiti  venienti  lectum,  aut  focum 
negaverit,  trium  solidorum  inlatione  mulctetur.  Leg.  Burgund.  tit.  xxxviii, 
sect.  1.  Si  quis  homini  aliquo  pergenti  in  itinere  mansionem  vetaverit,  sexa- 
ginta  solidos  componat  in  publico.  Capitul.  lib.  vi.  sect.  82.  This  increase  of 
the  penalty,  at  a  period  so  long  after  that  in  which  the  laws  of  the  Burgundians 
were  published,  and  when  the  state  of  society  was  much  improved,  is  very 
remarkable.  Other  laws  of  the  same  purport  are  collected  by  Jo.  Fred.  Polac. 
Systema  Jurisprud.  Germanicae,  Lips.  1733,  p.  75.  The  laws  of  the  Slavi  were 
more  rigorous  than  any  that  he  mentions  ;  they  ordained,  "that  the  moveables 
of  an  inhospitable  person  should  be  confiscated,  and  his  house  burnt.  They 
were  even  so  solicitous  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers,  that  they  permitted 
the  landlord  to  steal  for  the  support  of  his  guest."  Quod  noctu  furatus  fueris, 
eras  appone  hospitibus.  Rerum  Mecleburgicar.  lib.  viii.  a  Mat.  Jo.  Beehr. 
Lips.  1751,  p.  50.  In  consequence  of  these  laws,  or  of  the  state  of  society 
which  made  it  proper  to  enact  them,  hospitality  abounded  while  the  intercourse 
among  men  was  inconsiderable,  and  secured  the  stranger  a  kind  reception  under 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  653 

every  roof  where  he  chose  to  take  shelter.  This,  too,  proves  clearly,  that  the 
intercourse  among  men  was  rare,  for  as  soon  as  this  became  frequent,  what  was 
a  pleasure  became  a  burden,  and  the  entertaining  of  travellers  was  converted 
into  a  branch  of  commerce. 

But  the  laws  of  the  middle  ages  afford  a  proof  still  more  convincing  of  the 
small  intercourse  between  different  nations.  The  genius  of  the  feudal  system, 
as  well  as  the  spirit  of  jealousy  which  always  accompanies  ignorance,  concurred 
in  discouraging  strangers  from  settling  in  any  new  country.  It'  a  person 
removed  from  one  provinco  in  a  kingdom  to  another,  he  was  bound  within  a 
year  and  day  to  acknowledge  himself  the  vassal  of  the  baron  in  whose  estate 
lie  settled  ;  if  he  neglected  to  do  so,  he  became  liable  to  a  penalty  ;  and  if,  at 
his  death  he  neglected  to  leave  a  certain  legacy  to  the  baron  within  whose  terri- 
tory he  had  resided,  all  his  goods  were  confiscated.  The  hardships  imposed  on 
foreigners  settling  in  a  country,  were  still  more  intolerable.  In  more  early 
times,  the  superior  lord  of  any  territory  in  which  a  foreigner  settled,  might 
seize  his  person,  and  reduce  him  to  servitude.  Very  striking  instances  of  this 
occur  in  the  history  of  the  middle  ages.  The  cruel  depredations  of  the  Nor- 
mans in  the  ninth  century,  obliged  many  inhabitants  of  the  maritime  provinces 
of  France  to  fly  into  the  interior  parts  of  the  kingdom.  But  instead  of  being 
received  with  that  humanity  to  which  their  wretched  condition  entitled  them, 
they  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude.  Both  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
powers  found  it  necessary  to  interpose  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  this  barbarous 
practice.  Potgiesser.  de  Statu  Servor.  lib.  i.  c.  i.  §  16-  In  other  countries,  the 
laws  permitted  the  inhabitants  of  the  maritime  provinces  to  reduce  such  as 
were  shipwrecked  on  their  coast  to  servitude.  Ibid.  $  17.  This  barbarous  cus- 
tom prevailed  in  many  countries  of  Europe.  The  practice  of  seizing  the 
goods  of  persons  who  had  been  shipwrecked,  and  of  confiscating  them  as  the 
property  of  the  lord  on  whose  manor  they  were  thrown,  seems  to  have  been 
universal.  De  Westphalen  Monum.  inedita  Rer.  Germ.  vol.  iv.  p.  907,  &c.  et 
Du  Cange,  voc  Laganum,  Beehr.  Rer.  Mecleb.  lib.  p.  512.  Among  the  ancient 
Welsh,  three  sorts  of  persons,  a  madman,  a  stranger,  and  a  leper,  might  be  killed 
with  impunity.  Leges  Hoel  Dda,  quoted  in  observat.  on  the  Statutes  chiefly 
the  more  ancient,  p.  22.  M  deLauriere  produces  several  ancient  deeds,  which 
prove,  that  in  different  provinces  of  France,  strangers  became  the  slaves  of  the 
lord  on  whose  lands  they  settled.  Glossaire  du  Droit  Francois,  art.  Aubaine, 
p.  92.  Beaumanoir  says,  "that  there  are  several  places  in  France,  in  which,  if 
a  stranger  fixes  his  residence  for  a  year  and  day,  he  becomes  the  slave  of  the 
lord  of  the  manor."  Coust.  dc  Beav.  ch.  45.  p.  254.  As  a  practice  so  contrary 
to  humanity  could  not  subsist  long,  the  superior  lords  found  it  necessary  to 
rest  satisfied,  instead  of  enslaving  aliens,  with  levying  certain  annual  taxes 
upon  them,  or  imposing  upon  them  some  extraordinary  duties  or  services.  But 
when  any  stranger  died,  he  could  not  convey  his  effects  by  will  ;  and  all  his 
real  as  well  as  personal  estate,  fell  to  the  king,  or  to  the  lord  of  the  barony,  to 
the  exclusion  of  his  natural  heirs.  This  is  termed  in  France  Droit  D^Aubaine. 
Pref.  de  Laurier.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  15.  Brussel.  torn.  ii.  p.  944.  Du  Cange, 
voc.  Albani.  Pasquier  Recherches,  p.  367.  This  practice  of  confiscating  the 
effects  of  strangers  upon  their  death  was  very  ancient.  It  is  mentioned,  though 
very  obscurely,  in  a  law  of  Charlemagne,  A.  D.  813.  Capitul.  Baluz.  p.  507. 
$  5.  Not  only  persons  who  were  born  in  a  foreign  country  were  subject  to  the 
Droit  D'Aubaine,  but  in  some  countries  such  as  removed  from  one  diocess  to 
another,  or  from  the  lands  of  one  baron  to  another.  Brussel.  vol.  ii.p.  947.  949. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  any  law  more  unfavourable  to  the  intercourse 
between  nations.  Something  similar  to  it,  however,  may  be  found  in  the  ancient 
laws  of  every  kingdom  in  Europe.  With  respect  to  Italy,  see  Murat.  Ant.  vol. 
ii.  p.  14.  As  nations  advanced  in  improvement,  this  practice  was  gradually 
abolished.  It  is  no  small  disgrace  to  the  French  jurisprudence,  that  this  barba- 
rous inhospitable  custom  should  have  so  long  remained  among  a  people  so  highly 
civilized. 

The  confusion  and  outrage  which  abounded  under  a  feeble  form  of  govern- 
ment, incapable  of  framing  or  executing  salutary  laws,  rendered  the  communi- 
cation between  the  different  provinces  of  the  same  kingdom  extremely  dangerous. 
It  appears  from  a  letter  of  Lupus,  abbot  of  Ferrieres,  in  the  ninth  centurv,  that 

Vol.  IT.— 70 


554  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

the  highways  were  so  much  infested  by  banditti,  that  it  was  necessary  for  tra- 
vellers to  form  themselves  into  companies  or  caravans,  that  they  might  be  safe 
from  the  assaults  of  robbers.  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Hist.  vol.  vii.  p.  515.  The 
numerous  regulations  published  by  Charles  the  Bald  in  the  same  century,  dis- 
covered the  frequency  of  these  disorders  ;  and  such  acts  of  violence  were  be- 
come so  common,  that  by  many  they  were  hardly  considered  as  criminal.  For 
this  reason  the  inferior  judges,  called  centenarii,  were  required  to  take  an  oath, 
that  they  would  neither  commit  any  robbery  themselves  nor  protect  such  as 
were  guilty  of  that  crime.  Capitul.  edit.  Baluz.  vol.  ii.  p.  63.  68.  The  his- 
torians of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  gave  pathetic  descriptions  of  these  dis- 
orders. Some  remarkable  passages  to  this  purpose  are  collected  by  Mat.  Jo. 
Beehr.  Rer.  Mecleb.  lib.  viii.  p.  603.  They  became  so  frequent  and  audacious, 
that  the  authority  of  the  civil  magistrate  was  unable  to  repress  them.  The 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  was  called  in  to  aid  it.  Councils  were  held  with  great 
solemnity,  the  bodies  of  the  saints  were  brought  thither,  and,  in  presence  of 
their  sacred  reliques,  anathemas  were  denounced  against  robbers,  and  other 
violators  of  the  public  peace.  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Hist.  torn.  x.  p.  360.  431. 
536.  One  of  these  forms  of  excommunication,  issued  A,  D.  988,  is  still  pre- 
served, and  is  so  singular,  and  composed  with  eloquence  of  such  a  peculiar 
kind,  that  it  will  not  perhaps  be  deemed  unworthy  of  a  place  here.  After  the 
usual  introduction,  and  mentioning  the  outrage  which  gave  occasion  to  the  ana- 
thema, it  runs  thus:  "  Obtenebrescant  oculi  vestri,  qui  concupiverunt ;  arescant 
manus,  quae  rapuerunt,  debilitentur  omnia  membra,  quae  adjuverunt.  Semper 
laboretis,nec  requiem  inveniatis,fructuque  vestri  laboris  privemini.  Formidetis, 
et  paveatis,  a  facie  persequentis,  et  non  persequentis  hostis,  ut  tabescendo  defi- 
ciatis.  Sit  portio  vestra  cum  Juda  traditore  Domini,  in  terra  mortis  et  tene- 
brarum  ;  donee  corda  vestra  ad  satisfactionem  plenam  convertantur. — Ne  ces- 
sant  a  vobis  ha?  maledictiones,  scelerum  vestrorum  persecutrices,  quamdiu 
permansbitis  in  peccato  pervasionis.     Amen,  Fiat,  Fiat."     Bouquet,  ib.  p.  517. 

Note  [30].  Page  42. 

With  respect  to  the  progress  of  commerce  which  I  have  described,  p.  39,  it 
may  be  observed,  that  the  Italian  states  carried  on  some  commerce  with  the 
cities  of  the  Greek  empire,  as-early  as  the  age  of  Charlemagne,  and  imported 
into  their  own  country  the  rich  commodities  of  the  East.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital. 
vol.  ii.  p.  882.  In  the  tenth  century,  the  Venetians  had  opened  a  trade  with 
Alexandria  in  Egypt.  Ibid.  The  inhabitants  of  Amalphi  and  Pisa  had  like- 
wise extended  their  trade  to  the  same  ports.  Murat.  ib.  p.  884,  885.  The 
effects  of  the  Crusades  in  increasing  the  wealth  and  commerce  of  the  Italian 
states,  and  particularly  that  which  they  carried  on  with  the  East,  I  have  ex- 
plained, page  20.  They  not  only  imported  the  Indian  commodities  from  the 
East,  but  established  manufactures  of  curious  fabric  in  their  own  country. 
Several  of  these  are  enumerated  by  Muratori  in  his  Dissertations  concerning 
the  arts  and  the  weaving  of  the  middle  ages.  Antiq.  Ital.  vol.  ii.  p.  349.  399. 
They  made  great  progress,  particularly  in  the  manufacture  of  silk,  which  had 
long  been  peculiar  to  the  eastern  provinces  of  Asia.  Silk  stuffs  were  of  such 
high  price  in  ancient  Rome,  that  only  a  few  persons  of  the  first  rank  were  able 
to  purchase  them.  Under  Aurelian,  A.  D.  270,  a  pound  of  silk  was  equal  in 
value  to  a  pound  of  gold.  Absit  ut  auro  lila  pensentur.  Libra  enim  auri  tunc 
libra  serici  fuit.  Vopiscus  in  Aureliano.  Justinian,  in  the  sixth  century,  intro- 
duced the  art  of  rearing  silk  worms  into  Greece,  which  rendered  the  commodity 
somewhat  more  plentiful,  though  still  it  was  of  such  great  value  as  to  remain 
an  article  of  luxury  or  magnificence,  reserved  only  for  persons  of  the  first  order, 
or  for  public  solemnities.  Roger  I.  king  of  Sicily,  about  the  year  1 130,  carried 
off  a  number  of  artificers  in  the  silk  trade  from  Athens,  and  settling  them  in 
Palermo,  introduced  the  culture  of  silk  into  his  kingdom,  from  which  it  was 
communicated  to  other  parts  of  Italy.  Gianon.  Hist,  of  Naples,  b.  xi.  c.  7. 
This  seems  to  have  rendered  silk  so  common,  that,  about  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  a  thousand  citizens  of  Genoa  appeared  in  one  procession 
olad  in  silk  robes.  Sugar  is  likewise  a  production  of  the  East.  Some  plants 
of  the  sugar  cane  were  brought  from  Asia :  and  the  first  attempt  to  cultivate 
them  in  Sicily  was  made  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.     From 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  556 

Uience  they  were  transplanted  into  the  southern  provinces  of  Spain.  From 
Spain  they  were  carried  to  the  Canary  and  Madeira  isles,  and  at  length  into 
the  New  World.  Ludovico  Guicciardini,  in  enumerating  the  goods  imported 
into  Antwerp  about  the  year  1500,  mentions  the  sugar  which  they  received  from 
Spain  and  Portugal  as  a  considerable  article.  He  describes  that  sugar  as  the 
product  of  the  Madeira  and  Canary  Islands.  Descrit.  de  Paesi  Bassi,  p.  180, 181. 
The  sugar  cane  was  introduced  into  the  West  Indies  before  that  time,  but  the 
cultivation  of  it  was  not  so  improved  or  extensive  as  to  furnish  an  article  of 
much  consequence  in  commerce.  In  the  middle  ages,  though  sugar  was  not 
raised  in  such  quantities,  or  employed  for  so  many  purposes,  as  to  become  one 
of  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  it  appears  to  have  been  a  considerable  arti- 
cle in  the  commerce  of  the  Italian  states. 

These  various  commodities  with  which  the  Italians  furnished  the  other  nations 
of'  Europe,  procured  them  a  favourable  reception  in  every  kingdom.  They 
were  established  in  France  in  the  thirteenth  century  with  most  extensive  im- 
munities. They  not  only  obtained  every  indulgence  favourable  to  their  com- 
merce, but  personal  rights  and  privileges  were  granted  to  them,  which  the 
natives  of  the  kingdom  did  not  enjoy.  Ordon.  torn.  iv.  p.  668.  By  a  special 
proviso,  they  were  exempted  from  the  Droit  D'Aubaine.  Ibid.  p.  670.  As  the 
Lombards  (a  name  frequently  given  to  all  Italian  merchants  in  many  parts  of 
Europe)  engrossed  the  trade  of  every  kingdom  in  which  they  settled,  they  be- 
came masters  of  its  cash.  Money  of  course  was  in  their  hands  not  only  a  sign 
of  the  value  of  other  commodities,  but  became  an  object  of  commerce  itself. 
They  dealt  largely  as  bankers.  In  an  ordonnance,  A.  D.  1295,  we  find  them 
styled  mercatores  and  campsores.  They  carried  on  this  as  well  as  other  branches 
of  their  commerce  with  somewhat  of  that  rapacious  spirit  which  is  natural  to 
monopolizers  who  are  not  restrained  by  the  competition  of  rival  traders.  An 
absurd  opinion,  which  prevailed  in  the  middle  ages,  was,  however,  in  some 
measure  the  cause  of  their  exorbitant  demands,  and  may  be  pleaded  in  apology 
for  them.  Trade  cannot  be  carried  on  with  advantage,  unless  the  persons  who 
lend  a  sum  of  money  are  allowed  a  certain  premium  for  the  use  of  it,  as  a 
compensation  for  the  risk  which  they  run  in  permitting  another  to  traffic  with 
their  stock.  This  premium  is  fixed  by  law  in  all  commercial  countries,  and  is 
called  the  legal  interest  of  money.  But  the  Fathers  of  the  church  had  prepos- 
terously applied  the  prohibitions  of  usury  in  Scripture  to  the  payment  of  legal 
interest,  and  condemned  it  as  a  sin.  The  schoolmen,  misled  by  Aristotle,  whose 
sentiments  they  followed  implicitly,  and  without  examination,  adopted  the  same 
error,  and  enforced  it.  Blackstone's  Commentaries  on  the  laws  of  England, 
vol.  ii.  p.  455.  Thus  the  Lombards  found  themselves  engaged  in  a  traffic  which 
was  every  where  deemed  criminal  and  odious.  They  were  liable  to  punishment 
if  detected.  They  were  not  satisfied,  therefore,  with  that  moderate  premium, 
which  they  might  have  claimed  if  their  trade  had  been  open  and  authorized  by 
law.  They  exacted  a  sum  proportional  to  the  danger  and  infamy  of  a  dis- 
covery. Accordingly,  we  find  that  it  was  usual  for  them  to  demand  twenty 
per  cent,  for  the  use  of  money  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Murat.  Antiq.  Ital. 
vol.  i.  p.  893.  About  the  beginning  of  that  century,  the  countess  of  Flanders 
was  obliged  to  borrow  money  in  order  to  pay  her  husband's  ransom.  She  pro- 
cured the  sum  requisite,  either  from  Italian  merchants  or  from  Jews.  The 
lowest  interest  which  she  paid  to  them  was  above  twenty  per  cent,  and  some 
of  them  exacted  near  thirty.  Martene  and  Durand.  Thesaur.  Anecdotorum, 
vol.  i.  p.  886.  In  the  fourteenth  century,  A.  D.  1311,  Philip  IV.  fixed  the  in- 
terest which  might  be  legally  exacted  in  the  fairs  of  Champagne  at  twenty  per 
cent.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  484.  The  interest  of  money  in  Arragon  was  somewhat 
lower.  James  I.,  A.  D.  1242,  fixed  it  by  law  at  eighteen  per  cent.  Pctr.  de 
Marca.  Marca  sive  Limes  Hispan.  app.  1433.  As  late  as  the  year  1490,  it 
appears  that  the  interest  of  money  in  Placentia  was  at  the  rate  of  forty  per 
cent.  This  is  the  more  extraordinary,  because  at  that  time  the  commerce  of 
the  Italian  states  was  become  considerable.  Memoire  Storiche  de  Placenza, 
torn.  viii.  p.  104.  Piac.  1760.  It  appears  from  Lud.  Guicciardini,  that  Charles 
V.  had  fixed  the  rate  of  interest  in  his  dominions  in  the  Low-Countries  at 
twelve  per  cent.,  and  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  about  the  year  1560,  it  was 
not  uncommon  to  exact  more  than  that  sum.    He  complains  of  this  as  exorbi- 


556  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

tant,  and  points  out  its  bad  effects  both  on  agriculture  and  commerce.  Dcscritt. 
di  Paesi  Bassi,  p.  172.  The  high  interest  of  money  is  alone  a  proof  that  the 
profits  on  commerce  were  exorbitant ;  and  that  it  was  not  carried  on  to  great 
extent. — The  Lombards  were  likewise  established  in  England  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  a  considerable  street  in  the  city  of  London  still  bears  their  name. 
They  enjoyed  great  privileges,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  commerce,  particu- 
larly as  bankers.  See  Anderson's  Chronol.  Deduction,  vol.  i.  p.  137.  160.  204. 
231,  where  the  statutes  or  other  authorities  which  confirm  this  are  quoted. 
But  the  chief  mart  for  Italian  commodities  was  at  Bruges.  Navigation  was 
then  so  imperfect  that  to  sail  from  any  port  in  the  Baltic,  and  to  return  again, 
was  a  voyage  too  great  to  be  performed  in  one  summer.  For  that  reason,  a 
magazine  or  storehouse  half-way  between  the  commercial  cities  in  the  North, 
and  those  in  Italy,  became  necessary.  Bruges  was  pitched  upon  as  the  most 
convenient  station.  That  choice  introduced  vast  wealth  into  the  Low-Countries; 
Bruges  was  at  once  the  staple  for  English  wool  ;  for  the  woollen  and  linen 
manufactures  of  the  Netherlands  ;  for  the  naval  stores  and  other  bulky  com- 
modities of  the  North  ;  and  for  the  Indian  commodities,  as  well  as  domestic 
productions  imported  by  the  Italian  States.  The  extent  of  its  commerce  in 
Indian  goods  with  Venice  alone,  appears  from  one  fact.  In  the  year  1318, 
five  Venetian  galeasses  laden  with  Indian  commodities  arrived  at  Bruges,  in 
order  to  dispose  of  their  cargoes  at  the  fair.  These  galeasses  were  vessels  of 
very  considerable  burden.  L.  Guic.  Descritt.  di  Paesi  Bassi,  p.  174.  Bruges 
was  the  greatest  emporium  in  all  Europe.  Many  proofs  of  this  occur  in  the 
historians  and  records  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  But,  instead 
of  multiplying  quotations,  I  shall  refer  my  readers  to  Anderson,  vol.  i.  p.  12, 
137,  213,  246,  &c.  The  nature  of  this  work  prevents  me  from  entering  into 
any  more  minute  detail,  but  there  are  some  detached  facts  which  give  a 
high  idea  of  the  wealth  both  of  the  Flemish  and  Italian  commercial  states. 
The  duke  of  Brabant  contracted  his  daughter  to  the  Black  Prince,  son  of 
Edward  III.  of  England,  A.  D  1339,  and  gave  her  a  portion  which  we  may 
reckon  to  be  of  equal  value  with  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  our  present 
money.  Rymer's  Fredera,  vol.  v.  p.  113.  John  Galeazzo  Visconti  Duke  of 
Milan  concluded  a  treaty  of  marriage  between  his  daughter  and  Lionel  Duke 
of  Clarence,  Edward's  third  stm,  A.  D.  1367,  and  granted  her  a  portion  equal 
to  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  our  present  money.  Rymer's  Fcedera, 
vol.  vi.  p.  547.  These  exorbitant  sums,  so  far  exceeding  what  was  then  granted 
by  the  most  powerful  monarchs,  and  which  appear  extraordinary  even  in 
the  present  age  when  the  wealth  of  Europe  is  so  much  increased,  must  have 
arisen  from  the  riches  which  flowed  into  those  countries  from  their  extensive 
and  lucrative  commerce.  The  first  source  of  wealth  to  the  towns  situated  on 
the  Baltic  sea  seems  to  have  been  the  herring  fishery  ;  the  shoals  of  herrings 
frequenting  at  that  time  the  coasts  of  Sweden  and  Denmark,  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  now  resort  to  the  British  coasts.  The  effects  of  this  fishery 
are  thus  described  by  an  Author  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  Danes,  says 
he,  who  were  formerly  clad  in  the  poor  garb  of  sailors,  are  now  clothed  in 
pcarlet,  purple,  and  fine  linen.  For  they  abound  with  wealth  flowing  from 
their  annual  fishery  on  the  coast  of  Schonen  ;  so  that  all  nations  resort  to 
them,  bringing  their  gold,  silver,  and  precious  commodities,  that  they  may  pur- 
chase herrings,  which  the  divine  bounty  bestows  upon  them.  Arnoldus  Lu- 
becensis  ap.  Conring.  de  Urbib.  German.  $  87. 

The  Hanseatic  league  is  the  most  powerful  commercial  confederacy  known 
in  history.  Its  origin  towards  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  the  objects 
of  its  union,  are  described  by  Knipschildt  Tractatus  Historico-Politico  Juridicus 
de  Juribus  Civitat.  Imper.  lib.  i.  cap.  4.  Anderson  has  mentioned  the  chief 
facts  with  respect  to  their  commercial  progress,  the  extent  of  the  privileges 
which  they  obtained  in  different  countries,  their  successful  wars  with  several 
monarchs,  as  well  as  the  spirit  and  zeal  with  which  they  contended  for  those 
liberties  and  rights  without  which  it  is  impossible  to  carry  on  commerce  to  ad- 
vantage. The  vigorous  efforts  of  a  society  of  merchants  attentive  only  to 
commercial  objects,  could  not  fail  of  diffusing  new  and  more  liberal  ideas 
concerning  justice  and  order  in  every  country  of  Europe  where  they  settled. 

In  England,  the  progress  of  commerce  was  extremely  slow:  and  the  causes 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  657 

of  this  are  obvious.  During  the  Saxon  heptarchy,  England,  split  into  many 
petty  kingdoms,  which  were  perpetually  at  variance  with  each  other ;  exposed 
to  the  fierce  incursions  of  the  Danes,  and  other  northern  pirates,  and  sunk  in 
barbarity  and  ignorance,  was  in  no  condition  to  cultivate  commerce,  or  to  pur- 
sue any  system  of  useful  and  salutary  policy.  When  a  better  prospect  began 
to  open  by  the  union  of  the  kingdom  under  one  monarch,  the  Norman  conquest 
took  place.  This  occasioned  such  a  violent  shock,  as  well  as  such  a  sudden  and 
total  revolution  of  property,  that  the  nation  did  not  recover  from  it  during  several 
reigns.  By  the  time  that  the  constitution  began  to  acquire  some  stability,  and  the 
English  had  so  incorporated  with  their  conquerors  as  to  become  one  people,  the 
nation  engaged  with  no  less  ardour  than  imprudence  in  support  of  the  preten- 
sions of  their  sovereigns  to  the  crown  of  France,  and  long  wasted  its  vigour 
and  genius  in  its  wild  efforts  to  conquer  that  kingdom.  When  by  its  ill  success, 
and  repeated  disappointments,  a  period  was  at  last  put  to  this  fatal  phrenzy, 
and  the  nation  beginning  to  enjoy  some  repose,  had  leisure  to  breathe  and  to 
gather  new  strength,  the  destructive  wars  between  the  houses  of  York  and 
Lancaster  broke  out,  and  involved  the  kingdom  in  the  worst  of  all  calamities. 
Thus,  besides  the  common  obstructions  of  commerce  occasioned  by  the  nature 
of  the  feudal  government,  and  the  state  of  manners  during  the  middle  ages, 
its  progress  in  England  was  retarded  by  peculiar  causes.  Such  a  succession 
of  events  adverse  to  the  commercial  spirit  was  sufficient  to  have  checked  its 
growth,  although  every  other  circumstance  had  favoured  it.  The  English  were 
accordingly  one  of  the  last  nations  in  Europe  who  availed  themselves  of  those 
commercial  advantages  which  were  natural  or  peculiar  to  their  country.  Be- 
fore the  reign  of  Edward  HI.,  all  the  wool  of  England,  except  a  small  quantity 
wrought  into  coarse  cloths  for  home  consumption,  was  sold  to  the  Flemings  or 
Lombards,  and  manufactured  by  them.  Though  Edward,  A.  D.  1326,  began 
to  allure  some  of  the  Flemish  weavers  to  settle  in  England,  it  was  long  before 
the  English  were  capable  of  fabricating  cloth  for  foreign  markets,  and  the 
export  of  unwrought  wool  still  continued  to  be  the  chief  article  of  their  com- 
merce. Anderson  passim.  All  foreign  commodities  were  brought  into  England 
by  the  Lombards  or  Hanscatic  merchants.  The  English  ports  were  frequented 
by  ships  both  from  the  north  and  south  of  Europe,  and  they  tamely  allowed 
foreigners  to  reap  all  the  profits  arising  from  the  supply  of  their  wants.  The 
first  commercial  treaty  of  England  on  record,  is  that  with  Haquin  king  of 
Norway,  A.  D.  1217.  Anders,  vol.  i.  p.  108.  But  the  English  did  not  venture 
to  trade  in  their  own  ships  to  the  Baltic  until  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  Ibid.  151.  It  was  after  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth,  before  they  sent 
any  ship  into  the  Mediterranean.  Ibid.  p.  177.  Nor  was  it  long  before  this 
period  that  their  vessels  began  to  visit  the  ports  of  Spain  or  Portugal.  But 
though  1  have  pointed  out  the  slow  progress  of  the  English  commerce  as  a 
fact  little  attended  to,  and  yet  meriting  consideration,  the  concourse  of  foreign- 
ers to  the  ports  of  England,  together  with  the  communication  among  all  the 
different  countries  in  Europe,  which  went  on  increasing  from  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century,  is  sufficient  to  justify  all  the  observations  and  reasonings 
in  the  text  concerning  the  influence  of  commerce  on  the  state  of  manners  and 
of  society. 

Note  [31].  Page  71. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  justiza  was 
appointed.  Among  the  claims  of  the  junta  or  union  formed  against  James  I., 
A.  D.  1264,  this  was  one  ;  that  the  king  should  not  nominate  any  person  to  be 
justiza,  without  the  consent  or  approbation  of  the  ricos-hombres  or  nobles. 
Zurita  Anales  de  Arragon,  vol.  i.  p.  180.  But  the  king  in  his  answer  to  their 
remonstrance  asserts,  "  that  it  was  established  by  immemorial  practice,  and 
was  conformable  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom,  that  the  king,  in  virtue  of  his 
royal  prerogative,  should  name  the  justiza."  Zurita,  ibid.  181.  Blanca,  656. 
From  another  passage  in  Zurita,  it  appears,  that  while  the  Arragonese  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  the  union,  i.  e.  the  power  of  confederating  against  their  sovereign 
as  often  as  they  conceived  that  he  had  violated  any  of  their  rights  and  im- 
munities, the  justiza  was  not  only  nominated  by  the  king,  but  held  his  office 
during  the  king's  pleasure.    Nor  wws  this  practice  attended  with  any  bad  effects. 


558  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

as  the  privilege  of  the  union  was  a  sufficient  and  effectual  check  to  any  abuse 
of  the  royal  prerogative.  But  when  the  privilege  of  the  union  was  abolished 
as  dangerous  to  the  order  and  peace  of  society,  it  was  agreed  that  the  justiza 
should  continue  in  office  during  life.  Several  kings,  however,  attempted  to  re- 
move justizas  who  were  obnoxious  to  them,  and  they  sometimes  succeeded  in 
the  attempt.  In  order  to  guard  against  this  encroachment,  which  would  have 
destroyed  the  intention  of  the  institution,  and  have  rendered  the  justiza  the 
dependant  and  tool  of  the  crown,  instead  of  the  guardian  of  the  people,  a  law 
was  enacted  in  the  Cortes,  A.  D.  1442,  ordaining  that  the  justiza  should  con- 
linue  in  office  during  life,  and  should  not  be  removed  from  it  unless  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  Cortes.  Fueros  et  Observancias  del  Reyno  de  Arrag.  lib.  i.  p. 
22.  By  former  laws  the  person  of  the  justiza  had  been  declared  sacred,  and 
lie  was  responsible  only  to  the  Cortes.  Ibid.  p.  15.  b.  Zurita  and  Blanca,  who 
both  published  their  histories  while  the  justiza  of  Arragon  retained  the  full 
exercise  of  his  privileges  and  jurisdiction,  have  neglected  to  explain  several 
circumstances  with  regard  to  the  office  of  that  respectable  magistrate,  because 
they  addressed  their  works  to  their  countrymen,  who  were  well  acquainted 
with  every  particular  concerning  the  functions  of  a  judge,  to  whom  they  looked 
up  as  to  the  guardian  of  their  liberties.  It  is  vain  to  consult  the  later  histo- 
rians of  Spain,  about  any  point  with  respect  to  which  the  excellent  historians 
whom  I  have  named  are  silent.  The  ancient  constitution  of  their  country  was 
overturned,  and  despotism  established  on  the  ruin  of  its  liberties,  when  the 
writers  of  this  and  the  preceding  century  composed  their  histories,  and  on  that 
account  they  had  little  curiosity  to  know  the  nature  of  those  institutions  to 
which  their  ancestors  owed  the  enjoyment  of  freedom,  or  they  were  afraid  to 
describe  them  with  much  accuracy.  The  spirit  with  which  Mariana,  his  con- 
tinuator  Miniana,  and  Ferreras,  write  their  histories,  is  very  different  from  that 
of  the  two  historians  of  Arragon,  from  whom  I  have  taken  my  account  of  the 
constitution  of  that  kingdom. 

Two  circumstances  concerning  the  justiza,  besides  those  which  I  have  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  are  worthy  of  observation:  1.  None  of  the  ricos-hombres, 
or  noblemen  of  the  first  order,  could  be  appointed  justiza.  He  was  taken  out 
of  the  second  class  of  cavalleros,  who  seem  to  have  been  nearly  of  the  same 
condition  or  rank  with  gentlemen  or  commoners  in  Great  Britain.  Fueros  et 
Observanc.  del  Reyno,  &c.  lirj.  i.  p.  21.  b.  The  reason  was,  By  the  laws  of 
Arragon,  the  ricos-hombres  were  not  subject  to  capital  punishment ;  but  as  it 
was  necessary  for  the  security  of  liberty,  that  the  justiza  should  be  accountable 
for  the  manner  in  which  he  executed  the  high  trust  reposed  in  him,  it  was  a 
powerful  restraint  upon  him  to  know  that  he  was  liable  to  be  punished  capitally. 
Blanca,  p.  657.  756.  Zurita,  torn.  ii.  p.  229.  Fueros  et  Observanc.  lib.  ix.  p. 
182.  b.  1-83.  It  appears  too,  from  many  passages  in  Zurita,  that  the  justiza 
was  appointed  to  check  the  domineering  and  oppressive  spirit  of  the  nobles,  as- 
well  as  to  set  bounds  to  the  power  of  the  monarch,  and  therefore  he  was  chosen 
from  an  order  of  citizens  equally  interested  in  opposing  both. 

2.  A  magistrate  possessed  of  such  extensive  powers  as  the  justiza,  might 
have  exercised  them  in  a  manner  pernicious  to  the  state,  if  he  himself  had  been 
subject  to  no  control.  A  constitutional  remedy  was  on  that  account  provided 
against  this  danger.  Seventeen  persons  were  chosen  by  lot  in  each  meeting  of 
the  Cortes.  These  formed  a  tribunal  called  the  court  of  inquisition  into  the 
office  of  justiza.  This  court  met  at  three  stated  terms  in  each  year.  Every 
person  had  liberty  of  complaining  to  it  of  any  iniquity  or  neglect  of  duty  in 
the  justiza,  or  in  the  inferior  judges,  who  acted  in  his  name.  The  justiza  and 
his  deputies  were  called  to  answer  for  their  conduct.  The  members  of  the 
court  passed  sentence  by  ballot.  They  might  punish  by  degradation,  confisca- 
tion of  goods,  or  even  with  death.  The  law  which  erected  this  court,  and 
regulated  the  form  of  its  procedure,  was  enacted,  A.  D.  1461.  Zurita  Anales, 
iv.  102.  Blanca  Comment.  Rer.  Arragon,  770.  Previous  to  this  period,  inquiry 
was  made  into  the  conduct  of  the  justiza,  though  not  with  the  same  formality. 
He  was,  from  the  first  institution  of  the  office,  subject  to  the  review  of  the 
Cortes.  The  constant  dread  of  such  an  impartial  and  severe  inquiry  into  his 
behaviour,  was  a  powerful  motive  to  the  vigilant  and  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duty.     A  remarkable  instance  of  the  authority  of  the  justiza  when  opposed  to 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  55S 

that  of  the  king  occurs  in  the  year  1386.  By  the  constitution  of  Arragon,  the 
oldest  son  or  heir  apparent  of  the  crown  possessed  considerable  power  and 
jurisdiction  in  the  kingdom.  Fueros  et  Observan.  del  Reyno  de  Arrag.  lib.  i.  p. 
16.  Peter  IV.,  instigated  by  a  second  wife,  attempted  to  deprive  his  son  of  this, 
and  enjoined  his  subjects  to  yield  him  no  obedience.  The  prince  immediately 
applied  to  the  justiza  ;  "  the  safeguard  and  defence,"  says  Zurita,  "  against  all 
violence  and  oppression."  The  justiza  granted  him  the  Jirmo  de  derecho,  the 
effect  of  which  was,  that  upon  his  giving  surety  to  appear  in  judgment,  he 
could  not  be  deprived  of  any  immunity  or  privilege  which  he  possessed,  but  in 
consequence  of  a  legal  trial  before  the  justiza  and  of  a  sentence  pronounced  by 
him.  This  was  published  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  notwithstanding  the 
proclamation  in  contradiction  to  this  which  had  been  issued  by  the  king,  the 
prince  continued  in  the  exercise  of  all  his  rights,  and  his  authority  was  uni- 
versally recognised.     Zurita  Anales  de  Arragon,  torn.  ii.  385. 

Note  [32].  Page  72. 

I  have  been  induced,  by  the  concurring  testimony  of  many  respectable 
authors,  to  mention  this  as  the  constitutional  form  of  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
which  the  Arragonese  took  to  their  sovereigns.  I  must  acknowledge,  however, 
that  I  have  not  found  this  singular  oath  in  any  Spanish  author  whom  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  consulting.  It  is  mentioned  neither  by  Zurita,  nor 
BIanca,nor  Argensola,  nor  Say  as,  who  were  all  historiographers  appointed  by  the 
Cortes  of  Arragon  to  record  the  transactions  of  the  kingdom.  All  these  writers 
possess  a  merit  which  is  very  rare  among  historians.  They  are  extremely  accu- 
rate in  tracing  the  progress  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  their  country.  Their 
silence  with  respect  to  this,  creates  some  suspicion  concerning  the  genuineness 
of  the  oath.  But  as  it  is  mentioned  by  so  many  authors  who  produce  the 
ancient  Spanish  words,  in  which  it  is  expressed,  it  is  probable  that  they  have 
taken  it  from  some  writer  of  credit,  whose  works  have  not  fallen  into  my  hands. 
The  spirit  of  the  oath  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  genius  of  the  Arragonese 
constitution.  Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition,  the  learned  M.  Totze, 
professor  of  history  at  Batzow  in  the  dutchy  of  Mecklenburg,  has  been  so  good 
as  to  point  out  to  me  a  Spanish  author  of  great  authority,  who  has  published 
the  words  of  this  oath.  It  is  Antonio  Perez,  a  native  of  Arragon,  secretary  to 
Philip  II.  The  words  of  the  oath  are,  "  Nos,  que  valemus  tanto  como  vos,  os 
hazemos  nuestro  Rey  y  Segnor,  con  tal  que  nos  guardeys  nuestros  fueros,  y 
libertades,  y  si  No,  No."  Las  Obras  y  Relaciones  de  Ant.  Perez.  8vo.  par  Juan 
de  la  Planche  1631,  p.  143. 

The  privilege  of  union,  which  I  have  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note,  and 
alluded  to  in  the  text,  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  singular  which  could  take 
place  in  a  regular  government,  and  the  oath  that  I  have  quoted  expresses  nothing 
more  than  this  constitutional  privilege  entitled  the  Arragonese  to  perform.  If 
the  king  or  his  ministers  violated  any  of  the  laws  or  immunities  of  the  Arra- 
gonese, and  did  not  grant  immediate  redress  in  consequence  of  their  represen- 
tations and  remonstrances,  the  nobles  of  the  first  rank,  or  Ricos-hombres  de 
natura,  et  de  mesnada,  the  equestrian  order,  or  the  nobility  of  the  second  class, 
called  Hidalgos  ct  Infanciones,  together  with  the  magistrates  of  cities,  might, 
either  in  the  Cortes,  or  in  a  voluntary  assembly,  join  in  union,  and  binding 
themselves  by  mutual  oaths  and  the  exchange  of  hostages  to  be  faithful  to  each 
other,  they  might  require  the  king,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  this 
body  corporate,  to  grant  them  redress.  If  the  king  refused  to  comply  with 
their  request,  or  took  arms  in  order  to  oppose  them,  they  might,  in  virtue  of 
the  privilege  of  union,  instantly  withdraw  their  allegiance  from  the  king,  refuse 
to  acknowledge  him  as  their  sovereign,  and  proceed  to  elect  another  monarch; 
nor  did  they  incur  any  guilt,  or  become  liable  to  any  prosecution  on  that  ac- 
count. Blanca.  Com.  Rer.  Arrag.  661.  669.  This  union  did  not  resemble  the 
confederacies  in  other  feudal  kingdoms.  It  was  a  constitutional  association, 
in  which  legal  privileges  were  vested,  which  issued  its  mandates  under  a  common 
seal,  and  proceeded  in  all  its  operations  by  regular  and  ascertained  forms. 
This  dangerous  right  was  not  only  claimed  but  exorcised.  In  the  year  1287, 
the  Arragonese  formed  a  union  in  opposition  to  Alfonso  III.,  and  obliged  that, 
king  not  only  to  comply  with  their  demands,  but  to  ratify  a  privilege  so  fatal 


56U  PROOFS   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

to  the  power  of  the  crown.  Zurita  Anales,  torn.  i.  p.  322.  In  the  year  1347, 
%  union  was  formed  against  Peter  IV.  with  equal  success,  and  a  new  ratifica- 
tion of  the  privilege  was  extorted.  Zurita,  torn.  ii.  p.  202.  But  soon  after, 
the  king  having  defeated  the  leaders  of  the  union  in  battle,  the  privilege  of 
union  was  finally  abrogated  in  the  Cortes,  and  all  the  laws  or  records  which 
contained  any  confirmation  of  it  were  cancelled  or  destroyed.  The  king,  in 
presence  of  the  Cortes,  called  for  the  act  whereby  he  had  ratified  the  union, 
and  having  wounded  his  hand  with  his  poniard,  he  held  it  above  the  record, 
"  that  privilege,"  says  he,  "  which  has  been  so  fatal  to  the  kingdom,  and  so  in- 
jurious to  royalty,  should  be  effaced  with  the  blood  of  a  king."  Zurita,  torn, 
ii.  p.  229.  The  law  abolishing  the  union  is  published.  Fueros  et  Observanc. 
lib.  ix.  p.  178.  From  that  period  the  justiza  became  the  constitutional  guardian 
of  public  liberty,  and  his  power  and  jurisdiction  occasioned  none  of  those  vio- 
lent convulsions  which  the  tumultuary  privilege  of  the  union  was  apt  to  pro- 
duce. The  constitution  of  Arragon,  however,  still  remained  extremely  free. 
One  source  of  this  liberty  arose  from  the  early  admission  of  the  representatives 
of  the  cities  into  the  Cortes.  It  seems  probable  from  Zurita,  that  burgesses 
were  constituent  members  of  the  Cortes  from  its  first  institution.  He  mentions 
a  meeting  of  Cortes,  A.  D.  1133,  in  which  the  procuradores  de  las  ciudadts  y 
villas  were  present.  Tom.  i.  p.  51.  This  is  the  constitutional  language  in 
which  their  presence  is  declared  in  the  Cortes,  after  the  journals  of  that  court 
were  regularly  kept.  It  is  probable,  that  a  historian  so  accurate  as  Zurita 
would  not  have  used  these  words,  if  he  had  not  taken  them  from  some  authen- 
tic record.  It  was  more  than  a  century  after  this  period  before  the  representa- 
tives of  cities  formed  a  constituent  part  in  the  supreme  assemblies  of  the  other 
European  nations.  The  free  spirit  of  the  Arragonese  government  is  conspicu- 
ous in  many  particulars.  The  Cortes  not  only  opposed  the  attempts  of  their 
kings  to  increase  their  revenue,  or  to  extend  their  prerogative,  but  they  claimed 
rights  and  exercised  powers  which  will  appear  extraordinary  even  in  a  country 
accustomed  to  the  enjoyment  of  liberty.  In  the  year  1286,  the  Cortes  claimed 
the  privilege  of  naming  the  members  of  the  king's  council  and  the  officers  of 
his  household,  and  they  seem  to  have  obtained  it  for  some  time.  Zurita,  torn, 
i.  p.  303.  307.  It  was  the  privilege  of  the  Cortes  to  name  the  officers  who 
commanded  the  troops  raised  by  their  authority.  This  seems  to  be  evident 
from  a  passage  in  Zurita.  When  the  Cortes,  in  the  year  1503,  raised  a  body  of 
troops  to  be  employed  in  Italy,  it  passed  an  act  empowering  the  king  to  name 
the  officers  who  should  command  them,  Zurita,  torn.  v.  p.  274 ;  which  plainly 
implies  that,  without  this  warrant,  it  did  not  belong  to  him  in  virtue  of  his 
prerogative.  In  the  Fueros  et  Observancias  del  Reyno  de  Arragon,  two  general 
declarations  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Arragonese  are  published  ;  the 
one,  in- the  reign  of  Pedro  I.,  A.  D.  1283;  the  other,  in  that  of  James  II.,  A. 
D.  1325.  They  are  of  such  a  length,  that  I  cannot  insert  them  ;  but  it  is  evi- 
dent from  these,  that  not  only  the  privileges  of  the  nobility,  but  the  rights  of 
the  people,  personal  as  well  as  political,  were,  at  that  period,  more  extensive 
and  better  understood  than  in  any  kingdom  of  Europe.  Lib.  i.  p.  7.  9.  The 
oath  by  which  the  king  bound  himself  to  observe  those  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people,  was  very  solemn.  Ibid.  p.  14.  b.  &  p.  15.  The  Cortes  of  Arragon 
discovered  not  only  the  jealousy  and  vigilance  which  are  peculiar  to  free  states, 
in  guarding  the  essential  parts  of  the  constitution,  but  they  were  scrupulously 
attentive  to  observe  the  most  minute  forms  and  ceremonies  to  which  they  were 
accustomed.  According  to  the  established  laws  and  customs  of  Arragon,  no 
foreigner  had  liberty  to  enter  the  hall  in  which  the  Cortes  asseTnbled.  Ferdi- 
nand, in  the  year  1481,  appointed  his  queen,  Isabella,  regent  of  the  kingdom, 
while  he  was  absent  during  the  course  of  the  campaign.  The  law  required 
that  a  regent  should  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  presence  of  the  Cortes  ;  but 
as  Isabella  was  a  foreigner,  before  she  could  be  admitted,  the  Cortes  thought 
it  necessary  to  pass  an  act  authorizing  the  sergeant-porter  to  open  the  door  of 
the  hall,  and  to  allow  her  to  enter ;  "  so  attentive  were  they  (says  Zurita)  to 
observe  their  laws  and  forms,  even  such  as  may  seem  most  minute."  Tom. 
iv.  p.  313. 

The  Arragonese  were  no  less  solicitous  to  secure  the  personal  rights  of  indi- 
viduals, than  to  maintain  the  freedom  of  the  constitution  ;  and  tho  spirit  of 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  561 

their  statutes  with  respect  to  both  was  equally  liberal.  Two  facts  relative  to  this 
matter  merit  observation.  By  an  express  statute  in  the  year  1335,  it  was 
declared  to  be  unlawful  to  put  any  native  Arragoncse  to  the  torture.  If  he- 
could  not  be  convicted  by  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  he  was  instantly  absolved. 
Zurita,  torn.  ii.  p.  66.  Zurita  records  the  regulation  with  the  satisfaction 
natural  to  an  historian,  when  he  contemplates  the  humanity  of  his  countrymen. 
He  compares  the  laws  of  Arragon  to  those  of  Rome,  as  both  exempted  citizens 
and  freemen  from  such  ignominious  and  cruel  treatment,  and  had  recourse  to 
it  only  in  the  trial  of  slaves.  Zurita  had  reason  to  bestow  such  an  encomium 
on  the  laws  of  his  country.  Torture  was  at  that  time  permitted  by  the  laws  of 
every  other  nation  in  Europe.  Even  in  England,  from  which  the  mild  spirit 
of  legislation  has  long  banished  it,  torture  was  not,  at  that  time,  unknown. 
Observations  on  the  Statutes,  chiefly  the  more  ancient,  &c.  p.  66. 

The  other  fact  shows,  that  the  same  spirit  which  influenced  the  legislature, 
prevailed  among  the  people.  In  the  year  1485,  the  religious  zeal  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  prompted  them  to  introduce  the  inquisition  into  Arragon.  Though 
the  Arragonese  were  no  less  superstitiously  attached  than  the  other  Spaniards 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  no  less  desirous  to  root  out  the  seeds  of  error 
and  of  heresy  which  the  Jews  and  Moors  had  scattered,  yet  they  took  arms 
against  the  inquisitors,  murdered  the  chief  inquisitor,  and  long  opposed  the' 
establishment  of  that  tribunal.  The  reason  which  they  gave  for  their  conduct 
was,  That  the  mode  of  trial  in  the  inquisition  was  inconsistent  with  liberty. 
The  criminal  was  not  confronted  with  the  witnesses,  he  was  not  acquainted 
with  what  they  deposed  against  him,  he  was  subjected  to  torture,  and  the  goods 
of  persons  condemned  were  confiscated.     Zurita  Anales,  torn.  iv.  p.  341. 

The  form  of  government  in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  and  principality  of  Cata- 
lonia, which  Were  annexed  to  the  crown  of  Arragon,  was  likewise  extremely 
favourable  to  liberty.  The  Valencians  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  union  in  the 
same  manner  with  the  Arragonese.  But  they  had  no  magistrate  resembling  the 
Justiza.  The  Catalontans  were  no'  less  jealous  of  their  liberties  than  the  two 
other  nations,  and  no  less  bold  in  asserting  them.  But  it  is  not  necessary  for 
illustrating  the  following  history  to  enter  into  any  farther  detail  concerning  the 
peculiarities  in  the  constitution  of  these  kingdoms. 

Note  [33].  Page  72. 

I  have  searched  in  vain  among  the  historians  of  Castile  for  such  information 
as  might  enable  me  to  trace  the  progress  of  laws  and  government  in  Castile,  or 
to  explain  the  nature  of  the  constitution  with  the  same  degree  of  accuracy 
wherewith  I  have  described  the  political  state  of  Arragon.  It  is  manifest  not 
only  from  the  historians  of  Castile,  but  from  its  ancient  laws,  particularly  the 
Fuero  Juzgo,  that  its  monarchs  were  originally  elective.  Ley,  2.  5.  8.  They 
were  chosen  by  the  bishops,  the  nobility,  and  the  people,  ibid.  It  appears  from 
the  same  venerable  code  of  laws,  that  the  prerogative  of  the  Castilian  monarchs 
was  extremely  limited.  Villaldiego,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Fuero  Juzgo, 
produces  many  facts  and  authorities  in  confirmation  of  both  these  particulars. 
Dr.  Geddes,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Spanish  literature,  complains  that 
he  could  find  no  author  who  gave  a  distinct  account  of  the  Cortes  or  supreme 
assembly  of  the  nation,  or  who  described  the  manner  in  which  it  was  held,  or 
mention  the  precise  number  of  members  who  had  a  right  to  sit  in  it.  He  pro- 
duces, however,  from  Gil  Gonzales  d'Avila,  who  published  a  history  of  Henry 
II.,  the  writ  of  summons  to  the  town  of  Abula,  requiring  it  to  choose  represen- 
tatives to  appear  in  the  Cortes  which  he  called  to  meet,  A.  D.  1390.  From  this 
we  learn,  that  prelates,  dukes,  marquisscs,  the  masters  of  the  three  military 
orders,  condes  and  ricos-hombres  were  required  to  attend.  These  composed  the 
bodies  of  ecclesiastics  and  nobles,  which  formed  two  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture. The  cities  which  sent  members  to  that  meeting  of  the  Cortes  were  forty- 
eight.  The  number  of  representatives  (for  the  cities  had  right  to  choose 
more  or  fewer  according  to  their  respective  dignity)  amounted  to  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five.  Geddes'' Miscellaneous  Tracts,  vol.  i.  331.  Zurita  having  occa- 
sion to  mention  the  Cortes  which  Ferdinand  held  at  Toro,  A.  D.  1505,  in  order 
to  secure  for  himself  the  government  of  Castile  after  the  death  of  Isabella, 
records,  with  his  usual  accuracy,  the  names  of  the  members  present,  and  of 
Vol.  II.— 71 


562  PROOFS  AlsO  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

the  cities  which  they  represented.  From  that  list  it  appears,  that  only  eighteen 
cities  had  deputies  in  this  assembly.  Anales  de  Arragon,  torn.  vi.  p.  3.  What 
was  the  occasion  of  this  great,  difference  in  the  number  of  cities  represented  in 
these  two  meetings  of  the  Cortes,  I  am  unable  to  explain. 

Note  [34].  Page  73. 

A  great  part  of  the  territory  in  Spain  was  engrossed  by  the  nobility.  L. 
Marinams  Siculus,  who  composed  his  treatise  Dc  Rebus  Hispanise  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  gives  a  catalogue  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  together  with 
the  yearly  rent  of  their  estates.  According  to  his  account,  which  he  affirms 
was  as  accurate  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  woald  admit,  the  sum  total  of  the 
annual  revenue  of  their  lands  amounted  to  one  million  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  thousand  ducats.  If  we  make  allowance  for  the  great  difference  in  the 
value  of  money  in  the  fifteenth  century  from  that  which  it  now  bears,  and  con- 
sider that  the  catalogue  of  Marinreus  includes  only  the  Titulodos,  or  nobility 
whose  families  were  distinguished  by  some  honorary  title,  their  wealth  must 
appear  very  great.  L.  Marinseus  ap  Schotti  Scriptores  Hispan.  vol.  i.  p.  323. 
The  commons  of  Castile,  in  their  contests  with  the  crown,  which  I  shall  here- 
after relate,  complain  of  the  extensive  property  of  the  nobility  as  extremely 
pernicious  to  the  kingdom.  In  one  of  their  manifestoes  they  assert,  that  from 
Valladolid  to  St.  Jago  in  Gallicia,  which  was  a  hundred  leagues,  the  crown 
did  not  possess  more  than  three  villages.  All  the  rest  belonged  to  the  nobility, 
and  could  be  subjected  to  no  public  burden.  Sandov.  Vida  del  Emperor  Carl. 
V.  vol.  i.  p.  422.  It  appears  from  the  testimony  of  authors  quoted  by  Bova- 
dilla,  that  these  extensive  possessions  were  bestowed  upon  the  ricos-hombres, 
hidalgos,  and  cavalleros,  by  the  kings  of  Castile,  in  reward  for  the  assistance 
which  they  had  received  from  them  in  expelling  the  Moors.  They  likewise 
obtained  by  the  same  means  a  considerable  influence  in  the  cities,  many  of  which 
anciently  depended  upon  the  nobility.  Politica  para  Corregidores.  Arab.  1750. 
fol.  vol.  i.  440.  442. 

Note  [35].  Page  74. 

I  have  been  able  to  discover  nothing  certain,  as  I  observed  in  Note  18,  with 
respect  to  the  origin  of  communities  or  free  cities  in  Spain.  It  is  probable  that 
as  soon  as  the  considerable  towns  were  recovered  from  the  Moors,  the  inhabit- 
ants who  fixed  their  residence  in  them,  being  persons  of  distinction  and  credit, 
had  all  the  privileges  of  municipal  government  and  jurisdiction  conferred  upon 
them.  Many  striking  proofs  occur  of  the  splendour,  wealth,  and  power  of  the 
Spanish  cities.  Hieronymus  Paulus  wrote  a  description  of  Barcelona  in  the 
year  1491,  and  compares  the  dimensions  of  the  town  to  that  of  Naples,  and  the 
elegance  of  its  buildings,  the  variety  of  its  manufactures,  and  the  extent  of  its 
commerce,  to  Florence.  Hieron.  Paulus  ap.  Schottum  Script.  Hist.  ii.  844. 
Marinaeus  describes  Toledo  as  a  large  and  populous  city.  A  great  number  of 
its  inhabitants  were  persons  of  quality  and  of  illustrious  rank.  Its  commerce 
was  great.  It  carried  on  with  great  activity  and  success,  the  manufactures  of 
silk  and  wool ;  and  the  number  of  inhabitants  employed  in  these  two  branches 
of  trade,  amounted  nearly  to  ten  thousand.  Marin,  ubi  supr.  p.  308.  "  I  know 
no  city,"  says  he,  "that  I  would  prefer  to  Valladolid  for  elegance  and  splendour." 
Ibid.  p.  312.  We  may  form  some  estimate  of  its  populousness  from  the  follow- 
ing circumstances.  The  citizens  having  taken  arms  in  the  37ear  1516,  in  order 
to  oppose  a  measure  concerted  by  cardinal  Ximenes,  they  mustered  in  the  city, 
and  in  the  territory  which  belonged  to  it,  thirty  thousand  fighting  men.  Sandov. 
Vida  del  Emper.  Carl.  V.  torn.  i.  p.  81.  The  manufactures  carried  on  in  the 
towns  of  Spain,  were  not  intended  merely  for  home  consumption,  they  were 
exported  to  foreign  countries,  and  their  commerce  was  a  considerable  source  of 
wealth  to  the  inhabitants.  The  maritime  laws  of  Barcelona  are  the  founda- 
tion of  mercantile  jurisprudence  in  modern  times,  as  the  Leges  Rhodiss  were 
among  the  ancients.  All  the  commercial  states  in  Italy  adopted  these  laws,  and 
regulated  their  trade  according  to  them.  Sandi  Storia  Civile  Veneziani,  vol.  ii. 
865.  It  appears  from  several  ordonnances  of  the  kings  of  France,  that  the 
merchants  of  Arragon  and  Castile  were  received  on  the  same  footing,  and 
admitted   to  the  same  privileges  with  those  of  Italy.     Ordonnances  des  Roys, 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  663 

■See.  torn,  li.  p.  135.  iii.  166.  504.  635.  Cities  in  such  a  flourishing  stat" 
became  a  respectable  part  of  the  society,  and  were  entitled  to  a  considerable  share 
in  the  legislature.  The  magistrates  of  Barcelona  aspired  to  the  highest  honour 
a  Spanish  subject  can  enjoy,  that  of  being  covered  in  the  presence  of  their 
sovereign,  and  of  being  treated  as  grandees  of  the  kingdom.  Origin  de  la 
dignidad  de  Grande  de  Castilla  por  Don  Alonso  Ca.rillo.     Madr.  1657.  p.  18. 

Note  [36].  Page  76. 

The  military  order  of  St.  Jago,  the  most  honourable  and  opulent  of  the  three 
Spanish  orders,  was  instituted  about  the  year  1170.  The  bull  of  confirmation 
by  Alexander  III.  is  dated  A.  D.  1176.  At  that  time  a  considerable  part  of 
Spain  still  remained  under  subjection  to  the  Moors,  and  the  whole  country  was 
much  exposed  to  depredations  not  only  of  the  enemy,  but  of  banditti.  It  is  no 
wonder  then,  that  an  institution,  the  object  of  which  was  to  oppose  the  enemies 
of  the  Christian  faith,  and  to  restrain  and  punish  those  who  disturbed  the  pub- 
lic peace,  should  be  extremely  popular,  and  meet  with  general  encouragement. 
'flie  wealth  and  power  of  the  order  became  so  great,  that  according  to  one 
historian,  the  grand  master  of  St.  Jago  was  the  person  in  Spain  of  greatest 
power  and  dignity  next  to  the  king.  iEl.  Anton.  Nebrissensis,  ap.  Schott. 
Script.  Hist.  i.  812.  Another  historian  observes,  that  the  order  possessed  every 
thing  in  Castile  that  a  king  would  most  desire  to  obtain.  Zurita  Anales,  v.  22. 
The  knights  took  the  vows  of  obedience,  of  poverty,  and  of  conjugal  chastity. 
By  the  former  they  were  bound  implicitly  to  obey  the  commands  of  their 
ffrand  master.  The  order  could  bring  into  the  field  a  thousand  men  at  arms. 
/El.  Ant.  Nebres.  p.  813.  If,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe,  these  men  at  arms 
were  accompanied  with  horses,  as  was  usual  in  that  age,  this  was  a  formidable 
body  of  cavalry.  There  belonged  to  this  order,  eighty-four  commanderies,  and 
two  hundred  priories  and  other  benefices.  Dissertations  sur  la  Chevalerie  par 
Hon.  de  St.  Marie,  p.  262.  It  is  obvious  how  formidable  to  his  sovereign  the 
command  of  these  troops,  the  administration  of  such  revenues,  and  the  disposal 
of  so  many  offices,  must  have  rendered  a  subject.  The  other  two  orders, 
1  hough  inferior  to  that  of  St.  Jago  in  power  and  wealth,  were  nevertheless  very 
considerable  fraternities.  When  the  conquest  of  Grenada  deprived  the  knights 
of  St.  Jago  of  those  ertemies  against  whom  their  zeal  was  originally  directed, 
superstition  found  out  a  new  object,  in  defence  of  which  they  engaged  to  employ 
their  courage.  To  their  usual  oath,  they  added  the  following  clause  :  "  We  do 
swear  to  believe,  to  maintain,  and  to  contend  in  public  and  in  private,  that  the 
Virgin  Mary,  the  mother  of  God,  our  Lady,  was  conceived  without  the  stain 
of  original  sin." — This  addition  was  made  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Honbre  de  St.  Marie  Dissertations,  &c.  p.  263. — Nor  is  such  a  singu- 
lar engagement  peculiar  to  the  order  of  St.  Jago.  The  members  of  the  second 
military  order  in  Spain,  that  of  Calatrava,  equally  zealous  to  employ  their 
prowess  in  defence  of  the  honours  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  have  likewise  pro- 
fessed themselves  her  true  knights.  Their  vow,  conceived  in  terms  more  theo- 
logically accurate  than  that  of  St.  Jago,  may  afford  some  amusement  to  an 
English  reader.  "  I  vow  to  God,  to  the  Grand  Master,  .and  to  you  who  here 
represent  his  person,  that  now,  and  for  ever,  I  will  maintain  and  contend,  that 
the  Virgin  Mary,  mother  of  God,  our  Lady,  was  conceived  without  original 
sin,  and  never  incurred  the  pollution  of  it ;  but  that  in  the  moment  of  her 
happy  conception,  and  of  the  union  of  her  soul  with  her  body,  the  Divine 
Grace  prevented  and  preserved  her  from  original  guilt,  by  the  merits  of  the 
passion  and  death  of  Christ  our  Redeemer,  her  future  son,  foreseen  in  the  Divine 
Council,  by  which  she  was  truly  redeemed,  and  by  a  more  noble  kind  of  redemp- 
tion than  any  of  the  children  of  Adam.  In  the  belief  of  this  truth,  and  in 
maintaining  the  honour  of  the  most  Holy  Virgin,  through  the  strength  of 
Almighty  God,  I  will  live  and  will  die."  Definiciones  de  la  Orden  de  Calatrava, 
conforme  al  Capitulo  General  en  1652,  fol.  Madr.  1748,  p.  153.  Though  the 
church  of  Rome  hath  prudently  avoided  to  give  its  sanction  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
immaculate  conception,  and  the  two  great  monastic  orders  of  St.  Dominic  and 
St.  Francis  have  espoused  opposite  opinions  concerning  it,  the  Spaniards  are  such 
ardent  champions  for  the  honour  of  the  Virgin,  that  when  the  present  king  of 
^nain    instituted  n  new  militarv  order  in  the  ver>r  1771.  in  commemoration   of 


564  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

the  birth  of  his  grandson,  he  put  it  under  the  immediate  protection  of  the  most 
Holy  Mary  in  the  mystery  of  her  immaculate  conception.  Constitutioncs  de 
]a  Real  y  distinguida  Orden.  Espanola  de  Carlos  III.  p.  7.  To  undertake  the 
defence  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  honour,  had  such  a  resemblance  to  that  species 
of  refined  gallantry,  which  was  the  original  object  of  chivalry,  that  the  zeal 
with  which  the  military  orders  bound  themselves,  by  a  solemn  vow,  to  defend 
it,  was  worthy  of  a  true  knight  in  those  ages,  when  the  spirit  of  the  institution  . 
subsisted  in  full  vigour.  But  in  the  present  age,  it  must  excite  some  surprise 
to  see  the  institution  of  an  illustrious  order  connected  with  a  doctrine  so  ex- 
travagant and  destitute  of  any  foundation  in  scripture. 

Note  [37].  Page  76. 

I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  take  notice  of  the  defects  in  police  during 
the  middle  ages,  occasioned  by  the  feebleness  of  government,  and  the  want  of 
proper  subordination  among  the  different  ranks  of  men.  I  have  observed  in  a 
former  Note,  that,  this  greatly  interrupted  the  intercourse  between  nations,  and 
even  between  different  places  in  the  same  kingdom.  The  description  which 
the  Spanish  historians  give  of  the  frequency  of  rapine,  and  murder,  and  every 
act  of  violence,  in  all  the  provinces  of  Spain,  are  amazing,  and  present  to  us 
the  idea  of  a  society  but  little  removed  from  the  disorder  and  turbulence  of  that 
which,  has  been  called  a  state  of  nature.  Zurita  Anales  de  Arrag.  i.  175.  JEl. 
Ant.  Nebrissensis  rer.  a  Ferdin.  gestar.  Hist.  ap.  Schottum,  ii.  849.  Though 
the  excess  of  these  disorders  rendered  the  institution  of  the  Santa  Hermandad 
necessary,  great  care  was  taken  at  first  to  avoid  giving  any  offence  or  alarm  to 
the  nobility.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  judges  of  the  Hermandad  was  expressly 
confined  to  crimes  which  violated  the  public  peace.  All  other  offences  were 
left  to  the  cognizance  of  the  ordinary  judges.  If  a  person  was  guilty  of  the 
most  notorious  perjury,  in  any  trial  before  a  judge  of  the  Hermandad,  he  could 
not  punish  him,  but  was  obliged  to  remit  the  case  to  the  ordinary  judge  of  the 
place.  Commentaria  in  Regias  Hispan.  Constitut.  per  Alph.  de  Azevedo,  pars 
v.  p.  220,  &c.  fol.  Duaci,  1612.  Notwithstanding  these  restrictions,  the  barons 
were  early  sensible  how  much  the  establishment  of  the  Hermandad  would  en- 
croach on  their  jurisdiction.  In  Castile  some  opposition  was  made  to  the  in- 
stitution ;  but  Ferdinand  had  the  address  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Consta- 
ble to  the  introduction  of  the  Hermandad  into  that  part  of  the  kingdom  where 
his  estate  lay  ;  and  by  that  means,  as  well  as  the  popularity  of  the  institution, 
he  surmounted  every  obstacle  that  stood  in  its  way.  /El.  Ant.  Nebrissen.  851. 
In  Arragon,  the  nobles  combined  against  it  with  greater  spirit ;  and  Ferdinand, 
though  he  supported  it  with  vigour,  was  obliged  to  make  some  concessions,  in 
order  to  reconcile  them.  Zurita  Anales  de  Arrag.  iv.  356.  The  power  and 
revenue  of  the  Hermandad  in  Castile  seems  to  have  been  very  great.  Ferdi- 
nand, when  preparing  for  the  war  against  the  Moors  in  Granada,  required  of 
the  Hermandad  to  furnish  him  sixteen  thousand  beasts  of  burden,  together 
with  eight  thousand  men  to  conduct  them,  and  he  obtained  what  he  demanded. 
yEl.  Ant.  Nebriss.  881.  The  Hermandad  has  been  found  to  be  of  so  much  use 
in  preserving  peace,  and  restraining  or  detecting  crimes,  that  it  is  still  continued 
in  Spain  ;  but  as  it  is  no  longer  necessary  either  for  moderating  the  power  of 
the  nobility,  or  extending  that  of  the  crown,  the  vigour  and  authority  of  the 
institution  diminishes  gradually. 

Note  [38].  Page  77. 

Nothing  is  more  common  among  antiquaries,  and  there  is  not  a  more  copious 
source  of  error,  than  to  decide  concerning  the  institutions  and  manners  of  past 
ages,  by  the  forms  and  ideas  which  prevail  in  their  own  times.  The  French 
lawyers  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  having  found  their  sove- 
reigns in  possession  of  absolute  power,  seem  to  think  it  a  duty  incumbent  on 
them  to  maintain  that  such  unbounded  authority  belonged  to  the  crown  in 
every  period  of  their  monarchy.  u  The  government  of  France,"  says  M.  de 
Real  very  gravely,  "is  purely  monarchical  at  this  day,  as  it  was  from  the  be- 
ginning. Our  kings  were  absolute- originally  as  they  are  at  present."  Science 
du  Governement,  torn.  ii.  p.  31.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  conceive  two 
statey  of  civil  society  more  unlike  to  each  other,  than  that  of  the  French  nation 


V  HOOFS  AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  565 

Mndef  Clovis,  and  thai  under  Lewis  XV.  It  is  evident  from  the  codes  of  laws 
of  the  various  tribes  which  settled  in  Gaul  and  the  countries  adjacent  to  it, 
as  well  as  from  the  history  of  Gregory  of  Tours,  and  other  early  annalists, 
that  among  all  these  people  the  form  of  government  was  extremely  rude  and 
simple,  and  that  they  had  scarcely  begun  to  acquire  the  first  rudiments  of  that 
order  and  police  which  are  necessary  in  extensive  societies.  The  king  or  leader 
had  the  command  of  soldiers  or  companions  who  followed  his  standard  from 
choice,  not  by  constraint.  I  have  produced  the  clearest  evidence  of  this,  Note 
6.  An  event  related  by  Gregory  of  Tours,  lib.  iv.  c.  14,  affords  the  most  striking 
proof  of  the  dependence  of  the  early  French  kings  on  the  sentiment  and  incli- 
nation of  their  people.  Clotaire  I.,  having  marched  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
in  the  year  5.Y3,  against  the  Saxons,  that  people,  intimidated  at  his  approach, 
sued  for  peace,  and  offered  to  pay  a  large  sum  to  the  offended  monarch.  Clo- 
taire was  willing  to  close  with  what  they  proposed.  But  his  army  insisted  to 
he  led  forth  to  battle.  The  king  employed  all  his  eloquence  to  persuade  them 
to  accept  of  what  the  Saxons  were  ready  to  pay.  The  Saxons,  in  order  to 
sooth  them,  increased  their  original  offer.  The  king  renewed  his  solicitations: 
but  the  army  enraged,  rushed  upon  the  king,  tore  his  tent  in  pieces,  dragged 
him  out  of  it,  and  would  have  slain  him  on  the  spot,  if  he  had  not  consented 
to  lead  them  instantly  against  the  enemy. 

If  the  early  monarchs  of  France  possessed  such  limited  authority,  even  while 
at  the  head  of  their  army,  their  prerogative  during  peace  will  be  found  to  be  still 
more  confined.  They  ascended  the  throne  not  by  any  hereditary  right,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  election  of  their  subjects.  In  order  to  avoid  an  un- 
necessary number  of  quotations,  I  refer  my  readers  to  Hottomanni  Francogallia, 
cap.  vi.  p.  47.  edit.  1573,  where  they  will  find  the  fullest  proof  of  this  from 
Gregory  of  Tours,  Amoinus,  and  the  most  authentic  historians  of  the  Mero- 
vingian kings.  The  effect  of  this  election  was  not  to  invest  them  with  absolute 
power.  Whatever  related  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  nation,  was  submitted 
to  public  deliberation,  and  determined  by  the  suffrage  of  the  people,  in  the  an- 
nual assemblies  called  Les  Champs  de  Mars  and  Les  Champs  de  Mai.  These 
assemblies  were  called  Champs,  because,  according  to  the  custom  of  all  the 
barbarous  nations,  they  >vere  held  in  the  open  air,  in  some  plain  capable  of  con- 
taining the  vast  number  of  persons  who  had  a  right  to  be  present.  Jo.  Jac. 
Sorberus  de  Comitiis  veterum  Germanorum,  vol.  i.  i  19,  &c.  They  were  de- 
nominated Champs  de  Mars  and  de  Mai,  from  the  months  in  which  they  were 
held.  Every  free  man  seems  to  have  had  a  right  to  be  present  in  these  assem- 
blies. Sorberus,  ibid.  }  133,  &c.  The  ancient  annals  of  the  Franks  describe 
the  persons  who  were  present  in  the  assembly  held  A.  D.  788,  in  these  words  : 
"  In  placito  Ingelheimensi  conveniunt  pontifices,  majores,  minores,  sacerdotes, 
reguli,  duces,  comites,  praefecti,  cives,  oppidani,"  Apud  Sorber.  sect.  304. 
"  There  every  thing  that  concerned  the  happiness  of  their  country,"  says  an 
ancient  historian,  "  every  thing  that  could  be  of  benefit  to  the  Franks,  was 
considered  and  enjoined.'"  Fredegarius  ap.  Du  Cange  Glossar.  voc.  Campus 
Martii.  Clotharius  II.  describes  the  business,  and  acknowledges  the  authority 
of  these  assemblies.  "  They  are  called,"  says  he,  "  that  whatever  relates  to 
the  common  safety  may  be  considered  and  resolved  by  common  deliberation  ; 
and  whatever  they  determine,  to  that  I  will  conform."  Amoinus  de  Gest. 
Franc,  lib.  iv.  c.  i.  ap.  Bouquet  Recueil,  iii.  116.  The  statutory  clauses,  or 
words  of  legislative  authority  in  the  decrees  issued  in  these  assemblies,  run 
not  in  the  name  of  the  king  alone.  "We  have  treated,"  says  Childebert,  in  a 
decree,  A.  D.  532,  in  the  assembly  of  March,  "  together  with  our  nobles,  con- 
cerning some  affairs,  and  we  now  publish  the  conclusion,  that  it  may  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  all."  Childeb.  Decret.  ap.  Bouquet  Recueil  des  Histor.  torn, 
iv.  p.  3.  We  have  agreed,  together  with  our  vassals.  Ibid,  i  2.  "  It  is  agreed 
in  the  assembly  in  which  we  were  all  united,"  Ibid.  $  4.  The  Salic  laws,  the 
most  venerable  monument  of  French  jurisprudence,  were  enacted  in  the  same 
manner.  "  Dictaverunt  Salicam  legem  proceres  ipsius  gentis,  qui  tunc  temporis 
apud  earn  erant  Rectores.  Sunt  autem  electi  de  pluribus  viri  quatuor — qui  per 
tres  Mallos  convenientes,  omnes  causarum  origines  solicits  discurrendo,  trac- 
tantes  de  singulis  judicium  decreverunt  hoc  modo."  Preef.  Leg.  Salic,  ap. 
Bouquet.     Ibid.  p.  112.     "  Hoe  decretnm  est  apud  regem  et  principes  ejus,  et 


566  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

apud  cunctum  populum  Christianuni,  qui  infra  regnum  Merwingorum  ci 
tunt."  Ibid.  p.  124.  Nay,  even  in  tlieir  charters,  llie  kings  of  the  first  race 
are  careful  to  specify  that  they  were  granted  with  the  consent  of  their  vassals. 
"  Ego  Childebertus  Ilex  una  cum  consensu  et  voluntate  Francorum,"  «Jcc.  A. 
P.  558.  Bouquet,  ibid.  622.  "  Clotharius  III.  una  cum  patribus  nostris  epis- 
copis,  optimatibus,  ca:terisque  palatii  nostrj  ministris,  A.  D.  664."  Ibid.  648. 
li  De  consensu  fidelium  nostrorum."  Mably  Observ.  torn.  i.  p.  239.  The  his- 
torians likewise  describe  the  functions  of  the  king  in  the  national  assemblies  in 
such  terms  as  imply  that  his  authority  there  was  extremely  small,  and  that 
every  thing  depended  on  the  court  itself.  "  Ipse  Rex,"  says  the  author  of  the 
Anales  Francorum,  speaking  of  the  Field  of  March,  u  sedebat  in  sella  regia. 
circumstante  exercitu,  preecipiebatque  is,  die  illo,  quicquid  a  Francis  decretuni 
erat."     Bouquet  Ilecueil,  torn.  ii.  p.  647. 

That  the  general  assemblies  exercised  supreme  jurisdiction  over  all  persons. 
>nd  with  respect  to  all  causes,  is  so  evident  as  to  stand  in  need  of  no  proof. 
The  trial  of  Brunehaut,  A.  D.  613,  how  unjust  soever  the  sentence  against  her 
may  be,  as  related  by  Fredegarius,  Chron.  cap.  42.  Bouquet,  ib.  430,  is  in  itself 
sufficient  proof  of  this.  The  notorious  violence  and  iniquity  of  the  sentence 
serve  to  demonstrate  the  extent  of  jurisdiction  which  this  assembly  possessed, 
as  a  prince  so  sanguinary  as  Clothaire  II.  thought  the  sanction  of  its  authority 
would  be  sufficient  to  justify  his  rigorous  treatment  of  the  mother  and  grand- 
mother of  so  many  kings. 

With  respect  to  conferring  donatives  on  the  prince,  we  may  observe,  that 
among  nations  whose  manners  and  political  institutions  are  simple,  the  public 
as  well  as  individuals,  having  few  wants,  they  are  little  acquainted  with  taxes, 
and  free  uncivilized  tribes  disdain  to  submit  to  any  stated  imposition.  This 
was  remarkably  the  case  of  the  Germans,  and  of  all  the  various  people  that 
issued  from  that  country.  Tacitus  pronounces  two  tribes  not  to  be  of  German 
origin,  because  they  submitted  to  pay  taxes.  De  Morib.  Germ.  c.  43.  And 
speaking  of  another  tribe  according  to  the  ideas  prevalent  in  Germany,  he  says, 
"  They  were  npt  degraded  by  the  imposition  of  taxes."  Ibid.  c.  29.  Upon 
the  settlement  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul,  we  may  conclude,  that  while  elated  with 
the  consciousness  of  victory,  they  would  not  renounce  the  high-spirited  ideas 
of  their  ancestors,  or  voluntarily  submit  to  a  burden  which  they  regarded  as  a 
badge  of  servitude.  The  evidence  of  the  earliest  records  and  historians  justify 
this  conclusion.  M.  de  Montesquieu,  in  the  twelfth  and  subsequent  chapters 
of  the  thirteenth  book  of  l'Esprit  des  Loix,  and  M.  de  Mably  Observat.  sur 
l'Hist.  de  France,  torn.  i.  p.  247,  have  investigated  this  fact  with  great  attention, 
and  have  proved  clearly  that  the  property  of  freemen  among  the  Franks  was 
not  subject  to  any  stated  tax.  That  the  state  required  nothing  from  persons 
of  this  rank,  but  military  service  at  their  own  expense,  and  that  they  should 
entertain  the  king  in  their  houses  when  he  was  upon  any  progress  through  his 
dominions,  or  his  officers  when  sent  on  any  public  employment,  furnishing  them 
with  carriages  and  horses.  Monarchs  subsisted  almost  entirely  upon  the  reve- 
nues of  their  own  domains,  and  upon  the  perquisites  arising  from  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  together  with  a  few  small  fines  and  forfeitures,  exacted  from 
such  as  had  been  guilty  of  certain  trespasses.  It  is  foreign  from  my  subject  to 
enumerate  these.  The  reader  may  find  them  in  Observat.  de  M.  de  Mably, 
vol.  i.  p.  267. 

When  any  extraordinary  aid  was  granted  by  freemen  to  their  sovereign,  it 
v,-as  purely  voluntarj'.  In  the  annual  assembly  of  March  or  May,  it  was  the 
custom  to  make  the  king  a  present  of  money,  of  horses  or  arms,  or  of  some 
ptlier  thing  of  value.  This  was  an  ancient  custom,  and  derived  from  their 
ancestors  the  Germans.  "  Mos  est  civitatibus,  ultro  ac  viritim  conferre  princi- 
pibus  vel  armentormn  vel  frugum,  quod  pro  honore  acceptum,  etiam  necessita- 
tibus  subvenit."  Tacit,  de  Mor.  Germ.  c.  15.  These  gifts,  if  we  may  form  a 
judgment  concerning  them,  from  the  general  terms  in  which  they  are  mentioned 
by  the  ancient  historians,  were  considerable,  and  made  no  small  part  of  the 
royal  revenue.  Many  passages  to  this  purpose  are  produced  by  M.  du  Cange, 
Dissert,  iv.  sur  Joinville,  153.  Sometimes  a  conquered  people  specified  the  gift 
which  they  bound  themselves  to  pay  annually,  and  it  was  exacted  as  a  debt  if 
they  failed.     Annales  Mctenses,  ap.  Du  Cange,  ibid.  p.  155.     It  is  probable,  that 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  567 

the  first  step  towards  taxation  was  to  ascertain  the  value  of  these  gifts,  which 
were  originally  gratuitous,  and  to  compel  the  people  to  pay  the  sum  at  which 
they  were  rated.  Still,  hov/ever,  some  memory  of  their  original  was  preserved, 
and  the  aids  granted  to  monarchs,  in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe  were  termed 
benevolences  or  fre-  gifts . 

The  kings  of  the  second  race  in  France  were  raised  to  the  throne  hy  the  elec- 
tion of  the  people.  "  Pepinus  Rex  pius,"  says  an  author  who  wrote  a  few  years 
after  the  transaction  which  he  records,  "  per  authoritatem  Papas,  et  unctionem 
sancti  chrismatis  et  electionem  omnium  Francorum  in  regni  solio  sublimatus 
est."  Clausula  de  Pepini  consecratione  ap.  Bouq.  Recueil  des  Histor.  torn.  v. 
p.  9.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  chief  men  of  the  nation  had  transferred  the 
crown  from  one  family  to  another,  an  oath  was  exacted  of  them,  that  they 
should  maintain  on  the  throne  the  family  which  they  had  now  promoted  ;  "  ut 
nunquam  de  alterius  lurnbis  regem  in  sevo  proesumant  eligcre/'  Ibid.  p.  10. 
This  oath  the  nation  faithfully  observed  during  a  considerable  space  of  time. 
The  posterity  of  Pepin  kept  possession  of  the  throne  ;  but  with  respect  to  the 
manner  of  dividing  their  dominions  among  their  children,  princes  were  obliged 
to  consult  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation.  Thus  Pepin  himself,  A.  D.  768, 
appointed  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Charlomannus,  to  reign  as  joint  sovereigns  ; 
but  he  did  this,  "  una  cum  consensu  Francorum  et  procerum  suorum  seu  et 
episcoporum,"  before  whom  he  laid  the  matter  in  their  general  assembly. 
"  Conventus  apud  sanctum  Dionysium,"  Capitular,  vol.  i.  p.  187.  This  destina- 
tion the  French  confirmed  in  a  subsequent  assembly,  which  was  called  upon  the 
death  of  Pepin  :  for,  as  Eginhart  relates,  they  not  only  appointed  them  kings, 
but  by  their  authority  they  regulated  the  limits  of  their  respective  territories. 
Vita  Car.  Magni  ap.  Bouquet  Recueil,  torn.  v.  p.  90.  In  the  same  manner,  it 
was  by  the  authority  of  the  supreme  assemblies,  that  any  dispute  which  arose 
among  the  descendants  of  the  royal  family  was  determined.  Charlemagne  recog- 
nises this  important  part  of  their  jurisdiction,  and  confirms  it  in  his  charter  con- 
cerning the  partition  of  his  dominions  ;  for  he  appoints,  that,  in  case  of  any 
uncertainty  with  respect  to  the  right  of  the  several  competitors,  he  whom  the 
people  shall  choose,  shall  succeed  to  the  crown.     Capitular,  vol.  i.  442. 

Under  the  second  race  of  kings,  the  assembly  of  the  nation,  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  Conventus,  Malli,  Placita,  were  regularly  assembled  once  a  year  at 
least,  and  frequently  twice  in  the  year.  One  of  the  most  valuable  monuments 
of  the  History  of  France  is  the  treatise  of  Hincmarus,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  de 
ordine  Palatii.  He  died,  A.  D.  882,  only  sixty-eight  years  after  Charlemagne, 
and  he  relates  in  that  short  discourse  the  facts  which  were  communicated  to  him 
hy  Adalhardus.  a  minister  and  confidant  of  Charlemagne.  From  him  we  learn, 
that  this  great  monarch  never  failed  to  hold  the  general  assembly  of  his  subjects 
every  year.  "  In  quo  placito  generalitas  universorurn  majorum  tarn  clericorum 
quam  laicorum  conveniebat."  Hincm.  oper.  edit.  Sirmondi,  vol.  ii.  c.  29.  p.  211. 
In  these  assemblies,  matters  which  related  to  the  general  safety  and  state  of  the 
kingdom  were  always  discussed,  before  they  entered  upon  any  private  or  less 
important  business.  Ibid.  c.  33.  p.  213.  His  immediate  successors  imitated 
his  example,  and  transacted  no  affair  of  importance  without  the  advice  of  their 
great  council. 

Under  the  second  race  of  kings,  the  genius  of  the  French  government  conti- 
nued to  be  in  a  good  measure  democratical.  The  nobles,  the  dignified  eccle- 
siastics, and  the  great  officers  of  the  crown,  were  not  the  only  members  of  the 
national  council ;  the  people,  or  the  whole  body  of  free  men,  either  in  person  or 
by  their  representatives,  had  a  right  to  be  present  in  it.  Hincmarus,  in  describ- 
ing the  manner  of  holding  the  general  assemblies,  says,  that  if  the  weather  was 
favourable,  they  met  in  the  open  air  ;  but  if  otherwise,  they  had  different  apart- 
ments allotted  to  them  :  so  that  the  dignified  clergy  were  separated  from  the 
laity,  and  the  comites  vel  hujusmodi  principes  sibirnet  honorificabiliter  a  ca'tera 
multitudine  segregarentur.  Ibid.  c.  35.  p.  114.  Agobardus,  archbishop  of 
Lyons,  thus  describes  a  national  council  in  the  year  833,  wherein  he  was  present. 
"  Qui  ubique  conventus  extititex  reverendissimis  episcopis,  et  magnificentissi- 
mis  viris  illustribus,  collegio  quoque  abbatum  et  comitum,  promiscusequc  ffitatis 
et  dignitatis  populo."  The  cietera  muUitudit  of  Hincmarus  is  the  same  with  the 
yopulvs  of  Airobardus.  and  both  dosctihfl  tb°  inferior  ordor  of  free.  men.  the  same 


568  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

who  were  afterwards  known  in  France  by  the  name  of  the  third  estate,  and  in 
England  by  the  name  of  commons.  The  people,  as  well  as  the  members  of 
higher  dignity,  were  admitted  to  a  share  of  the  legislative  power.  Thus,  by  a 
law,  A.  D.  803,  it  is  ordained,  "  that  the  question  shall  be  put  to  the  people, 
with  respect  to  every  new  law,  and  if  they  shall  agree  to  it,  they  shall  confirm 
it  by  their  signature."  Capit.  vol.  i.  394.  There  are  two  capitularia  u  Inch 
convey  to  us  a  full  idea  of  the  part  which  the  people  took  in  the  administration 
of  government.  When  they  felt  the  weight  of  any  grievance,  they  had  a  right 
to  petition  the  sovereign  for  redress.  One  of  these  petitions,  in  which  they 
desire  that  ecclesiastics  might  be  exempted  from  bearing  arms,  and  from  serving 
in  person  against  the  enemy,  is  still  extant.  It  is  addressed  to  Charlemagne, 
A.  D.  830,  and  expressed  in  such  terms  as  could  have  been  used  only  by  men 
conscious  of  liberty,  and  of  the  extensive  privileges  which  they  possessed. 
They  conclude  with  requiring  him  to  grant  their  demand,  if  he  wished  that  they 
should  any  longer  continue  faithful  subjects  to  him.  That  great  monarch, 
instead  of  being  offended  or  surprised  at  the  boldness  of  their  petition,  received 
it  in  a  most  gracious  manner,  and  signified  his  willingness  to  comply  with  it. 
But  sensible  that  he  himself  did  not  possess  legislative  authority,  he  promises  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  next  general  assembly,  that  such  things  as  were  of 
common  concern  to  all  might  be  there  considered  and  established  by  common 
consent.  Capitul.  torn.  i.  p.  405 — 409.  As  the  people  by  their  petitions  brought 
matters  to  be  proposed  in  the  general  assembly,  we  learn  from  another  capitu- 
lare  the  form  in  which  they  were  approved  there,  and  enacted  as  laws.  The 
propositions  were  read  aloud,  and  then  the  people  were  required  to  declare 
whether  they  assented  to  them  or  not.  They  signified  their  assent  by  crying 
three  times,  "  We  are  satisfied,"  and  then  the  capitulare  was  confirmed  by  the 
subscription  of  the  monarch,  the  clergy,  and  the  chief  men  of  the  laity.  Capitul. 
torn.  i.  p.  627.  A.  D.  822.  It  seems  probable  from  a  capitulare  of  Carolus  Cal- 
vus,  A.  D.  851,  that  the  sovereign  could  not  refuse  his  assent  to  what  was  pro- 
posed and  established  by  his  subjects  in  the  general  assembly.  Tit.  ix.  $  6. 
Capitul.  vol.  ii.  p.  47.  It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  quotations  concerning  the 
legislative  power  of  the  national  assembly  of  France,  under  the  second  race,  or 
concerning  its  right  to  determine  with  regard  to  peace  and  war.  The  uniform 
style  of  the  Capitularia  is  an  abundant  confirmation  of  the  former.  The  reader 
who  desires  any  farther  information  with  respect  to  the  latter,  may  consult  Les 
Origines  ou  FAncicn  Gouvernement  de  la  France,  &c.  torn.  iii.  p.  87,  &c. 
What  has  been  said  with  respect  to  the  admission  of  the  people  or  their  repre- 
sentatives into  the  supreme  assembly  merits  attention,  not  only  in  tracing  the 
progress  of  the  French  government,  but  on  account  of  the  light  which  it  throws 
upon  a  similar  question,  agitated  in  England,  concerning  the  time  when  the 
commons  became  part  of  the  legislative  body  in  that  kingdom. 

Note  [39].  Page  78. 

That  important  change  which  the  constitution  of  France  underwent,  when 
the  legislative  power  was  transferred  from  the  great  council  of  the  nation  to  the 
king,  has  been  explained  by  the  French  antiquaries  with  less  care  than  they 
bestow  in  illustrating  other  events  in  their  history.  For  that  reason  I  have 
endeavoured  with  greater  attention  to  trace  the  steps  which  led  to  this  memora- 
ble revolution.  1  shall  here  add  some  particulars,  which  tend  to  throw  addi- 
tional light  upon  it.  The  Leges  Salicae,  the  Leges  Burgundionuin,  and  other 
codes  published  by  the  several  tribes  which  settled  in  Gaul,  were  general  laws 
extending  to  every  person,  to  every  province  and  district  where  the  authority  of 
those  tribes  was  acknowledged.  But  they  seem  to  have  become  obsolete  ;  and 
the  reason  of  their  falling  into  disuse  is  very  obvious.  Almost  the  W  hole  pro- 
perty of  the  nation  was  allodial  when  these  laws  were  framed.  Fut  when  the 
feudal  institutions  became  general,  and  gave  rise  to  an  infinite  variety  of  ques- 
tions peculiar  to  that  species  of  tenure,  the  ancient  codes  were  of  no  use  in 
deciding  with  regard  to  these,  because  they  could  not  contain  regulations  appli- 
cable to  cases  which  did  not  exist  at  the  time  when  they  were  compiled.  This 
considerable  change  in  the  nature  of  property,  made  it  necessary  to  publish  the 
new  regulations  contained  in  the  Capitularia.  Many  of  these,  as  is  evident 
from  the  perus;il  of  them,  were  public  laws  extending  to  the  whole  French 


PROOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  669 

nation,  in  the  general  assembly  of  which  they  were  enacted.  The  weakness  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  monarchs  of  the  second  race,  and  the  disorder  into  which 
the  nation  was  thrown  by  the  depredations  of  the  Normans,  encouraged  ' the 
barons  to  usurp  an  independent  power,  formerly  unknown  in  France.  The 
nature  and  extent  of  that  jurisdiction  which  they  assumed,  I  have  formerly  con- 
sidered. The  political  union  of  the  kingdom  was  at  an  end,  its  ancient  consti- 
tution was  dissolved,  and  only  a  feudal  relation  subsisted  between  the  king  and 
his  vassals.  The  regal  jurisdiction  extended  no  further  than  the  domains  of 
the  crown.  Under  the  last  kings  of  the  second  race,  these  were  reduced  almost 
to  nothing.  Under  the  first  kings  of  the  third  race,  they  comprehended  little 
more  than  the  patrimonial  estate  of  Hugh  Capet,  which  he  annexed  to  the 
crown.  Even  with  this  accession,  they  continued  to  be  of  small  extent.  Val- 
ley, Hist,  de  France,  torn.  in.  p.  32.  Many  of  the  most  considerable  provinces 
in  France  did  not  at  first  acknowledge  Hugh  Capet  as  a  lawful  monarch.  There 
are  still  extant  several  charters,  granted  during  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  with 
this  remarkable  clause  in  the  form  of  dating  the  charter  ;  "  Deo  regnante,  rege 
expectante,"  regnante  domino  nostro  Jesu  Christo,  Francis  autem  contra  jus 
regnum  usurpante  Ugone  rege.  Bouquet  Recueil,  torn.  x.  p.  544.  A  monarch 
whose  title  was  thus  openly  disputed,  was  not  in  a  condition  to  assert  the  royal 
jurisdiction,  or  to  limit  that  of  the  barons. 

All  these  circumstances  rendered  it  easy  for  the  barons  to  usurp  the  rights  of 
royalty  within  their  own  territories.  The  Capitularia  became  no  less  obsolete 
than  the  ancient  laws  ;  and  customs  were  every  where  introduced,  and  became 
the  sole  rule  by  which  all  civil  transactions  were  conducted,  and  all  causes  were 
tried.  The  wonderful  ignorance,  which  became  general  in  France,  during  the 
ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  contributed  to  the  introduction  of  customary  law. 
Few  persons,  except  ecclesiastics,  could  read  ;  and  as  it  was  not  in  the  power  of 
such  illiterate  persons  to  have  recourse  to  written  laws,  either  as  their  guide  in 
business,  or  their  rule  in  administering  justice,  the  customary  law,  the  know- 
ledge of  which  was  preserved  by  tradition,  universally  prevailed. 

During  this  period,  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation  seems  not  to  have 
been  called,  nor  to  have  once  exerted  its  legislative  authority.  Local  customs 
regulated  and  decided  every  thing.  A  striking  proof  of  this  occurs  in  tracing 
the  progress  of  the  French  jurisprudence.  The  last  of  the  Capitularia  collected 
by  M.  Baluze,  was  issuer!  in  the  year  921,  by  Charles  the  Simple.  An  hundred 
and  thirty  years  elapsed  from  that  period  to  the  publication  of  the  first  ordon- 
nance  of  the  kings  of  the  third  race,  contained  in  the  great  collection  of  M. 
Lauriere,  and  the  first  ordonnance,  which  appears  to  be  an  act  of  legislation, 
extending  to  the  whole  kingdom,  is  that  of  Philip  Augustus,  A.  D.  1190.  Ordon. 
torn.  i.  p.  1.  18.  During  that  long  period  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years, 
all  transactions  were  directed  by  local  customs,  and  no  addition  was  made  to 
the  statutory  law  of  France.  The  ordonnances,  previous  to  the  reign  of  Philip 
Augustus,  contain  regulations,  the  authority  of  which  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  king's  domains. 

Various  instances  occur  of  the  caution  with  which  the  kings  of  France  ven- 
tured at  first  to  exercise  legislative  authority.  M.  l'Ab.  dc  Mably  produces  an 
ordonnance  of  Philip  Augustus,  A.  D.  1206,  concerning  the  Jews,  who,  in  that 
age,  were  in  some  measure  the  property  of  the  lord  in  whose  territories  they 
resided.  But  it  is  rather  a  treaty  of  the  king  with  the  countess  of  Champagne, 
and  the  compte  de  Dampierre,  than  an  act  of  royal  power  ;  and  the  regulations 
in  it  seem  to  be  established  not  so  much  by  his  authority,  as  by  their  consent. 
Observat.  sur  PHist.  de  France,  ii.  p.  355.  In  the  same  manner  an  ordonnance 
of  Louis  VIII.,  concerning  the  Jews,  A.  D.  1223,  is  a  contract  between  the  king 
and  his  nobles,  with  respect  to  their  manner  of  treating  that  unhappy  race  of 
men.  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  47.  The  Establissemens  of  St.  Louis,  though  well 
adnnt  .(1  to  serve  as  general  laws  to  the  whole  kingdom,  were  not  published  as 
sn  it  only  as  a  complete  code  of  customary  law,  to  be  of  authority  within 

the  king's  domains.  The  wisdom,  the  equity,  and  the  order  conspicuous  in  that 
code  of  St.  Louis,  procured  it  a  favourable  reception  throughout  the  kingdom. 
The  veneration  due  to  the  virtues  and  good  intentions  of  its  author,  contributed 
not  a  little  to  reconcile  the  nation  to  that  legislative  authority  which  the  king 
began  to  assume.     Soon  after  the  reiffn  of  St.  Louis,  the  idea,  of  the  king's  nos- 

Vol.  II.— 72 


570  PROOFS   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

sessing  supreme  legislative  power  became  common.  "  If,"  says  Beaumanoir, 
"  the  king  makes  any  establishment,  especially  for  his  own  domain,  the  barons 
may  nevertheless  adhere  to  their  ancient  customs  ;  but  if  the  establishment  be 
general,  it  shall  be  current  throughout  the  whole  kingdom,  and  we  ought  to 
believe  that  such  establishments  are  made  with  mature  deliberation,  and  for  the 
general  good.''  Count  de  Beauvoisis,  c.  48.  p.  265.  Though  the  kings  of  the 
third  race  did  not  call  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation,  during  the  long  period 
from  Hugh  Capet  to  Philip  the  Fair,  yet  they  seem  to  have  consulted  the  bishops 
and  barons  who  happened  to  be  present  in  their  court,  with  respect  to  any  new 
Jaw  which  they  published.  Examples  of  this  occur,  Ordon.  torn.  i.  p.  3.  &  5. 
This  practice  seems  to  have  continued  as  late  as  the  reign  of  St.  Louis,  when 
the  legislative  authority  of  the  crown  was  well  established.  Ordon.  torn.  i. 
p.  58.  A.  D.  1246.  This  attention  paid  to  the  barons;  facilitated  the  kings 
acquiring  such  full  possession  of  the  legislative  power,  as  enabled  them  after- 
wards to  exercise  it  without  observing  that  formality. 

The  assemblies  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  States  General,  were  first 
called,  A.  D.  1302,  and  were  held  occasionally  from  that  period  to  the  year  1614, 
since  which  time  they  have  not  been  summoned.  These  were  very  different 
from  the  ancient  assemblies  of  the  French  nation,  under  the  kings  of  the  first 
and  second  race.  There  is  no  point  with  respect  to  which  the  French  antiquaries 
are  more  generally  agreed,  than  in  maintaining  that  the  States  General  had  no 
suffrage  in  the  passing  of  laws,  and  possessed  no  proper  legislative  jurisdiction. 
The  whole  tenor  of  the  French  history  confirms  this  opinion.  The  form  of  pro- 
ceeding in  the  States  General  was  this  : — The  king  addressed  himself,  at  open- 
ing the  meeting,  to  the  whole  body  assembled  in  one  place,  and  laid  before 
them  the  affairs  on  account  of  which  he  had  summoned  them.  Then  the  depu- 
ties of  each  of  the  three  orders,  of  nobles,  of  clergy,  and  of  the  third  estate,  met 
apart,  and  prepared  their  cahier  or  memorial,  containing  their  answer  to  the 
propositions  which  had  been  made  to  them,  together  with  the  representations 
which  they  thought  proper  to  lay  before  the  king.  These  answers  and  repre- 
sentations were  considered  by  the  king  in  his  council,  and  generally  gave  rise 
to  an  ordonnance.  These  ordonnances  were  not  addressed  to  the  three  estates  in 
common.  Sometimes  the  king  addressed  an  ordonnance  to  each  of  the  estates 
in  particular.  Sometimes  he. mentioned  the  assembly  of  the  three  estates. 
Sometimes  he  mentioned  the  assembly  of  that  estate  to  which  the  ordonnance 
is  addressed.  Somcthnes  no  mention  at  all  is  made  of  the  assembly  of  estates, 
which  suggested  the  propriety  of  enacting  the  law.  Preface,  au  torn.  iii.  des 
Ordon.  p.  xx.  Thus  the  States  General  had  only  the  privilege  of  advising  and 
remonstrating  ;  the  legislative  authority  resided  in  the  king  alone. 

Note  [40].  Page  80. 

If  the  parliament  of  Paris  be  considered  only  as  the  supreme  court  of  justice, 
every  thing  relative  to  its  origin  and  jurisdiction  is  clear  and  obvious.  It  is  the 
ancient  court  of  the  king's  palace,  new  modelled,  rendered  stationary,  and 
invested  with  an  extensive  and  ascertained  jurisdiction.  The  power  of  this 
court,  while  employed  in  this  part  of  its  functions,  is  not  the  object  of  present 
consideration.  The  pretensions  of  the  parliament  to  control  the  exercise  of  the 
legislative  authority,  and  its  claim  of  a  right  to  interpose  with  respect  to  public 
affairs  and  the  political  administration  of  the  kingdom,  lead  to  inquiries 
attended  with  great  diificulty.  As  the  officers  and  members  of  the  parliament 
of  Paris  were  anciently  nominated  by  the  king,  were  paid  by  him,  and  on  several 
occasions  were  removed  by  him  at  pleasure  (Chronic.  Scandaleuse  de  Louis  XI. 
chez  les  Mem.  de  Comines,  torn.  ii.  p.  51.  Edit,  de  M.  Lenglet  de  Fresnoy), 
they  cannot  be  considered  as  representatives  of  the  people,  nor  could  they  claim 
any  share  in  the  legislative  power  as  acting  in  their  name.  We  must  therer 
fore  search  for  some  other  source  of  this  high  privilege.  The  parliament  was 
originally  composed  of  the  most  eminent  persons  in  the  kingdom.  The  peers  of 
France,  ecclesiastics  of  the  highest  order,  and  noblemen  of  illustrious  birth,  were 
members  of  it,  to  whom  were  added  some  clerks  and  counsellors,  learned  in  the 
laws.  Pasquier  Recherches,  p.  44,  &c.  Encyclopedic,  torn.  xii.  Art.  Parle- 
ment,  p. '3.  5.  A  court  thus  constituted,  was  properly  a  committee  of  the  States 
General  of  the  kingdom,  and  was  composed  of  those  barons  andjidela.  whom 


PROOF.S  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  571 

the  kings  of  Franco  were  accustomed  to  consult  with  regard  to  every  act  of 
jurisdiction  or  legislative  authority.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  during  the  inter- 
vals between  the  meetings  of  the  States  General,  or  during  those  periods  when 
that  assembly  was  not  called,  to  consult  the  parliament,  to  lay  matters  of  public 
concern  before  it,  and  to  obtain  its  approbation  and  concurrence,  before  any 
ordonnance  was  published,  to  which  the  people  were  required  to  conform. 
2.  Under  the  second  race  of  kings,  every  new  law  was  reduced  into  proper  form 
by  the  chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  was  proposed  by  him  to  the  people,  and  when 
enacted,  was  committed  to  him  to  be  kept  among  the  public  records,  that  ho 
might  give  authentic  copies  of  it  to  all  who  should  demand  them.  Hmcm.  de 
Ord.  Palat.  c.  16.  Capitul.  Car.  Calv.  tit.  xiv.  }  11.  tit.  xxxiii.  The  chancellor 
presided  in  the  parliament  of  Paris,  at  its  first  institution.  Encyclopedic,  torn, 
iii.  art.  Chancelier,  p.  88.  It  was  therefore  natural  for  the  king  to  continue  to 
employ  him  in  his  ancient  functions  of  framing,  taking  into  his  custody,  and 
publishing  the  ordonnances  which  were  issued.  To  an  ancient  copy  of  the 
Capitularia  of,  Charlemagne,  the  following  words  are  subjoined:  "Anno  ter- 
tio  clementissimi  domini  nostri  Caroli  Augusti,  sub  ipso  anno,  haic  facta  Capi- 
tula  sunt,  et  consignata  Stephano  comiti,  ut  hrec  manifesta  faceret  Pansiis 
mallo  publico,  et  ilia  legere  faceret  coram  Scabineis,  quod  ita  et  fecit,  et  omnes 
in  uno  consenserunt,  quod  ipsi  voluissent  observare  usque  in  posterum,  etiam 
omnes  Scabine'i,  Episcopi,  Abbates,  Comites,  manu  propria  subter  signaverunt.'1 
Bouquet  Recueil,  torn.  v.  p.  663.  Mallus  signifies  not  only  the  public  assembly 
of  the  nation,  but  the  court  of  justice  held  by  the  Comes,  or  Missus  dominicus. 
Scabini  were  the  judges,  or  the  assessors  of  the  judges  in  that  court.  Here  then 
seems  to  be  a  very  early  instance,  not  only  of  laws  being  published  in  a  court  of 
justice,  but  of  their  being  verified  or  confirmed  by  the  subscription  of  the  judges. 
If  this  was  the  common  practice,  it  naturally  introduced  the  verifying  of  edicts  in 
the  parliament  of  Paris.  But  this  conjecture  I  propose  with  that  diffidence,  which 
I  have  felt  in  all  my  reasonings  concerning  the  laws  and  institutions  of  foreign 
nations.  3.  This  supreme  court  of  justice  in  France  was  dignified  with  the  appella- 
tion of  parliament,  the  name  by  which  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation  w  as  dis- 
tinguished towards  the  close  of  the  second  race  of  kings;  and  men,  both  in  reason- 
ing and  in  conduct,  are  wonderfully  influenced  by  the  familiarity  of  names. 
The  preserving  the  ancient  names  of  the  magistrates  established  while  the 
republican  government  subsisted  in  Rome,  enabled  Augustus  and  his  successors 
to  assume  new  powers  with  less  observation  and  greater  ease:  The  bestowing 
the  same  name  in  France  upon  two  courts,  which  were  extremely  different,  con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  confound  their  jurisdiction  and  functions. 

All  these  circumstances  concurred  in  leading  the  kings*  of  France  to  avail 
themselves .  of  the  parliament  of  Paris,  as  the  instrument  of  reconciling  the 
people  to  the  exercise  of  legislative  authority  by  the  crown.  The  French, 
accustomed  to  see  all  new  laws  examined  and  authorized,  before  they  were  pub- 
lished, did  not  sufficiently  distinguish  between  the  effect  of  performing  this  in 
the  national  assembly,  or  in  a  court  appointed  by  the  king.  But  as  that  court 
was  composed  of  respectable  members,  and  who  were  well  skilled  in  the  laws 
of  their  country,  when  any  new  edict  received  its  sanction,  that  was  sufficient 
to  dispose  the  people  to  submit  to  it. 

When  the  practice  of  verifying  and  registering  the  royal  edicts  in  the  parlia- 
ment of  Paris  became  common,  the  parliament  contended  that  this  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  give  them  legal  authority.  It  was  established  as  a  fundamental 
maxim  in  French  jurisprudence,  that  no  law  could  be  published  in  any  other 
manner  ;  that  without  this  formality,  no  edict  or  ordonnance  could  have  any 
effect ;  that  the  people  were  not  bound  to  obey  it,  and  ouorht  not  to  consider  it 
as  an  edict  or  ordonnance,  until  it  was  verified  in  the  supreme  court,  after  free 
deliberation.  Roche-flavin  des  Parlemens  de  France,  4to.  Gen.  1621.  p.  921. 
The  parliament,  at  different  times,  hath,  with  great  fortitude  and  integrity, 
opposed  the  will  of  their  sovereigns ;  and,  notwithstanding  repeated  and 
peremptory  requisitions  and  commands  of  the  crown,  hath  refused  to  verify  and 
publish  such  edicts  as  it  conceived  to  be  oppressive  to  the  people,  or  subversive 
of  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom.  Roche-flavin  reckons,  that  between  the 
year  1562  and  the  year  1589,  the  parliament  refused  to  verify  more  than  a 
hundred  edicts  of  the  kings.     Ibid.  925.     Many  instances  of  the  spirit  and  eon- 


572  PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATION.-. 

stancy  with  which  the  parliaments  of  France  opposed  pernicious  laws,  and 
asserted  their  own  privileges,  are  enumerated  by  Limnams  in  his  Notitiae  Regni 
Francioe,  lib.  i.  c.  9.  p.  224. 

But  the  power  of  the  parliament  to  maintain  and  defend  this  privilege,  bore 
no  proportion  to  its  importance,  or  to  the  courage  with  which  the  members 
asserted  it.  When  any  monarch  was  determined  that  an  edict  should  be  car- 
ried into  execution,  and  found  the  parliament  inflexibly  resolved  not  to  verify  or 
publish  it,  he  could  easily  supply  this  defect  by  the  plenitude  of  his  regal  power. 
He  repaired  to  the  parliament  in  person,  he  took  possession  of  his  seat  of  jus- 
tice, and  commanded  the  edict  tp  be  read,  verified,  registered,  and  published  in 
his  presence.  Then,  according  to  another  maxim  of  French  law,  the  king  him- 
self being  present,  neither  the  parliament,  nor.  any  magistrate  whatever,  can 
exercise  any  authority,  or  perform  any  function.  Adveniente  Principe,  cessat 
magistratus.  Roche-flavin,  ibid.  p.  928,  929.  Encyclopedic,  torn.  ix.  Art.  Lit. 
de  Justice,  p.  581.  Roche-flavin  mentions  several  instances  of  kings  who 
actually  exerted  this  prerogative,  so  fatal  to  the  residue  of  the  rights  and  liber- 
ties transmitted  to  the  French  by  their  ancestors.  Pasquier  produces  some 
instances  of  the  same  kind.  Rech.  p.  61.  Limnsetis  enumerates  many  other 
instances,  but  the  length  to  which  this  note  has  swelled,  prevents  me  from 
inserting  them  at  length,  though  they  tend  greatly  to  illustrate  this  important 
article  in  the  French  history,  p.  245.  Thus  by  an  exertion  of  prerogative, 
which,  though  violent,  seems  to  be  constitutional,  ind  is  justified  by  innumera- 
ble precedents,  all  the  efforts  of  the  parliament  to  limit  and  control  the  king's 
legislative  authority  are  rendered  ineffectual. 

1  have  not  attempted  to  explain  the  constitution  or  jurisdiction  of  any  parlia- 
ment in  France,  but  that  of  Paris.  All  of  them  are  formed  upon  the  model 
of  that  most  ancient  and  respectable  tribunal,  and  all  my  observations  concern- 
ing it,  will  apply  with  full  force  to  tnem. 

Note  [41].  Page  81. 

The  humiliating  posture  in  which  a  great  emperor  implored  absolution  is  an 
event  so  singular,  that  the  words  in  which  Gregory  himself  describes  it,  merit  a 
place  here,  and  convey  a  strikingj>icture  of  the  arrogance  of  that  pontiff*.  "  Per 
triduum,  ante  portam  castri,  deposito  omni  regio  cultu,  miserabiliter,  utpote  dis- 
calceatus,  et  laneis  indutus,  persistens,  non  prius  cum  multo  fletu  apostolicse, 
miserationis  auxihum,  et  consolationem  implorari  destitit,  quam  omnes  qui  ibi 
aderant,  et  ad  quos  rumor  ille  pervenit,  ad  tantam  pietatem.  et  compassionis 
miserecordiam  movit,  ut  proeomultis  precibuset  lacrymis  intercedentes,  omnes 
quidem  insolitam  nostrae  mentis  duritiem  mirarentur ;  nonnulli  vero  in  nobis 
non  apostolicae  sedis  gravitatem,  sed  quasi  tyrannical  feritatis  crudelitatem  esse 
clamarunt."  Epist.  Gregor.  ap.  Memoire  della  Contessa  Matilda  da  Fran. 
Mar.  Florentini,  Lucca,  1756,  vol.  i.  p.  174. 

Note  [42].  Page  85. 

As  I  have  endeavoured  in  the  history  to  trace  the  various  steps  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  constitution  of  the  empire,  and  to  explain  the  peculiarities  in  its 
policy  very  fully,  it  is  not  necessary  to  add  much  by  way  of  illustration.  What 
appears  to  be  of  any  importance,  1  shall  range  under  distinct  heads. 

1.  With  respect  to  the  power,  jurisdiction,  and  revenue  of  the  emperors.  A 
very  just  idea  of  these  may  be  formed  by  attending  to  the  view  which  Pfeftel 
gives  of  the  rights  of  the  emperors  at  two  different  periods.  The  first  at  the 
close  of  the  Saxon  race,  A.  D.  1024.  These,  according  to  his  enumeration, 
were  the  right  of  conferring  all  the  ecclesiastical  benefices  in  Germany  ;  of  re- 
ceiving the  revenues  of  them  during  a  vacancy;  of  mortmain,  or  of  succeeding 
to  the  effects  of  ecclesiastics  who  died  intestate.  The  right  of  confirming  or 
of  annulling  the  elections  of  the  popes.  The  right  of  assembling  councils,  and 
of  appointing  them  to  decide  concerning  the  affairs  of  the  church.  The  right 
of  conferring  the  title  of  king  upon  their  vassals.  The  right  of  granting  vacant 
fiefs.  The  right  of  receiving  the  revenues  of  the  empire,  whether  arising  from 
the  imperial  domains,  from  imposts  and  tolls,  from  gold  or  silver  mines,  from 
the  taxes  paid  by  the  Jews,  or  from  forfeitures.  The  right  of  governing  Italy 
as  its  proper  sovereigns.     The  right  of  erecting  free  cities  and  of  establishing 


itUOFS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS,  673 

lairs  111  them.  The  right  of  assembling  the  diets  of  the  empire,  and  of  fixing 
the  time  of  their  duration.  The  right  of  coining  money,  and  of  conferring  that 
privilege  on  the  states  of  the  empire.  The  right  of  administering  both  high 
and  low  justice  within  the  territories  of  the  different  states.  Abrege,  p.  160. 
The  other  period  is  at  the  extinction  of  the  emperors  of  the  families  of  Luxem- 
burg and  Bavaria,  A.  D.  1437.  According  to  the  same  author,  the  imperial 
prerogatives  at  that  time  were  the  right  of  conferring  all  dignities  and  titles, 
except  the  privilege  of  being  a  stati-  of  the  empire.  The  right  of  Preces  pri- 
maries, or  of  appointing  once  during  their  reign  a  dignitary  in  each  chapter  or 
religious  house.  The  right  of  granting  dispensations  uith  respect  to  the  age 
of  majority  The  right  of  erecting  cities,  and  of  conferring  the  privilege  of 
coining  money.  The  right  of  calling  the  meetings  of  the  diet,  and  of  presiding 
in  them.  Abrege,  &c.  p.  507.  It  were  easy  to  show  that  Mr.  Pfeffel  is  well 
founded  in  all  these  assertions,  and  to  confirm  them  by  the  testimony  of  the 
most  respectable  authors.  In  the  one  period,  the  emperors  appear  as  mighty 
sovereigns  with  extensive  prerogatives  ;  in  the  other,  as  the  heads  of  a  con- 
federacy with  very  limited  powers. 

The  revenues  of  the  emperors  decreased  still  more  than  their  authority. 
The  early  emperors,  and  particularly  those  of  the  Saxon  line,  besides  their 
great  patrimonial  or  hereditary  territories,  possessed  an  extensive  domain  both 
in  Italy  and  Germany,  which  belonged  to  them  as  emperors.  Italy  belonged 
to  the  emperors  as  their  proper  kingdom,  and  the  revenues  which  they  drew 
from  it  were  very  considerable.  The  first  alienations  of  the  imperial  revenue 
were  made  in  that  country.  The  Italian  cities  having  acquired  wealth,  and 
aspiring  at  independence,  purchased  their  liberty  from  different  emperors,  as  I 
have  observed,  Note  15.  The  sums  which  they  paid,  and  the  emperors  with 
whom  they  concluded  these  bargains,  are  mentioned  by  Casp.  Klockius  de 
iErario  Norimb.  1671.  p.  85,  &c.  Charles  IV.  and  his  son  Wenceslaus,  dissi- 
pated all  that  remained  of  the  Italian  branch  of  the  domain.  The  German 
domain  lay  chiefly  upon  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  was  under  the  government 
of  the  counts  palatine.  It  is  not  easy  to  mark  out  the  boundaries,  or  to  estimate 
the  value  of  this  ancient  domain,  which  has  been  so  long  incorporated  with 
the  territories  of  different  princes.  Some  hints  « ith  respect  to  it  may  be  found 
in  the  Glossary  of  Speidelius,  which  he  has  entitled,  Speculum  Juridico-Philo- 
logico-Politico-Historicum  Observation um,  &c.  Norimb.  1673,  vol.  i.  679.  1045, 
a  more  full  account  of  it  is  given  by  Klockius  de  iErario,  p.  84.  Besides  this,, 
the  emperors  possessed  considerable  districts  of  land  lying  intermixed  writh  the 
estates  of  the  dukes  and  barons.  They  were  accustomed  to  visit  these  fre- 
quently, and  drew  from  their  vassals  in  each  what  was  sufficient  to  support 
their  court  during  the  time  of  their  residence  among  them.  Annalistae,  ap. 
Struv.  torn.  i.  611.  A  great  part  of  these  detached  possessions  were  seized  by 
the  nobles  during  the  long  interregnum,  or  during  the  wars  occasioned  by  the 
contests  between  the  emperors  and  the  court  of  Rome.  At  the  same  time  that 
such  encroachments  were  made  on  the  fixed  or  territorial  property  of  the  em- 
perors, they  were  robbed  almost  entirely  of  their  casual  revenues.  The  princes 
and  barons  appropriating  to  themselves  taxes  and  duties  of  every  kind,  which 
had  usually  b.een  paid  to  them.  Pfeffel  Abrege,  p.  374.  The  profuse  and  in- 
considerate ambition  of  Charles  IV.  squandered  whatever  remained  of  the  im- 
perial revenues  after  so  many  defalcations.  He,  in  the  year  1376,  in  order  to 
prevail  with  the  electors  to  choose  his  son  Wenceslaus  king  of  the  Romans, 
promised  each  of  them  a  hundred  thousand  crowns.  But  being  unable  to  pay 
so  large  a  sum,  and  eager  to  secure  the  election  to  his  son,  he  alienated  to  the 
three  ecclesiastical  electors,  and  to  the  count  palatine,  such  countries  as  still 
belonged  to  the  Imperial  domain  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  likewise  made 
over  to  them  all  the  taxes  and  tolls  then  levied  by  tlie  emperors  in  that  district. 
Trithemius,  and  the  author  of  the  Chronicle  of  Magdeburgh,  enumerate  the 
territories  and  taxes  which  were  thus  alienated,  and  represent  this  as  the  last 
and  fatal  blow  to  the  imperial  authority.  Struv.  Corp.  vol.  i.  p.  437.  From 
that  period  the  shreds  of  the  ancient  revenues  possessed  by  the  emperors  have 
been  so  inconsiderable,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Speidelius,  all  that  they  yield 
would  be  so  far  from  defraying  the  expense  of  supporting  their  household,  that 
they  would  not  pay  the  charge  of  maintaining  the  posts  established  in  the  em,- 


574  PROOFS  AiND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

pire.  Spoidelii  Speculum,  &c.  vol.  i.  p.  600.  These  funds,  inconsiderable  1x8 
they  were,  continued  to  decrease.  Granyelle,  the  minister  of  Charles  V.  as- 
serted in  the  year  1546,  in  presence  of  several  of  the  German  princes,  that  his 
master  drew  no  money  at  all  from  the  empire.  Sleid.  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, Lond.  1689.  p.#372.  The  same  is  the  case  at  present.  Traite  de  droite 
publique  de  l'Empire,  par  M.  le  Coq.  de  Villeray,  p.  55.  From  the  reign  of 
Charles  IV.,  whom  Maximilian  called  the  pest  of  the  empire,  the  emperors  have 
depended  entirely  on  their  hereditary  dominions,  as  the  chief,  and  almost  the 
only  source  of  their  power,  and  even  of  their  subsistence. 

2.  The  ancient  mode  of  electing  the  emperors,  and  the  various  changes  which 
it  underwent,  require  some  illustration.  The  imperial  crown  was  originally 
attained  by  election,  as  well  as  those  of  most  monarchies  in  Europe.  An 
opinion  long  prevailed  among  the  antiquaries  and  public  lawyers  of  Germany, 
that  the  right  of  choosing  the  emperors  was  vested  in  the  archbishops  of  Mentz, 
Cologne,  and  Treves,  the  king  of  Bohemia,  the  duke  of  Saxony,  the  marquis 
of  Brandenburgh,  and  the  count  palatine  of  the  Rhine,  by"  an  edict  of  Otho  III. 
confirmed  by  Gregory  V.,  about  the  year  996.  But  the  whole  tenor  of  history 
contradicts  this  opinion.  It  appears,  that  from  the  earliest  period  in  the  history 
of  Germany,  the  person  who  was  to  reign  over  all,  was  elected  by  the  suffrage 
of  all.  Thus  Conrad  I.  was  elected  by  all  the  people  of  the  Franks,  say  some 
annalists,  by  all  the  princes  and  -chief  men,  say  others  :  by  all  the  nation,  say 
others.  See  their  words,  Struv.  Corp.  211.  Conringius  de  German,  Imper. 
Repub.  Acroamata  Sex.  Ebroduni  1654,  p.  103.  In  the  year  1024,  posterior  to 
the  supposed  regulations  of  Othq  III.,  Conrad  II.  was  elected  by  all  the  chief 
men,  and  his  election  was  approved  and  confirmed  by  the  people,  Struv.  Corp. 
284.  At  the  election  of  Lotharius  II.  A.  D.  1125,  sixty  thousand  persons  of 
all  ranks  were  present.  He  was  named  by  the  chief  men,  and  their  nomination 
was  approved  by  the  people.  Struv.  ibid.  p.  357.  The  first  author  who  men- 
tions the  seven  electors  is  Martinus  Polonus,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of 
Frederick  II.  which  ended,  A.  D.  1250. 

We  find  that  in  the  ancient  elections  to  which  I  have  referred,  the  princes  of 
the  greatest  power  and  authority  were  allowed  by  their- countrymen  to  name 
the  person  whom  they  wished  to  appoint  emperor,  and  the  people  approved  or 
disapproved  of  their  nomination.  This  privilege  of  voting  first  is  called  by 
the  German  lawyers  the  right  of  Prataxation.  Pfeffel  Abreg6,  p.  316.  This 
was  the  first  origin  of  the  exclusive  right  which  the  electors  acquired.  The 
electors  possessed  the  most  extensive  territories  of  any  princes  in  the  empire  -. 
all  the  great  offices  of  the  state  were  in  their  hands  by  hereditary  right;  as 
soon  as  they  obtained  or  engrossed  so  much  influence  in  the  election  as  to  be 
allowed  the  right  of  prsetaxation,  it  was  vain  to  oppose  their  will,  and  it  even 
became  unnecessary  for  the  inferior  ecclesiastics  and  barons  to  attend,  when 
they  had  no  other  function  but  that  of  confirming  the  deed  of  these  more 
powerful  princes  by  their  assent.  During  times  of  turbulence,  the  subordinate 
members  of  the  Germanic  body  could  not  resort  to  the  place  of  election  without 
a  retinue  of  armed  vassals,  the  expense  of  which  they  were  obliged  to  defray 
out  of  their  own  revenues  ;  and  finding  their  attendance  to  be  unnecessary,  they 
were  unwilling  to  waste  them  to  no  purpose.  The  rights  of  the  seven  electors 
were  supported  by  all  the  descendents  and  allies  of  their  powerful  families, 
who  shared  in  the  splendour  and  influence  which  they  enjoyed  by  this  distin- 
guishing privilege.  Pfeffel  Abrege,  p.  376.  The  seven  electors  were  considered 
as  the  representatives  of  all  the  orders  which  composed  the  highest  class  of 
German  nobility.  There  were  three  archbishops,  chancellors' of  the  three  great 
districts  into  which  the  empire  was  anciently  divided  ;  one  king,  one  duke,  one 
marquis,  and  one  count.  All  these  circumstances  contributed  to  render  the  in- 
troduction of  this  considerable  innovation  into  the  constitution  of  the  Germanic 
body  extremely  easy.  Every  thing  of  importance,  relating  to  this  branch  of 
the  political  state  of  the  empire,  is  well  illustrated  by  Onuphrius  Panvinius,  an 
Augustan  monk  of  Verona,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  His  treatise, 
if  we  make  some  allowance  for  that  partiality  which  he  expresses  in  favour  of 
the  powers  which  the  popes  claimed  in  the  empire,  has  the  merit  of  being  one 
of  the  first  works  in  which  a  controverted  point  in  history  is  examined  with 
critical  precision,  and  with  a  proper  attention  to  that  evidence  which  is  derived 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^75 

from  records,  or  the  testimony  of  contemporary  historians.  It  is  inserted  by 
Goldastu^  in  his  Politica  Imperialia,  p.  2. 

As  the  electors  have  engrossed  the  sole  right  of  choosing  the  emperors,  they 
have  assumed  likewise  that  of  deposing  them.  This  high  power  the  electors 
have  not  only  presumed  to  claim,  but  have  ventured  in  more  than  one  instance, 
to  exercise.  In  the  year  1298,  a  part  of  the  electors  deposed  Adolphus  of  Nas- 
sau, and  substituted  Albert  of  Austria  in  his  place.  The  reasons  on  which  they 
found  their  sentence,  showed  that  this  deed  flowed  from  factious,  not  from  pub- 
lic spirited  motives.  Siruv.  Corp.  vol.  i.  540.  In  the  first  year  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  electors  deposed  Wenceslaus,  and  placed  the  imperial  crown  on  the 
head  of  Rupert,  elector  palatine.  The  act  ol  deposition  is  still  extant.  Gol- 
dasti  Constit.  vol.  i.  379.  It  is  pronounced  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  electors,  and  confirmed  by  several  prelates  and  barons  of  the  empire,  who 
were  present.  These  exertions  of  the  electoral  power,  demonstrate  that  the 
imperial  authority  was  sunk  very  low. 

The  other  privileges  of  the  electors,  and  the  rights  of  the  electoral  college, 
are  explained  by  the  writers  on  the  public  law  in  Germany. 

3.  With  respect  to  the  diets  or  general  assemblies  of  the  empire,  it  would  be 
necessary,  if  my  object  were  to  write  a  particular  history  of  Germany,  to  enter 
into  a  minute  detail,  concerning  the  forms  of  assembling  it,  the  persons  who 
have  right  to  be  present,  their  division  into  several  colleges  or  benches,  the 
objects  of  their  deliberation,  the  mode  in  which  they  carry  on  their  debates  or 
give  their  suffrages,  and  the  authority  of  their  decrees  or  recesses.  But  as  my 
only  object  is  to  give  the  outlines  of  the  constitution  of  the  German  empire,  it 
■will  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that,  originally,  the  diets  of  the  empire  were  exactly 
the  same  with  the  assemblies  of  March  and  of  May,  held  by  the  kings  of  France. 
They  met,  at  least,  once  a  year.  Every  freeman  had  a  right  to  be  present. 
They  were  assemblies,  in  which  a  monarch  deliberated  with  his  subjects,  con- 
cerning their  common  interest.  Arumaeus  de  Comitiis  Rom.  German.  Imperii, 
4to.  Jenae,  1660,  cap.  7.  No.  20,  &c.  But  when  the  princes,  dignified  eccle- 
siastics, and  barons,  acquired  territorial  and  independent  jurisdiction,  the  diet 
became  an  assembly  of  the  separate  states,  which  formed  the  confederacy  of 
which  the  emperor  was  head.  While  the  constitution  of  the  empire  remained 
in  its  primitive  form,  attendance  on  the  diets  was  a  duty,  like  the  other  services 
due  from  feudal  subjects  to  their  sovereign,  which  the  members  were  bound  to 
perform  in  person  ;  and  if  any  member  who  had  a  right  to  be  present  in  the 
diet,  neglected  to  attend  in  person,  he  not  only  lost  his  vote,  but  was  liable  to  a 
heavy  penalty.  Arumaeus  de  Comit.  c.  5.  No.  40.  Whereas,  from  the  time 
that  the  members  of  the  diet  became  independent  states,  the  right  of  suffrage 
was  annexed  to  the  territory  or  dignity,  not  to  the  person.  The  members,  if 
they  could  not,  or  would  not  attend  in  person,  might  send  their  deputies,  as 
princes  and  ambassadors,  and  they  were  entitled  to  exercise  all  the  rights 
belonging  to  their  constituents.  Ibid.  No.  42.  46.  49.  By  degrees,  and.  upon 
the  same  principle  of  considering  the  diet  as  an  assembly  of  independent  states, 
in  which  each  confederate  had  the  right  of  suffrage,  if  any  member  possessed 
more  than  one  of  those  states  or  characters  which  entitle  to  a  seat  in  the  diet, 
he  was  allowed  a  proportional  number  of  suffrages.  Pfeffel  Abrege,  662. 
From  the  same  cause  the  imperial  cities,  as  soon  as  they  became  free,  and 
acquired  supreme  and  independent  jurisdiction  within  their  own  territories, 
were  received  as  members  of  the  diet.  The  powers  of  the  diet  extend  to  every 
thing  relative  to  the  common  concern  of  the  Germanic  body,  or  that  can  interest, 
or  affect  it  as  a  confederacy.  The  diet  take  no  cognizance  of  the  interior 
administration  in  the  different  states,  unless  that  happens  to  disturb  the  public 
peace,  or  to  threaten  the  general  safety, 

4.  With  respect  to  the  imperial  chamber,  the  jurisdiction  of  which  has  been 
the  great  source  of  order  and  tranquillity  in  Germany,  it  is  necessary  to  observe, 
that  this  court  was  instituted  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  calamities  occasioned 
by  private  wars  in  Germany.  I  have  already  traced  the  rise  and  progross  of 
this  practice,  and  pointed  out  its  pernicious  effects  as  fully  as  their  extensive 
influence  during  the  middle  ages  required.  In  Germany,  private  wars  seem  to 
have  been  more  frequent  and  productive  of  worse  consequences  than  in  the 
other  countries  of  Europe.     There  are  obvious  reasons  for  this.     The  nobility 


576  PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

of  Germany  were  extremely  numerous,  and  the  causes  of  their  dissension  mul- 
tiplied in  proportion.  The  territorial  jurisdiction  which  the  German  nobles 
acquired,  was  more  complete  than  that  possessed  by  their  order  in  other  nations. 
They  became,  in  reality,  independent  powers,  and  they  claimed  all  the  privi- 
leges of  that  character.  The  long  interregnum  from  A.  D.  1256,  to  A.  D.  1273, 
accustomed  them  to  an  uncontrolled  license,  and  led  them  to  forget  that  subor- 
dination which  is  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  public  tranquillity.  At  the 
time  when  the  other  monarchs  of  Europe  began  to  acquire  such  an  increase  of 
power  and  revenues,  as  added  new  vigour  to  their  government,  the  authority 
and  revenues  of  the  emperors  continued  gradually  to  decline.  The  diets  of  the 
empire,  which  alone  had  authority  to  judge  between  such  mighty  barons,  and 
power  to  enforce  its  decisions,  met  very  seldom.  Conring.  Acroamata,  p.  234. 
The  diets,  when  they  did  assemble,  were  often  composed  of  several  thousand 
members,  Chronic.  Constat,  ap.  Struv.  Corp.  i.  p.  546,  and  were  tumultuary 
assemblies,  ill  qualified  to  decide  concerning  any  question  of  right.  The  session 
of  the  diets  continued  only  two  or  three  days ;  Pfeffel  Abrege,  p.  244 :  so  that 
they  had  no  time  to  hear  or  discuss  any  cause  that  was  in  the  smallest  degree 
intricate.  Thus  Germany  was  left,  in  some  measure,  without  any  court  of 
judicature,  capable  of  deciding  the  contests  between  its  more  powerful  mem- 
bers, or  of  repressing  the  evils  occasioned  by  their  private  wars. 

All  the  expedients  which  were  employed  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  in 
order  to  restrain  this  practice,  and  which  1  have  described,  Note  21,  were  tried 
in  Germany  with  little  effect.'  The  confederacies  of  the  nobles  and  of  the 
cities,  and  the  division  of  Germany  into  various  circles,  which  I  mentioned  in 
that  note,  were  found  likewise  insufficient.  As  a  last  remedy,  the  Germans  had 
recourse  to  arbiters,  whom  they  called  Austregat.  The  barons  and  states  in 
different  parts  of  Germany  joined  in  conventions,  by  which  they  bound  them- 
selves to  refer  all  controversies  that  might  arise  between  them  to  the  determina- 
tion of  Austregce,  and  to  submit  to  their  sentences  as  final.  These  arbiters  are 
named  sometimes  in  the  treaty  of  convention,  an  instance  of  which  occurs  in 
Ludewig  Reliquse  Manuscr.  omnis  aevi,  vol.  ii.  212  ;  sometimes  they  were  chosen 
by  mutual  consent  upon  occasion  of  any  contest  that  arose  ;  sometimes  they 
were  appointed  by  neutral  persons ;  and  sometimes  the  choice  was  left  to  be 
decided  by  lot.  Datt.  de  Paj;e  publica  Imperii,  lib.  i.  cap.  27,  No.  60,  &c. 
Speidelius  Speculum,  &c.  voc.  Auslrag.  p.  95.  Upon  the  introduction  of  this 
practice,  the  public  tribunals  of  justice  became  in  a  great  measure  useless,  and 
were  almost  entirely  deserted. 

In  order  to  re-establish  the  authority  of  government,  Maximilian  I.  instituted 
the  imperial  chamber,  at  the  period  which  I  have  mentioned.  This  tribunal 
consisted  originally  of  a  president,  who  was  always  a  nobleman  of  the  first  order, 
and  of  sixteen  judges.  The  president  was  appointed  by  the  emperor,  and  the 
iudges,  partly  by  him,  and  partly  by  the  states,  according  to  forms  which  it  is 
unnecessary  to  describe.  A  sum  was  imposed,  with  their  own  consent,  on  the 
states  of  the  empire,  for  paying  the  salaries  of  the  judges  and  officers  in  this 
court.  The  imperial  chamber  was  established  at  first  at  Frankfort  on  the 
Maine.  During  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  it  was  removed  to  Spires,  and  conti- 
nued in  that  city  above  a  century  and  a  half.  It  is  now  fixed  at  Wetzlar. 
This  court  takes  cognizance  of  all  questions  concerning  civil  right  between  the 
states  of  the  empire,  and  passes  judgment  in  the  last  resort,  and  without  appeal. 
To  it  belongs  likewise  the  privilege  of  judging  in  criminal  causes,  which  may  be 
ronsidered  as  connected  with  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace.  Pfeffel 
Abreg6,  560. 

All  causes  relating  to  points  of  feudal  right  or  jurisdiction,  together  with 
such  as  respect  the  territories  which  hold  of  the  empire  in  Italy,  belong  pro- 
perly to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Aulic  council.  This  tribunal  was  formed  upon 
the  model  of  the  ancient  court  of  the  palace,  instituted  by  the  emperors  of  Ger- 
many. It  depended  not  upon  the  states  of  the  empire,  but  upon  the  emperor, 
he  having  the  right  of  appointing  at  pleasure  all  the  judges  of  whom  it  is  com- 
posed. Maximilian,  in  order  to  procure  some  compensation  for  the  diminution 
of  his  authority,  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  imperial  chamber,  prevailed  on  the 
diet,  A.  D.  1512,  to  give  its  consent  to  the  establishment  of  the  Aulic  council. 
Since  that  time  it  has  been  a  great  object  of  policy  in  the  court  of  Vienna,  to 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  577 

extend  the  jurisdiction,  and  support  the  .authority  of  the  Aulic  council,  and  to 
circumscribe  and  weaken  those  of  the  imperial  chamber.  The  tedious  forms 
and  dilatory  proceedings  of  the  imperial  chamber,  have  furnished  the  emperors 
with  pretexts  for  doing  so.  "•  Lites  Spirm,"  according  to  the  witticism  of  a 
German  lawyer,  "  spirant,  sed  nunquam  expirant."  Such  delays  are  unavoida- 
ble in  a  court  composed  of  members  named  by  many  different  states,  jealous  of 
each  other.  Whereas  the  judges  of  the  Aulic  council,  depending  upon  one 
master,  and  being  responsible  to  him  alone,  are  more  vigorus  and  decisive. 
Puffendorf,  de  Statu  lmper.  Germ.  cap.  v.  i  20.     Pfeffel  Abrege,  p.  581. 

Note  [43].  Page  87. 

The  description  which  I  have  given  of  the  Turkish  government  is  conforma- 
ble to  the  accounts  of  the  most  intelligent  travellers  who  have  visited  that, 
empire.  The  count  de  Marsigli,  in  his  treatise  concerning  the  military  state  of 
the  Turkish  empire,  ch.  vi.  and  the  author  of  Observations  on  the  religion,  laws, 
government,  and  manners  of  the  Turks,  published  at  London,  1768,  vol.  i.  p.  81, 
differ  from  other  writers  who  have  described  the  political  constitution  of  that 
powerful  monarchy.  As  they  had  opportunity,  during  their  long  residence  in 
Turkey,  to  observe  the  order  and  justice  conspicuous  in  several  departments 
of  administration,  they  seem  unwilling  to  admit  that  it  should  be  denominated 
a  despotism.  But  when  the  form  of  government  in  any  country  is  represented 
to  be  despotic,  this  does  not  suppose  that  the  power  of  the  monarch  is  continu- 
ally exerted  in  acts  of  violence,  injustice,  and  cruelty.  Under  political  consti- 
tutions of  every  species,  unless  when  some  frantic  tyrant  happens  to  hold  the 
sceptre,  the  ordinary  administration  of  government  must  be  conformable  to  the 
principles  of  justice,  and  if  not  active  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  people, 
cannot  certainly  have  their  destruction  for  its  object.  A  state,  in  which  the 
sovereign  possesses  the  absolute  command  of  a  vast  military  force,  together 
with  the  disposal  of  an  extensive  revenue,  in  which  the  people  have  no  privi- 
leges, and  no  part  either  immediate  or  remote  in  legislation  ;  in  which  there  is 
no  body  of  hereditary  nobility,  jealous  of  their  own  rights  and  distinctions,  to 
stand  as  an  intermediate  order  between  the  prince  and  the  people,  cannot  be 
distinguished  by  any  name  but  that  of  a  despotism.  The  restraints,  however, 
which  I  have  mentioned,  arising  from  the  Capiculy,  and  from  religion,  are 
2>owerful.  But  they  are  not  such  as  change  the  nature  or  denomination  of  the 
government.  When  a  despotic  prince  employs  an  armed  force  to  support  his 
authority,  he  commits  the  supreme  power  to  their  hands.  The  Praetorian  bands 
in  Rome  dethroned,  murdered,  and  exalted  their  princes,  in  the  same  wanton 
manner  with  the  soldiery  of  the  Porte  at  Constantinople.  But  notwithstand- 
ing this,  the  Roman  emperors  have  been  considered  by  all  political  writers  ae 
possessing  despotic  power. 

The  author  of  Observations  on  the  religion,  laws,  government,  and  manner? 
of  the  Turks,  in  a  preface  to  the  seeond  edition  of  his  work,  hath  made  some 
remarks  on  what  is  contained  in  this  Note,  and  in  that  part  of  the  text  to  which' 
it  refers.  It  is  with  diffidence  I  set  my  opinion  in  opposition  to  that  of  a  person, 
who  has  observed'the  government  of  the  Turks  with  attention, and  has  described 
it  with  abilities.  But  after  a  careful  review  of  the  subject,  to  me  the  Turkish 
government  still  appears  of  such  a  species  as  can  be  ranged  in  no  class  but  that 
to  which  political  writers  have  given  the  name  of  despotism.  There  is  not  in 
Turkey  any  constitutional  restraint  upon  the  will  of  the  sovereign,  or  any  bar- 
rier to  circumscribe  the  exercise  of  his  power  but  the  two  which  I  have  men- 
tioned ;  one  afforded  by  religion,  the  principle  upon  which  the  authority  of  the 
sultan  is  founded ;  the  other  by  the  army,  the  instrument  which  he  must  em- 
ploy to  maintain  his  power.  The  author  represents  the  Ulema,  or  body  of  the 
law,  as  an  intermediate  order  between  the  monarch  and  the  people.  Pref.  p. 
30.  But  whatever  restraint  the  authority  of  the  Ulema  may  impose  upon  the 
sovereign,  is  derived  from  religion.  The  Moulahs,  out  of  whom  the  mufti  and 
other  chief  officers  of  the  law  must  be  chosen,  are  ecclesiastics.  It  is  ae  inter- 
preters of  the  Koran  or  Divine  Will  that  they  are  objects  of  veneration.  The 
check,  then,  which  they  give  to  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power  is  not  different 
from  one  of  those  of  which  I  took  notice.  Indeed,  this  restraint  cannot  be 
very  considerable.     The  mufti,  who  is  flic  heaH  of  the  order,  as  well  as  oven 

V«t,.  TI.—73 


i7»  PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

inferior  officer  of  law,  is  named  by  the  sultan,  and  is  removable  at  his  pleasure. 
The  strange  means  employed  by  the  Ukma  in  1746,  to  obtain  the  dismission  of 
a  minister  whom  they  hated,  is  a  manifest  proof  that  they  possess  but  little 
constitutional  authority  which  can  serve  as  a  restraint  upon  the  will  of  the 
sovereign.  Observat.  p.  92.  of  2d.  edit.  If  the  author's  idea  be  just,  it  is 
astonishing  that  the  body  of  the  law  should  have  no  method  of  remonstrating 
against  the  errors  of  administration,  but  by  setting  fire  to  the  capital. 

The  author  seems  to  consider  the  Cnpicidu  or  soldiery  of  the  Porte,  neither 
as  formidable  instruments  of  the  sultan's  po*vcr,  nor  as  any  restraint  upon  the 
exercise  of  it.  His  reasons  for  this  opinion  are,  that  the  number  of  the  Capiculy 
is  small  in  proportion  to  the  other  troops  which  compose  the  Turkish  armies, 
and  that  in  time  of  peace  they  are  undisciplined.  Pref.  2d.  edit.  p.  23,  &c.  But 
the  troops  stationed  in  a  capital,  though  their  number  be  not  great,  are  always 
masters  of  the  sovereign's  person  and  power.  The  Praetorian  bands  bore  no 
proportion  to  the  legionary  troops  in  the  frontier  provinces.  The  soldiery  of 
the  Porte  are  more  numerous,  and  must  possess  power  of  the  same  kind,  and  be 
equally  formidable,  sometimes  to  the  sovereign,  and  oftener  to  the  people.  How- 
ever much  the  discipline  of  the  Janizaries  may  be  neglected  at  present,it  certainly 
was  not  so  in  that  age  to  which  alone  my  description  of  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment applies.  The  author  observes,  pref.  p.  29,  that  the  Janizaries  never 
deposed  any  sultan  of  themselves,  but  that  some  form  of  law  true  or  false,  has 
been  observed,  and  that  either  the  mufti,  or  some  other  minister  of  religion, 
has  announced  to  the  unhappy  prince  the  law  which  renders  him  unworthy  oi' 
the  throne.  Observ.  p.  102.  This  will  always  happen.  In  every  revolution, 
though  brought  about  by  military  power,  the  deeds  of  the  soldiery  must  be 
confirmed  and  carried  into  execution  with  the  civil  and  religious  formalities 
peculiar  to  the  constitution. 

This  addition  to  the  Note  may  serve  as  a  further  illustration  of  my  own 
sentiments,  but  is  not  made  with  an  intention  of  entering  into  any  controversy 
with  the  author  of  Observations,  &c.  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  obliging- 
terms  in  which  he  has  expressed  his  remarks  upon  what  I  had  advanced. 
Happy  were  it  for  such  as  venture  to  communicate  their  opinions  to  the  world, 
if  every  animadversion  upon  them  were  conveyed  with  the  same  candid  and 
liberal  spirit.  In  one  particular,  however,  he  seems  to  have  misapprehended 
what  I  meant,  pref.  p.  17.  I  certainly  did  not  mention  his  or  count  Marsigli's 
long  residence  in  Turkey,  as  a  circumstance  which  should  detract  from  the 
weight  of  their  authority.  I  took  notice  of  it,  in  justice  to  my  readers,  that 
they  might  receive  my  opinion  with  distrust,  as  it  differed  from  that  of  persons 
whose  means  of  information  were  so  far  superior  to  mine. 

Note  [44].  Page  87. 

The  institution,  the  discipline,  and  privileges  of  the  Janizaries  are  described 
)>y  all  the  authors  who  give  any  account  of  the  Turkish  government.  The 
manner  in  which  enthusiasm  was  employed  in  order  to  inspire  them  with  cour- 
age, is  thus  related  by  prince  Cantemir:  "When  Amurath  I.  had  formed  them 
into  a  body,  he  sent  them  to  Haji  Bektash,  a  Tuikish  saint,  famous  for  his 
miracles  and  prophecies,  desiring  him  to  bestow  on  them  a  banner,  to  pray  to 
God  for  their  success,  and  to  give  them  a  name.  The  saint,  when  they  ap- 
peared in  his  presence,  put  the  sleeve  of  his  gown  upon  one  of  their  heads,  and 
said,  "Let  them  be  called  Yengicheri.  Let  their  countenance  be  ever  bright, 
their  hands  victorious,  their  swords  keen ;  let  their  spear  always  hang  over 
the  heads  of  their  enemies,  and  wherever  they  go,  may  they  return  with  <t 
shining  face."  History  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  p.  38.  The  number  of  Jani- 
zaries at  the  first  institution  of  the  body,  was  not  considerable.  Under  Soly- 
man,  in  the  year  1521,  they  amounted  to  twelve  thousand.  Since  that  time 
their  number  has  greatly  increased.  Marsigli,  Etat,  &c.  ch.  xvi.  p.  68.  Thougli 
Solyman  possessed  such  abilities  and  authority  as  to  restrain  this  formidable 
body  within  the  bounds  of  obedience,  yet  its  tendency  to  limit  the  power  of 
the  sultans  was,  even  in  that  age,  foreseen  by  sagacious  observers.  Nicolas 
Daulphinois,  who  accompanied  M.  D'Aramon,  ambassador  from  Henry  n.  ot 
France  to  Solyman,  published  an  account  of  his  travels,  in  which  he  describes 
ss'nd  celebrates  the  discipline  of  the  Janizai-ies,  but  at  the  same  time  predicts* 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  579 

lhat  they  would,  one  day,  become  formidable  to  their  masters,  and  act  the  same 
part  at  Constantinople,  as  the  Praetorian  bands  had  done  at  Rome.  Collection 
of  Voyages  from  the  Earl  of  Oxford's  library,  vol.  i.  p.  599. 

Note  [45].  Page  88. 

Solyman  the  Magnificent,  to  whom  the  Turkish  historians  have  given  the 
surname  of  Canuni,  or  instituter  of  rules,  first  brought  the  finances  and  military 
establishment  of  the  Turkish  empire  into  a  regular  form.  He  divided  the 
military  force  into  the  Capiculy  or  soldiery  of  the  Porte,  which  was  properly 
the  standing  army,  and  Serrataculy  or  soldiers  appointed  to  guard  the  frontiers. 
The  chief  strength  of  the  latter  consisted  of  those  who  held  Timariots  and 
Ziains.  These  were  portions  of  land  granted  to  certain  persons  for  life,  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  the  military  fiefs  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  in 
return  for  which  military  service  was  performed.  Solyman,  in  his  Canun 
Maine,  or  book  of  regulations,  fixed  with  great  accuracy  the  extent  of  these 
lands  in  each  province  of  his  empire,  appointed  the  precise  number  of  soldiers 
each  person  who  held  a  Timariot  or  a  Ziam  should  bring  into  the  field, 
and  established  the  pay  which  they  should  receive  while  engaged  in  service. 
Count  Marsigli  and  Sir  Paul  Rycaut  have  given  extracts  from  this  book  of 
regulations,  and  it  appears,  that  the  ordinary  establishment  of  the  Turkish 
army  exceeded  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  When  these  were  added 
to  the  soldiery  of  the  Porte,  they  formed  a  military  power  greatly  superior  to 
what  any  Christian  state  could  command  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Marsigli, 
Etat  Militaire,  &c.  p.  136.  Rycaut's  State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  book  iii. 
eh.  2.  As  Solyman,  during  his  active  reign,  was  engaged  so  constantly  in  war, 
that  his  troops  were  always  in  the  field,  the  Serrataculy  became  almost  equal  to 
the  Janizaries  themselves  in  discipline  and  valour. 

It  is  not  surprising  then,  that  the  authors  of  the  sixteenth  century  should 
represent  the  Turks  as  far  superior  to  the  Christians  both  in  the  knowledge 
and  in  the  practice  of  the  art  of  war.  Guicciardini  informs  us,  that  the  Ita- 
lians learned  the  art  of  fortifying  towns  from  the  Turks.  Histor.  lib.  xv.  p. 
266.  Busbequius,  who  was  ambassador  from  the  emperor  Ferdinand  to  Soly- 
man, and  who  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  state  both  of  the  Christian 
and  Turkish  armies,  published  a  discourse  concerning  the  best  manner  of  car- 
rying on  war  against  the  Turks,  in  which  he  points  out  at  great  length  the  im- 
mense advantages  which  the  infidels  possessed  vvitli  respect  to  discipline,  and 
military  improvements  of  every  kind.  Busbequii  opera,  edit.  Elzevir,  p.  393, 
&c.  The  testimony  of  other  authors  might  be  added,  if  the  matter  were  in 
any  degree  doubtful. 

Before  I  conclude  these  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  I  ought  to  explain  the 
reason  of  two  omissions  in  them;  one  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  mention  on 
my  own  account,  the  other  to  obviate  an  objection  to  this  part  of  the  work. 

In  all  my  inquiries  and  disquisitions  concerning  the  progress  of  government, 
manners,  literature,  and  commerce,  during  the  middle  ages,  as  well  as  in  my 
delineations  of  the  political  constitution  of  the  different  states  of  Europe  at 
the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century,  I  have  not  once  mentioned  M.  de  Voltaire, 
who,  in  his  Essay  sur  VhiMoire  generate,  has  reviewed  the  same  period,  and  has 
treatedof  all  these  subjects.  Thisdoes  not  proceed  from  inattention  to  the  works 
»f  that  extraordinary  man,  whose  genius,  no  less  enterprising  than  universal, 
lias  attempted  almost  every  different  species  of  literary  composition.  In  many 
of  these  he  excels.  In  all,  if  he  had  left  religion  untouched,  he  is  instructive 
and  agreeable.  But  as  he  seldom  imitates  the  example  of  modern  historians  in 
siting  the  authors  from  whom  they  derived  their  information,  I  could  not,  with 
propriety,  appeal  to  his  authority  in  confirmation  of  any  doubtful  or  unknown 
lact.  I  have  often,  however,  followed  him  as  my  guide  in  these  researches  ; 
and  he  has  not  only  pointed  out  the  facts  with  respect  to  which  it  was  of 
importance  to  inquire,  but  the  conclusions  which  it  was  proper  to  draw  from 
Ihem.  If  he  had,  at  the  same  time,  mentioned  the  books  which  relate  theso 
particulars,  a  great  part  of  my  labour  would  have  been  unnecessary,  and  many 
of  his  readers,  who  now  consider  him  only  as  an  entertaining  and  lively  writer- 
vniild  find  that  he  is  a  learned  and  well-informed  historian. 


Sfltt  PROOFS  AbiD  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

As  to  the  other  omission,  every  intelligent  reader  must  have  observed,  that  I 
have  not  entered,  either  in  the  historical  part  of  this  volume,  or  in  the  Proofs 
and  Illustrations,  into  the  same  detail  with  respect  to  the  ancient  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  the  British  kingdoms,  as  concerning  those  of  the  other  European 
nations.  As  the  capital  facts  with  regard  to  the  progress  of  government  and 
manners  in  their  own  country  are  known  to  most  of  my  readers,  such  a  detail 
appeared  to  me  to  be  less  essential.  Such  facts  and  observations,  however,  as 
were  necessary  towards  completing  my  design  in  this  part  of  the  work,  I  have 
mentioned  under  the  different  articles  which  are  the  subjects  of  my  disquisitions. 
The  state  of  government,  in  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  having  been  nearly  the 
same  during  several  ages,  nothing  can  tend  more  to  illustrate  the  progress  of 
the  English  constitution,  than  a  careful  inquiry  into  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  kingdoms  on  the  continent.  This  source  of  information  has  been  too  much 
neglected  by  the  English  antiquaries  and  lawyers.  Filled  with  admiration  of 
that  happy  constitution  now  established  in  Great  Britain,  they  have  been  more 
attentive  to  its  forms  and  principles,  than  to  the  condition  and  ideas  of  remote 
times,  which  in  almost  every  particular,  differ  from  the  present.  While  engaged 
in  perusing  the  laws,  charters,  and  early  historians  of  the  continental  kingdoms, 
I  have  often  been  led  to  think  that  an  attempt  to  illustrate  the  progress  of  Eng- 
lish jurisprudence  and  policy,  by  a  comparison  with  those  of  other  kingdoms  in 
a  similar  situation,  would  be  of  great  utility,  and  might  throw  much  light  on 
some  points  which  are  now  obscure,  and  decide  others  which  have  been  long 
controverted. 


INDEX 

TO  THIS 

VIEW  OF  THE  STATE  OF  EUROPE. 


AFRICA,  the  shocking  devastations  made  there 
by  the  Vandals,  501,  502. 

Alanus,  character  of  the  clergy  in  his  time,  515. 

Jilfred  the  Great,  his  complaint  of  the  ignorance 
of  the  clergy,  515. 

Allodial  possession  of  land,  explained,  507.  How 
such  possession  became  subject  to  military  ser- 
vice, 508.  Distinguished  from  beneficiary  ten- 
ures, ib.  How  converted  into  feudal  tenures,  509. 

Allodium,  the  elyinology  of  that  word,  512. 

Ammiunus,  his  character  of  the  Huns,  502.  504. 

Amurath,  Sultan,  the  body  of  Janizaries  formed 
by  him,  87. 

Anathema,  form  of  that  denounced  against  rob- 
bers during  the  middle  ages,  554. 

Arabia,  the  ancient  Greek  philosophy  cultivated 
there,  while  lost  in  Europe,  550.  The  progress 
of  philosophy  from  thence  to  Europe,  551. 

Armies,  standing,  the  rise  of,  traced,  46.  By  what 
means  they  became  more  general  in  Europe,  54. 

.  inns,  the  profession  of,  the  most  honourable  in 
uncivilized  nations,  35. 

Arragon,  rise  of  the  kingdom  of,  08.  Its  union 
with  Castile,  69.  The  constitution  and  form  of 
its  government,  70.  The  privileges  of  its  Cortes, 
ib.  Office  and  jurisdiction  of  the  jusliza,  71. 
The  regal  power  very  confined,  ib.  Form  of 
the  allegiance  sworn  to  the  kings  of,  ib.  The 
power  of  the  nobility  to  control  the  regal  pow- 
er,  559.  Their  privilege  of  union  taken  away 
by  Peter  IV  .  560  The  establishment  of  the 
inquisition  opposed  there,  5G1. 
Iss,  account  of  the  ancient  Romish  feast  of,  516. 
lesembties,  legislative,  how  formed,  22. 

,  general,  of  France,  their  power  under 

the  first  race  of  kings.  76.     Under  the  second 
and  third,  77.    At  what  period  they  lost  their 
legislative  authority,  ib. 
Ittila,  king  of  the  Huns,  account  of  his  recep- 

•  tion  of  the  Roman  ambassadors,  500.  Some 
account  of  his  conquests,  503. 

Austria,  the  house  of,  by  whom  founded,  82. 

Avila,  an  assembly  of  Castilian  nobles  there  so- 
lemnly try  and  depose  Henry  IV.  their  king,  70. 

Saillis,  in  the  old  French  law,  their  office  ex 
plained.  545. 

Balance  of  power,  the  first  rise  of,  in  Europe,  53, 
54.    The  progress  of,  55,  56 

Baltic,  the  first  source  of  wealth  to  the  towns 
situated  on  that  sea,  556. 

Barcelona,  its  trade,  riches,  and  privileges  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  562. 

Barons,  independence  and  mutual  hostilities  of, 
under  the  feudal  system,  12.  How  affected  by 
the  enfranchisement  of  cities,  20.  Acquire  a 
participation  in  legislative  government,  22.  Pri- 
vate wars  tor  redress  of  personal  injuries,  24. 
Methods  employed  to  abolish  these  contentions, 
26.  Origin  of  their  supreme  and  independent 
jurisdiction,  29.  Bad  errei  :ts  resulting  in  .in  these 
privileges,  30.  Steps  taken  by  princes  to  reduce 
their  courts,  32.  Obliged  to  relinquish  their  Ju- 
dicial prerogatives,  36  of  Italy,  subjected  to 
municipal  laws.  590,521.  Their  right  of  terri- 
torial jurisdiction  explained,  543.  Their  emolu- 
ments from  causes  decided  in  their  courts,  ib. 
Benefices,  under  the  feudal  system,  a  history  of, 

509.     When  they  became  hereditary,  510. 
Books,  inquiry  into  the  materials  of  ancient  ones, 
515.    I.oseof  old  manuscripts  accounted  for,  ib. 
Area)  prices  they  aold  for  in  ancient  times.  il>. 


Boroughs,  representatives  of,  how  introduced 
into  national  councils,  22. 

Bntains,  ancient,  their  distress  and  dejection 
when  deserted  by  the  Romans,  and  harassed 
by  the  Picts  and  Caledonians,  500. 

Brotherhood  of  God,  an  account  of  that  associa- 
tion for  extinguishing  private  wars,  534. 

Bruges,  how  it  became  the  chief  mart  fur  Italian 
commodities  during  the  middle  ages,  556. 

Burgundy,  Mary,  heiress  of,  the  importance  with 
Which  her  choice  in  a  husband  was  considered 
by  all  Europe,  51.  Treacherous  views  of  Louis 
XI.  of  France  towards  her,  52.  Is  married  to 
the  archduke  Maximilian,  ib.  The  influence 
of  this  match  on  the  state  of  Europe,  ib. 

Casar,  his  account  of  the  ancient  Gentians,  com- 
pared with  that  of  Tacitus,  504. 
CalatriiBu,  military  order  of,  in  Spain,  zealous  to 
employ  their  prowess  in  defence  of  the  honours 
of  the'  Virgin  Mary,  563.     The  vow  used  by 
these  knights,  ib. 
Cumbray,  treaty  of,  its  object,  56,  57.     The  con- 
federacy dissolved,  57. 
Canon  law,  inquiry  into,  33.     Progress  of  eccle- 
siastical usurpations,  33, 34.    Maxims  of,  more 
equitable  than  the  civil  courts  of  middle  ages,  34. 
Castile,  rise  of  the  kingdom  of,  68.     Its  union 
with  Arragon,  69.  Its  king,  Henry  IV.,  deposed, 
70.     Constitution  and  government  of  that  king- 
dom, 72.     History  of  the  ( 'ortes  of,  and  its  pri- 
vileges, ib.     Kingdom  originally  elective,  561. 
Catalonia,  spirited  behaviour  of  the  per  pie  there 
in  defence  of  their  rights,  against  their  king 
John  II.  of  Arragon,  70. 
Censuales.  a  species  of  voluntary  slaves,  the  ob- 
ligations they  entered  into,  described,  530. 
Gentenarii,  or  inferior  judges  in  the  middle  ages, 

extraordinary  oath  required  from  them,  554. 
Champs  de  Mars  and  de  Mai,  account  of  those 

assemblies  of  the  ancient  Gauls,  565. 
Charlemagne,  his  law  to  prevent  private  wars  for 
redress  of  personal  injuries,  26.  533.     State  of 
Germany  under  his  descendants,  80. 
Charles  IV.,  emperor,  dissipates  the  imperial  do- 
mains, 573. 
V.,  emperor,  an  emulator  of  the  heroic  con- 
duct of  his  rival,  Francis  I.,  37.  His  future  gran- 
deur founded  on  the  marriage  of  the  archduke 
Maximilian  with  the  heiress  of  Burgundy,  52. 

VII.  of  France,  the  first  who  introduced 

standing  armies  in  Europe,  47.     His  successful 
extension  of  the  regal  prerogative,  ib. 

VIII.  of  France,  his  character,  52.     How 

induced  to  invade  Italy,  ib.  His  resources  and 
preparations  for  this  enterprise,  53.  His  rapid 
success,  ih  A  combination  of  the  Italian  states 
formed  against  him,  54.  Is  forced  to  return 
back  to  France,  ib  The  distressed  state  of 
his  revenues  by  this  expedition,  56. 
Charlevoix,  his  account  of  the  North  American 
Indians,  made  use  of  in  a  comparison  between 
them  and  the  ancient  Germans,  505,  506. 
Charters  of  immunity  or  franchise,  an  inquiry 
into  the  nature  of  those  granted  by  the  barons 
of  France  to  the  towns  under  their  jurisdic- 
tions, 522.  Of  communities,  granted  by  the 
kings  of  France,  how  they  tended  to  establish 
regular  government.  21.  523. 
Citirnlnj,  origin  of,  36.  Its  beneficial  effects  on 
human  manners.  37.  The  enthusiasm  of,  rl'S- 
tinjuished  from  ifcs  salutarv  cowsequenc^.  ft 


5S2 


INDEX. 


Christianity,  corrupted  when  first  brought  into 
Europe,  iff'.    Its  influence  in  freeing  mankind 
from  the  bondage  of  the  feudal  policy,  529. 
Circles  of  Germany,  the  occasion  of  their  being 
formed,  83. 

Cities,  ancient  states  of,  under  the  feudal  policy, 
19.  The  freedom  of,  where  first  established,  20. 
Charters  of  community,  why  granted  In  France 
by  Louis  Ie  Gros,  ib.  Obtain  the  like  all  over 
Europe,  21 .    Acquire  political  consideration,  ib. 

Clergy,  the  progress  of  their  usurpations,  33. 
Their  plan  of  jurisprudence  more  perfect  than 
that  of  the  civil  courts  in  the  middle  ages,  :14. 
The  great  ignorance  of,  in  the  early  feudal 
times  of  Europe,  515. 

Cleriza,  slave  to  Willa,  widow  of  duke  Hugo, 
extract  from  the  charter  of  manumission 
granted  to  her,  529. 

Clermont,  council  of,  resolves  on  the  holy  war,  16. 
See  Peter  the  Hermit  and  Crusades. 

Clotaire  I.,  instance  of  the  small  authority  lie 
had  over  his  army,  505. 

Clotharius  II.,  his  account  of  the  popular  assem- 
blies among  the  ancient  Gauls,  565. 

Clovis,  the  founder  of  the  French  monarchy,  un- 
able to  retain  a  sacred  vase  taken  by  his  army 
from  being  distributed  by  lot  among  the  rest  of 
the  plunder,  507. 

Colleges,  first  establishment  of,  in  Europe,  551. 

Combat,  judicial,  prohibition  of,  an  improvement 
in  the  administration  of  justice,  27.  Founda- 
tion and  universality  of  this  mode  of  trial,  29. 
Pernicious  effects  of,  30.  Various  expedients 
for  abolishing  this  practice,  ib.  Ancient  Swe- 
dish law  of,  for  words  of  reproach,  538.  Posi- 
tive evidence  or  points  of  proof  rendered  inef- 
fectual by  it,  539.  This  mode  of  trial  author- 
ized by  tile  ecclesiastics,  540.  Last  instances 
of,  in  the  histories  of  France  and  England,  5'1. 

Commerce,  spirit  of  crusading  how  far  favourable 
to,  at  that  early  period,  19.  First  establishment 
of  free  corporations,  20  Charters  of  commu- 
nity, why  granted  by  Louis  Ie  Gros,  ib.  Like 
practice  obtains  all  over  Europe,  21.  Salutary 
effects  of  these  institutions,  ib.  LovT  state  of, 
during  the  middle  ages,  40.  Causes  contribu- 
ting to  its  revival,  ib  Promoted  by  the  Han- 
seatic  league,  41.  Is  cultivated  in  the  Nether- 
lands, ib.  Is  introduced  into  England  by  Ed- 
ward III  ,  ib.  The  beneficial  consequences 
resulting  from  the  revival  of,  ib.  The  early 
cultivation  of,  in  Italy,  554. 

Common  law,  the  first  compilation  of,  made  in 
England  by  lord  chief  justice  Glanville,  548. 

Communities.  See  Charters,  Cities,  Commerce, 
and  Corporations. 

Comncna,  Anne,  her  character  of  the  Crusaders, 
519. 

Compass,  mariner's,  when  invented,  and  its  in- 
fluence on  the  extension  of  commerce,  40. 

Composition  for  personal  injuries,  the  motives  for 
establishing,  533.  The  custom  of,  deduced 
from  the  practice  of  the  ancient  Germans,  541 . 

Compurgators,  introduced  as  evidence  in  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  middle  ages,  27. 

Condottieri,  in  the  Italian  policy,  what,  03. 

Conrad,  count  of  Franconia,  how  he  obtained 
election  to  the  empire,  80. 

Conradin,  the  last  rightful  heir  to  the  crown  of 
Naples  of  the  house  of  Suabia,  his  unhappy 
fate,  65. 

Constance,  treaty  of,  between  the  emperor  Frede- 
ric Barbarossa  and  the  free  cities  of  Italy,  522. 

Constantinople,  its  flourishing  state  at  the  time 
of  the  crusades,  17.  When  first  taken  by  the 
Turks,  86.  The  crusaders,  how  looked  upon 
there,  519.  The  account  given  of  this  city  by 
the  Latin  writers,  519,  520. 

Constitutiims,  popular,  how  formed,  22. 

Cordova,  Gonsalvo  de,  secures  the  crown  of  Na- 
ples to  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  66. 

Corporations  and  bodies  politic,  establishments 


of,  how  far  favourable  to  the  improvement  c,\ 
manners,  19.  Privileges  of,  how  first  claimed, 
20.  Charters  of  community,  why  granted  by 
Louis  le  Gros  in  France,  ib.  Institution  of, 
obtains  all  over  Europe,  21.  Their  effects,  ib. 
Cortes  of  Arragon,  its  constitution  and  privileges. 

of  Castile,  a  history  of,  and  an  account  of 

its  constitution  and  privileges,  72.  The  vigilance 
with  which  it  guarded  its  privileges  against 
the  encroachments  of  the  regal  power,  ib. 

Crusades,  first  motives  for  undertaking,  16.  En- 
thusiastic zeal  with  which  they  were  under- 
taken, ib.  First  promoted  by  Peter  the  Hermit, 
ib.  Success  of  them,  17.  Consequences  re- 
sulting from  them,  ib.  Their  effects  on  manners, 
18.  On  property,  ib.  How  advantageous  to  tho 
enlargement  or  the  regal  power  of  European 
princes,  ib.  Commercial  effects  of,  19.40.  Uni- 
versal frenzy  for  engaging  in  these  expeditions 
accounted  for,  517.  Privileges  granted  to  those 
who  engaged  in  them,  517,  518.  Stephen  earl 
of  Chartres  and  Blois,  his  account  of  them, 
518.  Expense  of  conducting  them,  how  raised, 
518,  519.  Character  given  of  the  Crusaders 
by  the  Greek  writers,  519. 

Debt,  first  hint  of  attaching  moveables  for  the 
recovery  of,  derived  from  the  canon  law,  548. 

Debtors,  how  considered  in  the  rude  and  simple 
stale  of  society,  523. 

Diets  of  Germany,  some  account  of,  575. 

Doctors,  in  the  different  faculties,  dispute  prece- 
dence with  knights,  551. 

Ecclesiastical  jurisprudence,  more  perfect  in  it* 
plan  than  the  civil  courts  of  the  middle  ages,  34. 

Ecclesiastics,  when  and  by  what  degrees  they 
claimed  exemption  from  civil  jurisdiction,  546. 
Military  talents  cultivated  and  exercised  by 
those  of  the  middle  ages,  550. 

Edward  III.  of  England,  his  endeavours  to  intro- 
duce commerce  into  his  kingdom,  41. 

Electors  of  Germany,  rise  of  their  privileges,  84. 

Eloy,  St.,  his  definition  or  description  of  a  good 
Christian,  516. 

Emperors  of  Germany,  inquiry  into  their  power, 
jurisdiction,  and  revenue,  572.  Ancient  mode 
of  electing  them,  574. 

England,  summary  view  of  the  contests  between! 
and  France,  44.  Consequences  of  its  losing  its 
continental  possessions,  45'.  The  power  of  the 
crown,  how  extended,  49.  See  HenryVU  Win- 
so  many  marks  of  Saxon  usages  and  language, 
in  comparison  with  those  of  the  Normans,  to  bo 
found  in,  501.  When  corporations  began  to  he 
established  in,  527.  Instances  of  the  longconti- 
nuance  of  personal  servitude  there,  531 .  Inquiry 
into  the  Saxon  laws  for  putting  an  end  to  private 
wars,  535.  Causes  of  the  speedy  decline  of  pri- 
vate wars  there,  proposed  to  the  researches  of 
antiquarians,  536.  Last  instances  of  judicial 
combat  recorded  in  the  history  of,  541.  Terri- 
torial jurisdiction  of  thebaions,  how  abolished, 
546.  Causes  of  the  slow  progress  of  commerce 
there,  556,  557  The  first  commercial  treatv 
entered  into  by,  557. 

Evidence,  imperfect  nature  of  that  admitted  in 
law-proceedings  during  the  middle  ages,  27. 
Rendered  ineffectual  bythe  judicial  combal,540. 

Europe,  alterations  in,  by  the  conquests  of  the 
Romans,  7.  Improvements  the  nations  of,  re- 
ceived in  exchange  for  their  liberties,  ib.  Its 
disadvantages  under  this  change  of  circum- 
stances, ib.  Inquiry  into  the  supposed  popu- 
lousness  of  the  ancient  northern  nations,  8. 
Savage  desolations  exercised  by  the  Goths, 
Vandals,  and  Huns,  10.  Universal  change  oc- 
casioned by  their  irruptions  and  conquest,  II. 
First  rudiments  of  the  present  policy  of,  to  bo 
deduced  from  this  period,  ib.  Origin  of  tin- 
feudal  system.  12.     See  Feudal  G),strm.     Tht 


INDEX. 


abS 


general  barbarism  Introduced  with  this  policy, 
13,  14.  Ai  what  time  government  and  man- 
ners began  to  improve,  15,  10.  Causes  arid 
weals  which  contributed  to  this  improvement, 
16.  Si  e  Crusades,  Corporations,  People  Mi- 
series occasioned  by  pin  ate  wars  in,  26.  Me- 
thods laken  lo  suppress  them,  ib.  Judicial  com- 
bats prohibited,  27.  Detects  ol  judicial  pro- 
ceedings in  die  middle  ages,  ib.  Influence  of 
superstition  in  these  pr  iceedings,  28.  Origin  of 
the  independent  territorial  jurisdictions  of  the 
barons,  3".'.  Bad  consequences  of  their  judicial 
power,  ib.  Steps  taken  by  princes  lo  abolish 
their  courts,  ib.  Inquiry  into  the  canon  law, 
33.  Revival  of  the  Roman  law,  35.  Effects 
of  the  spirit  of  chivalry,  36  How  improved 
by  the  progress  of  science  and  cultivation  of 
literature,  37.  Christianity  corrupted  when 
first  received  in,  38.  Scholastic  theology  the 
first  object  of  learning  in,  ib.  Low  slate  of 
commerce  in,  during  the  middle  ages,  40.  Com- 
merce revives  in  Italy,  ib.  Is  promoted  by  the 
Hanseatic  league,  41.  Is  cultivated  in  the  Ne- 
therlands, ib.  Effects  of  the  progress  of  com- 
merce on  the  polishing  of  manners,  ib  Effects 
of  the  marriage  of  the  heiress  of  Burgundy 
with  the  archduke  Maximilian,  on  the  state  of, 
52.  By  what  means  standing  forces  became 
general  in,  55.  Consequences  of  the  league  of 
Cambray  to,  57.  View  of  the  political  consti- 
tution of  the  several  states  of,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  sixteenth  century,  58.  Italy,  59. 
The  papacy,  ib.  Venice,  63.  Florence,  64.  Na- 
ples, ib.  Milan,  66  Spain,  68.  France,  76. 
Germany,  80.  Turkey,  86.  Instances  of  the 
small  intercourse  among  nations  in  the  middle 
ages,  552. 

Feodum,  the  etymology  of  that  word,  512. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Arragon,  unites  the  Spanish 
monarchy,  by  his  marriage  with  Isabella  of 
Castile,  68,  69.  His  schemes  lo  exalt  the  regal 
power,  74.  Resumes  former  grants  of  land  from 
his  barons,  ib.  Unites  to  the  crown  the  grand 
masterships  of  the  three  military  orders,  75. 
Why  he  patronized  the  association  called  the 
Holy  Brotherhood,  against  the  barons,  76. 

Feudal  system,  origin  of,  deduced,  12.  Primary 
object  of  this  policy,  ib.  Its  deficiencies  for 
interior  government,  13.  Tenures  of  land,  how 
established  under,  ib.  Rise  of  intestine  discords 
among  the  barons  under,  ib.  Servile  state  of 
the  people,  ib.  Weak  authority  of  the  king,  ib. 
Its  influence  on  the  external  operations  of  war, 
ib.  General  extinction  of  all  arts  and  sciences 
effected  by,  14.  Its  operation  on  religion,  ib. 
Its  influence  on  the  character  of  the  human 
mind,  15.  At  what  time  government  and  man- 
ners began  to  be  improved,  ib.  Causes  and 
events  which  contributed  to  this  improvement, 
16.  SeeCrusades.  Ancientstateof  cities  under, 
19.  Frame  of  national  councils  under  this  po- 
licy, 22.  How  altered  by  the  progress  of  civil 
liberty,  23.  Inquiry  into  the  administration  of 
justice  under,  24.  Private  war,  26.  Judicial 
combat,  29.  Independent  jurisdiction  of  the 
barons,  ib.  Distinction  hetween  freemen  and 
vassals  under,  507 — 512.  How  strangers  were 
considered  and  treated  under.  553. 

Fiefs,  Under  Hie  feudal  system,  a  history  of,  509. 
When  they  became  hereditary,  510. 

Fitzsle-phens,  observations  on  his  account  of  the 
state  of  London  at  the  lime  of  Henry  II.,  527. 

Flanders.     See  Netherlands. 

Florence,  view  of  the  constitution  of,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixteenth  century,  64.  In- 
fluence acquired  by  Cosmo  di  Medici  in,  ib. 

France,  by  what  means  the  towns  in,  first  ob- 
tained charters  of  community.  20.  Ordonnaaces 
of  Louis  X.  and  bis  brother  Philip  in  favour  of 
civil  liberty, 23.  Methods  employed  to  suppress 
private  wars.  2fi.     St.  Loots  attempts  to  dh 


countenance  judicial  combat,  30.  View  of  the 
contests  between,  and  England,  44.  Conse 
queiices  ol  its  recovering  ils  provinces  from 
England,  45.  Monarchy  of,  how  strengthened 
by  this  event,  46.  Rise  of  standing  forces  in, 
ib.  Regal  prerogative  strengthened  by  this 
measure,  47.  Extension  of  the  regal  prerogative 
vigorously  pursued  by  Louis  XI.,  48.  See  Louis 
XI.  Efiects  of  tne  invasion  of  Italy  by  Charles 
VIII.  >re  Charles  VIU.  National  infantry 
established  in,  55,  56.  League  of  Cambray 
formed  against  tne  Venetians,  57.  Battle  of 
Ghiarraddada,  ib.  Inquiry  into  its  ancient  go- 
vernment and  laws,  76.  Power  of  the  general 
assemblies  under  the  first  lace  of  kings,  ib. 
Under  the  second  and  third,  77.  Regal  power 
confined  to  the  king's  own  domains,  ib.  When 
the  general  assembly  or  states  genet  al  lost  their 
legislative  authority,  ib.  When  the  kings  began 
to  assert  their  legislative  power,  78  When  the 
government  or',  became  purely  monarchical,  ib. 
Regal  power  nevertheless  restrained  by  the 
privileges  of  the  nqbility,  ib.  Inquiry  into  the 
jurisdiction  ol  its  parliaments,  particularly  that 
Of  Paris,  79.  How  Hie  allodial  property  ol  land 
there  was  altered  into  feudal,  510,  511.  Pro- 
gress of  liberty  in  that  kingdom  traced,  527. 
Attempts  to  establish  liberty  there  unsuccessful, 
528.  Last  instance  of  judicial  combat  recorded 
in  the  history  of,  541.  Present  government  of, 
compared  with  that  of  ancient  Gaul,  564.  The 
states  general,  when  first  assembled,  570. 

Francis  I.  of  France,  his  character  influenced  by 
the  spirit  of  chivalry,  37.  Is  emulated  by  the 
emperor  Charles  V.,  ib. 

Frederic  Barbarossa,  emperor,  the  free  cities  of 
Italy  unite  againsl  him,  522.  Treaty  of  Con- 
stance with  them,  ib.  Was  the  first  who  granted 
privileges  to  the  cities  in  Germany,  526. 

Fredum,  in  the  ancient  German  usages,  explained, 
541. 

Freemen,  how  distinguished  from  vassals,  under 
the  feudal  policy,  507 — 512.  Why  often  in- 
duced lo  surrender  their  freedom,  and  become 
slaves,  514. 

Fulcherius  Carnotensis,  his  character  of  the  city 
of  Constantinople,  520. 

Gaul,  how  allodial  property  of  land  was  changed 
into  feudal  there,  510.  Government  of,  com- 
pared with  that  of  modem  France,  564.  Small 
authority  the  kingsof,  enjoyed  over  their  armies, 
illustrated  in  an  anecdote  of  Clotaire  I.,  565. 
Account  of  the  popular  assemblies  of,  ib.  Salic 
laws  how  enacted,  ib  Were  not  subject  to 
taxation,  566.     See  France. 

Geoffrey  de  f^illehardouin,  his  account  of  the 
magnificence  of  Constantinople  at  the  time 
when  taken  by  the  Crusaders,  520. 

Germans,  ancient,  an  account  of  their  usages 
and  way  of  life,  504.  Their  method  of  engaging 
in  war,  ib.  Comparison  between  them  and 
the  North  American  Indians,  505.  Why  they 
had  no  cities,  525.  The  practice  of  compound- 
ing for  personal  injuries  by  fines,  deduced  from 
their  usages,  541. 

Germany,  little  interested  in  foreign  concerns  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  44.  Na- 
tional infantry  established  in,  55.  State  of, 
under  Charlemagne  and  descendants,  80.  Con- 
rad, count  of  Franconia,  chosen  emperor,  ib. 
His  successors  in  the  imperial  dignity,  ib.  How 
the  nobility  of,  acquired  independent  sovereign 
authority,  ib.  Fatal  effects  of  aggrandizing 
the  I  lergy  in,  81.  Contest  between  the  emperor 
Henry  IV.  and  Pope  Gregory  VII.,  ib.  Rise  of 
the  factions  of  Guelfs  andGliibellines  82.  De- 
cline ol  the  imperial  authority,  ib.  House  of 
Austria,  by  whom  founded,  ib.  Total  chaugi 
in  the  political  constitution  of  the  empire,  ib. 
State  of  anarchy  in  which  it  continued  to  the 
rime«>f  Vaximilian.  lire  immediate  predecessor. 


o84 


1  iN  D  E  X. 


pf  Charles  V.,  ib.  Divided  into  circles,  83. 
.Imperial  chamber  instituted,  ib.  Aulic  council 
reformed,  ib.  View  of  its  political  constitution 
at  the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  history, 
ib.  Its  defects  pointed  out,  ib.  Imperial  dig- 
nity and  power  compared,  84.  Election  of  the 
emperors,  ib.  Repugnant  forms  of  civil  policy 
jn  the  several  states  of,  85.  Opposition  between 
the  secular  and  ecclesiastical  members  of,  ib. 
United  body  hence  incapable  of  acting  with 
vigour,  ib.  When  cities  tirst  began  to  be  built 
in,  525.  When  the  cities  of,  first  acquired  mu- 
nicipal privileges,  5-2(3.  Artisans  of,  wlien  en- 
franchised, ib.  Immediate  cities  in  the  Ger- 
man jurisprudence,  what,  ib.  Great  calamities 
occasioned  there  by  private  wars,  537.  Origin 
of  the  league  of  the  Rhine,  ib.  When  private 
wars  were  finally  abolished  there,  ib.  Inquiry 
into  the  power,  jurisdiction,  and  revenue  of  its 
emperors,  572.  Ancient  mode  of  electing  the 
emperors,  574.     Account  of  the  diets,  575. 

Ghihdlines.     See  Gue/fs. 

Hhiarraddada,  the  battle  of,  57. 

Glannillc,  lord  chief  justice,  the  first  who  com- 
piled a  body  of  common  law,  in  all  Europe,  5-18. 

Goths,  Vandals,  and  Huns,  overrun  the  Roman 
empire,  and  precipitate  its  downfal,  8.  State 
of  the  countries  from  whence  they  issued,  ib. 
Motives  of  their  first  excursions  ib.  How  they 
came  to  settle  in  tite  countries  they  conquered, 
:'.  Comparison  drawn  between  them  and  the 
Romans,  at  the  period  of  their  eruptions,  9, 10. 
Compared  with  the  native  Americans,  JO.  De- 
solation they  occasioned  in  Europe,  ib.  Uni- 
versal change  made  by  them  in  the  state  of 
Europe,  11.    Principles  on  which  they  made 

•  their  settlements,  ib.  Origin  of  the  feudal  sys- 
tem, 12.  See  Feudal  System.  Inquiry  into  the 
administration  of  justice  among,  24,  25  Their 
private  wars,  25.  Destroy  the  monuments  of 
the  Roman  arts,  38.  Their  contempt  of  the 
Romans,  and  hatred  of  their  arts,  500.  Their 
aversion  to  literature,  ib.  No  authentic  account 
of  their  origin  or  ancient  history  existing,  ib. 

Government,ho\\  limited  by  the  feudal  policy,  13. 
Effects  of  the  crusades  on,  10.  How  affected 
by  the  enfranchisement  of  cities,  20.  Legisla- 
tive assemblies  how  formed,  ib.  Private  wars 
destructive  to  the  authority  of,  24.  Methods 
employed  to  abolish  this  hostile  mode  of'  re- 
dressing injuries,  26.  How  affected  by  the  su- 
preme independent  jurisdictions  of  the  barons, 
29,  30.  Steps  towards  abolishing  them,  32. 
Origin  and"  growth  of  royal  courts  of  justice, 
32,  33.  How  influenced  by  the  revival  of  sci- 
ence and  literature,  39.  View  of,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifteenth  century,  42.  Power  of 
moiiarchs  then  very  limited,  ib.  Their  revenues 
small,  43.  Their  armies  unfit  for  conquest,  ib. 
Princes  hence  incapable  of  extensive  plans  of 
operation,  ib.  Kingdoms  very  little  connected 
with  each  other,  43,  44.  How  the  efforts  of. 
from  this  period,  became  more  powerful  and 
extensive,  45.  Consequences  of  England  losing 
its  provinces  in  Prance,  ib.  Scheme  of  Louis 
XI.  of  France  to  extend  the  regal  power,  48. 
See  Louis  XI.  Power  of  the  English  crown 
enlarged,  50.  See  Henry  VII.  As  also  that  of 
Spain,  ib.  How  the  use  of  standing  armies 
became  general,  in  View  of  the  political  con- 
stitution of  the  several  states  of  Europe,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  58. 
In  what  respects  the  charters  of  communities 
granted  by  the  kings  of  France  tended  to  intro- 
duce a  regular  form  of,  523. 

Greece,  the  breeding  of  silk-worms,  when  intro- 
duced there,  554. 

Greek  emperors,  their  magnificence  at  Constan- 
tinople, 519. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  remarks  on  the  state  of  Eu- 
rope during  the  period  of  which  he  wrote  the 
lustorv,  15 


Gregory  the  Great,  pope,  his  reason  for  granting 
liberty  to  his  slaves,  529. 

VII.,  pope,  foundation  of  his  contests 


with  Henry  IV.  emperor  of  Germany,  81.  The 
mean  submission  he  extorted  from  Henry,  ib. 
His  own  account  of  this  affair,  572. 

Gu.clf.-i  and  Ulnbellines,  rise  of  those  factions  in 
Germany,  82. 

Guicciardini,  instance  of  his  superstitious  reve- 
rence lor  pope  Clement  VII.,  03,  note. 

(luntheras,  a  monk,  his  character  of  Constantino- 
ple, at  the  time  when  taken  by  the  crusaders,  520. 

Hanseatic  league,  when  formed,  and  its  influence 
onthe  extension  of  commerce,  41.  556. 

Henry  IV.  of  Castile,  solemnly  tried  and  deposed 
by  an  assembly  of  Castilian  nobles,  70. 

,  emperor  of  Germany,  the  humiliating 

state  to  which  he  was  reduced  by  pope  Gregory 
VII.,  81.  572. 

VII.  of  England,  his  situation  at  his  ac- 
cession to  the  crown,  50.  Enables  his  barons 
to  break  their  entails  and  sell  their  estates,  ib. 
Prohibits  his  barons  keeping  retainers,  ib.  En 
courages  agriculture  and  commerce,  ib. 

Herebannum,  the  nature  of  this  fine  under  the 
feudal  policy,  explained,  508. 

He  rmandad,  Santa,  account  of  that  institution,564. 

History,  the  most  calamitous  period  of,  pointed 
out,  11),  11. 

Holy  Brotherhood,  an  association  in  Spain  under 
that  name,  on  what  occasion  formed,  75,  76. 

Land,  the  original  inducements  of  the  Chris- 
tians to  rescue  it  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels, 
16.     See  Crusades  and  Peter  the  Hermit. 

Honour,  points  of  the  ancient  Swedish  law  for 
determining,  538. 

Hospitality,  enforced  by  statutes  during  the  mid- 
dle ages,  552. 

Huns,  instance  of  their  enthusiastic  passion  for 
war,  500.  Some  account  of  their  policy  and 
maimers,  502.    See  Goths. 

Janizaries,  origin  and  formidable  nature  of  those 
troops,  87. 

Imperial  chamber  of  Germany  instituted,  83.  The 
occasion  of  its  institution,  575. 

Imli, ma,  North  American,  a  comparison  drawn 
between  them  and  the  ancient  Germans,  505. 

Industry,  the  spirit  of,  how  excited  by  the  en- 
franchisements of  cities,  21. 

Infantry,  the  advantages  of.  beyond  cavalry, 
taught  to  the  rest  of  Europe  by  the  Swiss,  55. 
National  bodies  of,  established  in  Germany,  ib. 
In  France  and  Spain,  55,  56. 

Inheritance,  and  right  of  representation,  between 
orphan  grandsons  and  their  uncles,  how  de- 
cided in  the  tenth  century,  539. 

Interest  of  money,  the  necessity  of  admitting,  in 
a  commercial  view,  555.  Preposterously  con- 
demned by  the  churchmen  of  the  middle  ages, 
ib.  The  cause  hence  of  the  exorbitant  exac- 
tions of  the  Lombard  bankers,  ib. 

Italy,  when  the  cities  of,  began  to  form  themselves 
into  uodies  politic,  20.  Commerce  first  im- 
proved there,  and  the  reasons  of  it,  40.  The 
revolutions  in  Europe  occasioned  by  the  inva- 
sion of,  by  Charles  VIII.  of  France,  53.  The 
state  of,  at  the  time  of  this  invasion,  ib.  The 
rapid  success  of  Charles,  53.  54.  A  combina- 
tion of  the  states  of,  drives  Charles  out  of,  and 
gives  birth  to  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe, 
54.  The  political  situation  of,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixteenth  century,  59.  The 
papacy,  ib.  Venice,  63.  Florence,  64.  Na- 
ples, ib.  Milan,  66.  Evidences  of  the  desola- 
tion made  there  by  the  northern  invaders  of 
the.  Roman  empire,  503.  How  the  cities  of, 
obtained  their  municipal  privileges,  520.  State 
of,  under  Frederic  I.,  521.  Treaty  of  Con- 
stance lK'tween  the  free  cities  of,  and  the  em- 
peror Frederic  Barharossa,  52? 


INDEX. 


585 


Judgment  of  God,  modea  Of  acquittal  by,  in  the 
law  proceedings  during  tin:  middle  ages,  28. 537. 

Judicium  Cruets,  method  of  trial  by,  537 

Julius  II.,  pope,  forms  a  confederacy  against  the 
Venetians  at  Cainbray,  57.  Seizes  part  of  the 
Venetian  territories,  ib.  Confederacy  dissolved, 
ib.    Turns  his  schemes  against  France,  58. 

Jurisprudence,  ecclesiastical,  more  perfect  in  its 
plan  than  the  civil  courts  in  the  middle  ages, 
26.    See  Law. 

Justice,  an  inquiry  into  the  administration  of, 
under  the  feudal  policy,  24.  Steps  towards  the 
improvement  of,  as  civil  liberty  advanced,  25. 
Redress  chiefly  pursued  by  private  wars,  ib. 
Methods  taken  to  suppress  private  wars,  20. 
Judicial  combats  prohibited,  27.  The  delects 
of  judicial  proceedings  in  the  middle  ages,  ib. 
Compurgators,  the  nature  of  that  kind  of  evi- 
dence, ib.  Methods  of  trial  by  ordeal,  or  ac- 
quittal by  judgment  of  God,  28.  Origin  of  the 
supreme  independent  jurisdictions  of  the  feudal 
barons,  32.  Extent  and  bad  effects  of  their 
privileges,  ib.  Steps  taken  by  monarchs  to  re- 
duce the  barons'  courts,  ib.  Growth  of  royal 
courts  of  justice,  33.  Inquiry  into  the  canon 
law,  ib.  How  improved  by  the  revival  of  the 
Roman  law.  34.  ■  When  the  administration  of, 
became  a  distinct  profession,  35. 

Justiza,  or  supreme  judge  of  Arragon,  his  office 
and  privileges,  71.  An  inquiry  by  whom  this 
officer  was  elected,  557.  Who  was  eligible  to 
this  office,  558.  Nature  of  the  tribunal  ap- 
pointed to  control  his  administration,  ib.  In- 
stance of  his  extensive  power,  558,  559. 

King,  his  power  how  circumscribed  by  the  ba- 
rons, under  the  feudal  system,  13.  By  what 
means  the  crusades  tended  to  enlarge  the  regal 
authority,  18. 

Koran,  its  influence  in  checking  the  sultans  of 
the  Ottoman  empire,  87. 

Land,  how  held  at  the  establishment  of  the  feu- 
dal system,  12.     See  Feudal  System. 

,  the  property  of,  how  considered  by  the  an- 
cient barbarous  nations,  507.  Allodial  posses- 
sion of,  explained,  ib.  The  proprietors  how 
subjected  to  military  service,  507,  508.  Allo- 
dial and  beneficiary  possession  distinguished, 
508.  Allodial  property  why  generally  con- 
verted into  feudal,  509.' 

Law,  when  the  study  of  it  became  a  distinct  em- 
ployment, 36. 

,  canon,  an  inquiry  into,  33.     The  maxims 

of,  more  equitable  than  the  civil  courts  of  the 
middle  ages,  ib.     When  first  compiled,  548. 

,  Roman,  how  it  sunk  into  oblivion,  35.     Cir- 

cumstames  which  favoured  the  revival  of  it, 
ib.  _  Its  effects  in  improving  the  administration 
of  justice,  ib.  Its  rapid  progress  over  Europe, 
548. 

J^awbnrrowa,  in  the  Scottish  law,  explained,  523. 

J.ibrrtu,  civil,  the  rise  and  progress  of,  traced,  20, 
21.  How  favoured  by  the  ordounancesof  Louis 
X.  of  France,  and  his  brother  Philip,  S3.  The 
spirit  of,  how  excited  in  Fiance,  527.  The 
particulars  included  in  the  charters  of,  granted 
n>  husbandmen,  528.  The  influence  of  tine 
Christian  religion  In  extending,  589.  The  se- 
veral opportunities  of  obtaining,  533. 
Limogtii,  council  of,  its  endeavours  to  extinguish 
private  wars.  xva. 

Literature,  cultivation  of.  greatly  imtr  imental 
in  riv  iliziii"  I  he  nations  of  Europe,  .'7.  Why 
the  first  efforts  of,  ill-directed,  38.  The  good 
effects  nevertheless  of  the  spirit  of  inquiry  ex- 
erted, 39.  How  checked  in  its  progress,  ib. 
Its  influence  on  manners  and  government,  ib. 

Z4turgv,  the  preference  between  the  Musarabic 
and  Romish,  how  ascertained  in  Spain,  539. 

Lombards,  the  first  bankers  in  Europe,  555  The 
motive  of  their  exacting  exorbitant  interest,  ib. 
Vol.  IT.— 74 


London,  its  flourishing  state  at  the  time  of  Henry 
II  ,  527. 

Louis  le  Gros,  of  France,  his  inducement  to  grant: 
privileges  to  towns  within  his  own  domains,  20. 
See  Charters. 

,  St.,  the  great  attention  he  paid  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  in  appeals  which  came 
before  him,  545. 

X.  of  France,  his  ordonnances  in  favour 

of  civil  liberty,  23. 

XI.  of  Fiance,  his  character,  48.     His 

schemes  lor  depressing  the  nobility,  ib.  Sows 
divisions  among  them,  ib.  Increases  the  stand- 
ing forces, .49.  Enlarges  the  revenues  of  the 
crown,  ib.  His  address  in  overruling  the  as- 
sembly of  states,  ib.  Extends  the  bounds  of 
the  French  monarchy,  ib.  The  activity  of  his 
external  operations,  50.  His  treacherous  base- 
ness towards  the  heiress  of  Burgundy,  51,  52. 
The  effects  of  his  conduct,  52. 

XII.,  his  hesitation  in  carrying  on  tnr 

against  the  pope,  62,  note.  Asserts  his  right  to 
the  dutchy  of  Milan,  and  retains  Ludovico 
Sforza  in  prison,  67 

Manfved,  his  struggles  for  the  crown  of  Naples,  65. 

Mankind,  the  most  calamitous  period  in  the  his- 
tory of,  pointed  out,  10,  11. 

Manners,  the  barbarity  of,  under  the  feudal  esta 
blishments,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman 
empire,  14.  When  they  began  to  improve,  15. 
Effects  of  the  crusades  on,  17,  18.  How  im- 
proved by  the  enfranchisement  of  cities,  22. 
How  improved  by  the  erection  of  royal  courts 
of  justice,  in  opposition  to  the  barons'  courts, 
33.  Effects  of  the  revival  of  the  Roman  law 
on,  35.  The  beneficial  tendency  of  the  spirit 
of  chivalry  on,  37.  How  influenced  by  the 
progress  of  science,  ib.  How  polished  by  the 
revival  of  commerce,  41. 

Manumission,  particulars  included  in  the  charters 
of,  granted  to  husbandmen  or  slaves,  528.  The 
form  of,  529. 

Maximilian,  archduke  of  Austria,  married  to 
Mary,  heiress  of  Burgundy,  52.  The  influence 
of  this  match  on  the  state  of  Europe,  ib. 

,  emperor,   institutes  the  imperial 

chamber,  83.     Reforms  the  Aulic  council,  ib. 

Medici,  Cosmo  di,  the  first  of  the  name,  the  in- 
fluence he  acquired  in  Florence,  64. 

Milan,  the  state  of  the  dutchy  of,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixteenth  century,  66.  Rise 
and  progress  of  the  disputes  concerning  the 
succession  to,  ib. 

Mind,  the  human,  a  view  of,  under  the  first  esta- 
blishment of  the  feudal  policy  in  Europe,  14. 
The  era  of  its  ultimate  depression,  and  com- 

•  mencement  of  its  improvement,  15.  The  pro- 
gress of  its  operations,  before  the  full  exertion 
of  it,  38,  39. 

Minister) ales,  a  class  of  the  Oblati,  or  voluntai y 
slaves,  the  pious  motives  of  the  obligations  they 
entered  into,  530. 

Moors,  make  a  conquest  of  Spain,  68.  By  what 
means  weaketied  during  their  establishment 
there,  ib  Remarks  on  their  conduct  itiSpaiu,ii!i. 

Municipal  privileges,  how  obtained  by  the  cities 
of  Italy,  520.  Secured  to  them  by  the  treaty 
of  Constance,  522.  The  favourite  state  of, 
under  the  Roman  government,  525. 

Naples,  a  view  of  the  constitution  of  that  king- 
dom at  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  64.  The  turbulent.  Unsettled  stale  of 
that  kingdom,  65  Slate  of  the  disputes  con- 
cerning the  succession  of  the  crown  of,  ib. 
The  pretensions  of  the  French  and  Spanish 
monarchs  to  the  crown  of,  ib. 

Narbonnc,  community  of,  preamble  to  tlie  writ 
of  summons  of  Philip  tie  Long  to.  527,  588. 

Navigation,  proof  of  the  imperfoft  state  of, 
during  the  middle  ages.  556. 


-BO 


INDEX. 


Netherlands,  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  manu- 
factures of  licmp  and  flax  more,  on  the  revival 
of  commerce  in  Europe,  41. 

»Vor ma/is,  .wuy  so  lew  traces  ol  their  usages  and 
language  to  be  found  nEn.la  id,  in  comparison 
with  those  of  tne  Saxons,  501. 

Oblati,  or  voluntary  slaves,  the  classes  of,  speci- 
fied, 530. 

Ordeal,  methods  of  trial  by,  during  the  middle 
ages,  28.  The  influence  o,  superstition  in  Ro- 
tating these  means,  ib. 

Otto,  Frisiiigensis,  Ins  account  of  the  stale  of 
Italy  under  Frederic  I.,  5-21. 

Ottoman  empire,  the  origin  a  id  despotic  nature 
of,  86.  Becomes  formidable  to  the  Christian 
powers,  88. 

Papacy-     See  Popedom. 

Paper,  when  first  made  of  the  present  materials, 
516. 

Paris,  an  inquiry  into  the  pre-eminent  jurisdiction 
of  its  parliament  over  the  other  parliaments  of 
France,  79.  Its  origin  traced,  570.  The  royal 
edicts  registered  by,  before  admitted  to  be  laws. 
571. 

Parliaments,  or  legislative  assemblies,  how  form 
ed  under  the  feudal  policy,  22.  How  altered 
by  the  progress  of  civil  liberty,  ib. 

People,  their  wretched  servile  state  under  the 
feudal  system,  13.  23.  Released  from  their 
slavish  state  by  the_ enfranchisement  of  cities, 
22.  How  they  obtained  a  representation  in 
national  councils,  ib.  Those  who  lived  in  the 
country  and  cultivated  the  ground,  an  inquiry 
into  their  condition  under  the  feudal  policy,  512. 

Persia,  murder  in,  how  punished  there,  542. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  excites  the  European  princes 
to  undertake  the  Holy  War,  16. 

IV.  king  of  Arragou,  defeats  the  leaders 

of  the  Arragonese  union,  and  destroys  the  pri- 
vilege of  these  associations,  560. 

Philip  the  Long,  preamble  to  liis  writ  of  summons 
to  the  community  of  iVarbinne,  527,  52S. 

Philosophy,  cultivated  by  the  Arabians,  when 
lost  in  Europe,  550, 551.  Its  progress  from  them 
into  Europe,  551. 

Pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land,  when  first  un- 
dertaken, 16.  See  Crusades  and  Peter  the 
Hermit. 

Placcntia,  council  of,  the  Holy  War  resolved  on 
by,  16.     See  Peter  the  Hermit  and  Crusades. 

Plunder,  how  divided  among  the  ancient  northern 
nations,  12  Illustrated  in  an  anecdote  of  CIo- 
vis,  507. 

Popedom,  the  highest  dignity  in  Europe  at  the 
commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  59. 
Origin  and  progress  of  the  papal  power,  it. 
The  territories  of  the  popes  unequal  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  spiritual. jurisdiction,  60.  Their 
authority  in  their  own  territories  extremely 
limited,  ib.  The  check  they  received  from  the 
JRoinan  barons,  ib.  Nicholas  Rienzo  attempts 
to  establish  a  democratical  government  in 
Home,  and  to  destroy  the  papal  jurisdiction,  61. 
The  papal  authority  considerably  strengthened 
by  the  popes  Alexander  VI.  and  Julius  II.,  ib. 
See  Julius  II.  The  permanent  nature,  of  ec- 
clesiastical dominion,  ib.  The  civil  adminis- 
tration of,  not  uniform  or  consistent,  ib  Rome 
the  school  of  political  intrigue  during  the  six- 
teenth century,  62.  The  advantages  derived 
from  the  union  of  spiritual  and  temporal  au- 
thority, ib.  A  view  of  the  contests  between 
the  popes  and  the  emperors  of  Germany,  81. 

Populousncss  of  the  ancient  northern  nations,  an 
inquiry  into,  8 

Priscus,  extract  from  his  account  of  the  Roman 
embassy  to  Attila  king  of  the  Huns,  500. 

Procopius,  his  account  of  the  cruel  devastations 
made  by  the  irruption  of  the  northern  nations, 
501.  502.  "  ' 


Property,  the  possession  of,  bow  secured  by  the 

French  charters  oi  communities,  522. 
Proveditori,  in  the  Venetian  policy,  tlieir  oflice,63. 

Religion,  how  corrupted  by  the  northern  nations 
estabtislied  in  Europe  under  Hie  leudai  policy, 
14.  Us  iurJucnce  in  freeing  mankind  from  the 
feudal  servitude,  529. 

licpledging,  the  right  of,  in  the  law  of  Scotland, 
explained,  544. 

Reproach,  vvoids  >f,  the  ancient  Swedish  law  of 
satisfaction  for,  538. 

Revenues,  royal,  very  small  undei  the  feudal  po- 
licy, 43.     Uy  wuai  means  in  leased,  56. 

Rhine,  origin  and  intention  of  the  leag  ie  of,  537. 

Rienzo,  Nicholas,  endeavours  to  rescue  Rome 
from  the  papal  authority,  and  esi  :b!ish  a  demo- 
cratical form  of  government  there,  61. 

Robbers,  the  a  lathema  pronounced  against  them 
during  the  middle  ages,  554. 

Rodulph  of  Hapsburgh,  how  he  attained  election 
to  tne  empire  of  Germany,  82. 

Romans,  an  inquiry  into  those  advantages  which 
enabled  them  to  conquer  the  rest  ol  Europe,  7. 
The  improvements  they  communicated  in  re- 
turn for  their  conquests,  ib.  The  disadvantages 
the  provinces  laboured  under,  from  their  do- 
minion, ib.  Their  empire  overturned  by  the 
irruption  of  the  barbarous  nations,  8.  The 
concurrent  causes  of  their  ruin,  9.  A  compa- 
rison drawn  between  them  and  the  northern 
nations,  10.  All  the  civil  arts  established  by 
them  obliterated,  ib.  The  monuments  of  their 
arts  industriously  destroyed  by  their  barbarous 
invaders,  38. 

Rome,  papal.     See  Popedom. 

Royal  truce,  an  account  of,  534. 

Salic  laws,  the  manner  tn  which  they  were  en- 
acted, 565. 

Sazons,  why  so  many  traces  of  their  laws,  lan- 
guage, and  customs  to  be  found  in  England, 
501.  Inquiry  into  their  laws  for  putting  an 
end  to  private  wars,  535,  536 

Science,  the  revival  and  progress  of,  how  far  in- 
strumental in  civilizing  the  nations  of  Europe, 
37.  A  summary  view  of  the  revival  and  pro- 
gress of,  in  Europe,  550. 

Sforza,  Francis,  the  foundation  of  his  pretensions 
to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  67.  Is  murdered  by 
his  uncle  Ludovico,  ib. 

Ludovico,  his  private  views  in  engaging 

Charles  VIII.  of  France  to  invade  Italy,  53. 
See  Charles  VIII.  Murders  his  nephew  Fran- 
cis, and  seizes  Milan,  67.  Is  stripped  of  his 
dominions  by  Louis  XII.  of  France,  and  dies 
in  prison,  ib. 

Shipwrecks,  the  right  lords  of  manors  claim  to, 
whence  derived,  553. 

Silk,  the  rarity  of,  and  the  high  price  it  bore  in 
ancient  Rome,  remarked,  554.  The  breeding 
of  silk-worms,  when  introduced  into  Greece,  ib. 

Slanes,  letters  of,  in  the  law  of  Scotland,  what, 
542 

Slaves,  under  the  feudal  policy,  their  wretched 
state,  512,  513.  Oblati,  or  voluntary  slaves, 
the  several  classes  of,  530 

Society,  civil,  the  rude  state  of,  under  the  feudal 
establishments  after  the  downfalof  the  Roman 
empire,  14.  The  influence  of  the  crusades  on, 
17.  How  improved  by  the  establishment  of 
municipal  communities,  19.  The  effects  the 
enfranchisements  of  the  people  had  on,  23. 
Private  wars,  how  destructive  to,  24.  These 
intestine  hostilities,  how  suppressed,  26.  The 
administration  of  justice  improved  by  the  pro- 
hibition of  judicial  combats,  27.  The  growth 
of  royal  courts  of  justice,  in  opposition  to  the 
barons'  courts,  33.  How  advanced  by  the  re- 
vival of  the  Roman  law,  35.  The  effects  of 
the  spirit  of  chivalry  in  improving,  36.  The 
revival  of  commerce-  and  its  influences,  3T. 


ir>DEX. 


587 


Solyman,  sultan,  Ins  characti  I 
Spain,  a  summary  view  of  its  situation,  at  the 
commencement  of  t lie  fifteenth  century,  42. 
The  power  of  the  crown  of,  how  extended  l>y 
Ferdinand,  50.  National  infantry  established 
in,  55.  Is  conquered  by  the  Vandals,  and  alter 
by  the  Moors,  ti8.  The  empire  of  the  Moors 
in,  how  weakened,  ib.  Rise  of  the  kingdoms 
of  Casiile  and  Arragon,  ib.  Their  union  into 
the  Spanish  monarchy.  60.  The  ancient  cus- 
toms still  retained  amidst  all  its  evolutions,  ib. 
Peculiarities  in  its  constitution  and  laws  re- 
marked, ib.  See  Jirragon  and  Castile.  Va- 
rious causes  which  coniubuted  to  limit  the 
legal  power  in,  73.  The  cities  of  how  they 
attained  their  consideration  and  power,  74. 
The  schemes  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  to 
(  xalt  the  regal  power,  ib.  The  grand  master- 
ships ol  the  three  orders  annexed  to  tile  crown, 
75.  The  association  of  the  Holy  Brotherhood, 
on  what  occasion  formed,  76.  Tile  tendency 
of  this  association  to  abridge  the  territorial 
jurisdictions  of  the  barons,  ib.  The  cruel  de- 
vastations made  by  the  Vandals  in  the  invasion 
of  that  province,  501.  When  the  cities  of,  ac- 
quired municipal  privileges,  527.  The  long 
continuance  of  the  practice  of  private  wars 
there,  536.  The  total  annual  revenue  of  the 
nobility,  in  the  time  of  Charles  V.,  562.  An 
inquiry  into  the  origin  of  communities  or  free 
nties  in,  ib. 

St.  Jago,  tile  military  order  of,  when  and  on  what 
occasion  instituted,  503. 

Standing  armies.     See  Armies. 

states  general  of  France,  causes  which  rendered 
their  authority  imperfect,  76.  When  they  lost 
their  legislative  authority,  77.  When  first  as- 
sembled, 570.  The  form  of  proceeding  in 
them,  ib. 

Stephen,  earl  of  Chartres  and  Blois,  his  account 
of  the  progress  of  the  Crusaders,  518. 

Stiernhook,  his  account  of  the  ancient  Swedish 
law  of  satisfaction  for  words  of  reproach, 
538. 

Stranger*,  in  what  light  considered,  and  how 
Heated  during  the  middle  ages,  and  under  the 
feudal  policy,  553. 

Sugar  canes,  when  first  brought  from  Asia  into 
Europe,  and  thence  carried  to  America,  554, 

Sultans,  Turkish,  their  despotic  power,  86.    How 

nevertheless  limited,  87. 
Superstition,  its  influence  in  the  legal  proceedings 

during  the  middle  ages,  27. 
Swiss,  the  superior  discipline  of  their  troops,  in 

.he  fifteenth  century,  55.     Teach  other  nations 

the  advantages  of  infantry  over  cavalry,  ib. 

Tacitus,  his  account  of  the  ancient  Germans 

compared  with  that  of  Ca:sar,  504. 
Tenures,  feudal,  the  origin  of,  12.     See  Feudal 

System  and  JawiI. 
Theology,  scholastic,  the  first  literary  pursuits  at 

the  revival  of  learning  in  F.urope,  38. 
Truce  of  Ood,  an  account  of,  534. 
1'nrkey,  origin  of  its  government.  86.    The  de- 


spoiic  genius  oi  this  government,  ib.  No  he- 
reditary nobility  in,  577.  The  authority  of  the 
sultans,  how  checked,  8< .  Origin  of  the  Jani- 
zaries, ib  Becomes  .ormidable  to  the  Chris- 
tian princes,  88. 

Union  of  the  Arragonese  nobles  to  control  the 
undue  exercise  oi  regal  power,  explained,  559. 
This  privilege  abrogated  by  Peter  IV.,  560. 

Universities,  the  first  establishment  of,  in  Eu- 
rope, 551. 

Vandals,  their  cruel  devastations  in  the  invasion 
of  Spain,  501.  The  havoc  made  by  them  in 
Africa,  501,  502.    See  troths. 

Vassals,  under  the  feudal  system,  a  view  of  their 
slavish  condition,  13.  23.  How  they  obtained 
enfranchisement,  23.  How  anciently  distin- 
guished from  In  emeu,  507 — 512.  Their  wretch- 
ed state  under  their  feudal  masters,  512,  513. 

Venice,  the  long  duration  oi  its  civil  constitution, 
and  its  flourishing  state  at  the  time  of  the  league 
of  Cambray,  56,  57.  Its  possessions  dismem 
bered  by  the  conlederaies,  57.  Dissolves  tho 
confederacy,  ib.  Its  rise  and  progress,  63. 
Defects  in  its  constitution,  ib.  The  excellency 
of  its  naval  institutions,  64.  Its  extensive  com- 
merce, ib. 

Visconti,  rise  of  the  family  of,  in  Milan,  60. 

War,  a  comparison  between  the  manner  of  car 
tying  on,  by  barbarous  and  by  civilized  na- 
tions, 10.  How  rendered  feeble  in  its  operations 
by  the  feudal  policy,  13.  The  protession  of 
arms  the  most  honourable  in  uncivilized  na- 
tions, 35.  The  rise  of  standing  armies  traced, 
46.  By  what  means  standing  forces  became 
general,  54.  The  superioriiy  of  infantry  in, 
how  taught,  55. 

Wars,  private,  for  the  redressing  personal  inju- 
ries, under  the  feudal  policy,  an  inquiry  into, 
25.  Melhods  taken  to  abolish  this  hostile  prac- 
tice, 26.  Judicial  combat  prohibited,  27.  In- 
quiry into  the  sources  of  these  customs,  531. 
Who  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  exercising,  ib. 
On  what  occasions  undertaken,  531, 532.  Who 
included,  or  bound  to  engage  in  these  disputes, 
532.  Who  excluded  from  undertaking,  ib. 
The  cruel  manner  of  prosecuting  them,  ib.  A 
chronological  account  of  the  expedients  made 
use  of  to  suppress  them,  533.  Truce  of  God, 
an  account  of,  Brotherhood  of  God,  an  account 
of,  534.  Royal  Truce,  what,  ib.  Saxon  laws 
of  England  for  putting  an  end  to  them,  5:15, 536. 
The  obstinate  attachment  of  the  Spaniards  to 
this  practice,  536.  The  calamities  occasioned 
in  Germany  by,  537. 

Welsh,  ancient,  strangers  killed  with  impunity 
by  them.  553. 

Wi'lla,  widow  of  duke  Hugo,  extract  from  her 
charter  of  manumission,  granted  to  Cleriza. 
one  of  her  slaves,  529. 

Willermus,  archbishop  of  Tyre,  his  account  of 
Constantinople,  520. 

Wittikindus,  abbot,  his  testimony  in  favour  of 
the  judicial  combat,  540. 


INDEX 


REIGN  OF  THE  EMPEROR  CHARLES  V. 


ABSOLUTION,  the  form  of  that  used  by  father 
Tetzel  in  Germany,  126,  note. 

Adorm,  the  faction  of,  assists  the  imperial  general 
Colonna  in  the  reduction  of  Genoa,  157. 

Adrian,  of  Utrecht,  made  preceptor  to  Charles  V. 
under  William  de  Croy,  lord  of  Chievres,  98. 
His  character,  ib.  Sent  by  Ciiarles  with  power 
to  assume  the  regency  of  Castile  on  the  death 
of  bis  grandfather,  101.  Hi?  claim  admitted 
by  cardinal  Ximenes,  and  executed  in  conjunc- 
tion, ib.  Authorized  hy  Charles  to  bold  the 
Cortes  of  Valencia,  which  refuses  to  assemble 
before  him,  118.  Made  viceroy  of  Castile  on 
the  departure  of  Charles  for  Germany,  110. 
His  election  remonstrated  against  by  the  Casti- 
lians,  ib.  Is  chosen  pope,  156.  Retrospect  of 
his  conduct  in  Spain  during  the  absence  of 
Charles,  161.  Sends  Ronquiilo  to  reduce  the 
Segovians,  who  repulse  him,  ib.  Sends  Fon- 
seca  to  besiege  the  city,  who  is  repulsed  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Medina  del  Campo,  ib.  Apolo- 
gizes for  Fonseca's  conduct  to  the  people,  162. 
Recalls  Fonsera,  and  dismisses  his  troops,  ib. 
His  authority  disclaimed  hy  the  holy  Junta,  163. 
Deprived  of  power  by  them,  164.  His  ill  re- 
ception on  his  arrival  at  Rome  on  being  chosen 
to  the  papacy,  174.  Restores  the  territories 
acquired  by  his  predecessor,  175.  Labouisto 
unite  the  contending  powers  of -Europe,  ib. 
Publishes  a  hull  for  a  three  years'  truce  among 
them,  ib.  Accedes  to  the  league  against  the 
French  king,  ib.  His  death,  179  The  senti- 
ments and  behaviour  of  the  people  on  that  oc- 
casion, ib.  A  retrospect  of  his  conduct  towards 
the  reformers,  183.  His  brief  to  the  diet  of 
Nuremberg,  ib.  Receives  a  list  of  grievances 
from  the  diet,  184.  His  conduct  to  the  reformers, 
how  esteemed  at  Rome,  185. 

Africa,  the  Spanish  troops  sent  by  cardinal 
Ximenes  against  Barharossa,  defeated  there, 
105. 

Aifrucs  Mortes,  interview  between  the  emperor 
Charles  and  Francis  there,  274. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  emperor  Charles  crowned 
there,  124.  Ferdinand  his  brother  crowned 
king  of  the  Romans  there,  238. 

Alarcon,  Don  Ferdinand,  Francis  I.  of  France, 
taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  committed 
to  his  custody,  193.  Conducts  Francis  to  Spain 
197.  Delivers  up  Francis  in  pursuance  of  the 
treaty  of  Madrid.  204.  Is  sent  ambassador  to 
Francis  to  require  the  fulfilment  of  his  treaty, 
210.  Pope  Clement  VII.,  taken  prisoner  by  the 
imperiatisis,  is  committed  to  his  custody,  218. 

Albany,  .lohn  Stuart,  duke  of  commands  the 
French  army  sent  bv  Francis  I.  to  invade  Na- 
ples, 190 

Albert,  df  Brandenburgh,  grand  master  of  the 
Teutonic  order,  becomes  a  convert  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Luther,  208.  Obtains  of  Sigismund 
king  of  Poland  the  investiture  of  Prussia, 
erected  into  a  dutchy,  ib.  Put  under  the  ban 
of  the  empire,  ib.  His  family  fixed  in  the  in- 
heritance of  Prussia,  ib.  Commands  a  body 
of  troops  in  behalf  of  Maurice  of  Saxony,  but 
endeavours  to  assert  an  independency,  410. 


Defeats  and  takes  the  duke  d' Aumale  prisoner, 
and  joins  the  emperor  at  Metz,  419.  is  con- 
demned by  the  imperial  chamber  for  his  de- 
mands on  the  bishops  of  Bamberg  and  Wurlz 
hiirg,  423.  A  league  formed  against  him,  424. 
Is  defeated  by  Maurice,  ib.  Is  again  defeated 
hy  Henry  of  Brunswick,  425.  Is  driven  out  of 
Germany,  and  dies  in  exile; 'ib.  His  territories 
restored  to  his  collateral  heirs,  ib. 

Albert,  (lector  of  Mentz,  the  publication  of  in- 
dulgences in  Germany  committed  to  him,  125. 

Alexander  VI.  pope,  remarks  on  the  pontificate 
of,  136. 

Alexander  di  Medici.     See  Afnlici. 

Algiers,  how  it  was  seized  by  Barharossa,  252, 
253.  Is  seized  by  the  brother  of  the  same 
name,  on  the  de3th  of  the  former,  253.  Is 
taken  under  the  protection  of  the  Porte,  ib. 
Is  governed  hy  Hascen  Aga  in  the  absence  of 
Barharossa,  298.  Is  besieged  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V  ,  2<t9,  300.  Charles  forced  to  re- 
embark  by  bad  weather,  302. 

Alrasckid,  brother  of  Muley-Hascen  king.of  Tu- 
nis, solicits  the  protection  of  Barbarossa  against 
him,  254.  His  treacherous  treatment  by  Bar 
barossa,  ib. 

Alva,  duke  of,  adheres  to  Ferdinand  of  Arragon, 
in  his  dispute  with  the  archduke  Philip  con- 
cerning the  regency  of  Castile,  92.  Forces  the 
dauphin  to  abandon  the  siege  of  Perpienan, 
305  Presides  at  the  court-martial  which  con- 
demns the  elector  Of  Saxony  to  dentil,  364. 
Detains  the  landgrave  prisoner  by  the  emperor's 
order,  368.  Commands  under  the  emperor  the 
army  destined  against  France,  419.  Is  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  in  Piedmont,  440. 
Enters  the  ecclesiastical  territories  and  sei/.e- 
the  Campagna  Romana,  461.  Concludes  a 
truce  with  the  pope,  462.  Negotiates  a  peace 
between  Philip  and  the  pope,  with  cardinal 
Caraffa,  472.  Gees  to  Rome  to  aak  pardon  of 
the  pope  for  his  hostilities,  ib.  Is  Bent  to  Paris 
in  the  name  of  Philip  to  espouse  the  princess 
Elizabeth,  (£8. 

.i ,ni  rstorff,  a  nobleman  of  Holland,  associated 
by  Charles  V.  with  cardinal  Ximenes.  in  the 
regency  of  Castile,  104. 

Anabaptists,  the  origin  of  that  sect  deduced,  346 
Their  principal  tenets,  ib.  Their  settlement  at 
Minister,  ib.  Character  of  their  principal 
leaders,  ib.  They  seize  the  city  of  Minister, 
ib.  They  establish  a  new  form  of  government 
there,  ib.  Choose  Boccold  king,  247.  Their 
licentious  practices  JIT,  248.  A  confederacy 
of  the  German  princes  formed  against  them, 
249.  Are  blockaded  m  Minister  by  the  bishop, 
ib.  The  city  taken,  and  meat  slaughter  made 
of  them,  ib.  Their  king  put  to  death.  850, 
Character  of  the  sect  since  that  period,  ib. 
See   Matthias  and  Boccold. 

Ingleria,  his  authority  cited  in  proof  of  the  ex- 
tortions of  the  Flemish  ministers  of  Charles 
V.,  109. 

Anhalt.  prince  of,  avows  the  ooinions  of  Martin 
Luther,  183. 

AnnatB,  to  the  conrt  of  Rome.  what.  141 


INDEX. 


>8» 


■  ii<nt>on,  how  Ferdinand  became  possessed  of 
that  Kingdom,  89.  The  Cortes  of,  acknow- 
ledges the  archduke  Philip  s  title  to  the  crown, 
90.  Ancient  enmity  between  this  kingdom  and 
Castile,  91.  Navarre  added  to  this  crown  by 
the  arts  ot  Ferdinand,  97.  Arrival  of  Charles 
V.,  109.  The  Cortes  not  allowed  to  assemble 
in  his  name,  110.  The  refractory  behaviour 
of  the  Arragonians,  ib.  They  refuse  restitu- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  ib.  Don  John 
Lanuza  appointed  regent,  on  the  departure  of 
Charles  tbi  Germany,  119.  Who  composes  the 
disturbances  there,  173.  The  moderation  of 
Charles  towards  the  insurgents  on  bis  arrival 
in  Spain,  174.     See  Spain. 

Ardres,  an  interview  between  Francis  1.  and 
Henry  Vlll.  of  England,  123. 

Asturias,  Charles,  sou  of  Philip  and  Joanna, 
acknowledged  prince  of,  by  the  Cortes  of  Cas- 
tile, 95. 

.liin.ihurrr,  a  diet  called  there  by  Charles  V.,  236. 
His  public  entry  into  that  city,  ib.  The  con- 
fession of  faith  named  from  this  city,  drawn 
up  by  Melancthon,  237.  Resolute  behaviour 
of  the  protesiant  princes  at,  ib.  Its  form  of 
government  violently  altered,  and  rendered 
submissive  to  the  emperor,  371  The  diet  again 
assembled  there,  372.  Is  intimidated  by  being 
surrounded  by  the  emperor's  Spanish  troops, 
ib.  The  emperor  re-establishes  the  Romish 
worship  in  the  churches  of,  ib.  The  diet,  by 
the  emperor's  order,  petitions  the  pope  for  the 
return  of  the  council  to  Trent,  375.  A  system 
of  theology  laid  before  the  diet  by  the  emperor, 
:t77.  The  archbishop  of  Mentz  declares,  with- 
out authority,  the  diet's  acceptance  of  it,  ib. 
The  diet  re-assembled  there,  385.  The  diet 
takes  part  with  the  emperor  against  the  city  of 
Magdeburg,  388.  Is  seized  by  Maurice  of  Sax- 
ony, 405.  Another  diet  at,  opened  by  Ferdi- 
nand, 443.  Cardinal  Morone  attends  the  diet 
as  the  pope's  nuncio,  ib.  Morone  departs  on 
the  pope's  death,  444.  Recess  of  the  diet  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  445.  Remarks  on  this 
recess,  447. 

Avila,  a  convention  of  the  malecontents  in  Spain 
held  there,  162.  A  confederacy,  termed  the 
holy  Junta,  formed  there,  163.  Which  dis- 
claims the  authority  of  Adrian,  ib.  The  holy 
Junta  removed  to  Tordesiilas,  ib.     See  Junta. 

Austria,  by  what  means  the  house  of,  became  so 
formidable  in  Germany,  219.  The  extraordi- 
nary acquisitions  of  the  house  of,  in  the  person 
of  the  emperor  Charles  V..  489.  490. 

Batbarossa,  Home,  his  rise  to  the  kingdom  of 
Algiers  and  Tunis,  105.  Defeats  he  Spanish 
troops  sent  against  him  by  cardinal  Ximenes, 
ib.  His  parentage,  252.  Commences  pirate 
with  his  brother  Hayradin,  ib.  How  he  ac- 
quired possession  of  Algiers,  ib.  Infests  the 
coast  of  Spain,  253.  Is  reduced  and  killed  by 
Comares  the  Spanish  governor  of  Oran,  ib. 

,  Hayradin,  brother  to  the  former  of 

the  same  name,  takes  possession  of  Algiers  on 
his  brother's  death,  253.  Puts  his  dominions 
under  the  protection  of  the  Grand  Signior,  ib. 
Obtains  the  command  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  ib. 
ilis  treacherous  treatment  of  Alraschid,  bro- 
ther to  the  king  of  Tunis,  254.  Seizes  Tunis, 
ib.  Extends  his  depredations  by  sea,  ib.  Pre 
pares  to  resist  the  emperor's  armament  against 
iiim,  255.  Goletta  and  his  fleet  taken,  256. 
Is  defeated  by  Charles,  ib.  Tunis  taken,  257. 
M  akes  a  descent  on  Italy,  309.  Burns  Rheggio, 
ib.  Besieges  Nice  in  conjunction  with  the 
French,  but  is  forced  to  retire,  ib.  Is  dismissed 
by  Francis,  314. 

Barbanj,  a  summary  view  of  the  revolution  of, 
252.  Its  division  into  independent  kingdoms, 
ib.    Rise  of  the  piratical  states,  ib.    See  Bar- 

ftflflMM. 


Barcelona,  the  public  entry  of  the  emperor  Charles 
V.  into  that  city  as  its  count,  233.  The  treaties 
of  Charles  with  the  Italian  states  published 
there,  234. 

Bayard,  chevalier,  his  character,  151.  His  gal- 
lant defence  of  Meziers,  besieged  by  the  impe- 
rialist:-, ib  Obliges  Iheui  to  ituse  the  siege,  ib. 
His  noble  behaviour  at  his  death,  181.  His 
respectful  funeral,  182. 

Bcllay,  M .,  his  erroneous  account  of  the  educa- 
tion tif  Charles  V.  corrected,  98,  note  His 
account  of  the  disastious  retreat  of  the  empe- 
ror Charles  V.  from  his  invasion  of  Provence. 
269. 

Bible,  a  translation  of,  undertaken  by  Martin 
Luther,  and  its  effects  in  opening  the  eyes  of 
the  people,  182. 

Btocca,  battle  of,  between  Colonna  and  mareschal 
Lautrec,  157. 

Buccold,  or  Beukels,  John,  a  journeyman  tailor, 
becomes  a  leader  of  the  anabaptists  at  Munster, 
246.  Succeeds  Matthias  in  the  direction  of 
their  affairs,  247.  His  enthusiastic  extrava- 
gances, ib.  Is  chosen  king,  248.  Marries  four- 
teen wives,  ib.  Beheads  one  o;  them,  249.  Is 
put  to  a  cruel  death  at  the  taking  of  Munster, 
250.     'See  Anabaptists. 

Bohemia,  the  archduke  Ferdinand  chosen  king 
of,  219.  Ferdinand  encroaches  on  the  liberties 
of  the  Bohemians,  371.  The  Reformation  in- 
troduced by  John  lluss  and  Jerome  of  Prague, 
ib.    Raise  an  army  to  no  purpose,  ib. 

Bologna,  an  interview  between  the  emperor 
Charles  V.  and  pope  Clement  VII.  there,  233. 
Another  meeting  between  them  there,  241. 

Bonnivet,  admiral  of  France,  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  invasion  of  Milan,  178.  His  charac- 
ter, ib.  Enables  Cotonna  to  defend  the  city  of 
Milan  by  his  imprudent  delay,  178, 179.  Forced 
to  abandon  the  Milanese,  181.  Is  wounded, 
and  his  army  defeated  by  the  imperialists,  ib. 
Stimulates  Francis  to  an  invasion  of  the  Mi- 
lanese, 188.  Advises  Francis  to  besiege  Pavia, 
189  Advises  him  to  give  battle  to  Bourbon, 
who  advanced  to  the  relief  of  Pavia,  191.  Is 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  192. 

Bouillon,  Robert  de  la  Marck,  lord  of,  declares 
war  against  the  emperor  Charles,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Francis,  150.  Is  ordered  by  Francis 
to  disband  his  troops,  151.  His  territories  re- 
duced by  tbe.emperor,  ib. 

Boulogne,  besieged  by  Henry  VUI.  of  England. 
317.    Taken,  320. 

Bourbon,  Charles,  duke  of,  his  character,  176. 
The  causes  of  his  discontent  with  Francis  I% 
ib.  His  duchess  dies,  ib.  Rejects  the  advances 
of  Louise  the  king's  mother,  177.  His  estate 
sequestered  by  her  intrigues,  ib  Negotiates 
secretly  with  the  emperor,  ib.  Is  included  in 
a  treaty  between  the  emperor  and  Henry  VIII. 
of  England,  ib.  Is  taxed  by  the  king  with  be- 
traying him,  which  he  denies,  178.  Escapes  to 
Italy,  ib.  Directs  the  measures  of  the  imperial 
army  under  Lannoy,  181.  Defeats  the  French 
on  the  banks  of  the  Sessia,  ib.  Instigates 
Charles  to  an  invasion  of  France,  186.  Ad- 
vances to  the  relief  of  Pavia,  191.  Defeats 
Francis,  and  takes  him  prisoner,  192.  Hastens 
to  Madrid  to  secure  his  own  interests  in  the  in- 
terview between  Charles  and  Francis,  198. 
His  kind  reception  by  Charles,  199.  Obtains  a 
grant  of  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  and  is  made 
general  of  the  imperial  army,  201.  Obliges 
St'orza  to  surrender  Milan,  211.  Is  forced  to 
oppress  the  Milanese  to  satisfy  his  troops  muti- 
nying for  pay,  213.  Sets  Morone  at  liberty, 
and  makes  him  his  confidant,  ib.  Appoints 
Leyva  governor  of  Milan,  and  advances  to  in- 
vade the  pope's  territories,  214.  His  disap- 
pointed troops  mutiny,  215.  lie  determines  to 
plunder  Rome,  216.  Arrives  at  Rome,  anrl 
assaults  it.  Sll      Is  killed,  ill 


5W 


INDEX. 


Brandenburgh,  elector  of,  avows  the  opinions  of 
Luther,  183. 

,  Albert  of.    See  Albert. 

Bruges,  a  league  concluded  there  between  the 
emperor  and  Henry  V11I.  of  England  against 
Fiance,  152. 

Brunswick,  duke  of,  avows  the  opinions  of  Lu- 
ther, 183 

,  Henry,  duke  of,  driven  from  his  do- 
minions by  the  prolestant  princes  of  the  league 
of  Smalkalde,  312  Raises  men  for  Francis, 
but  employs  them  to  recover  his  own  domin- 
ions, 325.     Is  taken  prisoner,  326. 

Buda,  siege  of,  by  Ferdinand  king  of  the  Romans, 
297.  Is  treacherously  seized  by  sultan  Soly- 
man,  298. 

Cajetan,  cardinal,  the  pope's  legate  in  Germany, 
appointed*  to  examine  the  doctrines  of  Martin 
Luther,  129.  Requires  Luther  peremptorily  to 
retract  his  errors,  130.  Requires  the  elector  of 
Saxony  to  surrender  or  banish  Luther,  ib.  His 
conduct  justified,  131. 

Calais,  an  ineffectual  congress  there,  between  the 
emperor  and  Francis,  under  the  mediation  of 
Henry  VIII.,  151.  The  careless  manner  in 
which  it  was  guarded  in  the  reign  of  Mary 
queen  of  England,  474.  Ineffectual  remon- 
strances of  Philip,  and  lord  VVentwortli  the 
governor,  concerning  its  defenceless  state,  474, 
475.  Is  invested  and  taken  by  the  duke  of 
Guise,  475.  The  English  inhabitants  turned 
out,  476.  Stipulations  concerning,  in  the  treaty 
of  Chateau  Cambresis,  485. 

<  timbrcn/,  articles  of  the  peace  concluded  there 
between  the  emperor  Charles  and  Francis  of 
France,  457.    Remarks  on  this  treaty,  458. 

Campc,  peace  of,  between  Henry  VIII.  and 
Francis,  338. 

Campeggio,  cardinal,  made  legate  from  pope  Cle- 
ment VII.  to  the  second  diet  at  Nuremberg, 
185.  Publishes  articles  for  reforming  the  in- 
ferior' clergy,  186.  Advises  Charles  to  rigorous 
measures  against  the  protestants,  237. 

'  apitulation  of  the  Germanic  bod?,  signed  by 
Charles  V.  and  prescribed  to  all  his  successors, 
116. 

<  'araffn,  cardinal,  his  precipitate  election,  448. 

Is  appointed  legate  to  Bologna,  460.  Reasons 
of  his  disgust  with  the  emperor,  ib.  Persuades 
the  pope  to  solicit  an  alliance  with  France 
against  the  emperor,  451.  His  insidious  com- 
mission to  the  court  of  France,  459.  His  public 
entry  into  Paris,  ib.  Exhorts  Henry  to  break 
his  truce  with  the  emperor,  ib.  Absolves 
Henry  from  his  oath,  160.  Negotiates  .'i  peace 
between  the  pope  and  Philip,  with  the  duke 
d'AIva,  472.  The  fate  of  him  and  his  brother 
on  the  death  of  pope  Paul,  488. 

i  'arlvstadius,  imbibes  the  opinions  of  Martin 
Luther,  at  Wittembera,  134.  His  intemperate 
teal,  183.     Awed  by  the  reproofs  of  Lut  Iter,  ib. 

'  nrignan,  besieged  by  the  count  d'Engnicu,  and 
defended    by    the    marquis    do    Guasto,   314. 
Guasto  defeated  in  a  pitched  battle,  ^15.    The 
town  taken,  ib. 
ist  Mo,  marquis  of  Pindeno.    Sec  Piadeno. 

i  'astile,  how  Isabella  became  possessed  of  that 
kingdom,  89.  The  archduke  Philip's  title  ac- 
knowledged by  the  ('ore  sof  that  kingdom,  90 
Isabella  dies,  and  leaves  her  husband  Ferdinand 
of  Arragon  regent,  91.  Ferdinand  resijj  16  the 
crown  of,  ib.  Ferdinand  acknowledged  regent 
)>v  the  Cortes',  ib.  Enmity  between  this  king- 
dom and  Arragon,  ib.  The  particular  dislike 
of  the  Castiliuns  to  Ferdinand,  ib.  The  re- 
gency of,  jointly  vested  in  Ferdinand  Philip, 
and  Joanna,  by  the  treaty  of  Salaniarna,  94. 
Declares  against  Ferdinand,  ib.  Tlie  regency 
of,  resigned  by  Ferdinand  to  Philip,  ib.  Philip 
and  Joanna  acknowledged  king  and  queen  by 
the  Cortes,  95.    Heath  of  Philip,  ib.     The  per- 


plexity of  the  Castilians  on  Joanna's  incapacity 
for  government,  ib.  Ferdinand  gains  the  re- 
gency and  the  good  will  ot  the  Castilians  by 
ilis  prudent  administration,  96.  Uran  anil 
other  places  in  tiarbary  annexed  to  this  king- 
dom by  Ximenes,  97  Ximenes  appointed  re- 
gent by  Ferdinand's  will,  until  the  arrival  of 
Charles  V.,  lOO.  Charles  assumes  the  regal 
title,  101.  Ximenes  procures  its  aoknowledg 
meni,  101,  108.  The  nobility  depressed  by  Xi 
menes,  102.  The  grandees  mutiny  against 
Ximenes,  103.  The  mutiny  suppressed,  ib 
Ximenes  resumes  the  grants  made  by  Fenli 
nand  to  the  nobles,  ib.  The  bold  reply  of  Xi- 
menes to  the  discontented  nobles,  104.  Other 
associates  in  the  regency  appointed  with  Xi- 
menes at  the  instigation  of  the  Flemish  cour- 
tiers, ib.  Ximenes  dies,  108.  Charles  acknow- 
ledged king  by  the  Cortes,  on  his  arrival,  with 
a  reservation  in  favour  of  his  mother  Joanna, 
ib.  The  Castilians  receive  unfavourable  im 
pressions  of  him,  109.  Disgusted  by  his  par- 
tiality to  his  Flemish  ministers,  ib.  Sauvage 
made  chancellor,  ib.  William  de  Croy  ap- 
pointed archbishop  of  Toledo,  ib.  The  prin- 
cipal cities  confederate,  arrd  complain  of  their 
grievances,  110.  The  clergy  of,  refuse  to  levy 
the  tenth  of  benefices  granted  by  the  pope  to 
Charles  V.,  117.  Interdicted,  but  the  interdict 
taken  off  by  Charles's  application,  ib.  An 
insurrection  there,  117,  118  Increase  of  the 
disaffection',  118.  Cardinal  Adrian  appointed 
recent,  on  the  departure  of  Charles  for  Ger- 
many, 119.  The  views  and  pretensions  of  the 
(ominous  in  their  insurrections,  162.  The  con- 
federacy called  the  holy  Junta  formed,  163. 
The  proceedings  of  which  are  carried  on  in  the 
name  of  queen  Joanna,  ib.  Receives  circula- 
tory letters  from  Charles  for  the  insurgents  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  with  promises  of  pardon. 
164.  The  nobles  undertake  to  suppress  the  iu 
surgents,  166.  Raise  an  army  against  them 
under  the  Condi  de  Ilaro,  167.  Haro  gets  pos- 
session of  Joanna,  ib.  Expedients  by  which 
they  raise  money  for  their  troops,  168.  Un- 
willing to  proceed  to  extremities  with  the  Junta, 
ib.  The  army  of  the  Junta  routed,  and  Padilla 
executed",  170.  Dissolution  of  the  Junta,  171. 
The  moderation  of  Charles  towards  the  insur 
gents,  on  his  arrival  in  Spain,  174.  He  acquires 
the  love  of  the  Castilians,  ib.    See  Spain. 

Catharine  of  Arragon,  is  divorced  from  Henry 
VIII.  of  England,  244,    Dies,  276. 

Catharine  a  Boris  a  nun,  dies  from  her  cloister, 
and  marries  Martin  Luther,  207. 

Catharine  di  Medici.     See  Medici. 

Car,i,  peace  concluded  there  between  pope  Paul 
IV.  and  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  472. 

Cer.com  p  ee'.oiiaiionsfor  ("'ace entered  into  there 
between  Philip  II.  of  Spain  and  Henry  II.  of 
France,  481.  The  negotiations  removed  to 
Chateau  Cambresis,  485.    See  Chateau- Cam - 

hi  r'.-',:N. 

Characters  of  men,  rules  for  forming  a  proper 
estimate  of  them,  330.  Applied  to  the  case  of 
Luther,  ib. 

(  hurl ..  IV.,  emperor  of  Germany,  his  observation 
on  the  manners  of  the  clergy,  in  his  letter  to 
the  archbishop  of  Met/..  137J  note. 

Charles  V.,  emperor,  his  descent  and  birth,  89. 
How  he  came  to  possess  such  extensive  dentin 
ions,  ib.  Acknowledged  prineepf  \stnriashy 
the  Cortes  of  Castile,  93  Ilis  father  Philip 
dies.  il>.  Jeal  tusy  and  hatred  of  his  grand 
father  Ferdinand  towards  him,  97.  Left  heir 
to  his  dominions,  98.  Death  of  Ferdinand,  Ib 
His  education  committed  to  William  de  Croj 
lord  of  Chievres  ib.  Adrian  of  Utrecht  ap- 
pointed to  be  Ilis  pri'ceptor,  ib.  The  first  open 
ins  of  his  character. '"'  Assumes  the  govern  ■ 
merit  of  Flanders,  and  attends  to  business-,  ib 

Sends  cardinal  Adrian  to  be  recent  of  Cas|j|,.. 


ItsDEX. 


5n 


wuo  executes  it  jonitiy  with  Ximencs,  100. 
Assumes  the  regal  title,  101.  His  title  admitted 
with  difficulty  by  Uiu  Casliiian  nobility,  ib. 
Persuaded  to  add  associate  regents  to  \iiiienes, 
104.  His  Flemish  court  corrupted  by  the  ava- 
rice of  Chievres,  105.  Persuaded  by  Ximeues 
to  visit  Spaiu,  but  bow  that  journey  is  retarded, 
106.  The  present  slate  o.  nis  ari'airs,  ib.  Con- 
cludes a  peace  at  vo\en  wiiii  Francis  1.  ol 
France,  and  the  co.iditions  of  the  treaty,  ib. 
Arrive^  in  Spain,  107.  His  ungrateful  tieat- 
mem  of  Xuuenes,  108.  "His  public  entry  into 
Valladol.d,  ib.  Is  acknowledged  King  by  tne 
Cortes,  wlio  vote  him  a  free  gift,  ib.  The  i  as- 
tilians  receive  unfavourable  impressions  of 
him,  10:).  Disgusts  them  by  his  parlia.Uy  to 
his  Flemish  ministers,  ib.  Sets  out  far  Arra 
son,  ib.  Sends  his  bruilier  Ferdinand  to  visit 
their  grandfather  Maximilian,  ib.  Cannot  as- 
semble the  Cortes  of  Arragon  in  his  own  name, 
110.  The  opposition  made  by  thai  assembly  to 
his  desires,  ib.  Refuses  the  application  of 
Francis  I.  for  the  restitution  of  the  kingdom  of 
Navarre,  ib.  Neglects  the  remonstrances  of 
the  Castiliaus,  ib.  Death  of  the  emperor  Maxi- 
milian, ib.  View  of  the  present  state  of  Eu- 
rope, 111.  How  Maximilian  was  obstructed 
from  securing  the  empire  to  him,  ib.  Francis 
I.  aspires  to  the  imperial  crown,  ib.  Citcum- 
stances  favourable  to  the  pretensions  of  Charles, 

112.  The  Swiss  cantons  espouse  his  cause, 

113.  Apprehensions  and  conduct  of  pope  Leo 
X.  on  the  occasion,  ib.  Assembling  of  the  diet 
at  Frankfort,  114.  Frederic  duke  of  Saxony 
refuses  the  offer  of  the  empire,  and  votes  for 
him,  114, 115.  And  refuses  the  presents  offered 
by  his  ambassadors,  115.  Concurring  circum- 
stances which  favoured  his  election,  ib.  ■  His 
election,  116.  Signs  and  confirms  the  capitu- 
lation of  the  Germanic  body,  ib.  The  election 
notified  to  him,  ib.  Assumes  the  title  of  ma- 
jesty, ib.  Accepts  the  imperial  dignity  offered 
by  the  count  Palatine,  ambassador  from  the 
elector,  117.  The  clergy  of  Castile  refuse  the 
tenth  of  benefices  granted  him  by  the  pope,  ib. 
Procures  the  interdict  the  kingdom  is  laid  under 
for  refusal  to  be  taken  off,  ib.  Empowers  car- 
dinal Adrian  to  hold  the  Cortes  of  Valencia, 

118.  The  nobles  refuse  to  assemble  without 
his  presence,  ib.  Authorizes  the  insurgents 
there  to  continue  in  arms,  ib.  Summons  the 
Cortes  of  Castile  to  meet  in  Galicia^  ib.  Nar- 
rowly escapes  with  his  Flemish  ministers  from 
an  insurrection  on  that  account,  ib.  Obtains 
a  donative  from  the  Cortes,  119.  Prepares  to 
leave  Spain,  and  appoints  regents,  ib.  Em- 
barks, ib.  Motives  of  this  journey,  ib.  Rise 
of  the  rivalship  between  him  and  Francis  [., 

119,  120.  Courts  the  favour  of  Henry  VIH. 
of  England,  and  his  minister  cardinal  Wolsey, 
122,  123.  Visits  Henry  at  Dover,  123.  Pro- 
mises Wolsey  his  interest  for  the  papacy,  ib. 
Has  a  second  interview  with  Henry  at  Grave- 
lines,  124.  Offers  to  submit  his  differences  with 
Francis  to  Henry's  arbitration,  ib.  His  mag- 
nificent coronation  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  ib. 
Calls  a  diet  at  Worms,  to  check  the  reformers, 
ib.  Causes  which  hindered  his  espousing  the 
party  of  Martin  Luther,  145.  Grants  Luther 
a  safe  conduct  to  the  diet  of  Worms,  ib.  An 
edict  published  against  him,  146.  His  embar- 
rassment at  this  time,  ib.  Concludes  an  alli- 
ance with  the  nope,  149.  The  conditions  of 
the  treaty,  ib.  Death  of  his  minister  Chievres, 
and  its  advantages  to  him,  ib.  Invasion  of 
Navarre  by  Francis,  150.  The  French  driven 
>"it,  and  their  general  I'F.sparre  taken  prisoner, 
ib.  War  declared  against  him  by  Robert  de 
la  Marck,  lord  of  Bouillon,  who  ravasxts  Lux- 
l •mhurg,  lb.  Reduces  Bouillon,  and  invades 
France,  151.  His  demands  at  the  congress  at 
(Jalais,  ib.     Has  an  intcrciew  with  cardinal 


Wolsey  at  Bruges,  and  concludes  u  league  with 
Henry  Vlll.  against  Fiance,  152.  Pope  Leo 
declares  lor  him  against  France,  153, 154.  The 
French  driven  out  of  Milan,  i55.  157.  Visits 
England  in  his  passage  to  Spain,  158.  Culti- 
vates the  good  will  of  i  animal  Wolsey,  and 
creates  the  earl  of  Surry  his  high  admiral,  ib. 
Grants  Hie  island  ot  Malta  to  tue  knights  of  St. 
John,  expelied  from  Kliodes  by  Solyman  the 
magnificent,  15u.  Arrives  in  Spain,  160.  A 
i  etrospect  ot  his  proceedings  in  relation  to  the 
insurrections  in  Spain,  163.  Issues  circulatory 
letters  for  the  insurgents  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  with  promises  ot'  pardon,  164.  His  pru- 
dent moderation  towards  the  insuigents,  on  his 
arrival  in  Spam,  174.  Acquires  the  love  of 
the  Castilians,  ib.  Enters  into  a  league  with 
Charles  duke  of  Bourbon,  177.  Why  he  did 
not  endeavour  to  get  Wolsey  elected  pope,  179. 
Invades  Guienne  and  Burgundy,  but  without 
success,  180.  His  troops  in  Milan  mutiny  for 
want  of  pay,  but  are  pacified  by  Moronfi,  181. 
Undertakes  "an  invasion  of  Provence,  186. 
Orders  Pescara  to  besiege  Marseilles,  187. 
Pescara  obliged  to  retire,  ib.  Disconcerted  by 
the  French  overrunning  the  Milanese  again, 
189.  The  revenues  of  Naples  mortgaged  to 
raise  money,  ib.  His  troops  defeat  Francis, 
and  take  him  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pavia, 
192.  "His  art'ected  moderation  at  leceiving  the 
news,  193.  Ava'ls  himself  of  a  treaty  con- 
cluded between  Lannoy  and  pope  Clement,  but 
refuses  to  ratify  it,  195.  His  army  in  Pavia 
mutiny,  and  are  obliged  to  bo  disbanded,  ib. 
His  deliberations  on  the  proper  improvement 
of  his  advantages,  196.  His  propositions  to 
Francis,  ib.  After  many  delays  grants  Sforza 
the  investiture  of  Milan,  197.  Morone's  in- 
trigues betrayed  to  him  by  Pescara,  199.  Orders 
Pescara  to  continue  his  negotiations  with  Mo- 
rone,  ib.  His  rigorous  treatment  of  Francis, 
200.  Visits  Francis,  ib.  His  kind  reception  of 
the  duke  of  Bourbon,  200,  201.  Grants  Bour- 
bon the  dutchy  of  Milan,  and  appoints  him 
general-in-chief  of  the  army  there,  201.  Fruit- 
less negotiations  for  the  delivery  of  Francis,  ib. 
Treaty  of  Madrid  with  Francis,  202.  Delivers 
up  Francis,  204.  Marries  Isabella  of  Portugal, 
ib.  An  alliance  formed  against  him  at  Cognac, 
209.  Sends  ambassadors  to  Francis  to  require 
the  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  210. 
Prepares  for  war  against  Francis,  211.  Tin; 
pope  reduced  to  an  accommodation  with  him, 
213.  The  exhausted  state  of  his  finances,  ib. 
His  troops  under  Bourbon  distressed  and  muti- 
nous for  want  of  pay,  ib.  Bourbon  assaults 
Rome  and  is  slain,  but  the  city  taken,  217.  The 
Prince  of  Orange,  general  on  Bourbon's  death, 
takes  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  the  pope 
prisoner,  218  The  emperor's  conduct  on  that 
occasion,  219.  His  dissensions  with  the  popp, 
how  far  favourable  to  the  reformation,  220. 
His  instructions  to  the  diet  at  Spires,  ib.  His 
manifesto  against  the  pope,  and  letter  to  the 
cardinals,  ib.  France  and  England  league 
against  him,  220,  221.  Is  refused  supplies  by 
the  Cortes  of  Castile,  223.  Delivers  the  pope 
for  a  ransom,  ib.  His  overtures  to  Henry  ami 
Francis,  224.  Their  declaration  of  war  against 
him,  ib.  Is  challenged  by  Francis  to  single 
combat,  225.  Andrew  Doria  revolts  from 
Francis  to  him,  227.  His  forces  defeat  the 
French  in  Italy,  228,  229.  His  motives  for  de- 
siring an  accommodation,  229.  Concludes  a 
separate  treaty  with  the  pope.  230.  Ten. 
the  peace  of  Cambray,  concluded  wi  h  Francis 
by  the  mediation  of  Margaret  of  Austria  ami 
Louise  of  France,  ib.  Remarks  on  the  advan- 
tases  sained  by  him  in  this  treaty,  and  on  his 
conducl  ofthewa-,  230,331.  Visits  Italy,  23:' 
Mis  policy  on  his  public  entry  into  Barcelona,  ib. 
Has  mi  interview  with  it-"  popr  p.t  Bologna,  ib 


592 


iiNDEX, 


Motives  for  his  moderation  in  Italy,  ib.  His 
treaties  with  the  states  of,  334.  Is  crowned 
king  of  Lornbardy  and  emperor  of  the  Romans, 
ih.  Summons  a  diet  at  Spires  to  consider  the 
state  of  religion,  235.  His  deliberations  with 
the  pope,  respecting  the  expediency  of  i  ailing 
a  general  council,  230.  Appoints  a  diet  at 
Augsburg,  ib.  Makes  a  public  entry  into  that 
city,  ib.  His  endeavours  to  cheek  the  reforma- 
tion, 237.  Resolute  behaviour  of  the  protestant 
princes  towards  liirn,  ib.  His  severe  decree 
against  the  protestants,  ib.  Proposes  iiis  bro- 
ther Ferdinand  to  be  elected  king  of  the  Ro- 
mans, 238.  Is  opposed  by  the  protestants,  239. 
( Ibtaisa  his  election,  ib.  Is  desirous  of  an  ac- 
commodation with  the  protestants,  240.  Con- 
cludes a  treaty  with  tliem  at  Nuremberg,  ib. 
Raises  an  army  to  oppose  the  Turks  under 
Solyman,  and  obliges  him  to  retire,  240,  241. 
Has  another  interview  with  the  pope,  and 
presses  him  to  call  a  general  council,  241.  Pro- 
cures a  league  of  the  Italian  states  to  secure 
the  peace  of  Italy,  242.  Ariivts  at  Barcelona, 
ib.  His  endeavours  to  prevent  the  negotiations 
and  meeting  between  the  pope  and  Francis,  ib. 
Undertakes  to  expel  Barbarossa  from  Tunis, 
and  restore  Muley-Hascen,  255.  Lands  in 
Africa,  and  besieges  Goletta,  ib.  Takes  Go- 
letta,  and  seizes  Barbarossa's  fleet,  25b\  De- 
feats Barbarossa,  and  takes  funis,  ib.  Restores 
M ii It •>•  Hasten,  and  the  treaty  between  them, 
&&T.  Tiie  glory  acquired  by  tins  enterprise, 
and  the  delivery  of  the  Christian  captives,  258. 
Seizes  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  on  the  death  of 
Francis  Sforza,  262,  263.  His  policy  with 
regard  to  it,  ib.  Prepares  for  war  with  Fran- 
'  is.  ih.  His  invective  against  Francis  at  Rome 
before  the  pope  in  council,  264.  Remarks  on 
tliis  transaction,  265.  Invades  France,  266. 
Enters  Provence,  and  finds  it  desolated,  268. 
Besieges  Marseilles  and  Aries,  ib.  His  mise- 
rable retreat  from  Provence,  269.  His  invasion 
of  Picardy  defeated,  270.  Is  accused  of  poi- 
soning the  dauphin,  ib.  Improbability  of  its 
truth,  ib.  Conjecture  concerning  the  dauphin's 
death,  ib.  Flanders  invaded  by  Francis,  -71. 
A  suspension  of  arms  in  Flanders,  how  nego- 
tiated, ib.  A  truce  in  Piedmont,  ib.  Motives 
to  these  truces,  272.  Negotiation  for  peace 
with  Francis,  273.  Concludes  a  truce  for  ten 
years  at  Nice,  ib.  Remarks  on  the  war,  273, 
274.  His  interview  with  Francis,  274.  Courts 
(lie  friendship  of  Henry  VIU.  of  England,  276, 
277.  indulges  the  protestant  princes,  277. 
Uuiets  their  apprehensions  of  the  catholic 
league,  279.  His  troops  mutiny,  ib.  '  Assem- 
bles the  Cortes  of  Castile,  280.  Destroys  the 
ancient  constitution  of  the  Cortes,  ib.  Instance 
of  the  haughty  spirit  of  the  Spanish  grandees, 
B31,  Desires  permission  of  Francis  to  pass 
ihrough  France  to  the  Netherlands,  284.  His 
reception  in  France,  285.  His  rigorous  treat- 
ment of  Ghent,  286.  Refuses  to  fulfil  his  en- 
gagements to  Francis,  ib.  Appoints  a  friendly 
t  (inference  between  a  deputation  of  catholic 
and  protestant  divines  before  the  diet  at  Ratis- 
bon,  294.  Result  of  this  conference,  29.5. 
< ;  rants  a  private  exemption  from  oppressions 
to  the  protestants,  296.  Undertakes  to  reduce 
Algiers,  298.  Is  near  being  cast  away  by  a 
violent  storm,  299.  Lands  near  Algiers,  300. 
His  soldiers  exposed  to  a  violent  tempest  and 
rain,  ib.  His  fleet  shattered,  ib.  His  fortitude 
under  these  disasters,  301.  Leaves  his  enter- 
prise and  embarks  again,  302.  Is  distressed 
with  another  storm  at  sea,  ib.  Takes  advan- 
tage of  the  French  invasion  of  Spain  to  obtain 
subsidies  from  the  Cortes,  305.  His  treaty  with 
Portugal,  ib.  Concludes  a  league  with  Henry 
VIU.,  306.  Particulars  of  the  treaty,  307. 
Overruns  Cleves,  and  his  barbarous  treatment 
•'!"  the  inveji  tif  Puren.  .108.     Hi*  behaviour  to 


the  duke  of  Cleves,  ib.  Besieges  Lanuicc> , 
309.  is  joined  by  an  English  detachment,  ib. 
Is  forced  to  retire,  ib.  Courts  the  iavour  of 
the  protestants,  312.  His  negotiations  with  the 
protestants  at  the  diet  oi  Spires,  313.  Procures 
the  concurrence  of  the  diet  in  a  war  against 
Francis,  ib.  Negotiates  a  separate  peace  with 
the  King  of  Denmark,  314.  invades  Cham- 
pagne, and  invests  St.  Desiere,  316  Want  of 
concert  between  his  operations  and  those  of 
Henry,  who  now  invades  Fiance,  317.  Obtains 
Desiere  by  artifice,  ib.  His  distresses  and  happy 
movements,  318.  Concludes  a  separate  petite 
with  Francis,  319.  His  motives  to  ibis  peace, 
ib.  His  advantages  by  this  treaty,  ib.  Obliges 
himself  by  a  private  article  to  exterminate  the 
protestant  heresy,  320.  Iscruelh  afflicted  with 
the  gout,  321.  Diet  at  Worms,  322.  Arrives 
at  Worms,  and  alters  his  conduct  towards  the 
protestants,  323  His  conduct  on  the  death  of 
the  duke  of  Orleans,  324.  His  dissimulation 
to  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  325.  Concludes  a 
truce  with  Solyman,  333.  Holds  a  diet  at 
Ratisbon,  ib.  His  declaration  to  the  protestant 
deputies,  334.  His  treaty  with  the  pope,  con- 
cluded by  the  cardinal  of  Trent,  335.  His  cir- 
cular letter  io  the  protestant  members  of  the 
Germanic  body,  ib.  The  protestants  levy  an 
army  against  hiin,  338.  Is  unprepared  against 
them,  339.  Puts  them  under  the  ban  of  the 
empire,  340.  The  protestants  declare  war 
against  him,  ib.  Marches  to  join  the  troops 
sent  by  the  pope,  341.  Farnese,  the  pope's 
legate,  returns  in  disgust,  342.  His  prudent 
declension  of  an  action  with  the  protestants. 
343.  Is  joined  by  his  Flemish  troops,  343,  344. 
Proposals  of  peace  made  by  the  protestants. 
347.  Their  army  disperse,  348.  His  rigorous 
treatment  of  the  protestant  princes,  ib.  Dis- 
misses part  of  his  army,  350.  The  pope  recalls 
his  troops,  ib.  His  reflection  on  Fiesco's  in- 
surrection at  Genoa,  356.  Is  alarmed  at  the 
hostile  preparations  of  Francis,  358.  Death 
of  Francis,  ib.  A  parallel  drawn  between  him 
and  Francis,  359.  Consequences  of  Francis- 
(lecith  to  him,  360.  Marches  against  the  elector 
of  Saxony,  ib.  Passes  the  Elbe,  361.  Defeats 
the  Saxon  army,  363.  Takes  the  elector  pri 
soner,  ib  His  harsh  reception  of  liini,  ih.  In- 
vests Witlemberg,  ib.  Condemns  the  elector 
to  death  by  a  court-martial,  364.  The  elector 
by  treaty  surrenders  the  electorate,  365.  The 
harsh  terms  imposed  by  him  on  the  landgrave 
of  Hesse,  367.  His  haughty  reception  of  the 
landgrave,  368.  Detains  him  prisoner,  ib. 
Seizes  the  warlike  stores  of  the  Smalkaldic 
league,  370.  His  cruel  exactions,  ib.  Assem- 
bles a  diet  at  Augsburg,  372.  Intimidates  the 
diet  by  his  Spanish  troops,  ib.  Re-establishes 
the  Romish  worship  in  the  churches  of  Augs- 
burg, ib.  Seizes  Placentia,  374.  Orders  the 
diet  to  petition  the  pope  for  the  return  of  the 
council  to  Trent,  375.  Protests  against  the 
council  of  Bologna,  376.  Causes  a  system  of 
faith  to  be  prepared  for  Germany,  ill.  Lays  it. 
before  the  diet,  377.  The  Inirrtm  opposed, 378. 
And  rejected  by  the  imperial  cities,  379.  Re- 
duces the  city  of  Augsburg  to  submission,  380. 
Repeats  the  same  violence  at  Ulra,  ib.  Games 
the  elector  and  landgrave  with  him  into  die 
Low-Countries,  38).  Procures  his  son  Philip 
to  be  recognised  by  the  states  of  the  Nether- 
lands, ib.  Establishes  the  Interim  there,  382. 
Reassembles  the  diet  at  Augsburg,  tinder  the 
influence  of  his  Spanish  troops,  385.  The  city 
of  Magdeburg  refuses  to  admit  the  Interim, 
and  prepares  for  resistance,  388.  Appoints 
Maurice  elector  of  Saxony  to  reduce  it,  389. 
Promises  to  protect  the  protestants  at  the  coun- 
cil of  Trent,  ib.  Arbitrarily  releases  Main  I' 
and  the  elector  of   Brandenhiirgh   front   their 

engagements  to  the  landgrei  e  for  the  recovery 


INDEX. 


b*\i 


■>i  his  liberty,  JiM.  Endeavours  to  secure  the 
empire  tor  his  son  Philip,  lb.  His  brother  Fer- 
dinand refuses  to  resign  Iris  pretensions,  393. 
Hesieges  Parma,  but  is  repulsed,  393.  Proceeds 
rigorously  against  the  protestants,  394.  En- 
deavours to  support  the  council  of  Trent,  395. 
Puts  Magdeburg  under  the  ban  of  the  empire, 
ib.  Absolves  the  city,  397.  Is  involved  in 
disputes  between  the  council  and  the  protestant 
deputies,  concerning  their  safe-conduct,  398. 
Begins  to  suspect  Maurice  of  Saxony,  403. 
Circumstances  which  contributed  to  deceive 
him  with  regard  to  Maurice,  ib.  Maurice  takes 
the  field  against  bim,  404  Maurice  seconded 
by  Henry  II.  of  France,  405.  His  distress  and 
consternation,  ib  An  ineffectual  negotiation 
u  ith  Maurice,  406.  Flies  from  Inspruck,  408. 
Releases  the  elector  of  Saxony,  ib.  Is  solicited 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  Maurice,  411.  His 
present  difficulties,  412.  Refuses  any  direct 
compliance  with  the  demands  of  Maurice,  413. 
Is  disposed  to  yield  by  the  progress  of  Maurice's 
operations,  ib.  Makes  a  peace  with  Maurice 
at  Passau,  414.  Reflections  on  this  treaty,  415. 
Turns  his  arms  against  France,  417.  Lays 
siege  to  Metz,  418,  419.  Is  joined  by  Albert  of 
Brandenburgh,  419.  His  army  distressed  by 
the  vigilance  of  the  duke  of  Guise,  ib.  Raises 
the  siege,  and  retires  in  a  shattered  condition, 
420.  Cosmo  di  Medici  asserts  his  independency 
against  him,  421.  Sienna  revolts  against  him, 
ib.  Is  dejected  at  his  bad  success,  423.  Takes 
Terouane,  and  demolishes  it,  425,  426.  Takes 
Hesden,  426.  Proposes  his  son  Philip  as  a  hus- 
band to  Mary  queen  of  England,  431.  The 
articles  of  the  marriage,  432.  Marches  to  op- 
pose the  French  operations,  435.  Is  defeated 
by  Henry,  ib.  Invades  Picardy,  436.  Grants 
Sienna,  subdued  by  Cosmo  di  Medici,  to  his 
son  Philip,  439.  A  diet  at  Augsburg  opened 
by  Ferdinand,  443.  Leaves  the  interior  ad- 
ministration 'of  Germany  to  Ferdinand,  444. 
Applies  again  to  Ferdinand  to  resign  his  pre- 
tensions of  succession  to  Philip,  but  is  refused, 
ib.  Recess  of  the  diet  of  Augsburg  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  445.  A  treaty  concluded 
between  pope  Paul  IV.  and  Henry  II.  of  France 
against  him,  453.  Resigns  his  hereditary  do- 
minions to  his  son  Philip,  ib.  His  motives  for 
retirement,  454.  Had  long  meditated  this  re- 
signation, ib.  The  ceremony  of  this  deed,  455. 
His  speech  on  this  occasion,  ib.  Resigns  also 
the  dominions  of  Spain,  457.  His  intended 
retirement  into  Spain  retarded,  ib.  A  truce 
for  five  years  concluded  with  France,  458. 
Endeavours  in  vain  to  secure  the  imperial 
crown  for  Philip,  462.  Resigns  the  imperial 
crown  to  Ferdinand,  ib.  Sets  out  for  Spain, 
463.  His  arrival  and  reception  in  Spain,  ib. 
Is  distressed  by  his  son's  ungrateful  neglect  in 
paying  his  pension,  ib.  Fixes  his  retreat  in 
the  monastery  of  St.  Justus  in  Placentia,  464. 
The  situation  of  this  monastery,  and  his  apart- 
ments, described,  ib.  Contrast  between  the 
conduct  of  Charles  and  the  pope,  ib.  His  man- 
ner of  life  in  his  retreat,  480,  481.  His  death 
precipitated  by  his  monastic  severities,  482. 
Celebrates  his  own  funeral,  ib.  Dies,  ib.  His 
character,  ib.  A  review  of  the  state  of  Europe 
during  his  reign,  488.  His  acquisitions  to  the 
crown  of  Spain,  489,  490. 

Chateau- Cambresis,  the  conferences  for  peace 
between  Philip  II.  of  Spain  and  Henry  II.  of 
France,  removed  thither  from  Cercarap,  485. 
The  peace  retarded  by  the  demand  of  Elizabeth 
of  England  for  the  restitution  of  Calais,  ib. 
Particulars  of  the  treaty  signed  there  between 
England  and  France,  486.  Terms  of  the  paci- 
fication between  Philip  and  Henry,  487. 

'>ficrr/rato1  nuncio  from  Uie  pope  to  the  diet  at 
Nuremberg,  his   instructions,    183.     Opposes 
The  assembling  a  general  council.  18*. 
Vol..  TT. — 7", 


Chiecres,  William  de  Croy,  lord  of,  appointed  by 
Maximilian  to  superintend  the  education  of  his 
grandson  Charles,  98.  Adrian  of  Utrecht  made 
preceptor  under  him,  ib.  His  direction  of  the 
studies  of  Charles,  99.  His  avarice  corrupts 
the  Flemish  court  of  Charles,  105.  Negotiates 
a  peace  with  France,  106.  Endeavours  to  pre- 
vent an  interview  between  Charles  and  Xi- 
menes,  107.  Attends  Charles  to  Spain,  ib. 
His  ascendancy  over  Charles,  109.  His  extor- 
tions, ib.  His  death,  and  the  supposed  causes 
of  it,  149. 

Christians,  primitive,  why  averse  to  the  princi- 
ples of  toleration,  446. 

Clement  VII.,  pope,  his  election,  i79.  His  cha- 
racter, ib.  Grants  cardinal  Wolsey  a  legatinc 
commission  in  England  for  life,  ib.  Refuses  to 
accede  to  the  league  against  Francis,  181.  La- 
bours to  accommodate  the  difference  between 
the  contending  parties,  ib.  His  proceedings 
with  regard  to  the  reformers,  185.  Concludes 
a  treaty  of  neutrality  with  Francis,  190.  En- 
ters into  a  separate  treaty  with  Charles  after 
the  battle  of  Pavia,  and  the'  consequences  of 
it,  195.  Joins  in  an  alliance  with  Francis 
Sforza  and  the  Venetians  against  the  emperor, 
209.  Absolves  Francis  from  his  oath  to  observe 
the  treaty  of  Madrid,  ib.  Cardinal  Colonna 
seizes  Rome,  and  invests  him  in  the  castle  of 
St.  Angelo,  212,  213.  Is  forced  to  an  accom- 
modation with  the  imperialists,  213.  His  re- 
venge against  the  Colonna  family,  214.  In- 
vades Naples,  ib.  His  territories  Invaded  by 
Bouibon,  and  his  perplexity  on  the  occasion, 
215.  Concludes  a  treaty  with  Lannoy  viceroy 
of  Naples,  ib.  His  consternation  on  Bourbon's 
motions  towards  Rome,  216.  Rome  taken,  and 
himself  besieged  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo, 
218.  Surrenders  himself  prisoner,  ib.  The 
Florentines  revolt  against  him,  221.  Pays 
Charles  a  ransom  for  his  liberty,  with  other 
stipulations,  223.  Makes  his  escape  from  con- 
finement, 224.  Writes  a  letter  of  thanks  to 
Lautrec,  ib.  Is  jealous  of  the  intentions  of 
Francis,  and  negotiates  with  Charles,  226. 
His  motives  and  steps  towards  an  accommo- 
dation, 230.  Concludes  a  separate  treaty  with 
Charles,  ib.  His  interview  with  the  emperor 
at  Bologna,  233.  Crowns  Charles  king  of  Lom- 
bardy  and  emperor  of  the  Romans,  234.  His 
representations  to  the  emperor  against  calling 
a  general  council,  236.  Has  another  interview 
with  Charles  at  Bologna,  and  the  difficulties 
raised  by  him  to  the  calling  a  general  council, 
241.  Agrees  to  a  league  of  the  Italian  states 
for  the  peace  of  Italy,  242.  His  interview  and 
treaty  with  Francis,  243.  Marries  Catharine 
di  Medici  to  the  duke  of  Orleans,  ib.  His  pro- 
traction of  the  affair  of  the  divorce  solicited 
by  Henry  VIII.,  244  Reverses Cranmer's  sen- 
tence of  divorce,  under  penalty  of  excommu- 
nication, ib.  Henry  renounces  his  supremacy, 
ib.  His  death,  245.  Reflections  on  Ms  pontifi- 
cate, ib. 

Clergy,  Romish,  remarks  on  the  immoral  lives 
of,  and  how  they  contributed  to  the  progress  of 
the  reformation,  136.  The  facility  with  which 
they  obtained  pardons,  137.  Their  usurpations 
in  Germany,  during  the  disputes  concerning  in- 
vestitures, 138.  Their  other  opportunities  of 
aggrandizing  themselves  there,  ib.  Their  per- 
sonal immunities,  ib.  Their  encroachments  on 
the  laity,  139.  The  dreadful  effects  of  spiritual 
censures,  ib.  Their  devices  to  secure  their 
usurpations,  ib.  The  united  effect  of  all  these 
circumstances,  141.  Oppose  the  advancemen: 
of  learning  in  Germany,  143. 
Cleves,  invaded  and  overrun  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,308  Cruel  treatment  of  Puren,  ib. 
Humiliatinc  submission  of  the  duke,  ib. 
Cnivperdoling,  a  leader  of  the  anabaptists  at 
Minister,  Hn  account  of.  34&   See  J&nfiptit 


694 


1NDEA. 


Cognac,  an  alliance  tortiied  there  against  Charles 
V.  by  the  pope,  the  Venetians,  the  duke  of 
Milan,  and  Francis  I.,  209. 

Coligny,  admiral,  governor  of  Picardy,  defends 
St.  (Auintin  against  the  Spanish  general  Ema- 
nuel Philihert  duke  of  Savoy,  468.  His  brolhei 
Daudelot  defeated  in  an  endeavour  to  join  the 
garrison,  ib.  But  Daudelot  enters  the  town,  ib. 
His  character,  470.  The  town  taken  by  as- 
sault, and  himself  taken  prisoner,  ib 

Cologne,  Ferdinand,  king  of  Hungary  and  Bo- 
hemia, brother  to  the  emperor  Charles  V., 
elected  king  of  the  Romans  by  the  college  of 
electors  there,  239. 

,  Herman,  count  de  Wied,  archbishop 

and  elector  of,  inclines  to  the  reformation,  and 
is  opposed  by  his  canons,  who  appeal  to  the 
emperor  and  pope,  324.  Is  deprived  and  ex- 
communicated, 332.     Resigns,  349. 

Coldnna,  cardinal  Pompeo,  his  character,  and 
rivalship  with  pope  Clement  VII.,  212.  Seizes 
Rome,  and  invests  St.  Angelo,  212, 213.  Is  de- 
graded, and  the  rest  of  the  family  excommuni- 
cated by  the  pope,  214.  Is  prevailed  on  by  the 
pope,  when  prisoner  with  the  imperialists,  to 
solicit  his  delivery,  223. 

— ,  Prosper,  the  Italian  general,  his  charac- 
ter, 154.  Appointed  to  command  the  troops  in 
the  invasion  of  Milan,  ib.  Drives  the  French 
out  of  Milan,  155.  His  army  how  weakened 
at  the  death  of  pope  Leo  X.,  ib.  Defeats  ma- 
reschal  de  Lautrec  at  Bicocca,  156,  157.  Re- 
duces Genoa,  157.  The  bad  state  of  his  troops 
when  the  French  invade  Milan,  175.  Is  en- 
abled to  defend  the  city  by  the  ill  conduct  of 
Bonnivet  the  French  commander,  178.  Dies, 
and  is  succeeded  by  Lannoy,  181. 

Conchillos,  an  Arragonian  gentleman,  employed 
by  Ferdinand  of  Arragon  to  obtain  Joanna's 
consent  to  his  regency  of  Castile,  92.  Thrown 
into  a  dungeon  by  the  archduke  Philip,  ib. 

Confession  of  Augsburg,  drawn  up  by  Melanc- 
thon,  237. 

Constance,  the  privileges  of  that  city  tafcen  away 
by  the  emperor  Charles  V.  for  disobedience  to 
the  Interim,  380. 

Corsairs  of  Barbary,  an  account  of  the  rise  of, 
252.     See  Algiers,  Barbarossa. 

Cortes  of  Arragon,  acknowledge  the  archduke 
Philip's  title  to  the  crown,  90.  Not  allowed  to 
assemble  in  the  name  of  Charles  V.,  109,  110. 
Their  opposition  to  his  desires,  110.  Is  pre- 
vailed on  by  the  emperor  to  recognise  his  son 
Philip  as  successor  to  that  kingdom,  306.  See 
Spain. 

of  Castile,  acknowledges  the  archduke 

Philip's  title  to  the  crown,  90.  Is  prevailed  on 
to  acknowledge  Ferdinand  regent  according  to 
Isabella's  will,  91  Acknowledges  Philip  and 
Joanna  king  and  queen  of  Castile,  and  their 
son  Charles  prince  of  Asturias  95.  Declares 
Charles  king,  and  votes  him  a  free  gift,  98. 
Summoned  by  Charles  to  meet  at  Compostella 
in  Galicia,  118.  Turn ult uary  proceedi ngs  there- 
upon, 119.  A  donative  voted,  ib.  Loses  all  its 
influence  by  the  dissolution  of  the  holy  Junta, 
172.  Its  backwardness  to  grant  supplies  for 
the  emperor's  wars  in  Italy,  213.  Refuses  his 
pressing  solicitations  for  a  supply,  223.  Assem- 
bled at  Toledo  to  grant  supplies  to  the  emperor, 
280.  The  remonstrances  of,  ib.  The  ancient 
constitution  of,  subverted  by  Charles,  ib.  See 
Spain. 

of  Valencia,  prevailed  on  by  the  emperor 

Charles  V.  to  acknowledge  his  son  Philip  suc- 
cessor to  that  kingdom,  306.     See  Spain. 

Cortona,  cardinal  di.  governor  of  Florence  for 
the  pope,  expelled  1  v  the  Florentines  on  the 
pope's  captivity,  221. 

Cosmo  di  Medici."    See  Medici. 

Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  annuls  the 
marriage  of  Henry  VIII.  with  .Catharine  of 


Arragon,  which  was  refused  to  Henry  by  the 

pope,   244,      His   sentence   reversed    by   the 

pope,  i!i. 
Crcspy,  peace  of,  between  the  emperor  and  Fran 

i  is,  318,  319. 
Croy,  William  de,  nephew  to  Chievres,  made 

archbishop   of  Toledo    by  Charles    V.,    109. 

Dies,  172. 

D'Albrct,  John,  expelled  from  his  kingdom  of 
Navarre  by  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  97.  In- 
vades Navarre,  but  is  defeated  by  cardinal 
Ximenes,  105. 

D'.ilembcrt,  M.,  his  observation  on  the  order  of 
Jfsiiits,  2il2,  note. 

Dandelot.  brother  of  Coligny,  is  defeated  by  the 
duke  of  Savoy  in  an  endeavour  to  succour  St. 
tAuintin,  468.  But  enters  the  town  with  the 
fugitives,  ib.  The  town  taken  by  assault, 
471. 

Dauphin  of  France,  eldest  son  of  Francis  I.  is 
delivered  up  with  the  duke  of  Orleans  to  the 
emperor  Charles  V.  in  exchange  for  his  father, 
as  hostages  for  the  performance  of  the  treaty 
of  Madrid,  204.  His  death  imputed  to  poison, 
270.    The  most  probable  cause  of  it,  ib. 

,  duke  of  Orleans,  second  son  of  Francis 

I.  commands  an  army,  and  invades  Spain,  305. 
Is  forced  to  abandon  the  siege  of  Perpignan,  ib. 
Is  dissatisfied  at  the  peace  of  Crespy,  321. 
Makes  a  secret  protestation  against  it,  ib. 

of  France,  son  of  Henry  II.,  contracted 

to  Mary  the  young  queen  of  Scotland,  374.  Is 
married  to  her,  477. 

Denmark,  a  summary  view  of  the  revolutions  in, 
during  the  sixteenth  century,  499. 

,  king  of,  joins  the  protestant  league  at 

Smalkalde,  278. 

De  Relz,  cardinal,  writes  a  history  of  Fiesco's 
conspiracy  while  a  youth,  356,  note. 

Diana  of  Poitiers,  mistress  to  Henry  II.  of  France, 
assists  the  Guises  in  persuading  Henry  to  an 
alliance  with  pope  Paul  IV  against  the  em- 
peror, 451.  Induces  Henry  to  break  the  treaty 
of  Vaucclles,  460.  Marries  her  granddaughter 
to  one  of  Montmorency's  sons.  480.  Joins 
Montmorency  against  the  Guises,  ib. 

Doria,  Andrew,  assists  Lautrec  in  subduing  Ge- 
noa, 222.  Conquers  and  kills  Moncada  in  a  sea 
engagement  before  the  harbour  of  Naples,  226. 
His  character,  227.  Is  disgusted  with  the  be- 
haviour of  the  French,  ib  Revolts  to  the  em- 
peror, ib.  Opens  to  Naples  a  communication 
by  sea,  ib.  Rescues  Genoa  from  the  French, 
228.  Restores  the  government  of,  to  the  citi- 
zens, ib.  The  respect  paid  to  his  memory,  229. 
Attends  the  emperor  Charles  in  his  disastrous 
expedi  ion  against  Algiers,  299.  His  partial 
fondness  for  his  kinsman  Giannetino,  351.  His 
narrow  escape  in  Lavagno's  insurrection,  354, 
355.  Returns  on  Lavagno's  death,  and  (he 
dispersion  of  his  party,  356.  See  Genoa  and 
Lavagno. 

,  Giannetino,  his  character,  351.  Is  mur- 
dered by  Lavagno's  conspirators,  354. 

Dover,  an  interview  there  between  Henry  VIII. 
and  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  123. 

Drncrvt,  a  corsair,  commands  the  Turkish  fleet 
which  ravages  the  coast  of  Naples,  422. 

Du  Pratt,  chancellor  of  France,  his  character, 
177.  Commences  a  law-suit  against  rharles 
duke  of  Bourbon  for  his  estate,  at  the  instlga 
tion  of  Louise  the  king's  mother,  ib. 

Dvrlling.  the  custom  of,  bow  rendered  general, 
225     Its  influence  on  manners,  ib. 

Duren  in  Cleves,  taken  by  the  emperor  Charles 
V  ,  the  inhabitants  put  to"  the  sword,  and  the 
town  burnt,  308. 

Eccius,  an  adversary  of  Luther's,  holds  a  public 
disputation  with  him  at  Leipsic;  on  the  validity 
of  the  papal  authority,  J32. 


INDEX. 


o9i» 


Ecclesiastical  censures  01'  the  Romish  church, 
tlie  dreadful  effects  of,  139. 

. reservation  in  the  recess  of  the  diet 

of  Augsburg,  remarks  on,  2-10. 

Edinburgh  plundered  and  burnt  by  the  earl  of 
Hertford,  317. 

Edward  VI  of  England,  his  character,  431. 

Egmont,  count  of,  commands  the  cavalry  at  the 
battle  of  St.  Uuintin,  and  puts  Montmorency's 
troops  to  flight,  468,  469.  Engages  marshal  de 
Termes,  and  defeats  him  by  the  casual  arrival 
of  an  English  squadron,  478. 

Egypt,  how  and  by  whom  added  to  the  Ottoman 
empire,  U2. 

Ehrenberg,  the  castle  of,  taken  by  Maurice  of 
Saxony,  407. 

Eignotz,  a  faction  in  Geneva  so  termed,  an  ac- 
count of,  261. 

Elizabeth,  sister  of  Mary,  her  accession  to  the 
crown  of  England,  484.  Her  character,  ib. 
Is  addressed  by  Philip  of  Spain  and  Henry  of 
France  for  marriage,  ib.  Her  prudent  conduct 
between  them,  ib.  How  determined  against 
Henry,  485.  Her  motives  for  rejecting  Philip, 
ib.  Returns  Philip  an  evasive  answer,  ib. 
Demands  restitution  of  Calais,  at  the  confer- 
ences at  Chateau-Cambresis,  ib.  Establishes 
the  protestant  religion  in  England,  486.  Treaty 
between  her  and  Henry  signed  at  Chateau-Cam- 
bresis, ib. 

Emanuel  Philibert,  duke  of  Savoy.     See  Savtiy. 

England,  by  what  means  that  kingdom  was  freed 
from  the  papal  supremacy,  and  received  the 
doctrines  of  the  reformation,  244.  Mary,  queen 
of,  married  to  prince  Philip,  son  of  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,  contrary  to  the  sense  of  the  nation, 
432.  The  marriage  ratified  by  parliament,  433. 
Is  reluctantly  engaged  by  Philip  (now  king  of 
Spain)  in  the  war  against  France,  467.  Mary 
levies  money  by  her  prerogative,  to  carry  on 
the  war,  ib.  Calais  taken  by  the  duke  of  Guise, 
475.  Guisnes  and  Hames  taken,  ib.  Death  of 
Mary,  and  accession  of  Elizabeth,  484.  The 
protestant  religion  established  by  Elizabeth, 
486.  Treaty  with  France  signed  at  Chateau- 
Cambresis,  ib.  Its  interior  strength  how  in- 
creased by  the  conduct  of  Henry  VIII.,  493. 
Its  power  no  longer  fruitlessly  wasted  on  the 
continent,  ib.  Alteration  of  its  conduct  towards 
Scotland,  494. 

l'.iiuuicn,  the  count  de,  besieges  Carignan,  314. 
Desires  of  Francis  permission  to  engage  Guasto, 
315.     Defeats  Guasto  in  a  pitched  battle,  ib. 

Erard  de  la  Marck,  ambassador  of  Charles  V. 
to  the  diet  of  Frankfort,  his  private  motives  for 
thwarting  the  pretensions  of  Francis  I.  of 
France  to  the  imperial  crown,  115.  Signs  tht 
capitulation  of  the  Germanic  body  on  behalf 
of  Charles,  116. 

Erasmus,  some  account  of,  143.  Preceded  Luther 
in  his  censures  against  the  Romish  church,  ib. 
Concurs  with  him  in  his  intentions  of  reforma- 
tion, 144.  Motives  which  checked  him  in 
this,  ib. 

Escurial,  palace  of,  built  by  Philip  II.  in  memory 
of  the  battle  of  St.  Uuintin,  471. 

Europe,  a  short  view  of  the  state  of,  at  the  death 
of  the  emperor  Maximilian,  110.  The  con- 
temporary monarchs  of  all,  illustrious  at  the 
time  of  Charles  V.,  124.  The  method  of  car 
rying  on  war  in,  how  improved  beyond  the 
practice  of  earlier  ages,  180.  The  sentiments 
of,  on  Charles's  treatment  of  the  pope,  220 
A  review  of  the  state  of,  during  the  reign  of 
the  emperor  Charles  V.,  488.  The  remarkable 
change  in,  at  this  period,  489.  How  affected 
t>v  the  revolt  of  Luther  against  the  church  of 
Rome,  494. 
Eiitimi,  kim.'  of  Algiers,  engages  BarbaroBsa  in 

his  service,  and  is  murdered  by  him,  252,  253 

E'xiommunitation  in  the  Romish  church,  the  ori- 

tfinal  institution  of,  and  the  n*  made  of  it,  139 


Farnese,  Alexander,  his  unanimous  election  to 
the  papacy,  245.     See  Paul  III. 

,  cardinal,  accompanies  the  troops  sent 

by  the  pope  to  the  emperor,  against  the  army  of 
the  protestant  league,  342.  Returns  disgusted, 
ib.  Lends  the  troops  home  again  by  the  pope's 
order,  350.  Contributes  to  the  election  of  car- 
dinal di  Monte  to  the  papacy,  384. 

-,  Octavio,  grandson  of  pope  Paul  HI., 

endeavours  to  surprise  Parma,  and  enters  into 
treaty  with  the  emperor,  383.  Is  continued  in 
Parma  by  Julius,  392.  Procures  an  alliance 
witli  France,  ib.  Is  attacked  by  the  imperial- 
ists, but  successfully  protected  by  the  French, 
393.  Placentia  restored  to  him  by  Philip  II.  of 
Spain,  472. 

,  Peter  Lewis,  natural  son  of  pope  Paul 

III.,  obtains  of  his  father  the  dutchies  of  Parma 
and  Placentia,  325.  His  character,  373.  Is 
assassinated,  ib. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Arragon,  how  he  acquired 
his  kingdoms,  89.  Invites  his  daughter  Joanna, 
and  her  husband  Philrp  archduke  of  Austria, 
to  Spain,  90.  Becomes  jealous  of  Philip,  ib. 
Carries  on  his  war  with  France  vigorously, 
notwithstanding  Philip's  treaty  with  Lewis, 
91.  His  queen  Isabella  dies,  and  leaves  him 
regent  of  Castile,  under  restrictions,  ib.  Re- 
signs the  kingdom  of  Castile,  and  is  acknow- 
ledged regent  by  the  Cortes,  ib.  His  character, 
ib.  His  maxims  of  government  odious  to  the 
Castilians,  92.  Required  by  Philip  to  resign 
his  regency,  ib.  Joanna's  letter  of  consent 
procured  by  him,  intercepted  by  Philip,  and 
herself  confined,  ib.  Is  deserted  by  the  Casti- 
lian  nobility,  ib.  Determines  to  exclude  bis 
daughter  from  the  succession  by  marrying,  93. 
Marries  Germaine  de  Foix,  niece  to  Lewis  XII. 
of  France,  ib.  A  treaty  between  him  and 
Philip  at  Salamanca,  by  which  the  regency  ot 
Castile  is  jointly  vested  in  them  and  Joanna,  ib. 
Prevails  on  Henry  VII.  of  England  to  detain 
Philip  for  three  months,  when  driven  on  that 
coast,  94.  The  Castilians  declare  agaiitst  him, 
ib.  Resigns  the  regency  of  Castile  by  treaty, 
ib.  Interview  between  him  and  Philip,  ib.  Is 
absent,  at  Naples,  when  Philip  died,  96.  Re- 
turns and  gains,  with  the  regency  of  Castile, 
the  good  will  of  the  natives  by  his  prudent  ad- 
ministration, ib.  Acquires  by  dishonourable 
means  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  97.  How  he 
destroyed  his  constitution,  ib.  Endeavours  to 
diminish  his  grandson  Charles's  power,  by  a 
will  in  favour  of  Ferdinand,  ib.  Alters  his  wilt 
in  favour  of  Charles,  98.  Dies,  ib.  Review 
of  his  administration,  99  Ximenes  appointed, 
by  his  will,  regent  of  Castile  until  the  arrival 
of  Charles  V.,  100. 

,  second  son  of  Philip  archduke  of 

Austria,  born,  89.  Left  regent  of  Arragon  by 
his  •grandfather  Ferdinand,  97.  This  revoked 
by  a  subsequent  will,  by  which  lie  obtains  only 
a  pension,  98.  Discontented  with  his  disap- 
pointment, lie  is  taken  to  Madrid  under  the  eye 
of  cardinal  Ximenes,  101.  Sent  by  Charles  V. 
to  visit  their  grandfather  Maximilian,  109.  Is 
elected  king  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  219. 
Signs  a  deed  called  the  Reverse,  ib.  The  em- 
peror  endeavours  to  get  bim  elected  king  of  the 
Romans,  238.  He  is  opposed  by  the  protestant?, 
239-  Is  crowned  king  of  the  Romans,  ib. 
Forms  a  confederacy  against  the  anabaptists  at 
Minister, 249.  Opposes  the  restoration  of  I'll ie 
duke  of  VVuitemberg,  250.  Recognises  bin 
title,  ami  concludes  a  treaty  with  him,  ib.  His 
kingdom  of  Hungary  wrested  from  him  by  John 
Znpol  Bcaepius,  296.  Besieges  the  young  king 
Stephen  and  his  mother  in  Buda,  but  is  de- 
feated by  the  Turks,  297.  His  mean  offers  ot' 
submission  to  the  porte,  398.  Which  are  re- 
jected, ib.  <  'onrts  the  favour  of  the  protestanfs, 
3H .     <  ►pens  the  diet  at  WOWO,  322.     Reunite* 


j«b 


ifst>EA. 


it  to  submit  u>  the  decisions  of  the  council  of 
Trent,  323.  Agrees  to  pay  a  tribute  to  Solyman 
lor  Hungary,  ib.  £ncroacbes  on  tbe  liberties 
of  Bobemia,  371.  His  rigorous  treatment  of 
Prague,  ib.  Disarms  the  Bohemians,  372.  Ob- 
tains tbe  sovereignty  of  the  city  of  Constance, 
382.  Invades  Transylvania  by  invitation  of 
Martinuzzi,  399.  Obtains  the  resignation  of 
Transylvania  from  queen  Isabella,  ib.  Orders 
Martinuzzi  to  be  assassinated,  400.  Enters  into 
negotiation  with  Maurice  on  behalf  of  the  em- 
peror, 411.  His  motives  for  promoting  the 
emperor's  agreeing  with  Maurice,  412,  413. 
Isabella  and  her  son  Stephen  recover  possession 
of  Transylvania,  427.  Opens  a  diet  at  Augs- 
burg, and  excites  suspicions  in  the  protestants, 
443.  The  emperor  leaves  the  internal  admin- 
istration of  the  German  atfairs  to  him,  444.  Is 
again  applied  to  by  the  emperor  to  resign  his 
pretensions  of  succession  to  Philip,  but  refuses, 
ib.  Endeavours  therefore  to  gain  the  friend- 
ship of  the  diet,  445.  Again  refuses  the  em- 
peror's solicitations,  462.  Charles  resigns  the 
imperial  crown  to  him,  ib.  Assembles  the  col- 
lege of  electors  at  Frankfort,  which  acknow- 
ledges him  emperor  of  Germany,  476.  The 
pope  refuses  to  acknowledge  him,  476,  477. 

Feudal  government,  a  view  of,  as  it  existed  in 
Spain,  162. 

Piesco,  count  of  Lavagno.    See  Lavagno. 

,  Jerome,  engages  in  his  brother's  conspi- 
racy, and  fails  in  securing  Andrew  Doria,  354, 
3.55.  His  imprudent  vanity  on  his  brother's 
death,  355.  Shuts  himself  up  in  a  fort  on  his 
estate,  356.    Is  reduced,  and  put  to  death,  358. 

Flanders.     See  Netherlands. 

Florence,  the  inhabitants  of,  revolt  against  pope 
Clement  VII.  on  the  news  of  his  captivity,  and 
recover  their  liberty,  221.  Are  reduced  to  sub- 
jection to  Alexander  di  Medici  by  the  emperor, 
234.  Alexander  di  Medici,  duke  of,  assassinated 
by  his  kinsman  Lorenzo,  275.  Cosmo  di  M  edici 
advanced  to  the  aoverignty,  ib.  Cosmo,  sup- 
ported by  the  emperor,  defeats  the  partisans  of 
Lorenzo,  276.  Cosmo  asserts  his  independency 
on  the  emperor,  421. 

Funseca,  Antonio  de,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  in  Spain,  ordered  by  cardinal  Adrian  to 
besiege  the  insurgents  in  Segovia,  161.  Is  de- 
nied liberty  of  taking  military  stores  by  the 
inhabitants* of  Medina  del  Campo,  ib.  Attacks 
and  almost  burns  the  whole  town,  ib.  Is  re- 
pulsed, ib..  His  house  at  Valladolid  burnt,  ib. 

France,  the  acquisitions  of  that  kingdom  during 
the  reign  of  tbe  emperor  Charles  V.,  491.  The 
character  of  the  people  of,  ib.  The  good  con- 
sequences of  the  civil  wars  in  that  kingdom  to 
the  rest  of  Europe,  492. 

Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  concludes  a  peace 
with  Charles  V.,  and  the  conditions  of  the 
treaty,  106.  Sends  a  fruitless  embassy  to 
Charles  for  the  restitution  of  Navarre  to  the 
young  king,  110.  Aspires  to  the  imperial 
crown  at  the  death  of  Maximilian,  111.  Rea- 
sons by  which  he  supported  his  pretensions, 
112.  Remarks  on  the  equipages  of  his  ambas- 
sadors to  the  German  states,  ib.  His  preten- 
sions adopted  by  the  Venetians,  113.  Loses 
the  election,  116.  Rise  of  the  rivalship  be- 
tween him  and  Charles,  120.  Courts  the  fa- 
vour of  cardinal  Wolsey,  122.  Promises  Wol- 
sey  his  interest  for  the  papacy,  123.  Has  an 
interview  with  Henry  Vin.  of  England,  ib. 
Wrestles  with  Henry,  and  throws  him,  ib.  note. 
His  advantages  over  Charles  at  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  between  them,  147.  Con- 
cludes an  alliance  with  the  pope,  148.  Invades 
and  reduces  Navarre,  in  the  name  of  Henry 
d'Albret,  son  of  John,  the  former  king,  150. 
'Die  French  driven  out  by  the  imprudence  of 
1'  Esparre  their  general,  who  is  taken  prisoner 
by  the.  Spaniards,  ib.    Rotafces  Mouson  from 


the  imperialists,  151.  Invades  the  Low-Cowt- 
tries,  but  loses  the  opportunities  of  guece«s  by 
imprudence,  ib.  Rejects  the  demands  of 
Charles  at  the  congress  of  Calais,  152.  A 
league  concluded  between  Charles  and  Henry 
\  1 1 1 .  against  him,  ib.  His  imprudent  appoint- 
ment of  the  mareschal  De  Foix  to  the  govern- 
ment of  Milan,  153.  De  Foix  attacks  Reggio, 
but  is  repulsed  by  the  governor  Guicciardini 
the  historian,  ib.  The  pope  declares  against 
him,  153,  154.  His  embarrassments  on  the 
invasion  of  Milan,  154.  His  mother  seizes 
the  money  appointed  for  the  payment  of  the 
Milanese  troops,  ib.  Milan  taken,  and  the 
French  driven  out,  155.  Levies  a  body  of 
Swiss,  156.  Who  insist  on  giving  a  precipitate 
battle  to  the  imperialists,  which  is  lost,  157. 
War  declared  against  him  by  Henry  VIII.,  ib. 
His  expedients  to  supply  his  treasury,  158. 
The  plan  pursued  by  him  to  resist  the  incur- 
sions of  the  English,  ib.  Picardy  invaded  by 
Henry,  ib.  The  Venetians  league  with  the 
emperor  against  him,  175.  To  which  pope 
Adrian  accedes,  ib.  His  expeditious  move- 
ment against  the  Milanese,  176.  Disconcerted 
by  the  duke  of  Bourbon's  conspiracy,  ib. 
Taxes  him  with  betraying  his  cause,  which 
Bourbon  denies,  178.  Bourbon  escapes  to 
Italy,  and  Francis  returns,  ib.  Appoints  the 
admiral  Bonnivet  to  command  against  the 
Milanese,  ib.  Picardy  invaded  by  the  duke  of 
Suffolk,  who  is  driven  back,  180.  Repulses 
the  invasion  of  Guienue  and  Burgundy  by 
Charles,  ib.  His  successful  close  of  the  cam- 
paign, ih.  His  prudent  care  to  disappoint  the 
imperialists  in  their  invasion  of  Provence,  187. 
Assembles  an  army,  which  causes  the  impe- 
rialists to  retire  from  Marseilles,  ib.  Deter- 
mines to  invade  the  Milanese,  188.  Appoints 
his  mother  Louise  regent  during  his  absence,, 
ib.  Enters  Milan,  and  takes  possession  of  the 
city,  ib.  Advised  by  Bonnivet  to  besiege  Pavia, 
189.  His  vigorous  attacks  on  Pavia,  ib.  Con- 
cludes a  treaty  of  neutrality  with  pope  Cle- 
ment, 190.  His  imprudent  invasion  of  Naples, 
ib.  Resolves,  by  Bonnivet's  advice,  to  attack 
Bourbon's  army,  advanced  to  the  relief  of 
Pavia,  191.  Is  rained  at  the  battle  of  Pavia, 
192.  Is  taken  prisoner,  ib.  Is  sent  to  the  castle 
of  Pizzichitone  under  the  custody  of  Don 
Ferdinand  Alaroon,  193.  Refuses  the  proposi- 
tions made  to  him  by  Charles,  196.  Is  carried 
to  Spain  on  his  desire  of  a  personal  interview 
with  Charles,  197.  Is  rigore...  .  treated  in 
Spain,  200.  Falls  dangerously  ill,  ib.  Is  visited 
by  Charles,  ib.  Resolves  to  resign  his  king- 
dom, 201.  Is  delivered  from  his  captivity  by 
the  treaty  of  Madrid,  202.  His  secret  protesta- 
tions against  the  validity  of  this  treaty,  203. 
Marries  the  queen  of  Portugal,  ib.  Recovers 
his  liberty,  and  the  dauphin  and  the  duke  of 
Orleans  delivered  up  hostages  to  Charles  for 
the  performance  of  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  204. 
Writes  a  letter  of  acknowledgment  to  Henry 
VIII.  of  England,  208.  His  reply  to  the  impe- 
rial ambassadors,  209.  Enters  into  a  league 
with  the  pope,  the  Venetians,  and  Sforza, 
against  Charles,  ib.  Is  absolved  from  his  oath 
to  observe  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  210.  His  be- 
haviour to  the  emperor's  second  embassy,  ib. 
Is  dispirited  by  his  former  ill  success,  211.  En- 
ters into  a  treaty  with  Henry  VIII.  of  England 
against  the  emperor,  221.  Successes  of  his 
general  Lautrec  in  Italy,  222.  His  reply  to  the 
emperor's  overtures,  224.  Declares  war  against 
him,  and  challenges  him  to  single  combat,  224, 
225.  Treats  Andrew  Doria  ill,  who  revolts 
from  him  to  the  emperor,  227.  His  army, 
under  Snluces,  driven  out  of  Italy,  228.  His 
troops  in  Milan  routed,  229.  His  endeavours 
towards  an  accommodation,  ib.  Terms  of  the 
.*.'  Carnbray,  concluded  by  the  mediation 


INDEX. 


597 


of  his  mother  LouUe  and  Margaret  of  Austria, 

230.  Remarks  on  Uie  sacrifices  made  by  him 
in  this  treaty,  and  on  iiis  conduct  of  the  war, 

231.  Leagues  secretly  with  ttie  protestant 
princes,  239.  His  measures  to  elude  the  treaty 
of  Oambray,  242,  243.  His  negotiations  witli 
the  pope,  243.  His  interview  and  treaty  witii 
the  pope,  lb.  Gives  the  duke  of  Orleans  in 
marriage  to  Catharine  di  Medici,  ib.  Nego- 
tiates a  ireaiy  wiin  Francis  Sforza,  duke  of 
Mi;au,  258.  His  envoy  Merveiile  executed  at 
Miiau  ior  .nurde.,  25J.  is  disappointed  in  ins 
endeavours  to  negotiate  alliances  against  the 
emperor,  ib.  Invites  Melancthon  to  Paris,  ib. 
Evidences  of  his  zeal  for  the  Romish  religion, 
260.  Causes  of  his  quarrel  with  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  261.  Seizes  the  duke's  territories,  ib. 
His  pretensions  to  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  on  the 
death  of  Francis  Sforza,  263.  The  emperor's 
invective  against  him  before  the  pope  in  coun- 
cil, 264.  Is  invaded  by  Charles,  266.  His 
prudent  plan  of  defence,  26".  Joins  the  army 
under  Montmorency,  269.  Death  of  the  dau- 
phin, 270.  Obtains  a  decree  of  the  parliament 
of  Paris  against  the  emperor,  271.  Invades 
the  Low-Countries,  ib.  A  suspension  of  arms 
in  Flanders,  and  how  negotiated,  ib.  A  truce 
in  Piedmont,  ib.  Motives  to  these  truces,  272. 
Concludes  an  alliance  with  Solyman  the  Mag- 
nificent, ib.  Negotiations  for  a  peace  with  the 
emperor,  273.  Concludes  a  truce  for  ten  years 
at  Nice,  ib.  Reflections  on  the  war,  273,  274. 
His  interview  with  Charles,  274.  Marries  Mary 
of  Guise  to  James  V.  of  Scotland,  276.  Re- 
fuses the  offers  of  the  deputies  of  Ghent,  283. 
Informs  Charles  of  the  offer  made  by  them, 
ib.  Grants  the  emperor  leave  to  pass  through 
France  to  the  Netherlands,  284.  His  reception 
of  the  emperor,  ib.  Is  deceived  by  the  empe- 
sor  in  respect  to  Milan,  285.  His  ambassador 
to  the  Porte,  Rincon,  murdered  by  the  imperial 
governor  of  the  Milanese,  303.  Prepares  to 
resent  the  injury,  ib.  Attacks  the  emperor 
with  five  armies,  304.  His  first  attempts  ren- 
dered abortive  by  the  imprudence  of  the  duke 
of  Orleans,  ib.  Renews  his  negotiations  with 
sultan  Solyman,  307.  Invades  the  Low-Coun- 
tries, 308.  Forces  the  emperor  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Landrecy,  309.  Dismisses  Barba- 
lossa,  314.  Gives  the  count  d'Enguien  per- 
mission to  engage  Guasto,  315.  Relieves  Paris, 
in  danger  of  being  surprised  by  the  emperor, 
318.  Agrees  to  a  separate  peace  with  Charles, 
318,  319.  Henry's  haughty  return  to  his  over- 
tures of  peace,  320.  Death  of  the  duke  of 
Orleans,  324.  Peace  of  Campe,  338.  Per- 
ceives a  necessity  of  checking  the  emperor's 
ambitious  designs,  357.  Forms  a  general  league 
against  him,  ib.  Dies,  358.  His  life  and  cha- 
racter summarily  compared  with  those  of 
Charles,  359.    Consequences  of  his  death,  360. 

Francis  II.,  his  accession  to  the  crown  of  Fiance 
and  character,  488. 

Frankfort,  the  diet  of,  assembled  for  the  choice 
of  an  emperor  at  the  death  of  Maximilian,  114. 
•Names  and  views  of  the  electors,  ib.  The 
empire  offered  to  Frederick  of  Saxony,  ib. 
Who  rejects  it,  with  his  reasons,  114,  115. 
Chooses  Charles  V.  emperor,  116.  His  con- 
firmation of  the  Germanic  privileges  required 
and  agreed  to,  ib.  City  of,  embraces  the  re- 
formed religion,  183.  The  college  of  electors 
assembled  there  by  Ferdinand,  who  is  acknow- 
ledged emperor  of  Germany,  476. 
Frederick,  duke  of  Saxony,  assembles  with  the 
other  electors  at  the  diet  of  Frankfort,  to 
choose  an  emperor,  114.  The  empire  offered 
to  him,  ib.  Rejects  it,  and  votes  for  Charles 
V.,  114, 115.  Refuses  the  presents  of  the  Spa- 
nish ambassadors.  115.  This  disinterested  be- 
haviour confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  histo- 
rians, lb.  noie.    Ch«o<*»R  Martin  Luther  philo- 


sophical professor  at  his  university  of  Wittem- 
berg,  127.  Encourages  Luther  in  his  opposi- 
tion to  indulgences,  128.  Protects  liiniagamst 
L'ajetan,  130.  Causes  Luther  to  be  seized  at. 
his  return  from  the  diet  of  Worms,  and  con- 
ceals him  at  Wartburg,  146.     Dies,  208. 

Fregoso,  the  French  ambassador  to  Venice, 
murdered  by  the  marquis  del  Guasto,  the  im- 
perial governor  of  the  Milanese,  303. 

Fmnsperg,  George,  a  German  nobleman,  some 
account  of,  he  joins  the  army  of  Charles  V., 
213. 

General  of  the  Jesuits,  an  inquiry  into  his  office 
and  despotic  authority,  288,  289. 

Geneva,  an  account  of  its  revolt  against  the  duke 
of  Savoy,  261. 

denoa,  reduced  by  Lautrec,  the  French  general, 
222.  The  French  endeavour  to  prejudice  its 
trade  in  favour  of  Savona,  227.  Is  rescued 
from  the  French  by  Andrew  Doria,  228.  The 
government  of,  settled  by  the  disinterestedness 
of  Doria,  229.  The  honour  paid  to  Doria's 
memory,  ib.  Is  visited  by  the  emperor,  233. 
A  scheme  formed  to  overturn  the  constitution 
of,  by  Fiesco  count  of  Lavagno,  351.  He  as- 
sembles his  adherents,  352.  The  conspirators 
sally  forth  from  Lavagno's  palace,  354.  De- 
puties sent  to  know  Lavagno's  terms,  355. 
Lavagno  drowned,  ib.  The  insurrection  ruined 
by  the  imprudence  of  his  brother  Jerome  Fies- 
co, ib.  The  conspirators  disperse,  ib.  Jerome 
reduced  and  put  to  death,  358. 

Oermanada,  an  association  in  Valencia  so  termed, 
on  what  occasion  formed,  172.  Refuse  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  ib.  Their  resentment  levelled 
at  the  nobility,  who  raise  an  army  against 
them,  172,  173  Defeat  the  nobles  in  several 
actions,  173.  But  are  routed  and  dispersed  by 
them,  ib. 

Germany,  state  of,  at  the  death  of  the  emperor 
Maximilian,  111.  Charles  V.  of  Spain  and 
Francis  I.  of  France  form  pretensions  to  the 
imperial  crown,  ib.  Their  respective  reasons 
offered  in  favour  of  their  claims,  ib.  Views 
and  interests  of  the  other  European  states  in 
relation  to  the  competitors,  113.  Henry  VHI. 
of  England  advances  a  claim,  ib.  But  is  dis- 
couraged from  prosecuting  it,  ib.  How  the 
papacy  was  likely  to  be  affected  in  the  choice 
of  an  emperor,  ib.  Advice  of  pope  Leo  X.  to 
the  German  princes,  114.  Opening  of  the  diet 
at  Frankfort,  ib.  In  whom  the  election  of  an 
emperor  is  vested,  ib.  Views  of  the  electors, 
ib.  The  empire  offered  to  Frederick  of  Saxon}', 
ib.  Who  rejects  it,  and  his  reasons,  114, 115. 
Charles  V.  choser,  116.  The  capitulation  of 
the  Germanic  privileges  confirmed  by  him,  ib. 
Charles  sets  out  for,  119.  Charles  crowned  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  124.  Commencement  of  the 
reformation  there,  by  Martin  Luther,  ib.  Treat- 
men*  of  the  bull  of  excommunication  published 
against  Luther,  133.  The  usurpations  of  the 
clergy  there,  during  the  disputes  concerning 
investitures,  138.  The  clergy  of,  mostly  fo- 
reigners, 140.  The  benefices  of,  nominated  by 
the  pope,  ib.  The  expedient  of  the  emperors 
for  restraining  this  power  of  the  pope  ineffec- 
tual, ib.  The  great  progress  of  Luther's  doc- 
trines in,  182.  Grievances  of  the  peasants,  204. 
Insurrection  in  Suabia,  205.  The  memorial  of 
their  grievances,  ib.  The  insurrection  quelled, 
206.  Another  insurrection  in  Thuringia,  ib. 
How  the  house  of  Austria  became  so  formi- 
dable in,  219.  Proceedings  relating  to  the  re- 
formation there,  220.  Great  progress  of  the 
reformation  there,  235.  Ferdinand,  king  of 
Hungary  and  Bohemia,  brother  to  Charles  V. 
elected  king  of  the  Romans.  238.  The  pro- 
testant religion  established  in  Saxony,  279. 
The  protestant  religion  established  in  the  Pala- 
tinate. 32«.     Th*  league  ofSmalkalilc.  raise 


698 


INDEX. 


an  army  against  the  emperor,  338.  Are  put 
under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  340.  The  pro- 
trstant  army  dispersed,  348.  Tlie  Interim  en- 
forced by  tlie  emperor,  380.  Maurice  of  Saxony 
/aises  an  army,  and  declares  in  favour  of  tile 
protestants,  4114,  405.  Maurice  favoured  even 
by  the  catholic  princes,  and  why,  411.  Treaty 
of  Passau,  between  the  emperor  and  Maurice 
of  Saxony,  414.  Truce  between  tlie  emperor 
and  Henry  of  France,  458.  diaries  resigns 
the  imperial  crown  to  his  brother  Ferdinand, 
462. 

Ghent,  an  insurrection  there,  281.  The  preten- 
sions of  the  citizens,  282.  Form  a  confederacy 
against  the  queen  dowager  of  Hungary  their 
governess,  ib.  Their  deputies  to  the  emperor, 
how  treated  by  him,  ib.  Otter  to  submit  to 
France,  283.     Is  reduced  by  Charles,  286. 

Ghibelline  faction  in  Italy,  a  view  of,  212. 

Giron,  Don  Pedro  de,  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  army  of  the  holy  Junta,  167.  Resigns 
his  commission,  and  Padilla  replaced,  168. 

Goletta  in  Africa,  taken  by  the  emperor  Charles 
V.,  256. 

Gonzago,  the  imperial  governor  of  Milan,  pro- 
cures cardinal  Farnese  to  be  assassinated,  and 
lakes  possession  of  Placentia  for  the  emperor, 
373,  374.  Prepares  to  seize  Parma,  392.  Is 
repulsed  by  the  French,  393. 

Goitjjier,  sent  by  Francis  I.  king  of  France  to 
negotiate  a  peace  with  Charles  V.,  106. 

G  ranvelle,  cardinal,  his  artifice  to  prevail  on  the 
count  de  Sancerre  to  surrender  St.  Disiere  to 
the  emperor,  317.  Endeavours  to  lull  the  pro- 
testants into  security  with  regard  to  the  em- 
peror's conduct  towards  them,  329.  Is  com- 
missioned by  Philip  to  address  the  assembly  at 
the  emperor's  resignation  of  his  hereditary 
dominions,  456. 

Gravclines,  an  interview  there  between  the  em- 
peror Charles  V.  and  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 
124. 

Oropper,  canon  of  Cologne,  is  appointed  a  mana- 
ger of  the  protestant  and  catholic  conferences 
before  the  diet  at  Ratisbon,  294.  Writes  a 
treatise  to  compose  the  differences  between 
them,  ib.  The  sentiments  of  both  parties  on 
this  work,  295. 

Granada,  archbishop  of,  president  of  the  council 
of  Castile,  his  imprudent  advice  to  cardinal 
Adrian,  relating  to  the  insurrection  in  Segovia, 
161. 

Guasto,  the"  marquis  del,  appointed  governor  of 
Milan  by  the  emperor,  269.  Procures  Rincon, 
the  French  ambassador  to  the  Porte,  to  be 
murdered  on  his  journey  thither,  303.  Defends 
Carignan  against  the  French,  314.  Defeated 
by  d'Enguien  in  a  pitched  battle,  315. 

Quicciardini,  his  account  of  the  publication  of 
indulgences  contradicted,  128,  note.  Defends 
Reggio  against  the  French,  153.  Repulses  an 
attack  upon  Parma  by  the  French,  156.  His 
sentiments  of  the  pope's  treaty  with  Lannoy 
viceroy  of  Naples,  215,  216. 

Guise,  Francis  of  Lorrain,  duke  of,  is  made  go- 
vernor of  Metz  by  Henry  II.  of  France,  417, 
418.  His  character,  418.  Prepares  to  defend 
it  against  tlie  emperor,  ib.  His  brother  d'Au- 
male  taken  prisoner  by  tiie  imperialists,  419. 
The  emperor  raises  the  siege,  420.  His  humane 
treatment  of  the  distressed  and  sick  Germans 
left  behind,  421.  Persuades  Henry  to  an  alli- 
ance with  pope  Paul  IV.,  451.  Marches  with 
troops  into  Italy,  464,  465.  Is  unable  to  effect 
any  thing,  466.  Is  recalled  from  Italy  after 
the  defeat  of  St.  Quintin,  471.  His  reception 
in  France,  474.  Takes  the  field  against  Philip, 
ib.  Invests  and  lakes  Calais  from  the  English, 
475.  Takes  also  Guisnes  and  Hames,  ib. 
Takes  Thionville  in  Luxembourg,  477. 
,  Mary  of,  married  to  James  V.  of  Scot- 
land, 276.    Frustrates  the  intended  marriage 


between  her  daughter  Mary  and  prince  Edward 

of  England,  314. 
G"rk,  cardinal  de,  why  he  favoured  the  election 

of   Charles   V.   to  the   imperial   crown,   115. 

Signs  the  capitulation  of  the  Germanic  body 

on  behalf  of  Charles,  116. 
Gasman,  chancellor  to  the  emperor  Ferdinand, 

is  sent  to  pope  Paul  IV.  to  notify  the  election, 

who  refuses  to  see  him,  476. 

Hamburg,  city  of,  embraces  the  reformed  reli- 
gion, 183. 

Haru,  tlie  Conde  de,  appointed  to  command  the 
army  of  the  Castilian  nobles  against  the  holy 
Junta,  167.  Attacks  TordesiUas,  and  gets  pos- 
session of  queen  Joanna,  ib.  Routs  the  army 
of  the  Junta,  and  takes  Padilla  prisoner,  who 
is  executed,  170. 

Hascen  Jiga,  deputy-governor  of  Algiers,  his 
piracies  against  the  Christian  states,  299.  Is 
besieged  in  Algiers  by  the  emperor  Charles  V., 
300.  Makes  a  successful  sally,  ib.  The  em- 
peror forced  by  bad  weather  to  return  back, 
again,  301. 

Hayradin,  a  potter's  son  of  Lesbos,  commences 
pirate,  252.     See  Barbarossa. 

Heathens,  ancient,  why  the  principles  of  mutual 
toleration  were  generally  admitted  among 
them,  446. 

Heldu,  vice-chancellor  to  Charles  V.,  attends  the 
pope's  nuncio  to  Smalkalde,  277.  Forms  a 
catholic  league  in  opposition  to  the  protestant 
one,  278. 

Henry  II.,  king  of  France,  his  motives  for  de 
dining  an  alliance  with  pope  Paul  III.  against 
the  emperor,  374.  Procures  for  Scotland  a 
peace  witli  England,  393.  The  young  queen 
Mary  contracted  to  the  dauphin,  and  sent  to 
France  for  education,  ib.  Enters  into  an  alli- 
ance with  Octavio  Farnese,  duke  of  Parma, 
ib.  Protest  against  the  council  of  Trent,  394. 
Makes  alliance  with  Maurice,  elector  of  Sax- 
ony, 401.  Seconds  the  operations  of  Maurice, 
405.  His  army  marches  and  seizes  Metz,  406. 
Attempts  to  surprise  Strasburg,  409,  410.  la 
strongly  solicited  to  spare  it,  410.  Returns,  ib. 
The  emperor  prepares  for  war  against  him, 
417.  Insticales  the  Turks  to  invade  Naples, 
422.  Terouanne  taken  and  demolished  by 
Charles,  425,  426.  Hesden  taken,  426.  Leads 
an  army  into  the  Low-Countries  against 
Charles,  ib.  Endeavours  to  obstruct  the  mar- 
riage of  Mary  of  England  with  Philip  of  Spain, 
434.  The  progress  of  his  arms  against  the 
emperor,  435.  Engages  Charles,  ib.  Retires, 
ib.  Cosmo  dj  Medici,  duke  of  Florence,  makes 
war  against  him,  436.  Appoints  Peter  Strozzi 
commander  of  his  army  in  Italy,  437.  Strozzi 
defeated,  438.  Sienna  taken,  439.  Pope  Paul 
IV.  makes  overtures  to  an  alliance  with  him 
against  the  emperor,  451.  Montmorency's  ar- 
guments aiaiust  this  alliance,  ib.  Is  persuaded 
by  the  Guises  to  accept  it,  ib.  Sends  the  car- 
dinal of  Lorrain  with  powers  to  conclude  it, 
452.  The  pope  signs  the  treaty,  453.  A  truce 
for  five  years  concluded  with  the  emperor,  458. 
Is  exhorted  by  cardinal  Caraffa  to  break  the 
truce,  459.  Is  absolved  from  his  oath,  and 
concludes  a  new  treaty  with  the  pope,  460. 
Sends  the  duke  of  Guise  into  Italy,  465.  The 
constable  Montmorency  de'eated  and  taken 
prisoner  at  St.  Uuintin,  469.  Henry  prepares 
for  the  defence  of  Paris,  ib.  St.  Quinfm  taken 
by  assault,  470.  Collects  his  troops,  and  nego- 
tiates for  assistance,  470,  471.  His  kind  recep- 
tion of  the  duke  of  Guise,  474.  Calais  raken 
by  Guise,  475.  Empowers  Montmorency  to 
negotiate  a  peace  with  Philip,  480.  Honours 
him  highly  on  his  return  to  France,  ib.  Writes 
to  queen  Elizabeth  with  proposals  of  marriage, 
484.  How  he  failed  in  his  suit,  ib.  Terms  of 
the  treat v  of  Chateau  Camhresis,  486,  487 


INDEX. 


599 


Sits  daughter  married  to  Philip,  and  his  sisler 
10  the  duke  01  Savoy,  487.  The  marriage  ot 
his  sister  and  daughter  celebrated  with  great 
pomp,  488.    His  death,  ib. 

Henry  VII.  ol  England,  detains  the  archduke 
Philip  and  his  duchess,  when  driven  on  his 
coast,  three  months,  at  the  instigation  ot  Fer- 
dinand, 94. 

VIII.  ol  England,  sends  an  ambassador 

to  Germany  to  propose  fits  ciatins  to  the  impe- 
rial crown,  113.  Is  discouraged  from  his  pre- 
tensions, and  takes  no  part  with  the  other  coin- 
petiiois,  ib.  Uib  personal  character  and  political 
influence  in  Europe,  121.  Entirely  guidod  by 
cardinal  Wolsey,  122.  Receives  a  visit  from 
fhe  emperoi  diaries  V.,  123.  Goes  over  to 
France  to  visit  Francis,  ib.  Wrestles  with 
Francis,  and  is  thrown  by  him,  ib.  note.  Has 
another  interview  with  Charles  at  Gravelines, 
J24.  Charles  otters  to  submit  his  dirt'erences 
with  Francis  to  his  arbitration,  ib.  Publishes 
«  treatise  on  the  Seven  Sacraments,  against 
Martin  Luther,  147.  Obtains  of  the  pope  the 
title  of  Defender  of  the.  Faith,  ib.  Takes  part 
with  Charles  against  Francis,  ib.  Sends  Wol- 
sey to  negotiate  an  accommodation  between 
the  emperor  and  Francis,  151.  Concludes  a 
league  with  Charles  against  Francis,  152.  His 
avowed  reasons  for  this  treaty,  ib.  His  private 
motives,  ib.  Declares  war  against  Francis, 
157.  Is  visited  by  •  harles,  ib.  Makes  descents 
upon  the  coast  of  France,  158.  Advances  with 
an  army  into  Picardy,  ib.  Obliged  to  retire 
by  the  duke  de  Vendome,  ib.  Enters  into  a 
treaty  with  the  emperor  and  Charles  duke  of 
Bourbon,  177.  How  he  raised  supplies  for  his 
wars  beyond  the  giants  of  his  parliament,  180. 
Sends  the  duke  of  Suffolk  to  invade  Picardy, 
who  penetrates  almost  to  Paris,  but  is  driven 
back,  ib.  Engages  to  assist  Charles  in  an  in- 
vasion of  Provence,  187.  Causes  of  his  not 
supporting  the  imperialists,  187,  188.  Effects 
of  the  battle  of  Pavia  and  captivity  of  Francis 
on  him,  194.  Particulars  of  his  embassy  to 
Charles,  194,  195.  Concludes  a  defensive  alli- 
ance with  France,  197.  Is  declared  protector 
of  the  league  of  Cognac  against  the  emperor, 
209.  His  motives  for  assisting  the  pope  against 
the  emperor,  221.  Enters  into  a  league  with 
Francis,  and  renounces  the  English  claim  to 
the  crown  of  France,  ib.  Declares  war  against 
the  emperor,  224.  Concludes  a  truce  with  the 
governess  of  the  Low-Countries,  226.  Projects 
his  divorce  from  Catharine  of  Arragon,  232. 
Motives  which  withheld  the  pope  from  grant- 
ing ii,  ib.  Acquiesces  in  the  peace  of  Cambray, 
233.  Sends  a  supply  of  money  to  the  pi  otestant 
league  in  Germany,  240.  Procures  his  mar- 
riage to  be  annulled  by  Cranmer,  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  244.  The  divorce  reversed  by 
the  pope  under  penally  of  excommunication, 
ib.  Renounces  the  papal  supremacy,  ib.  Re- 
fuses to  acknowledge  any  council  called  by  the 
pope,  251.  Opposes  James  V.  of  Scotland 
marrying  Mary  of  Guise,  276.  His  disgusts 
With  Francis,  and  intercourse  with  the  em- 
peror, 276,  277.  Concludes  a  league  with 
Charles,  306.  Makes  war  with  Scotland,  307. 
Particulars  of  his  treaty  with  Charles,  ib. 
Invades  France,  and  invests  Boulogne,  317. 
Refuses  the  emperor's  plan  of  operations,  318. 
Is  deserted  by  the  emperor,  ib.  Takes  Bou- 
logne, 320.  His  haughty  proposals  to  France, 
ib.  Peace  of  Campe,  338.  Is  succeeded  by 
his  son  Edward  VI.,  357.  A  review  of  his 
policy,  493. 

Hertford,  earl  of,  plunders  and  burns  Edinburgh. 
317.  Joins  Henry  after,  in  his  invasions  of 
France,  ib. 

Hesse,  the  landgrave  of,  procures  the  restoration 
of  his  kinsman,  Ulric  duke  of  Wurtembiirg, 
250.     Hi*  views  compared  with  tho«e  of  the 


elector  of  Saxony,  328.  The  emperor's  de- 
ceitful professions  to  him,  331.  Uuiets  th 
apprehensions  ot  the  protestant  league  with 
regard  to  the  emperor,  ib.  Is  appointed  joint 
commander  of  the  army  of  the  league  with 
the  elector  of  Saxony,  341.  Their  characters 
compared,  ib.  Urges  an  attack  of  the  empe- 
ror, but  is  opposed  by  the  elector,  343.  His 
letter  to  Maurice  duke  ol  Saxony,  346.  The 
army  of  the  league  disperse,  348.  Is  reduced 
to  accept  harsh  terms  from  Charles,  367.  His 
humiliating  reception  by  the  emperor,  368.  Is 
detained  in  confinement,  369.  His  offers  of 
submission  slighted  by  the  emperor,  379.  Is 
carried  by  the  emperor  with  him  into  the  Ne- 
therlands, 381.  Renews  his  endeavours  for 
liberty,  389.  Charles  releases  arbitrarily  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg  and  Maurice  from  their 
engagements  to  him,  390.  Is  closely  confined 
in  the  citadel  of  Mechlin,  ib.  Obtains  his 
liberty  by  the  treaty  of  Passau,  414.  Is  arrested 
by  the  queen  of  Hungary,  but  freed  by  the 
emperor,  416.  The  effects  of  his  confinement 
on  him,  ib. 

Heuterus,  his  account  of  Lewis  XII.  shown  to 
contradict  the  relations  given  by  Bellay,  and 
other  French  historians,  of  the  education  of 
Charles  V.,  98,  note. 

Holy  Junta.     See  Junta. 

Holy  League,  against  the  emperor  Charles  V., 
formed  at  Cognac,  under  the  protection  of 
Henry  VIII.  of  England,  209. 

Home,  a  potter's  son  of  Lesbos,  commences 
pirate  with  his  brother  Hayradin,  252.  See 
Barbarossa. 

Hungary,  is  invaded  by  Solyman  the  Magnificent, 
and  its  king  Lewis  II.  killed,  219.  His  suc- 
cesses, and  the  number  of  prisoners  carried 
away,  ib.  The  archduke  Ferdinand  elected 
king  of,  together  with  Bohemia,  ib.  John 
Zapol  Sciepius  wrests  it  from  Ferdinand,  290. 
Stephen  succeeds  on  the  death  of  his  father 
John,  297.  Is  treacherously  seized  by  Solyman, 
298.     See  Isabella  and  Martinuzii. 

James  V.  of  Scotland,  levies  troops  to  assist 
Francis  in  Provence,  but  his  intention  frus- 
trated, 276.  His  negotiations  for  marriage; 
with  Francis's  daughter,  ib.  Marries  Mary  of 
Guise,  ib.  Dies,  and  leaves  Mary  his  infant 
daughter  to  succeed  him,  307.    See  Mary. 

Jesuits,  the  order  of,  by  whom  founded,  150. 
Character  of  that  order,  ib.  Character  of 
Ignatio  Loyola,  their  founder,  287.  The  order 
confirmed  by  the  pope,  288.  An  examination 
into  the  constitution  of  the  order,  ib.  Office 
and  power  of  their  general,  288,  289.  The 
rapid  progress  of  the  order,  290.  Engage  in 
trade,  and  establish  an  empire  in  South  Ame- 
rica, ib.  Bad  tendency  of  the  order,  291.  Are 
responsible  for  most  of  the  pernicious  effects 
of  popery  since  their  institution,  ib.  Advan- 
tages resulting  from  their  institution,  ib.  Ci- 
vilize the  natives  of  Paraguay,  292.  Their 
precautions  for  the  independency  of  their  em- 
pire there,  293.  How  the  particulars  of  their 
government  and  institution  came  to  be  dis- 
closed, ib.    Summary  of  their  character,  294. 

Indulgences,  in  the  Romish  church,  the  doctrine 
of,  explained,  125.  By  whom  first  invented, 
ib.  Martin  Luther  preaches  against  them,  127. 
Writes  against  them  to  Albert  elector  of  Mentz, 
ib.  A  bull  issued  in  favour  of,  131.  The  sale 
of,  opposed  in  Switzerland  by  Zuinglius,  132. 

Infantado,  duke  of,  his  haughty  resentment  of  a 
casual  blow  on  his  horse,  281.  Is  protected  by 
the  constable  of  Castile,  ib. 

Iinmii  nt,  a  young  domestic  of  cardinal  di  Monte, 
obtains  his  cardinal's  hat  on  his  election  to 
the  papacy,  384. 

hi  i  en  in,  a  system  of  theology  so  called,  prepared 
bv  order  of  the  emneror  Charles  V.  for  the  use 


mo 


INDEX. 


of  Germany,  377.  Is  disapproved  of,  both  by 
protectants  and  papists,  378. 
Investitures,  usurpations  of  the  Romish  clergy 
in  Germany,  during  the  disputes  between  the 
emperors  and  popes,  concerning,  138. 
Joanna,  daughter  of  Ferdinand,  and  mother  of 
Charles  V.,  visits  Spain  with  her  husband 
Philip  archduke  of  Austria,  90.  Is  slighted 
by  her  husband,  ib.  Her  character,  ib.  Is 
abruptly  left  in  Spain  by  her  husband,  ib. 
Sinks  into  melancholy  on  the  occasion,  and  is 
delivered  of  her  second  son  Ferdinand,  ib. 
Her  letter  of  consent  to  her  father's  regency  of 
Castile  intercepted,  and  herself  confined,  92. 
Made  joint  regent  of  Castile  with  Ferdinand 
and  Philip,  by  the  treaty  of  Salamanca,  93. 
Sets  out  for  Spain  with  Philip,  are  driven  on 
the  coast  of  England,  and  detained  three 
months  by  Henry  VII.,  94.  Acknowledged 
queen  by  the  Cortes,  95.  Her  tenderness  to 
her  husband  in  his  sickness,  and  extraordinary 
attachment  to  his  body  when  dead,  ib.  Is  in- 
capable of  government,  ib.  Her  son  Charles 
assumes  the  crown,  101.  The  Cortes  acknow- 
ledge her  son  king,  with  a  reservation  in  her 
favour,  108.  Her  reception  of  Padilla,  the 
chief  of  the  Spanish  malecontents,  163.  The 
holy  Junta  removed  to  Tordesillas,  the  place 
of  her  residence,  ib.  Relapses  into  her  former 
melancholy,  ib.  The  proceedings  of  the  holy 
Junta  carried  on  in  her  name,  ib.  Is  seized 
by  the  Conde  de  Haro,  167.  Dies  after  near 
fifty  years'  confinement,  454,  455. 

John  Zapol  Scspius,  by  the  assistance  of  sultan 
Solyma'n,  establishes  himself  in  the  kingdom 
of  Hungary,  296.  Leaves  the  kingdom  to  his 
son  Stephen,  297.  See  Hungary,  Isabella, 
gnd  Martinuzzi. 

Isabella,  daughter  of  John  II.  of  Castile,  and 
wife  of  Ferdinand  king  of  Arragon,  her  his- 
tory, 89.  Her  concern  at  the  archduke  Philip's 
treatment  of  her  daughter  Joanna,  90.  Her 
death  and  character,  ib.  Appoints  Ferdinand 
regent  of  Castile,  under  restrictions,  91. 

,  daughter  to-Sigismund  king  ofPoland, 

married  to  John  king  of  Hungary,  296.  Her 
character,  297.  Is  treacherously  carried,  with 
her  infant  son,  into  Transylvania  by  sultan 
Solyman,  298.  The  government  of  this  pro- 
vince and  the  education  of  her  son  committed 
to  her  jointly  with  Martinuzzi,  398.  Is  jealous 
of  Mnrtinuzzi's  influence,  and  courts  the 
Turks,  ib.  Is  prevailed  on  to  resign  Transyl- 
vania to  Ferdinand,  399.  Retires  to  Silesia, 
ib.    Recovers  possession  of  Transylvania,  427. 

of  Portugal,  married  to  the  emperor  Charles 

V.,  204. 

Italy,  consequences  of  the  league  between  pope 
Leo  X.  and  the  emperor  Charles  V  to,  153. 
The  characters  of  the  Italians,  Spaniards,  and 
French  contrasted,  ib.  State  of,  at  the  acces- 
sion of  Clement  VII.  to  the  papacy,  181.  Views 
of  the  Italian  States  with  respect  to  the  em- 
peror and  Francis  on  the  expulsion  of  the 
French  from  Genoa  and  the  Milanese,  186. 
Their  apprehensions  on  the  battle  of  Pavia 
and  captivity  of  Francis,  195.  The  principal 
states  join  in  the  holy  league  against  the  em- 
peror, 209.  Are  disgusted  at  the  tardiness  of 
Francis,  212.  A  view  of  the  Ghibelline  fac- 
tion, ib.  Sentiments  of  the  states  of,  on  the 
peace  of  Cambray,  231.  Is  visited  by  the  em- 
peror Charles,  233.  The  motives  of  his  mo- 
deration towards  the  states  of,  233,  234.  A 
league  among  the  states  of,  formed  by  Charles, 
242.  Placenlia  granted  to  Octavio  Farnese  by 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  472.  The  investiture  of 
Sienna  given  by  PhiliptoCosmo  di  Medici, 473. 
The  consequence  of  these  grants,  ib. 

Junta,  holy,  a  view  of  the  confederacy  in  Spain 
so  termed,  162, 163.  The  authority  of  Adrian 
disclaimed  by,  163.    Removed  to  Tordesillas, 


where  queen  Joanna  resided,  ib.  Their  pro- 
ceedings carried  on  in  the  name  of  Joanna,  ib. 
Receives  letters  from  Charles  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  with  promises  of  pardon,  164.  Remon- 
strances or  grievances  drawn  up  by,  ib.  The 
particulars  of  this  remonstrance,  164,  165. 
Remarks  on  the  spirit  of  it,  166.  Are  intimi- 
dated from  presenting  it  to  Charles,  ib.  Pro- 
pose to  deprive  Charles  of  his  royalty  during 
the  life  of  Joanna,  ib.  Take  the  field,  167. 
Character  of  their  army,  ib.  The  queen  seized 
by  the  Conde  de  Haro,  ib.  How  they  obtained 
money  to  support  their  army,  168.  Lose  time 
in  negotiating  with  the  nobles,  168,  169.  Pro- 
pose to  make  their  peace  with  Charles  at  the 
expense  of  the  nobles,  169.  Their  irresolute 
conduct,  ib.  Their  army  defeated  by  Haro, 
and  Padilla  taken  prisoner,  170.  Padilla  exe- 
cuted, ib.  His  letters  to  his  wife,  and  the  city 
of  Toledo,  170,  171,  note.  The  ruin  of  the 
confederacy,  172. 

Julius  H.,  pope,  observations  on  the  Dontificatc 
of,  136. 

III.,  pope,  his  character,  384.     Bestows 

his  cardinal's  hat  infamously,  ib.  Is  averse 
to  the  calling  a  council,  385.  Summons  one 
at  Trent,  ib.  Asserts  his  supreme  authority 
peremptorily  in  the  bull  for  it,  389.  Repents 
confirming  Octavio  Farnese  in  Parma,  392. 
Requires  Octavio  to  relinquish  his  alliance 
with  France,  393.  The  manner  of  his  deaths 
444. 

La  Chau,  a  Flemish  gentleman,  associated  by 
Charles  V.  with  cardinal  Ximenes  in  the  re- 
gency of  Castile,  101.- 

Landrecy,  siege  of,  by  the  emperor  Charles  V., 
309.     Is  abandoned  by  him,  ib. 

Lannoy,  mortgages  the  revenues  of  Naples,  to 
supply  the  exigencies  of  the  emperor,  189. 
Francis  surrenders  himself  prisoner  to  him  at 
the  battle  of  Pavia,  192.  His  cautious  disposal 
of  him,  ib.  Delivers  him  up  in  pursuance  of 
the  treaty  of  Madrid,  and  receives  the  duke  of 
( trleans  and  the  dauphin,  as  hostages  in  ex- 
change, 204.  Is  sent  ambassador  to  Francis 
to  require  his  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  of,  210. 
Concludes  a  treaty  with  the  pope,  215.  Marches 
to  join  the  imperialists  at  Rome,  where  the 
troops  refuse  to  obey  him,  221,  222. 

I^anuza,  Don  John  de,  made  viceroy  of  Arragon 
oir  the  departure  of  Charles  V.  for  Germany, 
119.     Composes  the  disturbances  there,  173. 

JLavagno,  John  Lewis  Fiesco,  count  of,  his  cha- 
racter, 351.  Meditates  subverting  the  govern- 
ment of  Genoa,  ib.  His  preparations,  352. 
His  artful  method  of  assenrbling  his  adherents, 
353.  His  exhortation  to  them,  ib.  His  inter- 
view with  his  wife,  354.  Sallies  forth,  ib. 
Airdrew  Doria  escapes,  355.  Deputies  sent  to 
know  his  terms,  ib.  Is  drowned,  ib.  His  bro- 
ther's vanity  ruins  their  designs,  ib.  See 
Fiesco. 

Lautrcc,  Odet  de  Foix,  mareschal  de,  the  French 
governor  of  Milan,  his  character,  153.  Alien- 
ates the  affections  of  the  Milanese  from  the 
French,  ib.  Invests  Reggio,  but  is  repulsed  by 
Guicciardini  the  historian,  then  governor,  ib. 
Is  excommunicated  by  the  pope,  154.  The 
money  for  paying  his  troops  seized  by  Louise 
of  Savoy,  ib.  Is  left  by  his  Swiss  troops,  155. 
Is  driven  out  of  the  Milanese  territories,  ib. 
A  new  body  of  Swiss  under  him  insist  on  giv- 
ing battle  to  the  imperialists,  who  defeat  him, 
157.  The  Swiss  leave  him,  ib.  Retires  into 
France  with  the  residue  of  his  troops,  ib.  De- 
livers up  the  dauphin  and  the  duke  of  Orleans 
in  exchange  for  Francis  I.,  as  hostages  for  the 
performance  of  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  204.  Is 
appointed  generalissimo  of  the  league  against 
the  emperor,  222.  His  successes  in  Italy,  ib. 
Motives  which  withheld  him  from  subduing 


IiNDKii. 


601 


tne  Milanese,  ib.  Ooltgea  tlie  prince  of  Orange 
to  retire  to  Naples,  2-23.  Blockades  Naples, 
•Z-26.  His  army  wasted,  and  himself  killed  by 
the  pestilence,  228. 

Learning,  the  revival  of,  favourable  to  the  re- 
formation of  religion,  142. 

Leipsw,  a  public  disputation  held  there  by  MartLi 
Luther  and  Eccius,  on  the  validity  of  the  papal 
authority,  132. 

Leo  X.,  pope  of  Rome,  his  character,  113.  His 
apprehensions  on  the  election  of  an  emperor 
of  Germany,  at  the  death  of  Maximilian,  ib. 
His  counsel  to  the  German  princes,  114.  Grants 
Charles  V.  a  tenth  of  all  ecclesiastical  benefices 
in  Castile,  117.  Lays  Castile  under  an  inter- 
dict, but  takes  it  otf  at  the  instance  of  Charles, 
ib.  His  conduct  on  the  prospect  of  war  be- 
tween Charles  and  Francis,  120.  Situation  of 
the  papacy  at  his  accession,  and  his  views  of 
policy,  125.  His  inattention  to  Martin  Luther's 
controversy  with  the  Dominicans,  concerning 
indulgences,  129.  Is  instigated  against  him 
and  summons  him  to  Koine,  ib.  Desires  the 
elector  of  Saxony  not  to  protect  him,  ib.  Is 
prevailed  on  to  permit  Luther's  doctrines  to  be 
examined  in  Germany,  ib.  Cardinal  Cajetan 
appointed  to  try  him,  ib.  Issues  a  bull  in  favour 
of  indulgences,  131.  A  suspension  of  proceed- 
ings against  Luther,  and  why,  132  Publishes 
a  bull  of  excommunication  against  him,  133. 
The  political  views  of  his  conduct  between 
Charles  and  Francis,  148.  Concludes  a  treaty 
with  Francis,  ib.  Concludes  a  treaty  also  with 
Charles,  149.     The  conditions  of  the  treaty 

•  with  Charles,  ib.     Its  consequences  to  Italy, 

#153.  Is  disappointed  in  a  scheme  formed  by 
Moroni,  chancellor  of  Milan,  for  attacking  that 
dutchy,  ib.  Excommunicates  mareschal  de 
Foix  for  his  aUe:k  of  Reggio,  and  declares 
against  France,  153,  154.  Takes  a  body  of 
Swiss  into  pay,  154.  The  French  driven  out 
of  the  Milanese,  155.  He  dies,  ib.  The  spirit 
of  confederacy  broken  by  his  death,  ib. 

X'  Esparre,  Foix  de,  commands  the  French  troops 
in  Navarre  for  Henry  d'Albret,  150.  Reduces 
that  kingdom,  ib.  His  imprudent  progress  into 
Castile,  ib.  Is  taken  prisoner  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  French  driven  out  of  Navarre,  ib. 

Leonard,  Father,  forms  a  scheme  of  betraying 
Metz  to  the  imperialists,  440,  441.  Introduces 
soldiers  clad  like  friars,  441.  Is  detected,  ib. 
Is  murdered  by  his  monks,  442. 

Levesque,  Don,  his  account  of  the  motives  which 
induced  the  emperor  Charles  V.  to  resign  his 
hereditary  dominions,  454,  note. 

Lewis  II.,  king  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  his 
character,  219.  Is  invaded  and  killed  by  Soly- 
man  the  Magnificent,  ib. 

XII.,  king  of  France,  receives  homage  of 

the  archduke  Philip,  for  the  earldom  of  Flan- 
ders, 90.  Concludes  a  treaty  with  him,  while 
at  war  with  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  91.  Be- 
stows his  niece,  Germain  de  Foix,  on  Ferdi- 
nand, and  concludes  a  peace  with  him,  93. 
Loses  the  confidence  of  Philip  on  that  occa- 
sion, 98,  note.  Bestows  his  eldest  daughter, 
already  betrothed  to  Charles  V.,  on  the  count 
of  Anffouleme,  ib. 

Leyva,  Antonio  de,  defends  Pavia  for  the  emperor 
against  Francis,  189.  His  vigorous  defence, 
190.  Sallies  out  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  and 
contributes  to  the  defeat  of  Francis,  192.  Is 
left  governor  of  Milan  by  the  duke  of  Bour- 
bon, 214.  Defeats  the  forces  there,  229.  Is 
appointed  seneralissimn  of  the  Italian  league, 
242.  Directs  the  operations  of  the  invasion 
of  France,  under  the  emperor,  266.     Dies,  269. 

Literature,  its  obligations  to  the  order  of  Jesuits, 

291. 
Lorenzo  di  Medici.    See  Medici. 
Lorrain,   cardinal  of,   persuades  Henry   H.  of 
'  France  to  accept  the  offered  alliance  with  none 
Vol.  II.— 7fi 


Paul  IV.,  and  is  sent  to  Rome  to  negotiate  it, 
451,  452.  His  imprudent  behaviour  towards 
the  duchess  of  Valentinois,  479. 

Louise  ol  Savoy,  mother  of  Francis  I.  of  France, 
her  character,  154.  Her  motives  for  seizing 
the  money  appointed  for  payment  of  mareschal 
Lautrec's  troops,  ib.  Cause  of  her  aversion 
to  the  house  of  Bourbon,  176.  Her  advances 
towards  a  marriage  with  Charles  duke  of 
Bourbon,  rejected  by  him,  177.  Determines 
to  ruin  him,  ib.  Instigates  a  law-suit  against 
him  for  his  estates,  ib.  Goes  to  dissuade 
Francis  from  his  intended  invasion  of  the  Mi- 
lanese, who  will  not  wait  for  her,  188.  Is  ap- 
pointed regent  during  his  absence,  ib.  Her 
prudent  conduct  on  the  defeat  of  Pavia,  and 
captivity  of  her  son  Francis,  193.  Concludes 
a  defensive  alliance  with  Henry  VIII.,  197. 
Ratifies  the  treaty  of  Madrid  for  the  recovery 
of  her  son's  liberty,  203.  Undertakes  with 
Margaret  of  Savoy  to  accommodate  the  differ- 
ences between  the  emperor  and  Francis,  230. 
Articles  of  the  peace  of  Cambray,  ib. 

Loyola,  Ignatio,  commands  the  castle  of  Pam- 
peluna,  in  Navarre,  and  is  wounded  in  its  de- 
fence, 150.  His  enthusiastic  turn  of  mind,  ib. 
The  founder  of  the  society  of  Jesuits,  ib.  Pre- 
vails on  the  pope  to  establish  the  order,  287, 
288.  An  examination  into  the  constitution  of 
the  order,  288.  Office  and  power  of  the  gene- 
ral, 288, 289.  The  rapid  progress  of  the  order, 
290.    See  Jesuits. 

Lunenburgh,  duke  of,  avows  the  opinions  of 
Luther,  183. 

Luther,  Martin,  the  happy  consequences  of  the 
opinions  propagated  by  him,  124.  Attacks  in- 
dulgences, 126.  His  birth  and  education,  ib. 
Chosen  philosophical  professor  at  the  univer- 
sity of  Wittemberg,  127.  Inveighs  against  the 
publishers  of  indulgences,  ib.  Writes  to  Albert 
elector  of  Mentz  against  them,  ib.  Composes 
theses  against  indulgences,  ib.  Is  supported 
by  the  Augustinians,  and  encouraged  by  Frede- 
rick elector  of  Saxony,  128.  Is  summoned  te 
Rome  by  pope  Leo,  129.  Obtains  of  the  pope 
leave  to  have  his  doctrines  examined  in  Ger- 
many, ib.  Appears  before  cardinal  Cajetan 
at  Augsburg,  ib.  His  resolute  reply  to  the  pe- 
remptory order  of  Cajetan,  to  retract  his  prin- 
ciples, 130.  Withdraws  from  Augsburg,  and 
appeals  from  the  pope  ill-informed,  to  the  pope 
when  better  informed,  concerning  him,  ib. 
Appeals  to  a  general  council,  131.  The  death 
of  Maximilian,  how  of  service  to  him,  132. 
Questions  the  papal  authority  in  a  public  dis- 
putation, ib.  His  opinions  condemned  by  the 
universities  of  Cologne  and  Louvain,  ib.  A 
bull  of  excommunication  published  against 
him,  133.  Pronounces  the  pope  to  be  anti- 
christ, and  burns  the  bull,  ib.  Reflections  on. 
the  conduct  of  the  court  of  Rome  towards 
him,  134.  Reflections  on  his  conduct,  ib. 
Causes  which  contributed  to  favour  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  church  of  Rome,  135.  Particu- 
larly the  art  of  printing,  142.  And  the  revival 
of  learnine,  ib.  He  is  summoned  to  appear 
at  the  diet  of  Worms,  145.  A  safe-conduct, 
granted  him  thither,  ib.  His  reception  there, 
ib.  Refuses  to  retract  his  opinions,  ib.  De- 
parts, 146.  An  edict  published  against  him, 
ib.  He  is  seized  and  concealed  at  Warthure, 
ib.  Progress  of  his  doctrines,  ib.  The  uni- 
versity of  Paris  publishes  a  decree  against  him, 
ib.  Wrote  against  by  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 
146,  147.  Answers  both,  147.  Withdraws 
from  his  retreat  to  check  the  inconsiderate  zeal 
of  Carlostadius,  182.  Undertakes  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible,  ib.  His  doctrines  avowed 
by  several  of  the  German  princes,  183.  His 
moderate  and  prudent  conduct,  207.  Marries 
Catharine  a  Boria,  a  nun,  ib.  The  gTeat  pro- 
gress of  his  doctrines  among  the  Germaniri 


GOS 


fN  DE*. 


States,  235.  Encouragestheprotestants,  ilispi 
rited  by  trio  emperor's  decree  against  mm,  2:t8. 
His  concern  at  the  practices  ot  the  anabaptists 
at  Monster,  249.  Is  invited  to  Leipsic  by  Henry 
duke  of  Saxony,  279.  His  opinion  ot  Gropper's 
treatise  to  unite  the  protectants  and  catholics, 
295.  Dies,  329.  Sununary  ot  his  character, 
329,  330.  Extract  from  his  last  will,  331,  note. 
See  Protestants.  A  view  of  the  extraordinary 
effects  of  his  revolt  from  the  church  ol  Koine, 
on  that  court,  and  on  Europe  in  general, 
494—497. 
/Luxembourg,  invaded  by  Robert  de  la  Marck, 
lord  of  Bouillon,  151.  Invaded  and  overrun 
by  the  duke  of  Orleans,  305.  Is  again  invaded 
by  Fraucis,  308. 

Madrid,  treaty  of,  between  the  emperor  Charles 
V.  and  his  prisoner  Francis  1.  kins  of  France, 
202.  Sentiments  of  the  public  with  regard  to 
this  treaty,  203. 

.Magdeburg,  the  city  of,  refuses  to  admit  the  In- 
terim enforced  by  Charles  V.,  and  prepares  for 
defence,  388.  Maurice  elector  of  Saxony  ap- 
pointed to  reduce  it,  389.  Is  put  under  the  ban 
of  the  empire,  395.  The  territories  of,  invaded 
by  George  of  Mecklenburgh,  ib.  The  inhabit- 
ants defeated  in  a  sally,  ib.  Maurice  of  Sax- 
ony arrives  and  besieges  the  city,  ib.  Surren- 
ders, 396.  The  senate  elects  Maurice  their 
burgrave,  ib. 

Mahmcd,  king  of  Tunis,  history  of  his  sons,  253. 

Majorca,  an  insurrection  there,  173.  Which  is 
quelled  with  difficulty,  ib.  The  moderation  of 
Charles  towards  the  insurgents,  on  his  arrival 
in  Spain,  174. 

Majesty,  the  appellation  of,  assumed  by  Charles 
V.  on  his  election  to  the  imperial  crown,  and 
taken  by  all  the  other  monarchs  of  Europe,  116. 

Malines,  council  of,  an  account  of,  282. 

Malta,  the  island  of,  granted  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V.  to  the  knights  of  St.  John,  expelled 
from  Rhodes  by  the  Turks,  159. 

Mamaluk.es,  extirpated  by  sultan  Selhn  II.,  112. 

Mammelukes,  a  faction  in  Geneva  so.  termed, 
some  account  of,  361. 

Manuel,  Don  John,  Ferdinand's  ambassador  at 
the  imperial  court,  pays  his  court  to  the  arch- 
duke Philip  on  queen  Isabella's  death,  92.  In- 
tercepts Joanna's  letter  of  consent  to  Ferdi- 
nand's regency  of  Castile,  ib.  Negotiates  a 
treaty  between  Ferdinand  and  Philip,  93.  De- 
clares for  Maximilian's  regency  on  Philip's 
death,  90.-  Is  made  imperial  ambassador  at 
Rome,  and  concludes  an  alliance  between 
Charles  V.  and  Leo  X.,  149.  The  conditions 
of  the  treaty,  ib.  Procures  Adrian  of  Utrecht 
to  be  elected  pope,  156. 

Marcellus  II.,  pope,  his  character,  448.     Dies,  ib. 

Marciano,  battle  of,  between  Peter  Strozzi  and 
the  marquis  de  Marignano,  438. 

Margaret  of  Austria,  and  dowager  of  Savoy, 
aunt  to  Charles  V.,  undertakes  with  Louise, 
mother  of  Francis  I.  of  France,  to  accommo- 
date the  differences  between  those  two  mon- 
archs, 230.  Articles  of  the  peace  of  Cambrav, 
230,  231. 

Marignano,  marquis  of,  appointed  commander 
of  the  Florentine  army,  acting  against  the 
French,  437.  Defeats  the  French  army  under 
Peter  Strozzi,  438.  Lays  siege  to  Sienna,  ib. 
Converts  the  siese  into  a  blockade,  ib.  Sienna 
surrenders,  439.  Reduces  Porto  Ercole,  ib. 
His  troops  ordered  into  Piedmont  by  the  em- 
peror, ib. 

Marck,  Robert  de  la,  lord  of  Bouillon,  declares 
war  asainst  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  150.  Ra- 
vages Luxembourg  with  French  troops,  151. 
19  commanded  to  disband  his  troops  by 
Francis,  ib.  His  territories  reduced  by  the 
emperor,  ib. 

Marseilles,  besieged  bv  the  imrtertalisrs-.  JK7. 


Rescued  by  Francis,  ib.  interview  and  treaty 
there  between  the  pope  and  Francis,  243. 

Jltirtinuzzt.  bishop  ol'  Waradin,  is  appointed 
guardian  to  Stephen  king  of  Hungary,  297. 
His  character,  ib.  Solicits  the  assistance  "I 
sultan  Solyman  against  Ferdinand,  ib.  Soly- 
nian  seizes  the  kingdom,  297,  -£J8.  Is  appointed 
to  the  government  of  Transylvania  and  the 
education  of  the  young  king,  jointly  with  the 
queen,  398.  Negotiates  with  Ferdinand,  399. 
Prevails  with  the  queen  to  resign  Transylvania 
to  Ferdinand,  ib.  Is  appointed  governor  of 
Transylvania,  and  made  a  cardinal,  399,  400. 
Is  assassinated  by  Ferdinand's  order,  400. 

Martyr,  Peter,  his  authority  cited  in  proof  of 
the  extortions  of  the  Flemish  ministers  of 
Charles  V.,  109. 

Mary  of  Burgundy,  contracted  to  Lewis  XII.  of 
France,  but  married  to  the  emperor  Maximi- 
lian, 89. 

of  England,  her  accession,  431.     Receives 

proposals  from  the  emperor  Charles  V.  of  mar- 
rying his  son  Philip,  ib.  The  English  averse 
to  this  union,  ib.  The  house  of  commons  re- 
monstrates against  the  match,  432.  The  arti- 
cles of  marriage,  ib.  The  marriage  ratified 
by  parliament  and  completed,  433.  Re-esta- 
liiishes  the  Romish  religion,  ib.  Persecutes 
the  reformers,  ib.  Invites  Charles  to  England 
on  his  resignation  and  passage  to  Spain,  which 
he  declines,  463.  Is  engaged  by  Philip  to  assist 
him  in  his  war  aaainst  France,  467.  Levies 
money  by  her  prerogative  to  carry  on  the  war, 
ib.  Her  neclect  in  the  security  of  Calais,  475. 
Calais  invested  and  taken  by  the  duke  of  Guise* 
ib.     Dies,  4?<4.  . 

,  daughter  of  James  V.  of  Scotland,  suc- 
ceeds to  the  crown  an  infant,  307.  Is  con- 
tracted to  the  dauphin  of  France,  374.  Is 
educated  at  the  court  of  France,  393.  The 
marriage  completed,  ib.  Assumes  the  title  and 
arms  of  England  on  the  death  of  Mary,  485. 

Matthias,  John,  a  baker,  becomes  a  leader  of  the 
anabaptists  at  Munster,  246.  Seizes  the  city, 
and  establishes  a  new  form  of  government 
there,  246, 247.  Repulses  the  bishop  of  Munster, 
247.  Iskilled,  ib.  See  Rocioldand-lnahaptist.- 

Maurice,  duke  of  Saxony,  his  motives  for  not 
acceding  to  the  protestant  leacueof  Smalkalde, 
310.  Marches  to  the  assistance  of  Ferdinand 
in  Hungary,  ib.  His  difference  with  his  cousin 
the  elector,  ib.  His  conduct  at  the  diet  of 
Worms,  323.  Joins  the  emperor  against  the 
protectants,  339.  His  motives,  344.  His  in-i 
dious  conduct  towards  the  elector,  345.  Seizes 
the  electorate  of  Saxony,  346.  Saxony  reco- 
vered by  the  elector,  349.  His  ineffectual  en- 
deavours to  reduce  Wittemberg  for  the  empe- 
ror, 364.  Obtains  possession  of  the  electorate, 
366.  Is  formally  invested  at  the  diet  of  Augs- 
burg, 378.  Becomes  dissatisfied  with  the  empe- 
ror, 386.  His  motives  for  discontent  explained, 
ib.     His  address  and  caution  in  his  conduct, 

387.  Makes,  nevertheless,  professions  of  his 
attachment  to  the  reformation,  ib.  Undertakes 
to  reduce  Magdeburg  to  submit  to  the  Interim, 

388.  Protests  against  the  council  of  Trent,  ib. 
Is  commissioned  by  the  emperor  to  reduce 
Magdeburg,  389.  Joins  Geome  of  Mecklenburg 
before  Magdeburg,  395.  The  city  capitulates, 
396.  Begins  to  intrigue  with  count  Mansfeldf, 
ib.  Is  elected  burgrave  of  Maedeburg,  ib. 
Dismisses  his  troops,  397.  His  address  in 
amusing  the  emperor,  ib.  Makes  an  alliance 
with  Henry  II.  of  France,  to  make  war  on  the 
emperor,  401.  Makes  a  formal  requisition  of 
the  landgrave's  liberty,  402.  Joins  his  troops, 
and  publishes  a  manifesto,  404,  405.  Takes 
possession  of  Aussburg  and  other  cities,  405. 
An  ineffectual  negotiation  with  Charles,  406. 
Defeats  a  bodv  of  the  emperor's  troops,  407. 
Takes  the  eastleof  Ehrenbere.  ib-    T"  retarget 


INDEX. 


COS 


by  a  mutiny  iu  his  troops,  ib.  Enters  Inspruck, 
and  narrowly  misses  taking  Charles,  408.  A 
negotiation  between  Dim  and  Ferdinand,  411. 
Besieges  Frankfort  on  the  Maine,  413.  His  in- 
ducements to  an  accommodation,  414.  Signs 
a  treaty  with  the  emperor  at  Passau,  ib.  tie- 
flections  on  his  conduct  in  this  war,  413. 
Marches  into  Hungary  to  oppose  the  Turks, 
416.  Is  placed  at  the  head  of  the  league  against 
Albert  of  Brandenburg,  424.  Defeats  Albert, 
but  is  killed  in  the  battle,  ib.  His  character, 
ib.     Is  succeeded  by  his  brother  Augustus,  435. 

Maximilian,  emperor  of  Germany,  claims  the 
regency  of  Castile  on  his  son  Philip's  death, 
95.  Is  supported  iu  his  claim  by  Don  John 
Manuel,  96.  Loses  it,  ib.  Obtains  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Low-Countries  by  the  death  of 
Philip,  98.  Appoints  William  de  Croy,  lord  of 
Chievres,  to  superintend  the  education  of  his 
grandson  Charles,  ib.  Concludes  a  peace  with 
France  and  Venice,  106.  Dies,  110.  Stale  of 
Europe  at  this  period,  111.  His  endeavours  to 
secure  the  imperial  crown  to  his  grandson 
Charles,  ib.     How  obstructed,  ib. 

Mecklenburg,  George  of,  invades  the  territories 
of  Magdeburg  for  the  emperor,  395.  Defeats 
the  Magdeburgers,  who  sally  out  on  him,  ib. 
Is  joined  by  Maurice  of  Saxony,  who  assumes 
the  supreme  command,  ib. 

Medecino,  John  James.     See  Marignano. 

Medici,  Alexander,  restored  to  the  dominions  of 
Florence  by  the  emperor  Charles,  234.  Is 
assassinated,  275. 

,  cardinal  de,  elected  pope,  and  assumes 

the  title  of  Clement  VII.,  179.    See  Clement  VII. 

,  Catharine  di,  is  married  to  the  duke  of 

Orleans,  243.  Is  conjectured  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V.  to  have  poisoned  the  dauphin,  270. 

,  Cosmo  de,  made  duke  of  Florence,.  275. 

Is  supported  by  the  emperor,  and  defeats  the 
partisans  of  Lorenzo,  276.  Asserts  his  inde- 
pendency against  the  emperor,  421.  Offers  to 
reduce  Sienna  for  the  emperor,  436.  Enters 
into  a  war  with  France,  ib.  See  Marignano. 
His  address  in  procuring  the  investiture  of 
Sienna  from  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  472.  It  is 
granted  to  him,  473. 

,  Lorenzo  de,  assassinates  his  kinsman 

Alexander,  275.  Flies,  ib.  Attempts  to  oppose 
Cosmo,  but  is  defeated,  275,  276. 

Medina  del  Campo,  the  inhabitants  of,  refuse  to 
let  Fonseca  take  the  military  stores  there  for 
the  siege  of  the  insurgents  in  Segovia,  161. 
The  town  almost  burnt  by  Fonseca,  ib.  The 
inhabitants  repulse  him,  ib.  Surrenders  after 
the  battle  of  Villalar,  and  dissolution  of  the 
holy  Junta,  171. 

Jdclancthon,  imbibes  the  opinions  of  Martin  Lu- 
ther, 134.  Is  employed  to  draw  up  a  confession 
of  faith  by  the  protestant  princes  at  the  diet  of 
Aussburg,  237.  Is  dejected  by  the  emperor's 
decree  against  the  protestants,  but  comforted 
by  Luther,  238.  Is  invited  to  Paris  by  Francis, 
2H9.  His  conference  with  Eccius,  294.  Is 
prevailed  upon  to  favour  the  Interim  enforced 
by  the  emperor,  387. 

Melito,  Conde  de,  made  viceroy  of  Valencia,  on 
the  departure  of  Charles  V.  for  Germany,  119. 
Appointed  to  command  the  troops  of  the  nobles 
asainst  theGermanada,  173.  Defeated  by  them 
in  several  actions,  ib.  Destroys  the  associa- 
tion, ib. 

Mint;,  archbishop  of,  artfully  declares  before  the 
emperor,  the  dier  of  Augsburg's  acceptance  of 
the  Inti  run.  without  being  authorized  by  it,  377. 

Mcrvnlle,  a  Milanese  gentleman,  employed  as 
envov  from  Francis  I.  to  Francis  Sforza,  duke 
of  Milan,  his  fate,  358,  250. 

Metz,  seized  by  Montmorency,  tin-  French  gene- 
ral,406.  Thedukeof  Cuise  made  governor  of, 
418.  Is  besieeed  by  the  emperor,  419.  The 
emperor  decisis,  and  retires  in  a  ("stressed 


condition,  4-Jtt.  A  scheme  formed  by  father 
Leonard  to  betray  the  city  to  the  imperialists, 
440,  441.  The  conspiracy  detected  by  the 
governor,  441.  Leonard  murdered  by  his 
monks,  and  his  associates  executed,  442. 

Mezieres,  in  France,  besieged  by  the  imperialists, 
151.  Gallant  defence  of,  by  the  chevalier 
Bayard,  ib.    The  siege  raised,  ib. 

Milan,  mareschal  de  Foix  appointed  to  be  the 
French  governor  of,  153.  His  character,  ib. 
The  Milanese  alienated  from  the  French  by  his 
oppressions,  ib.  Invaded  by  the  ecclesiastical 
troops  under  Prosper  Colonna,  154.  The  French 
driven  out,  157.  Oppressed  by  the  imperial 
troops,  175.  invad  d  by  the  French,  178.  Who 
are  driven  out  by  Colonna,  178,  179.  The  im- 
perial troops  there  mutiny  for  pay,  but.  are 
appeased  by  Morone,  181.  Abandoned  by  the 
French,  ib.  Overrun  again  by  Francis,  who 
seizes  the  city,  188, 189.  The  French  retire  on 
news  of  the  battle  of  Pavia,  192.  The  invest]  • 
ture  of,  granted  to  Sforza,  197.  Taken  from 
him  and  granted  to  the  duke  of  Bourbon.  201. 
Disorders  committed  by  the  imperial  troops 
there,  209.  Oppressive  measures  of  Bourbon 
to  supply  his  mutinous  troops,  213.  The  French 
forces  there  defeated  by  Antonio  de  Ley  va,  229. 
Is  again  granted  by  the  emperor  to  Sforza,  234- 
Death  of  Sforza,  262.  The  pretensions  of 
Francis  to  that  dutchy,  263.  Is  seized  by  the 
emperor,  266.  The  marquis  del  Guasto  ap 
pointed  governor,  269. 

Mohaci,  battle  of,  between  Solyman  the  Magni- 
ficent and  the  Hungarians,  219. 

Monastic  orders,  inquiry  into  the  fundamental 
principles  of,  288.  Peculiar  constitution  of  the 
order  of  Jesuits,  ib. 

Moncado,  Don  Hugo  de,  the  imperial  ambassador 
at  Rome,  his  intrigues  with  cardinal  Colonna, 
against  pope  Clement,  212.  Reduces  the  pope 
to  an  accommodation,  213.  Is  defeated  and 
killed  by  Andrew  Doria  in  a  naval  engagement 
before  the  harbour  of  Naples,  226. 

Monluc,  is  sent  by  the  count  d'Enguien  to  Francis 
for  permission  to  give  battle  to  the  marquis  del 
Guasto,  315.  Obtains  his  suit  by  his  spirited 
arguments,  ib.  Commands  in  Sienna,  when 
besieged  by  the  marquis  de  Marignano,  438. 
His  vigorous  defence,  ib.  Is  reduced  by  famine, 
and  capitulates,  438,  439. 

Monte  Alciuo,  numbers  of  the  citizens  of  Sienna 
retire  thither  after  the  reduction  of  that  city 
by  the  Florentines,  and  establish  a  free  govern- 
ment there,  439. 

Mvntecuculi,  count  of,  accused  and  tortured  for 
poisoning  the  dauphin,  charges  the  emperor 
with  instigating  it,  270. 

Montmorency,  mareschal,  his  character,  267. 
Francis  adopts  his  plan  for  resisting  the  empe- 
ror, and  commits  the  execution  to  him,  ib.  His 
precautions,  ib.  His  troops  despise  his  con- 
duct, 268.  Observations  on  his  operations,  ib. 
Is  disgraced,  304.  Conducts  the  army  of  Henry 
II.  to  join  Maurice  of  Saxony,  and  seizes  Metz, 
406.  Dissuades  Henry  from  accepting  the 
offered  alliance  with  pope  Paul  IV.,  451.  (  1  im- 
mands  the  French  army  against  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  468.  Detaches  Dandelol  to  relieve  St. 
Quintin,  ib.  Exposes  himself  imprudently  to 
an  action,  and  is  defeated,  ib.  Is  taken  "pri- 
soner, 460.  N(  g0tiaj.es  a  peace  between  Philip 
and  Demy,  480.  Returns  to  France,  and  is 
hijhU  ho lOUred  by  ii-nrs,,  lb.     Hi     assiduity 

in  forwarding  the  negotiations,  484.  His  ex- 
pedient tor  promoting  the  treaty  of  Chateau- 
Cambresis,  485. 

Montpelier,  a  fruitless  conference  held  there  for 
the  restitution  of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  110. 

Moroni,  Jerome,  chancellor  of  Milan,  his  charac- 
ter, 153.  Retires  from  the  French  exactions  in 
Milan  to  Francis  Sforza.  ih.  His  intrigues  how 
rendered  al>ortive,  ib.    Quiets  the  mutinv  of 


604 


INDEX. 


the  imperial  troops  in  Milan,  181.  Is  disgusted 
with  the  behaviour  of  Ulna  les,  197.  Intrigues 
against  the  emperor  with  Pescara,  198.  Is  be- 
trayed to  the  emperor  by  Pescara,  199.  Is  ar- 
rested at  his  visit  to  .  escara,  lb.  Is  set  at 
liberty  by  the  duke  of  Bourbon,  and  becomes 
his  confidant,  213,  214. 

Jlouson,  in  France,  taken  by  the  imperialists, 
151.     Retakeu  by  Francis,  ib. 

Jltulhausen,  battle  ol,  between  the  emperor 
Charles  V.  and  the  electoi  of  Saxony,  362. 

Jfulcy-Hascen,  king  of  Tunis,  his  inhuman 
treatment  of  his  father  and  brothers,  253.  Is 
expelled  by  Bai  baiossa,  254.  Engages  the  em- 
peror to  restore  him,  255.  Is  established  again 
by  the  surrender  of  Tunis,  257.  His  trtaty 
with  Chailes,  ib. 

Muncer,  Thomas,  a  disciple  of  Luther,  opposes 
him  with  fanatical  notions,  206.  Heads  the 
insurrection  of  the  peasants  in  Thuringia,  ib. 
His  extravagant  schemes,  ib.  Is  defeated  and 
put  to  dealli,  207. 

.Minister,  the  first  settlement  of  the  anabaptists 
in  that  city,  240.  The  city  seized  by  them,  ib. 
They  establish  a  new  form  of  government 
there,  240,  247.  Is  called  Mount  Sion,  247. 
The  bishop  of,  repulsed  by  them,  ib.  Is  block- 
aded by  the  bishop,  249.  Tiie  city  taken,  ib. 
See  Anabaptists. 

.Warder,  the  prices  of  composition  for,  by  the 
Romish  clergy,  137. 

Jllustapha,  the  declared  heir  to  sultan  Solyinan 
the  Magnificent,  is  invested  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  Diarbequir,  428.  His  father  ren- 
dered jealous  of  his  popularity  by  the  arts  of 
Roxalana,  428, 429.  Is  strangled  by  his  father's 
order,  430.    His  only  son  murdered,  ib. 

Naples,  the  revenues  of,  mortgaged  by  Lannoy 
to  supply  the  emperor  in  his  exigencies,  189. 
Invaded  by  the  French  under  the  duke  of  Al- 
bany, 190.  Invaded  by  pope  Clement  VII.,  214. 
Treaty  between  the  pope  and  Lannoy,  viceroy 
of,  215.  The  prince  of  Orange  retreats  thither 
before  Lautrec,  225,  226.  Is  blockaded  by 
Lautrec,  226.  Sea  engagement  in  the  harbour 
of,  between  Andrew  Doria  and  Moncada,  ib. 
Causes  which  disappointed  the  French  opera- 
tions against,  226,  227.  Doria  revolts  and 
opens  the  communication  by  sea  again,  227. 
Oppressed  by  the  Spanish  viceroy  Don  Pedro 
de  Toledo,  becomes  disaffected  to  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,  422.  Is  harassed  by  a  Turkish 
fleet,  ib. 

Nassau,  count  of,  invades  Bouillon  at  the  head 
of  the  imperialists,  151.  Invades  France,  takes 
Mouson,  and  besieges  Mezieres,  but  is  re- 
pulsed, ib. 

Navarre,  the  kingdom  of,  unjustly  acquired  by 
Ferdinand  of  Arragon,97.  D'Albret's  invasion 
of,  defeated  by  cardinal  Ximenes,  105.  Its 
castles  dismantled,  except  Pampeluna,  which 
Ximenes  strengthens,  ih.  Invaded  by  Francis 
J.  in  the  name  of  Henry  D'Albret,  150.  Re- 
duced by  I'Esparre,  the  French  general,  ib. 
The  French  driven  out  by  the  Spaniards,  and 
I'Esparre  taken  prisoner,  ib. 

Netherlands,  the  government  of,  first  assumed 
by  Charles  V.,  99.  The  Flemings  averse  to 
Charles's  going  to  Spain,  107.  Invaded  by- 
Francis  1.  king  of  France,  151.  A  truce  con- 
cluded with,  by  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  226, 
227.  Invaded  by  Francis  again,  271.  A  sus- 
pension of  arms  there,  ih.  An  insurrection  at 
Ghent,  281,  282.  See  Ghent.  Is  once  more 
invaded  by  Francis,  308.  Resigned  by  the 
emperor  to  his  son  Philip,  455.  A  review  of 
the  alterations  in,  during  the  sixteenth  century, 
499 

Nice,  a  truce  for  ten  years  concluded  there  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  Francis,  273.  Besieged 
by  the  French  and  Turks.  309. 


Noyon,  treaty  of,  between  Charles  V.and  Francis 
I.  of  France,  106.  The  terms  of,  neglected  by 
Charles,  120 

Nuremberg,  the  city  of,  embraces  the  reformed 
religion,  183.  Diet  of,  particulars  of  Pope 
Adrian's  brief  to,  respecting  the  reformers,  ib. 
The  reply  to,  184.  Proposes  a  general  council, 
ib.  Presents  a  list  ot  grievances  to  the  pope. 
ib.  The  recess,  or  edict  of,  ib.  This  diet  of 
great  advantage  to  the  reformers,  185.  Pro- 
ceedings of  a  second  diet  there,  185, 186.  Re- 
cess of  the  diet,  186.  A  n  accommodation  agreed 
to  there,  between  the  emperor  Charles  V.  and 
the  protectants,  240. 

Oran,  and  other  places  in  Barbary.  annexed  to 
the  crown  of  Castile,  by  Ximenes,  97. 

Orange,  Pi.ilibeit  de  Chalons,  prince  of,  general 
of  the  impei  ial  army  on  the  death  of  the  duke 
of  Bourbon,  takes  the  castle  ol  St.  Angelo,  and 
pope  Clement  VII.  prisoner,  218.  Retires  to 
Naples  mi  the  approach  of  Lautrec,  225,226. 
Takes  his  successor,  the  marquis  de  Saluces, 
prisoner  at  Aversa,  228. 

Orleans,  duke  of,  delivered  up  to  the  emperor 
Charles  V.  with  the  dauphin,  as  hostages  for 
the  performance  of  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  204. 
Is  married  to  Catharine  di  Medici,  243.  Be- 
comes dauphin  by  the  death  of  his  brother,  271. 
See  Dauphin. 

duke  of,  brother  to  the  former,  com- 
mands the  army  appointed  by  Francis  I.  for  the 
invasion  of  Luxembourg,  304.  Is  prompted  by 
envy  to  abandon  his  conquests,  and  join  his 
brother  the  dauphin  in  Roussillon,  305.  Dies, 
324. 

Pacheeo,  Donna  Maria,  wife  to  Don  John  de  Pa- 
dilla,  her  artful  scheme  to  raise  money  to  supply 
the  army  of  the  holy  Junta,  168.  Her  husband 
taken  prisoner  and  executed,  170.  His  letter  to 
her,  ib.  Note.  Raises  forces  to  revenge  his 
death,  171.  Is  reduced,  and  retires  to  Portu- 
gal, 172. 

Padilla,  Don  John  de,  his  family  and  character, 
160.  Heads  the  insurrection  at  Toledo,  ib. 
Routs  the  troops  undei  Ronquillo,  161.  Calls 
a  convention  of  the  malecontents  at  A  viln,  162. 
Forms  the  confederacy  called  The  Holy  Junta, 
163.  Disclaims  Adrian's  authority,  ib.  Gets 
possession  of  queen  Joanna,  ib.  Removes  the 
holy  Junta  to  Tordesillas,  the  place  of  her  resi- 
dence, ib.  Sent  with  troops  to  Valladolid,  and 
deprives  Adrian  of  all  power  of  government, 
163, 164.  Is  superseded  in  the  command  of  the 
army  of  the  Junta  by  Don  Pedro  de  Giron,  167. 
Is  appointed  commander  at  the  resignation 
of  Giron,  168.  His  army  supplied  with  money 
by  an  expedient  of  his  wife,  ib.  Besieges  Tor- 
relobaton,  169.  Takes  and  plunders  it,  ib. 
Concludes  a  truce  with  the  nobles,  ib.  Is 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner  in  an  action  with 
the  Conde  de  Haro,  170.  Is  put  to  death,  ib. 
His  letter  to  his  wife,  ib.  Note.  His  letter  to 
the  city  of  Toledo,  171.     Note. 

Palatinate,  the  reformation  established  there  by 
the  elector  Frederick,  326. 

Palatine,  count,  ambassador  from  the  diet  at 
Francfort,  brings  Charles  V.  the  offer  of  the 
imperial  crown,  which  he  accepts,  117. 

Pampeluna,  castle  of,  in  Navarre,  its  fortifica- 
tions strengthened  by  cardinal  Ximenes,  105. 
Taken  by  I'Esparre.  the  French  general,  for 
Henry  d'Albret,  150.  Retaken  from  the 
France,  ib. 

Papacy,  now  liable  to  be  affected  by  the  disposal 
of  the  imperial  crown,  113. 

Paraguay,  a  sovereignty  established  there  by  the 
order  of  Jesuits,  292.  '  The  inhabitants  of  civil- 
ized by  them,  ib.  Precautions  used  by  the 
Jesuits  to  preserve  the  independency  of  f  he!  r 
empire  there.  293. 


iNDfcX. 


605 


Parts,  a  decree  published  by  the  university  of, 
against  Martin  Luther  the  reformer,  146.  A 
decree  of  the  parliament  of,  published  against 
the  emperor  Charles  V.,  270,  271. 

Parma,  the  dutchy  of,  confirmed  to  Octavio  Far- 
nese,  by  pope  Julius  III.,  392.  Is  attacked  by 
the  imperialists,  and  successfully  protected  by 
the  French,  393. 

Passau,  a  treaty  concluded  there  between  the 
emperor  Charles  V.  and  Maurice  of  Saxony, 
414.  Reflections  on  this  peace,  and  the  con- 
duct of  Maurice,  415. 

Pavia,  besieged  by  Francis  I.  of  France,  189. 
Vigorously  defended  by  Antonio  de  Leyva, 
190.  Battle  of,  between  Francis  and  the  duke 
of  Bourbon,  191,  192.  The  imperial  troops  in 
that  city  mutiny,  195. 

Paul  III.  pope,  elected,  245.  His  character,  ib. 
Proposes  a  general  council  to  be  held  at  Man- 
tua, 251.  Negotiates  personally  between  the 
emperor  and  Francis,  273.  Issues  a  bull  for  a 
council  at  Mantua,  277.  Prorogues  and  trans- 
fers it  to  Vicenza,  278.  A  partial  reformation 
of  abuses  by,  ib.  Summons  the  council  of 
Trent,  311.  Prorogues  it,  ib.  Summons  it 
again,  322.  Grants  the  dntchies  of  Parma  and 
Piacentia  to  his  illegitimate  son,  325.  Deprives 
and  excommunicates  the  electoral  bishop  of 
Cologne,  332.  Presses  the  emperor  to  declare 
war  against  the  protestants,  333.  Concludes 
an  alliance  with  him  against  the  protestants, 
334.  Indiscreetly  publishes  this  treaty,  336. 
His  troops  join  the  emperor,  341.  Recalls  them, 
350.  Removes  the  council  from  Trent  to  Bo- 
logna, 373.  Refuses  the  emperor's  request  to 
carry  the  council  back  to  Trent,  ib.  His  resent- 
ment against  the  emperor  for  the  murder  of  his 
son  cardinal  Farnesc,  374.  Is  petitioned  by 
the  diet  of  Augsburg  for  the  return  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Trent,  375.  Eludes  the  complying  with 
this  request,  375,  376.  His  sentiments  of  the 
Interim,  published  by  Charles,  378,  379.  Dis- 
misses the  council  of  Bologna,  381.  Annexes 
Parma  and  Piacentia  to  the  holy  see,  383. 
Dies,  ib.  The  manner  of  his  death  inquired- 
into,  ib.    Note. 

Paul  IV.  pope,  elected,  448.  His  character  and 
history,  449.  Founds  the  order  of  Theatines, 
ib.  Is  the  principal  occasion  of  establishing 
the  inquisition  in  the  papal  territories,  jb. 
Lays  aside  his  austerity  on  his  election,  ib. 
His  partiality  to  his  nephews,  450.  Is  alienated 
from  the  emperor  by  his  nephews,  ib.  Makes 
overtures  to  an  alliance  with  France,  451.  Is 
enraged  by  the  recess  of  the  diet  of  Augsburg, 
452.  Signs  a  treaty  with  France,  453.  Is  in- 
cluded in  the  truce  for  five  years,  concluded  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  Henry,  458.  His  insi- 
dious artifices  to  defeat  this  truce,  458,  459. 
Absolves  Henry  from  his  oath,  and  concludes 
a  new  treaty  with  him,  460.  His  violent  pro- 
ceedings against  Philip,  now  king  of  Spain,  ib. 
The  Compagna  Romana  seized  by  the  duke 
d'Alva,  461.  Concludes  a  truce  with  Alva, 
461,  462.  Contrast  between  his  conduct  and 
that  of  Charles,  464.  Renews  his  hostilities 
against  Philip,  465.  Is  unprovided  for  military 
operations,  ib.  Is  reduced  to  make  peace  with 
Philip,  by  the  recall  of  the  duke  of  Guise  after 
the  defeat  of  St.  Qnintin,  471,  472.  Receives 
an  ambassador  from  the  emperor  Ferdinand  to 
notify  his  election,  but  refuses  to  see  him,  or  to 
acknowledge  the  emperor,  476,  477.    Dies,  483. 

Puulin,  a  French  officer,  sent  ambassador  from 
Francis  I.  to  sultan  Solyman,  307.  His  suc- 
cessful negotiations  at  the  Porte,  307,  308. 

Pembroke,  earl  of,  sent  by  queen  Mary  of  Eng- 
land with  a  body  of  men  to  join  the  Spanish 
army  in  the  Low-Countries,  467. 

Perpignan,  the  capital  of  Roussillon,  besieged 
by  the  dauphin  of  France.  305.  The  siege 
rafaed,  ;•> 


Pescara, marquis  de,  takes  Milan  by  assault,  155. 
Drives  Bonnivet  back  to  France,  181.  His 
generous  care  of  the  chevalier  Bayard,  182. 
Commands  in  the  invasion  of  Provence,  187. 
Besieges  Marseilles,  ib.  His  army  retires  to- 
ward Italy,  on  the  appearance  of  the  French 
troops,  ib.  Resigns  Milan  to  the  French,  189. 
Prevails  on  die  Spanish  troops  not  to  murmur 
at  present  for  their  pay,  ib.  Contributes  to  the 
defeat  of  Francis,  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  192. 
Is  disgusted  at  Francis  being  taken  to  Spain 
without  his  concurrence,  198.  His  resentment 
inflamed  by  Morone,  ib.  Betrays  Moroni's 
designs  to  the  emperor,  199.  Arrests  Morone, 
ib.     Dies,  201 

Philip,  archduke  of  Austria,  and  father  of  Charles 
V.,  visits  Spain,  with  his  wife  Joanna,  9fl. 
Does  homage  by  the  way  to  Lewis  XII.  of 
France  tor  the  earldom  of  Flanders,  ib.  His 
title  to  the  crown  acknowledged  by  the  Cortes, 
ib.  Is  disgusted  with  the  formality  of  the 
Spanish  court,  ib.  Ferdinand  becomes  jealous 
of  his  power,  ib.  Slights  his  wife,  ib.  His 
abrupt  departure  from  Spain,  ib.  Passes 
through  France,  and  enters  into  a  treaty  with 
Lewis,  91.  His  sentiments  on  Ferdinand's 
obtaining  the  regency  of  Castile,  92.  Re- 
quires Ferdinand  to  retire  to  Arragon,  and 
resign  his  regency  of  Castile,  ib.  The  regency 
of  Castile  vested  jointly  in  him,  Ferdinand, 
and  Joanna,  by  the  treaty  of  Salamanca,  93. 
Sets  out  for  Spain,  and  is  driven  on  the  coast 
of  England,  wherahe  is  detained  three  months 
by  Henry  VII.,  94.  Arrives  at  Corunna,  ib. 
The  Castilian  nobility  d<  dare  openly  for  him, 
ib.  Ferdinand  resigns  the  regency  of  Castile 
lohim,ib.  Interview  between  them,  ib.  Ac- 
knowledged king  of  Castile  by  the  Cortes,  95. 
Dies,  ib.  Joanna's  extraordinary  conduct  in 
regard  to  his  body,  ib.    See  Joanna. 

Philip,  prince,  son  to  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  his 
right  of  succession  recognised  by  the  Cortes  of 
Arragon  and  Valencia,  306.  Is  acknowledged 
by  the  states  of  the  Netherlands,  382.  His  de- 
portment disgusts  the  Flemings,  ib.  His  cha- 
racter, 391.  Is  married  to  Mary  queen  of  Eng- 
land, 432,  433.  The  English  parliament  jealous 
of  him,  43*.  His  father  resigns  his  hereditary 
dominions  to  him,  453.  Is  called  by  his  father 
out  of  England,  455.  The  ceremony  of  invest- 
ing him,  ib.  His  father's  address  to  him,  456. 
Commissions  Cardinal  Granvelle  toaddressthe 
assembly  in  his  name,  ib.  Mary  queen  dowa- 
ger of  Hungary  resigns  her  regency,  ib.  The 
dominions  of  Spain  resigned  to  him,  457.  His 
unpoliteness  to  the  French  ambassador  Colig- 
ny,  458.  Note.  The  pope's  violent  proceed- 
ings against  him,  460.  His  scruples  concerning; 
commencing  hostilities  against  the  pope,  461. 
His  ungrateful  neglect  in  paying  his  father's 
pension,  463.  The  pope  renews  hostilities 
against  him,  465.  Assembles  an  army  in  the 
Low-Countries  against  France,  466.  Goes 
over  to  England  to  engage  that  kingdom  in  the 
war.  466,  467.  Visits  the  camp  at  St.  Quintin. 
after  the  victory,  469.  Opposes  the  scheme  of 
penetrating  to  Paris,  and  orders  the  siege  of 
St.  Quintin  to  be  prosecuted,  470  St.  Quintin 
taken  by  assault,  ib.  The  small  advantages  he 
reaped  by  these  successes,  471.  Builds  the  Es- 
curial  in  memory  of  the  bottle  of  St.  Quintin, 
ib.  Concludes  a  peace  with  the  pope,  472. 
Restores  Piacentia  to  Octavio  Famese,  ib. 
Grants  the  investiture  of  Sienna  to  Cosmo  cU 
Medici,  473.  Enters  into  negotiations  for  peace 
with  his  prisoner  Montmorency,  480  Death 
of  queen  Mary,  484.  Addresses  her  successor 
Elizabeth  for  marriage,  ib.  Elizabet'  's  mo- 
tives for  rejecting  him,  485.  Her  evasive  an- 
swer to  him,  ib.  Supplants  his  son  Don  Carlos, 
and  marries  Henry's  daughter  Elizabeth,  487. 
irticles  vf  the  'rea.ty  of  Cltatean  Cambrcis.-il- 


606 


INDEX. 


Philibert,  Emanuel,  duke  of  Savoy.    See  Savoy. 

Philippine,  nephew  to  Andrew  Doria,  defeats 
Moncada  in  a  sea  engagement  betbre  the  har- 
bour  of  Naples,  220. 

Piadena,  marquis  de,  invades  Transylvania  for 
Ferdinand,  309.  Misrepresents  cardinal  Mar- 
tinuzzi  to  Ferdinand,  and  obtains  a  commis- 
sion to  assassinate  him,  400.  Is  forced  to 
abandon  Transylvania,  427. 

Picardy,  invaded  by  Henry  VIII.,  158.  Henry 
forced  by  the  duke  de  Veudonie  to  retire,  158, 
150.  Invaded  again  under  the  duke  of  Suffolk, 
180.  Penetrates  almost  to  Paris,  but  is  driven 
back,  ib.  Ineffectual  invasion  by  the  impe- 
rialists, 270. 

I'lacentia,  the  dutchy  of,  granted  together  with 
that  of  Parma,  by  pope  Paul  III.  to  his  natural 
son,  cardinal  Farnese,  325.  Farnese  assassi- 
nated there,  374.  Is  taken  possession  of  by  the 
imperial  troops,  ib.  Restored  to  Octavio  Far- 
nese, by  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  472 

Pole,  cardinal,  arrives  in  England  with  a  lega- 
tine  commission,  433.  Endeavours  to  mediate 
a  peace  between  the  emperor  and  the  king  of 
France,  without  success,  442.  Is  recalled  from 
the  court  of  England  by  pope  Paul  IV.,  465 

Printing,  its  en"ects  on  the  progress  of  the  refor- 
mation, 142. 

Prague,  its  privileges  abridged  by  Ferdinand 
king  of  Bohemia,  371. 

Protestants,  the  derivation  of  the  name,236.  Of 
whom  they  originally  consisted,  ib.  A  severe 
decree  published  against  them  by  the  emperor, 
237.  They  enter  into  a  league,  238.  See 
Smalkalde.  Renew  their  league,  and  apply  to 
Francis,  king  of  France,  and  Henry  VIII.  of 
England,  for  protection,  230.  Are  secretly  en- 
couraged by  Francis,  ib.  Receive  a  supply  of 
money  from  Henry,  240.  Terms  of  the  pacifi- 
cation agreed  to  between  them  and  the  em- 
peror at  Nuremberg,  ib.  Assist  the  emperor 
against  the  Turks,  ib.  Their  negotiations  with 
the  pope,  relative  to  a  general  council,  241. 
Renew  the  league  of  Smalkalde  for  Jen  years, 
251.  The  motives  for  refusing  to  assist  the  king 
of  France  against  the  emperor,  260.  Refuse  to 
acknowledge  the  council  summoned  by  the 
pope  at  Mantua,  277.  A  conference  lietween 
their  principal  divines  and  a  deputation  of 
catholics,  at  Ratisbon,  204.  This  conference 
liow  rendered  fruitless,  204,  205.  Obtain  a  pri- 
vate grant  from  Charles  in  their  favour,  296. 
Drive  the' duke  of  Brunswick  from  his  do- 
minions, 312.  All  rigorous  edicts  against  them 
suspended  by  a  recess  of  the  diet  of  Spires,  313. 
Their  remonstrances  to  Ferdinand  at  the  diet 
of  Worms,  322.  Their  inflexible  adherence  to 
the  recess  of  Spires,  323.  Disclaim  all  con- 
nection with  the  council  of  Trent,  ib.  Are 
strengthened  by  the  accession  of  Frederick, 
elector  palatine,  326.  Are  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  emperor,  328.  The  emperor 
leagues  with  the  pope  against  them,  335.  Pre- 
pare to  resist  the  emperor,  337.  Levy  an  army, 
338.  The  operations  of  the  army  distracted  by 
the  joint  commanders,  341.  The  army  dis- 
persed, 348.  The  elector  of  Saxony  reduced, 
363.  The  landgrave  deceived  by  treaty,  and 
confined,  368.  The  emperor's  cruel  treatment 
of  him,  370.  The  Interim,  a  system  of  theology 
recommended  by  the  emperor  to  the  diet  at 
Augsburg,  377.  Are  promised  protection  by 
the  emperor  at  the  council  of  Trent,  389.  The 
"mperor  proceeds  rigorously  against  them,  394. 
Their  dpputies  obtain  a  safe  conduct  from  the 
emperor,  but  are  refused  by  the  council,  398. 
Mauiiee  of  Saxony  raises  an  army  in  their 
cause,  404.  See  Maurice.  Treaty  of  Passau, 
414.  The  protestant  princes  again  unite  to 
Strengthen  the  protestant  interest,  445.  Recess 
Of  the  diet  of  Augsburg  mi  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion, ib.  Why  originally  averse  to  the  prin- 
• '  is  of  toleration,  440 


Provence,  is  laid  waste  by  the  maresehal  Mont- 
morency on  the  approach  of  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,  267.  Is  entered  by  the  emperor, 
26H.  The  disastrous  retreat  of  the  emperor 
from,  269. 

Prussia,  when  conquered  by  the  Teutonic  order, 
208.  Is  erected  into  a  dutchy,  and  finally  into 
a  kingdom,  and  enjoyed  by  the  house  of  1!  rait 
denburg,  ib. 

Ratisbon,  a  conference  between  a  deputation  of 
protestant  and  catholic  divines,  before  the 
emperor  and  diet  there,  294.  This  conference 
how  rendered  fruitless,  294, 295.  A  diet  opened 
there  by  the  emperor,  333.  The  catholic  mem- 
bers of,  assert  the  authority  of  the  council  of 
Trent,  ib.  The  protestants  present  a  memo- 
rial against  it,  ib.  The  protestant  deputies 
retire,  335. 

Reformation  in  religion,  the  rise  of,  explained, 
124.  The  diet  at  Worms  called  by  Charles  V., 
to  check  the  progress  of,  ib.  Account  of  Mar 
tin  Luther,  the  reformer,  126.  Beginning  of, 
in  Switzerland,  by  Zuinglius,  132.  State  of,  in 
Germany,  at  the  arrival  of  Charles  V.,  133. 
Reflections  on  the  conduct  of  the  court  of  Rome 
toward  Luther,  134.  And  on  Luther's  con 
duct,  ib.  Inquiry  into  the  causes  which  con- 
tributed to  the  progress  of,  135, 136.  Observa- 
tions on  the  pontificate  of  Alexander  VI.  and 
Julius  II.,  136.  The  immoral  lives  of  the 
Romish  clergy,  ib.  The  progress  of,  favoured 
by  the  invention  of  printing,  142.  And  the  re 
vival  of  learning,  142, 143.  The  great  progress 
of,  in  Germany,  182.  Advantages  derived  to, 
from  the  diet  at  Nuremberg,  185.  Its  tendency 
in  favour  of  civil  liberty,  205.  The  dissensions 
between  the  emperor  and  the  pope,  favourable 
to,  220.  The  great  spread  of,  among  the  Ger- 
man princes,  235.  The  confession  of  Augs- 
burg drawn  up  by  Melancthon,  237.  Causes 
which  led  to  that  of  England,  244.  Thcexcesses 
it  gave  rise  to,  245.  See  Protestants,  Mau- 
rice, and  Smalkalde.  Is  established  in  Saxony, 
279.  The  great  alteration  occasioned  by,  in 
the  court  of  Rome,  494.  Contributed  to  im- 
prove both  the  morals  and  learning  of  the 
Romish  church,  496. 

Reggio,  invested  by  the  French,  who  are  re- 
pulsed by  the  governor  Guicciardini,  the  histo- 
rian, 153. 

Remonstrance  of  grievances  drawn  up  by  the 
holy  Junta,  the  particulars  of,  164,  165.  Re- 
marks on,  166. 

Reverse,  a  deed  so  called,  signed  by  the  arch- 
duke Ferdinand  on  being  elected  king  of  Bohe- 
mia, 219. 

Rheggio,  plundered  and  burnt  by  Barbarossa,  300. 

Rhodes,  the  island  of,  besieged  by  Solyman  the 
Magnificent,  159.  Taken  by  him,  ib.  The 
island  of  Malta  granted  to  the  knights  of,  by 
the  emperor  Charles  V.,  ib. 

Richlieu,  cardinal,  his  remarks  on  De  Retz's  his- 
tory of  Fiesco's  conspiracy,  356.     Note. 

Rineon,  the  French  ambassador  at  the  Porte,  the 
motives  of  his  return  to  France,  303.  Is  mur- 
dered in  his  jourAey  back  to  Constantinople, 
by  order  of  the  imperial  governor  of  the  Mi 
lanese,  ib. 

Rome,  reflections  on  the  conduct.of  the  court  of, 
respecting  the  proceedings  against  Martin  Lu- 
ther,134.  The  exorbitant  wealth  of  the  church 
of,  previous  to  the  reformation,  139.  Venality 
of,  140.  How  it  drained  other  countries  W 
their  wealth,  141.  The  city  seized  by  cardinal 
Colonna,  and  pope  Clement  VII.  besieged  in 
the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  212,  213.  The  city 
taken  bv  the  imperialists,  and  Bourbon  killed. 
217.  Is  plundered,  218.  The  great  revolution 
in  the  court  of,  dining  the  sixteenth  eentur 
494,  405.  How  affected  by  tin'  revolt  of  Lu 
flier. 496.  Thespirftofitsgoverriment changed 
by,  ib. 


1 N  D  E  X. 


607 


liouqutilo,  sent  by  cardinal  Adrian  with  troops 
to  suppress  the  insurrection  in  Segovia,  101. 
Is  routed  by  the  insurgents,  ib. 

Roveri,  Francesco  Maria  de,  restored  to  liis 
dutchy  of  U rhino,  by  pope  Adrian,  175. 

Roxalana,  a  Russian  captive,  becomes  the  fa- 
vourite mistress  of  sultan  Solyman  the  Magni- 
ficent, 427.  her  only  daughter  married  to 
Rtistan  tlie  grand  vizier,  ib.  Procures  herself 
to  be  declared  a  free  woman  by  the  sultan,  428. 
Is  formally  married  to  linn,  ib.  Renders  Soly- 
man jralousoi  the  virtues  ol  his  son  Mustapha, 
428,  429.     Musiapha  strangled,  430. 

Rustan,%i and  vizier  to  Solyman  the  Magnificent, 
is  married  to  his  daughter  by  Roxalana,  427. 
Enters  into  Roxalana's  scheme  to  ruin  Soly- 
man's  son  Mustaplia,  ib.  Is  sent  with  an  army 
to  destroy  him,  42'J.  Draws  Solyman  to  the 
army  by  false  reports,  429,  430. 

Salamanca,  treaty  of,  between  Ferdinand  of  Ar- 
ragon,  and  his  son-in-law  Philip,  93. 

Salerno,  prince  of,  heads  the  disaffected  Neapoli- 
tans, against  the  oppressions  of  the  viceroy  Don 
Pedro  de  Toledo,  422.  Solicits  aid  fioiu  Henry 
II.  of  France,  who  instigates  the  Turks  to  in- 
vade Naples,  ib. 

Saluccs,  marquis  de,  succeeds  Lautrec  in  the 
command  of  the  French  army  before  Naples, 
228.  Retires  to  Aversa,  where  he  is  taken  pri- 
soner by  the  prince  of  Orange,  ib.  Betray- his 
charge  in  Piedmont,  266. 

Sancei-re,  count  de,  defends  St.  Disier  against  the 
emperor  Charles,  316.  Is  deceived  into  a  sur- 
render by  the  cardinal  Granvelle,  317. 

Sauvage,  a  Fleming,  made  chancellor  of  Castile 
by  Charles,  on  the  death  of  Ximenes,  109.  His 
extortions,  Hi. 

Savona,  is  lortified,  and  its  harbour  cleared  by 
the  French  to  favour  its  rivalship  with  Ge- 
noa, 227. 

Savoij,  diaries,  duke  of,  marries  Beatrix  of  Por- 
tugal, sister  to  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  260. 
The  cause  of  Francis's  displeasure  against  him, 
261.  His  territories  over-run  by  tiie  French 
troops,  ib.  Geneva  recovers  its  liberty,  262. 
His  situation  by  the  truce  of  Nice,  between  the 
emperor  and  Francis,  274.  Is  besieged  at  Nice, 
by  the  French  and  Turks,  309. 

Savoy,  Emanuel  Philibert,  duke  of,  appointed  by 
Philip  of  Spain  to  command  his  army  in  the 
Low-Countries,  467.  Invests  St.  Quintih,  ib. 
Defeats  Dandelot  in  an  endeavour  to  join  the 
garrison,  468.  But  does  not  hinder  him  from 
entering  the  town,  ib.  Defeats  the  constable 
Montmorency,  .and  takes  him  prisoner,  468. 
469.  Is  graciously  visited  in  the  camp  by  Philip, 
469.  Takes  St.  Quintin  by  assault,  470.  As- 
sists Montmorency  in  negotiating  peace  be- 
tween Philip  and  Henry,  480.  Marrii  s  Henry's 
sister  Elizabeth,  488. 

Saxony,  elector  of,  appointed  joint  commanderof 
the  army  oft  lie  protestani  league,  with  the  land- 
grave of  Hesse,  341.  Their  characters  com- 
pared, ib.  Opposes  the  landgrave's  intention 
of  giving  battle  tothe  emperor,  343.  His  elect- 
orate seized  by  Mam  ice,  346.  The  army  of  the 
league  disperse,  348.  Recovers  Saxony,  349. 
Is  amused  by  Maurice  with  a  negotiation,  ib. 
Raises  an  army  to  defend  himself  against  the 
emperor  361.  Is  irresolute  in  hi9  measures, 
ib.  Charles  passes  the  Elbe,  361,  362.  Is  at- 
tacked by  the  Imperialists,  362.  Is  taken  pri- 
soner'and  harshly  received  by  the  emperor,  363, 
Is  condemned  to  death  by  a  court  martial,  364. 
His  resolution  on  the  occasion,  364,  365.  Is  in 
dun  il  by  regard  to  his  family  to  surrender  his 
electorate,  365.  Refuses  the  emperor's  desire 
of  his  approving  the  Interim, 379.  The  rigour 
of  his  confinement  increased,  ib.  Is  carried  by 
the  emperor  with  him  into  the  Netherlands, 
881     I?  released  by  tiie  emperor  on  Maurice's 


taking  arms  against  bun,  but  chooses  to  conti- 
nue with  the  emperor,  408.  Obtains  his  liberty 
alter  the  .real)  ol  Passau,  416,  417. 

-  George,  duk.  of,  an  enemy  to  tiie  refor- 


mation, 27H.  His  death  an  advantage  to  the 
reformation,  ib.  The  protestanf  religion  estab- 
lished there  by  Henry,  duke  of,  ib.  Henry  is 
succeeded  by  hisson  Maui  ice,  310.  His  motives 
for  mil  acceding  to  the  lcngucol  Smalkalde,  ib. 
Marches  to  the  assistance  oi  Ferdinand  in 
Hungary,  ib.  Joins  the  emperor  against  the 
protestants,  339.  345.     See  Maurice. 

Sc/tertel,  Sebastian,  a  commander  in  the  army  ol" 
the  protestani  league,  his  vigorous  commence- 
ment ol  hostilities,  340.  Is  injudiciously  re- 
called, 341.  Is  expelled  from  Augsburg  on  the 
dispersion  of  the  protestant  army,  348. 

Scotland,  James  V. of,  married  to  Mary  of  Guise, 
duchess  dowager  of  Longueville.  276.  Death 
ol  James  and  accession  of  his  infant  daughter 
Mary,  307.  Mary  contracted  to  the  dauphin  of 
France,  374.  The  marriage  celebrated,  477. 
Mary  assumes  the  title  and  arms  ol  England  on 
the  death  oi  Mary  ol  England,  484.  Included 
in  the  treaty  of  Chateau-Cambresis,  486.  Al- 
teration in  the  conduct  of  England  toward,  494. 

Sects  in  religion,  reflections  on  the  origin  of, 245. 

Segovia,  an  insurrection  there,  on  account  of 
their  representative  Tordesillas  voting  for  the 
donative  to  Charles  V.,  160.  Is  killed  by  the 
populace,  ib.  The  insurgents  there  defeat 
Ronquillo,  sent  to  suppress  them  by  cardinal 
Adrian,  161.  Surrenders  after  the  battle  of 
Villalar,  171. 

Selim  II.  Sultan,  extirpates  tiie  Mamalukes,  and 
adds  Egypt  and  Syria  to  his  empire,  112. 
Considered  as  formidable  to  the  European 
powers,  ib. 

ftforza,  obtains  of  Charles  V.  the  investiture  of 
Milan,  197.  Forfeits  the  dutchy  by  his  intrigues 
with  Moroitr},  199.  Joins  in  a  league  against 
Charlos  for  the  recovery  of  Milan,  209.  Is 
forced  to  surrender  Milan  to  the  imperialists, 
211,  212.  Obtains  again  of  the  emperor  the  in- 
vestiture of  Milan,  234.  Enters  into  a  private 
treaty  with  Francis,  258.  Merveillc,  Francis's 
envoy,  executed  for  murder,  259.    Dies,  262. 

Sienna,  the  inhabitants  of,  implore  the  assistance 
of  the  emperor  Charles  V.  to  defend  them 
against  their  nobles,  421.  The  imperial  troops 
endeavour  to  enslave  them,  ib.  Regain  pos- 
session of  their  city,  422.  Repulse  an  attack 
of  the  Germans,  426.  Are  besieged  by  the  mar- 
quis de  Marignano,  438.  The  commander 
Monluc  repulses  the  assaults  vigorously,  ib. 
The  town  reduced  by  famine,  ib.  Nunmers  of 
the  citizens  retire,  and  establish  a  free  govern- 
ment at  Monte  Alcino,  439.  The  remaining 
citizens  oppressed,  ib.  And  (lock  to  Monte  Al- 
cino, ib.  Is  granted  by  the  emperor  to  his  son 
Philip,  ib.  The  investiture  given  by  Philip  to 
Cosmo  di  Medici,  473. 

Sievcrhausen,  battle  of,  between  Maurice  of 
Saxony  and  Albert  of  Brandenburgh,  424. 

Sion,  cardinal  of,  his  scheme  for  weakening  the 
French  army  in  the  Milanese,  155.  Leaves  the 
imperial  army  to  attend  the  conclave  on  the 
death  of  Leo  X.,  ib. 

Smalkalde,  the  protestanls  enter  into  a  league 
there  for  their  mutual  support,  238.  The  league 
renewed  at  a  second  meeting  there,  239.  The 
league  of,  renewed  tor  ten  years,  251.  A  mani- 
festo, refusing  to  acknowledge  a  council  called 
by  the  pope,  277.  The  king  of  Denmark  joins 
the  league, 278.  The  princesof,  protest  against 
the  authority  of  the  imperial  chamber,  and  the 
recess  of  the  diet  at  Nuremberg,  nil.  Publish 
a  manifesto  against  the  proceedings  of  the 
council  at  Trent,  327.  Are  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  emperor,  ib.  A  want  of  unity 
among  the  members,  327, 328.  The  views  of 
(he  elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  landgrave,  ex 


60S 


INDEX. 


plained,  328.  Appear  at  the  diet  of  Ratisbon 
by  deputies,  333.  Their  deputies  protest  against 
the  council  of  Trent,  334.  Their  deputies, 
alarmed  at  the  emperor's  proceedings  and  de- 
clarations, leave  the  diet,  335.  The  emperor 
leagues  with  the  pope  against  them,  lb.  Pre- 
pare to  resist  the  emperor,  337.  Are  disap- 
pointed in  their  application  to  the  Venetians 
and  Swiss,  337,  338.  As  also  with  Henry  VIII. 
and  Francis,  338.  Assemble  a  large  army,  338, 
339.  Are  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  340. 
Declare  war  against  the  emperor,  ib.  Hostili- 
ties begun  by  Schertel,  ib.  They  recall  him, 
341.  The  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of 
Hesse  appointed  joint  commanders  of  their 
army,  ib.  Tiie  characters  of  the  two  com- 
manders compared,  ib.  Their  operations  dis- 
tracted by  this  joint  command,  342, 343.  Can- 
nonade the  emperor's  camp,  343.  Make  over- 
tures of  peace  to  the  emperor,  347  Their 
army  disperse,  348.  The  elector  of  Saxony  re- 
duced, 363.  The  landgrave  deceived  and  con- 
fined, 368, 369.  Their  warlike  stores  seized  by 
the  emperor,  37&.    See  Maurice. 

Solyman,  the  Magnificent,  ascends  the  Ottoman 
throne,  124.  Invades  Hungary  and  takes  Bel- 
grade, 159.  Takes  the  island  of  Rhodes,  ib. 
Defeats  the  Hungarians  at  Mohacz,  219.  His 
successes,  and  the  number  of  prisoners  he  car- 
ried away,  ib.  Besieges  Vienna,  233.  Enters 
Hungary  again  with  a  vast  army,  but  is  forced 
to  retire  by  the  emperor  Charles,  240,  241. 
Takes  Barbarossa,  the  pirate,  under  his  protec- 
tion, 253.  Concludes  an  alliance  with  Francis, 
kiig  of  France,  272.  Prepares  to  invade  Na- 
ples, ib.  Protects  Stephen,  king  of  Hungary, 
and  defeats  Ferdinand,  296,  297.  Seizes  Hun- 
gary for  himself,  297,  298.  Overruns  Hungary 
again,  in  fulfilment  of  his  treaty  with  Francis, 
309.  Concludes  a  truce  with  the  emperor,  333. 
Loses  Transylvania,  399.  Ravages  the  coasts 
of  Italy,  412.  422.  Carries  a  mighty  army  into 
Hungary,  413.  Re-establishes  Isabella  and  her 
son  in  Transylvania,  427.  His  violent  attach- 
ment to  his  concubine  Roxalana,  ib.  Is  pre- 
vailed on  to  declare  her  a  free  woman,  428. 
Formally  marries  her,  ib.  Is  rendered  jealous 
of  the  virtues  of  his  son  Mustapha,  by  the  arts 
of  Roxalana,  428,  429.  Orders  him  to  be 
strangled,  429.  Orders  the  murder  of  Musta- 
pha's  son,  430. 

Spain,  the  state  of,  at  the  death  of  Ferdinand  of 
Arragon,  99,  100.  Charles,  king  of,  aspires  to 
the  imperial  crown  oh  the  deathof  Maximilian, 
111.  Is  elected  emperor,  116.  Reflections  of 
the  Spaniards  on  that  event,  ib.  Charles  ap- 
points viceroys,  and  departs  for  Germany,  119. 
Insurrections  there,  160.  A  view  of  the  feudal 
system  in,  162.  An  account  of  the  confederacy 
termed  the  holy  Junta,  162, 163.  Causes  which 
prevented  an  union  of  the  malecontents  in  the 
respective  provinces,  174".  The  moderation  of 
Charles  toward  them  on  his  arrival,  ib.  In- 
stance of  the  haughty  spirit  of  the  grandees, 
281.  Is  invaded  by  the  dauphin,  304.  The 
dominions  of,  resigned  by  Charles  to  his  son 
Pliilip,  457.  The  arrival  of  Charles,  and  his  re- 
ception there,  463.  The  place  of  his  retreat  de- 
scribed, 464.  The  regal  power  in,  how  en- 
larged by  Charles,  490.  The  foreign  acquisi- 
tions added  to,  ib.  See  Arragon,  Castile,  Ga- 
iicia,  Valentia,  Cortes,  Germanada,  and  Holy 
Junta. 

.Spires,  diet  of,  its  proceedings  relative  to  the  re 
formation,  220.  Another  diet  called  there  by 
the  emperor,  235.  Another  diet  at,  311.  Re- 
cess of,  in  favour  of  the  protestants,  313. 

Spiritual  censures  of  the  Romish  church,  the 
dreadful  effects  of,  139. 

St.  Dialer,  in  Champagne,  invested  by  the  em- 
peror, 316.  Is  obtained  by  the  artifice  of  car- 
dinal  fiinnveHe.  317. 


St.  Justus,  monastery  of,  in  Placcutia,  is  chosen 
by  the  emperor  Charles  V.  for  his  retreat  after 
his  resignation,  464.  His  situation  described, 
ib.    His  apartments,  ib. 

St.  Quintin,  invested  by  the  Spanish  troops,  and 
defended  by  admiral  Coligny,  467,  468.  Dan- 
delot  defeated  in  an  endeavour  to  join  the  gar- 
rison, 468.  But  enters  the  town,  ib.  Mont- 
morency defeated  by  the  duke  of  Savoy,  468, 
469.    The  town  taken  by  assault,  471. 

Strozzi,  Peter,  some  account  of,  437.  Is  intrusted 
with  the  command  of  the  French  army  in  Italy, 
ib.  Is  defeated  by  the  marquis  de  Man: 
nam i,  438. 

Suabia,  an  insurrection  of  the  peasants  against 
the  nobles  there,  205.  They  publish  a  memo- 
rial of  tlieir  grievances,  ib.  The  insurgents 
dispersed,  206.  The  protestant  religion  sup- 
pressed there  by  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  394. 

Suffolk,  duke  of,  invades  Picardy,  penetrates  al- 
most to  Paris,  but  is  driven  back,  180. 

Surrey,  earl  of,  created  high  admiral  to  the  em- 
peror Charles  V..  158.  Obliged  to  retire  out  of 
Picardy  by  the  duke  de  Vendome,  158, 159. 

Sweden,  a  summary  view  of  the  revolutions  in; 
during  the  sixteenth  century,  499. 

Switzerland,  the  Cantons  of,  espouse  the  preten- 
sions of  Charles  V.  to  the  imperial  crown,  113. 
Commencement  of  the  reformation  there  by 
Zuinglius,  132.  The  regulation  under  which 
they  hire  out  their  troops,  154.  The  precipitate 
battle,  insisted  on  by  their  troops  under  Lau- 
trec,  lost,  157. 

Syria,  how  and-  by  whom  added  to  the  Ottoman 
empire,  112. 

Term.es,  mareschal  de,  governor  of  Calais,  takes 
Dunkirk  by  storm,  478.  Engages  the  count  of 
Egmont,  and  is  defeated  by  the  accidental  ar- 
rival of  an  English  squadron  on  the  coast,  ib. 
Is  taken  prisoner,  ib. 

Terouane,  taken,  and  demolished  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,  425, 426. 

Tetzel,  a  Dominican  friar,  his  shameful  conduct 
in  the  sale  of  indulgences  in  Germany,  125. 
His  form  of  absolution,  and  recommendation 
of  the  virtues  of  indulgences,  126.  Note.  His 
debauched  course  of  life,  ib.  Publishes  theses 
against  Luther,  128. 

Teutonic  order,  a  character  of,  208.  Conquer 
the  province  of  Prussia,  ib.  Their  grand-mas- 
ter Albert  made  duke  of  Prussia,  ib. 

Theatines,  the  order  of,  by  whom  founded,  449. 

Thionville,  in  Luxembourg,  taken  by  the  duke 
of  Guise,  477. 

Thuringia,  an  insurrection  of  the  peasants  there, 
against  the  nobility,  206.  The  fanatical  notions 
inspired  into  them  by  Thomas  Muncer,  ib. 
Their  disorderly  army  defeated,  207. 

Toledo,  insurrection  in,  at  the  departure  of 
Charles  V.  for  Germany,  119. 160.  The  cathe- 
dral of,  stripped  of  its  riches  to  support  the. 
army  of  the  holy  Junta,  168.  Padilla's  letter 
to,  at  his  execution,  171.  Note.  Is  instigated 
to  continue  in  arms  by  Padilla's  wife,  ib.  Is 
reduced,  172. 

Ludovico  de,  nephew  to  Cosmo  di  Medici, 

sent  by  his  uncle  to  negotiate  with  Philip  II.  of 
Spain,  for  the  investiture  of  Sienna,  473. 

Don  Pedro  de,  viceroy  of  Naples,  op- 
presses the  Neapolitans,  422.  And  occasions 
the  Turks  to  ravage  the  coasts  of  Naples,  ib. 

Toleration,  reflections  on  the  progress  of,  in  Ger- 
many, 445, 446.  Why  mutually  allowed  among 
the  ancient  Heathens,  446.  How  the  primitive 
Christians  became  averse  to,  446,  447. 

Tomorri,  Paul,  a  Franciscan  monk,  archbishop 
of  Golocza,  is  made  general  of  the  Hungarian 
army  against  Solyman  the  Magnificent,  and  is 
defeated  by  him,  219. 

Tordesillas,  the  residence  of  queen  Joanna,  the 
confederacy  of  malcontents  called  the  Hnlv 


!M)EX. 


60b 


Junta,  removed  (hither,  103.  The  quern  taken 
there  by  the  Conde  de  Ha.ro,  167. 

TordesiUas,  one  of  the  representatives  of  Sego- 
via, killed  by  the  populace  for  voting  the  dona- 
tive to  Charles  V.,  at  the  Cortes  assembled  in 
<Jalicia,  160. 

Transylvania,  is  surrendered  to  Ferdinand,  king 
ot  the  Romans,  by  queen  Isabella,  399. 

Trcmoudlc,  La,  drives  the  English  under  the 
duke  of  Suriolk  out  of  Picardy,  180. 

'Trent,  the  council  of,  summoned,  311.  Pro- 
rogued, ib.  Again  summoned, 322.  Is  opened, 
326.  The  council,  on  rumours  of  an  infection 
in  the  city,  is  translated  to  Bologna,  372, 373. 
Henry  II.  of  France  protests  against  the  coun- 
cil, 394.  The  council  breaks  up  on  the  ap- 
proach of  Maurice  of  Saxony,  408.  Historical 
remarks  on  this  council,  409.  Characters  of 
its  historians,  ib. 

cardinal  of,  sent  by  the  emperor  Charles 

V.  to  conclude  an  alliance  with  the  pope,  334. 
The  nature  of  this  treaty,  335. 

/'tints,  the  means  of  its  coming  under  the  power 
of  Barbarossa,  traced,  253.  The  emperor  and 
other  Christian  powers  unite  to  expel  Barba- 
rossa, and  restore  Muley-Hascen,  255.  Is  taken 
by  the  emperor,  256,  257.  Muley-Hascen  re- 
biored,  and  his  treaty  with  Charles,  257. 

Tuscany,  a  review  of  the  state  of,  during  the  six- 
teenth century,  498. 

J'alencia,  an  insurrection  in,  117.  The  people 
there  greatly  oppressed  by  the  nobles,  ib.  The 
nobles  refuse  to  assemble  the  Cortes,  except 
.  the  king  is  present,  118.  Charles  authorizes 
'he  people  to  continue  in  arms,  ib.  They  expel 
the  nobles,  ib.  Associate  under  the  Oerman- 
kda,  and  appoint  their  own  magistrates,  ib. 
Hon  Diego  de  Mendoza,  Conde  de  Melito,  ap- 
pointed regent,  on  the  departure  of  Charles  for 
t  lermany,  119.  The  Germanada  refuse  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  172.  Defeat  the  nobles  in 
several  actions,  172,  173.  Are  at  length  routed 
by  the  Condi  de  Melito,  173.  The  modera- 
tion of  Charles  towa.d  the  insurgents  on  his 
arrival,  174. 

Valentinois,  dutchess  of.    See  Dianaof  Poitiers. 

f'alladolid,  the  first  public  entry  of  Charles  V.  to 
that  city,  108.  The  inhabitants  rise,  burn 
Fonseca's  house,  and  fortify  the  town,  161. 
(Surrenders  after  the  battle  of  Villalar,  and  dis- 
solution of  the  holy  Junta,  171. 

Vaucelles,  treaty  of,  between  Charles  V.  and 
Henry  II.  of  France,  457,  458*. 

Vtndome.,  duke  of,  his  plan  of  operations  in  op- 
posing the  progress  of  the  invasion  of  Picardy, 
by  Henry  VIII.,  158.    Obliges  him  to  retire,  159. 

feme*,  the  republic  of,  incline  in  favour  of  the 
pretensions  of  Francis  I.  of  France,  to  the  im- 
perial crown,  113.  Their  views  and  apprehen- 
sions on  the  approaching  rupture  between  the 
emperor  Charles  V.  and  Francis,  120.  Leagues 
with  the  emperor  against  Francis,  175.  A  final 
accommodation  between,  and  the  emperor, 
234.  Refuses  to  enter  into  the  league  of  the 
Italian  States,  formed  by  the  emperor,  242.  A 
review  of  the  state  of  that  republic  during  the 
sixteenth  century,  497,  498. 
.  rrinn,  the  confidant  of  the  count  of  Lavagno, 
encourages  him  in  his  scheme  of  overturning 
:  ie  government  of  Genoa,  352.  Is  protected  by 
I'rancis  on  the  ruin  of  that  conspiracy,  358. 

P'ieOeviUe,  the  French  governor  of  Metz,  detects 
father  Leonard's  conspiracy  to  betray  the  city 
to  the  imperialists,  441.  Executes  the  conspi- 
rators, 442. 

1'ienna,  is  besieged  by  Sultan  Solymau  the  Mag 
nilicent,  233. 

/  Malar,  battle  of,  between  Padilla  and  the  Conde 
de  Haro,  170. 

la,  marquis  do.  bis  spirited  reply  I"  the  n 

Vol.  TT  --77 


quest  of  the  emperor  to  lodge  Bourbon  in  his 
palace,  201. 

Vim,  the  government  of  that  city  violently  alter- 
ed, and  its  reformed  ministers  carried  away  in 
chains,  by  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  380. 

United  Provinces  f  the  Netherlands,  a  brief 
view  of  their  revolt  against  the  dominion  of 
Spain,  499. 

XJrbina,  restored  by  pope  Adrian  to  Francesco 
Maria  de  Rove#,    175. 

Wallop,  sir  John,  joins  the  emperor  Charles  V. 
at  the  siege  of  Landrecy,  with  a  body  of  Eng- 
lish troops,  309. 

War,  the  method  of  carying  on,  in  Europe,  how 
improved  at  this  period  from  the  practice  of 
earlier  ages,  180.  General  reflections  on  the 
vicissitudes  of,  488. 

IVartburg,  Martin  Luther  concealed  there  by  the 
elector  of  Saxony,  146. 

IVentworth,  lord,  governor  of  Calais,  remon- 
strates in  vain  with  the  English  privy-council 
to  provide  for  its  security,  474,  475.  Is  at- 
tacked by  the  duke  of  Guise,  and  forced  to 
capitulate,  475. 

Wittemberg,  invested  by  the  emperor  Charles  V. 
and  defended  by  Sybilla  of  Cleves,  wife  to  the 
elector  of  Saxony,  363,  364. 

Wolsey,  cardinal,  his  rise,  character,  and  influ 
ence  over  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  122.  Re- 
ceives a  pension  from  Francis  I.  of  France,  ib. 
and  from  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  ib.  De- 
tached from  the  French  interest  by  the  latter. 
123.  Inclines  Henry  to  join  the  emperor 
against  Francis,  147,  148.  Sent  by  Henry  to 
Calais,  to  negotiate  an  accommodation  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  Francis,  151.  Hasan  in- 
terview with  Charles  at  Bruges,  and  concludes 
a  league  with  him  on  the  partof  Henry,  against. 
France,  152.  Meditates  revenge  against  Charles 
on  his  second  disappointment  of  the  papacy  by 
the  election  of  Clement  VII.,  179.  Obtains  of 
Clement  a  legatine  commission  in  England 
for  life,  ib.«  Negotiates  a  league  with  Francis 
against  the  emperor,  221. 

Worms,  a  diet  calied  there  by  Charles  V.  to  check 
the  progress  of  the  reformers,  124.  Proceed- 
ings of,  144.  Martin  Luther  cited  before  it, 
ib.  Refuses  to  retract  his  opinions,  145.  An 
edict  published  against  him,  146.  Diet  at, 
opened,  322. 

Wurtemberg,  Ulric,  duke  of,  why  expelled  his 
dominions,  250.  Recovers  his  dominions  by 
the  assistance  of  Francis,  king  of  France,  and 
receives  the  protostant  religion,  ib. 

Wyat,  sir  Thomas,  raises  an  insurrection  in  Kent 
against  queen  Mary  of  England,  on  account 
of  the  Spanish  match,  433.  Is  subdued  and 
punished,  ib. 

Ximenes,  archbishop  of  Toledo,  adheres  to  Fei 
dinand  of  Arragon,  in  his  dispute  with  the 
archduke  Philip  concerning  the  regency  of 
Castile,  92.  Espouses  Ferdinand's  claim  to 
the  regency  of  Castile  on  Philip's  death,  96- 
Conquers  Oran,  and  other  places  in  Barbary, 
for  the  crown  of  Castile,  97.  A  ppointed  regent 
of  Castile,  by  Ferdinand's  will,  until  the  ar- 
rival of  Charles  V.  in  Spain,  100.  His  rise 
and  character,  ib.  Admits  the  claim  to  the 
regency  of  Cardinal  Adrian,  sent  with  that 
commission  by  Charles,  and  executes  it  jointly 
with  him,  101.  Takes  the  infant  Don  Ferdi- 
DOnd  to  Madrid,  under  his  own  eye,  ib.  Pro- 
cures Charles,  who  assumed  the  regal  title,  to 
be  acknowledged  by  the  Castilian  nobility 
101,  102.  Schemes  to  extend  the  regal  pre 
rogative,  102.  Depresses  the  nobility,  id 
Frees  the  king  from  his  feudal  limitations 
and  establishes  a  regal  army  to  cheek  tie 
bat  ins,  102,103.   Suppressed  a  mutiny,  headed 


610 


INDEX. 


by  the  grandees,  103.  Hesitates  tlic  grants  of 
Ferdinand  to  his  nobles,  ib.  His  prudent  ap- 
plication of  the  revenue,  ib.  His  bold  assertion 
of  his  authority  to  the  discontented  nobles,  104. 
Other  associates  in  the  regency  appointed  at 
the  instigation  of  the  Flemish  courtiers,  ib. 
Ketains  the  superior  management,  ib.  Defeats 
John  d'Albret's  invasion  of  Navarre,  105. 
Dismantles  all  the  castles  there,  except  Pam- 
peluna,  which  he  strengthens,  ib.  The  troops 
sent  by  him  against  Barbarossa  defeated,  and 
his  equanimity  on  that  occasion,  ib.  Alarmed 
at  the  corruption  of  the  Flemish  court,  he  per- 1 


Buades  Charles  to  visit  Spain,  lu.»,  100.  Falls 
sick  on  his  journey  to  meet  Charles  at  his  ar- 
rival, 107.  His  letter  of  counsel  to  Charles-, 
108.  Requests  an  interview,  ib.  The  ingrati- 
tude of  Charles  to  him,  ib.  His  death,  ib. 
His  character,  ib.'  Ueverence  paid  to  his 
memory  by  the  Spaniards,  ib. 

Zemora,  bishop  of,  raises  a  regiment  of  priests  to 
defend  Tordesillas,  for  the  holy  Junta,  which 
is  forced  by  the  Conde  de  Haro,  167. 

Zuinglitis  attacks  the  sale  of  indulgences  at  Zu- 
rich in  Switzerland,  132. 


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